Torch Trust is a Christian organisation with a worldwide vision for people with sight loss. We produce a weekly radio programme called Reflections which airs on RNIB Connect Radio.. The show focuses on faith and disability in today’s world and here you can find a podcast version of the show. Uploaded weekly, after our Sunday broadcasts, this version has had music tracks removed.
Remembrance Sunday is marked on the closest Sunday to Remembrance day itself and features many of the same rituals, including the wearing of poppies and the two minutes silence. This week’s episode features a conversation between Producer Linn davies and former staff member Matthew Horspool, taken from our Insights podcast, about things blind and partially sighted might find tricky around this day and how churches can support them.
Client Services is the first point of call when you get in touch with Torch, and this week’s episode features new team leader Julie Jones. Julie talks about differences between life in South Africa and the UK, her sight loss journey and the main areas she’d like to focus on in her new job.
It’s nearly the end of October. And since this is the first Sunday after the clocks have gone back, Marilyn reflects on different aspects of time, from how Jesus always made time to heal those who needed it, to how time is a love language.
This episode features some reflections from Marilyn’s personal podcast Hope For The Heart. She touches on how different people in the Bible dealt with the huge responsibilities and blessings they were entrusted, including Mary, who became the earthly mother of Jesus. She also shares a real life story about the positive effects of love and forgiveness.
In this week’s episode we give you a special edition celebrating Sight Loss Sunday. This is Torch’s invitation to churches to wake up to the gifts of blind and partially sighted people. We hear this year’s sermon by Phil Bryson and reflections on what it’s like to be blind and partially sighted and in leadership roles.
Today Autism and neurodiversity is something we’re getting a much better understanding of, though, if you’ve met one Autistic person, you’ve only met one. When author Robert Noble was growing up in the 50s and 60s however, his conditions were not well understood, landing him in a variety of different situations from the funny to the frustrating. In this episode, Robert talks about his book, I’m Autistic, get me out of here! and what it was like growing up Autistic and with a Christian faith. He also talks about his passion for music and his work with street children in Kenya. The sale of his book will go towards this work.
This week, we’re sitting down to speak with Revd Canon Michael Mitton, writer, speaker and director, who is going to lead the upcoming 2025 Torch Retreat. We talk about how he got into writing, and dig deeper into the subject of God through the four Seasons, which he will be talking about at the retreat.
Angels appear frequently in the Bible, and many of us probably have an idea of what angels might look, feel or sound like. This episode features an interview with Stephanie Sergeant, who shares the many ways she believes angels have come to her aid. Marilyn also shares a remarkable angel encounter of her own.
This week we’ll hear from Torch Churches Partnership Coordinator Vicki Bryson about some of the events Torch has participated in recently. This episode also features a devotion by Zoe Byron, Torch’s head of comms, which was first featured on Pure 24 7 breakfast bites.
Sight Loss Sunday is an annual event in which Torch is encouraging churches to focus on blind and partially sighted people and their gifts and presence in church life. This year’s Sight Loss Sunday takes place 12 October. In this episode, we first speak to Torch CEO Sarah Dawkins about how her awareness has evolved regarding issues blind and partially sighted people face since she started working for Torch. We then speak to Torch’s Churches Partnership Coordinator Vicki Bryson, who brings some practical steps both church leaders and blind and partially sighted people can take to ensure better inclusion and fuller participation in church life.
