The Church of England has released yet another howler — their official “Prayer for the World Cup.”

In this episode Revd Dr Jamie Franklin dissects the theologically shallow, barely comprehensible prayer, its widespread mockery, the questions raised at General Synod, and the woeful response from the Bishop of Lichfield and the Liturgical Commission.

Why is the institution doubling down instead of apologising? And who on earth signed this off?

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Share this episode with friends who need it. Come on England! ⚽

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In this week’s Irreverend, Jamie, Tom, and Daniel tackle the biggest stories with their usual mix of wit and insight.

Trump personally intervenes with FIFA to delay a red card for the US team — genius gamesmanship or outright interference? The lads break down his hilarious press conference and what it says about “fair play.”

Nigel Farage dramatically resigns his seat and forces a by-election in Clacton… but the major parties refuse to stand, leaving him facing Count Binface. Bold move or massive miscalculation?

Plus:

• Jeremy Clarkson’s provocative plan to save the Church of England by deconsecrating empty churches
• Latest developments in the Church of England’s LLF saga
• Kemi Badenoch, Andy Burnham, and the state of British politics
• Medieval chainmail barbecues, Erling Haaland the Viking, hot weather rants, and a stirring hymn of the week

Funny, faithful, and fearlessly irreverent Christian commentary on faith, politics, sport, and culture.

If you enjoy the show, please subscribe, leave a 5-star rating, and write a quick review — it really helps us reach more people!

Support Irreverend:
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Email: irreverendpod@gmail.com

Share this episode with friends who need it. Come on England! ⚽

#Irreverend #Trump #Farage #WorldCup #ChurchOfEngland

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Rev. Jamie, Tom, and Daniel are back with a special live episode of Irreverent Faith and Current Affairs recorded in Winchester.

They deliver a sharp, no-holds-barred Christian take on Keir Starmer’s dramatic resignation, the rise of “cultural Catholic” Andy Burnham as the next potential Labour leader, and why the Church of England’s bishops in the House of Lords are failing as a Christian voice.

Jamie opens with a timely biblical reflection from Philippians 3 on heavenly citizenship amid earthly chaos, followed by a hard-hitting discussion on two-tier policing, immigration, assisted dying, Tommy Robinson, Bishop Kai Dewar, and 10 years since Brexit.

Plus: plenty of banter, audience Q&A, organ sing-alongs, and a powerful Hymn of the Week.

Raw faith meeting current affairs at its best.

Timestamps:

• 00:00 Intro Banter & Football
• 06:00 Prayer + Philippians 3 (Citizenship in Heaven)
• 15:00 Starmer Resigns: The 42 Failures
• 28:00 Andy Burnham Next PM?
• 40:00 Bishops in the House of Lords – What Use Are They?
• 55:00 Live Q&A: Tommy Robinson, Assisted Dying, Brexit, Islam & the Left
• 1:25:00 Hymns & Closing Blessing

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Your support keeps Irreverend going and gets you early episodes, bonus content, monthly chats, and more:

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Like, subscribe, share with friends, and keep the faith! 🙏

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Rev. Jamie Franklin is back with a no-holds-barred roundup of the biggest stories in church and state.

He tears into the Church of England’s official “Prayer for the World Cup 2026” — calling it poorly written, theologically shallow, embarrassingly unserious, and a perfect symbol of the institution’s current woes.

He also reacts to Keir Starmer’s plan to ban social media for under-16s, dissecting the authoritarian tone, questioning the real motives behind it, and exploring the deeper issues around parenting and technology and the spiritual battle of the internet, attention and addiction.

Plus: Psalm 148, live event details, and a powerful Hymn of the Week — Praise the Lord, Ye Heavens, Adore Him set to Haydn’s majestic Austria.

Note: We apologise for the loud audio spike during the Starmer clip — technical issues with the new setup!

JOIN US FOR IRREVEREND LIVE!
🎟️ Tuesday 23rd June, 7pm – Holy Trinity Church, Winchester
Link: Tickets here

Email the Show: irreverendpod@gmail.com

Support the Podcast & Get Perks
Your support keeps Irreverend going and gets you early episodes, bonus Uncollared podcasts, monthly chats with Jamie & Nick Dixon, and more:

• Patreon → https://www.patreon.com/irreverend
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• Buy Me a Coffee → https://www.buymeacoffee.com/irreverend

Direct donations or questions? Email: irreverendpod@gmail.com

Like, subscribe, share with friends, and keep the faith!

Come on England! ⚽

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In this hard-hitting episode of Irreverend: Faith and Current Affairs, Revs Jamie Franklin and Tom Pelham tackle the escalating crisis on Britain's streets.

A brutal knife attack in North Belfast by a Sudanese migrant — with apparent attempts to behead his victim — has triggered major riots, burning houses, and intense public anger. Jamie and Tom break down the incident, the shocking police response, and draw uncomfortable parallels with the murder of Henry Novak and growing accusations of two-tier policing.

Tom delivers a timely Bible reflection on Matthew 9:37-38 — "The harvest is plentiful, but the labourers are few" — challenging the Church to rise to the moment with hope and action. The conversation covers:

• The failures of mass immigration and integration
• Legacy media spin and gaslighting
• Kier Starmer’s plans to restrict social media for under-18s
• The Church of England’s response to the unrest
• Why civic nationalism may be the only alternative to rising tensions

Plus: Listener emails, the Hymn of the Week ("The Church’s One Foundation") and much more.

Raw, honest, and unfiltered Christian commentary on faith and current affairs in a nation under strain. If you’re tired of the mainstream narrative, this episode is essential listening.

JOIN US FOR IRREVEREND LIVE!
🎟️ Tuesday 23rd June, 7pm – Holy Trinity Church, Winchester
Link: Tickets here

Email the Show: irreverendpod@gmail.com

Support the Podcast & Get Perks
Your support keeps Irreverend going and gets you early episodes, bonus Uncollared podcasts, monthly chats with Jamie & Nick Dixon, and more:

• Patreon → https://www.patreon.com/irreverend
• Substack → https://irreverendpod.substack.com/
• Buy Me a Coffee → https://www.buymeacoffee.com/irreverend

Direct donations or questions? Email: irreverendpod@gmail.com

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The BBC’s new docudrama Dear England is meant to celebrate Gareth Southgate’s England team but it’s actually infuriating propaganda that puts race, kneeling, and virtue signalling front and centre while ignoring real football.
In this no-holds-barred review, Reverend Dr Jamie Franklin explains why he loved the original stage play but couldn’t stand the TV version. From the cringeworthy dressing room lectures to Harry Kane’s moralising and the obsession with George Floyd, taking the knee and Black Lives Matter, this drama turns England’s football story into a condescending sermon on racism that England fans never asked for.
Franklin argues that England got so close to winning major trophies not because of systemic racism but because the team spent more energy on political gestures than on the fine margins that win tournaments.
If you’re sick of football being politicised, this is the rant you’ve been waiting for.

JOIN US FOR IRREVEREND LIVE!
🎟️ Tuesday 23rd June, 7pm – Holy Trinity Church, Winchester
Link: Tickets here

Email the Show: irreverendpod@gmail.com

Support the Podcast & Get Perks
Your support keeps Irreverend going and gets you early episodes, bonus Uncollared podcasts, monthly chats with Jamie & Nick Dixon, and more:

• Patreon → https://www.patreon.com/irreverend
• Substack → https://irreverendpod.substack.com/
• Buy Me a Coffee → https://www.buymeacoffee.com/irreverend

Direct donations or questions? Email: irreverendpod@gmail.com

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Reverend Dr Jamie Franklin responds to the shocking murder of 18-year-old Henry Nowak in Southampton. He examines the brutal knife attack, the police response that left Henry handcuffed and dying whilst they attended to his attacker, and what this case reveals about two-tier policing, institutional failures, and growing societal division in Britain.

Jamie reflects on Nigel Farage’s powerful statement, Henry’s father’s moving words outside court, the glaring contrast with the George Floyd response, and the Church of England’s silence. He addresses the protests that followed, the deeper issues of multiculturalism, and calls the Church and nation to repentance and a renewed commitment to justice and truth.

A raw, heartfelt, and unflinching look at a tragic case that has become symbolic of much that is wrong in contemporary Britain.

JOIN US FOR IRREVEREND LIVE! - Holy Trinity Church Winchester, Tuesday 23rd June, 7pm: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/irreverend-live-with-tom-daniel-and-jamie-tickets-1990101934458?aff=oddtdtcreator

Email the Show with comments and questions! irreverendpod@gmail.com

You make this podcast possible. Support us and get episodes early, bonus Uncollared audio podcasts, monthly epic chats between Jamie and Nick Dixon and more!

On Patreon - https://www.patreon.com/irreverend

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To make a direct donation or to get in touch with questions or comments please email irreverendpod@gmail.com!

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Why do so many churches feel spiritually thin, aesthetically bland, and disconnected from the deep longings of modern people?

In this lecture, the Rev’d Dr Jamie Franklin argues that the crisis of the modern West is not merely theological or moral but rather aesthetic in nature. Drawing on Alexander Schmemann, David Bentley Hart, Iain McGilchrist, St Anselm, and the Christian tradition, he explores a striking idea: that Original Sin was, at its heart, a refusal to receive creation as a gift and offer it back to God in thanksgiving.

This talk traces how Christianity once understood the world as sacramentally charged with divine meaning and how that vision was gradually eclipsed by modern secular assumptions.

Topics include:

• Original Sin as a failure of “original blessing”
• The sacramental vision of creation
• The Reformation, iconoclasm, and the loss of symbolic thinking
• Beauty, liturgy, and the recovery of the sacred
• Why the Eucharist stands at the centre of a truly Christian vision of the world
• What parish churches can teach a disenchanted culture

If you’ve ever wondered why beauty matters, why ancient liturgy continues to attract people in a secular age, or how Christianity can recover a sense of the sacred, then this conversation is for you.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

JOIN US FOR IRREVEREND LIVE! - Holy Trinity Church Winchester, Tuesday 23rd June, 7pm: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/irreverend-live-with-tom-daniel-and-jamie-tickets-1990101934458?aff=oddtdtcreator

Email the Show with comments and questions! irreverendpod@gmail.com

You make this podcast possible. Support us and get episodes early, bonus Uncollared audio podcasts, monthly epic chats between Jamie and Nick Dixon and more!

On Patreon - https://www.patreon.com/irreverend

On Substack - https://irreverendpod.substack.com/

Buy Me a Coffee - https://www.buymeacoffee.com/irreverend

To make a direct donation or to get in touch with questions or comments please email irreverendpod@gmail.com!

Notices:

Join our Irreverend Telegram group: https://t.me/irreverendpod

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Buy Jamie's Book THE GREAT RETURN!: https://amzn.to/4pwAH8R

Daniel French Substack: https://undergroundchurch.substack.com/

Jamie Franklin's "Good Things" Substack: https://jamiefranklin.substack.com

Irreverend Substack: https://irreverendpod.substack.com

Find me a church: https://irreverendpod.com/church-finder/

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