Spill The Spirituality
Set sail for an unforgettable conversation! Spill The Spirituality, brought to you by Hope & Anchor, is the podcast that's not afraid to dive deep into the stories and issues that matter most. It's fun. It's vibrant. It's honest. Truthfully? It's a space where nothing is off-limits and where everyone is included.
Hosted by Trey Hall and Jaz Ampaw-Farr, it's a space for honesty, authenticity, and a healthy dose of humour along the way. Inclusive to everyone – whether you're a person of faith, spirituality, no faith, or somewhere in between.
If you're enjoying the show, make sure you connect with us and join the community at https://www.hopeandanchor.io/podcast or search for "spillthespirituality" on Instagram & TikTok.
Spill The Spirituality
Liminal Spaces: Navigating Life's Transitions, Faith, and the Music That Carries Us | Spill the Spirituality Live at Cliff College
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Hey Y'all,
Recorded live at the Cliff College Festival on Pentecost Sunday in Derbyshire, hosts Trey Hall and Jaz Ampaw-Farr are joined by two brilliant guests - Methodist kayaker and dementia support worker Mary Sharples, and singer-songwriter Rob Halligan - for a deeply human conversation about change, faith, identity, and the songs that transport us through it all.
Whether you're mid-transition or settled in a comfortable rut (and secretly love Last of the Summer Wine), this one's for you.
Timestamps:
0:00 — Welcome & introducing the show: what is *Spill the Spirituality*?
1:38 — Live at Cliff College Festival: Pentecost, bank holidays, and "male adjacent activities"
2:53 — Today's theme: life transitions — big and small
4:02 — Introducing guests Mary Sharples and Rob Halligan
5:25 — Mary on being 27: constant change, accidental careers, and feeling transient
7:53 — "At what point do you feel grown up?" — pensions, volunteers, and the approval of teenagers
8:42 — Mary on needing roots: change is easier when you have a network around you
9:18 — Rob on 25 years as a self-employed musician: the constant life of change on the road
10:54 — Rob's project on liminal spaces: learning to value the in-between moments
11:56 — Spirituality across difference: how do you identify on the spiritual spectrum?
12:25 — Mary: "I say Methodist before Christian" — a denomination built on justice and action
13:22 — Rob: "I'm a musician who is a Christian" — still learning what it means to follow Jesus
15:00 — Rob's defining moment: losing his father in the 9/11 attacks on the 99th floor of the South Tower
15:36 — Standing in Coventry Cathedral: "Father, Forgive" — anger, faith, and a giant reality check
16:21 — Choosing to believe: "I think this God likes us"
17:31 — Injustice, Operation Enduring Freedom, and where Rob sees God *not* present
18:25 — "I love you in the Lord" — what it means when love is really just tolerance
19:18 — Mary on working in dementia care: it's not a sad job — it's a joyful one
20:16 — Weekly community groups, uninhibited characters, and the gift of being present
21:22 — "It's a lesson in just being present" — freedom from embarrassment and cringe
22:18 — Where Mary sees God: in diverse communities drawn together by care
23:12 — East Manchester's mishmash of volunteers and the intergenerational miracle of showing up
24:33 — Trey's aunt, Frank Sinatra, and the power of music for people with dementia
25:17 — Rob on music after 9/11: "I had something to say"
25:42 — The strange thing about songs: listeners hear something completely different to what you wrote
26:00 — Rob's song *It's Strange What a Song Can Do*: Flowers in the Rain, Radio 1, and a dad singing badly in a Toyota Avalon
27:23 — The panel's musical memory lane: The Bangles, Kids from Fame, Sharon Shannon, and Showaddywaddy
30:48 — Mary on body memory: why people with dementia remember how a song *feels* even when words are gone
32:29 — What takes you to a deep spiritual place? Folk music, R&B brunch clubs, and collective dancing
33:59 — Jaz on "Grace" in Tottenham Court Road: dancing in an old church at 3pm as a spiritual act
35:05 — Rob on art, creativity, and crying at a pot on the Great Pottery Throw Down
35:31 — Stairway to Heaven at the Kennedy Honors: when art does something you can't explain
36:40 — Coming in to land: what do you want to take into the next chapter — and what do you want to leave behind?
37:45 — Trey: leave the judgment, keep the good stories
38:10 — Jaz: hard-earned humility in, imposter syndrome out
39:06 — Mary: leave behind the constant questioning of every decision; go forward freely and tread lightly
40:17 — Wrap-up, thanks, and the parting benediction: "Go forward and eat toast with heavy amounts of butter. And be at peace."
Featured guests:
- Mary Sharples — Methodist, kayaker, chaplain-turned-dementia-support-worker, champion of heavily buttered toast
- Rob Halligan — Singer-songwriter and storyteller; on his 25th anniversary tour; described by the BBC as "Bruce Springsteen having English tea with Billy Bragg"
Hosts: Trey Hall & Jaz Ampaw-Farr
Recorded live at: Cliff College Festival, Derbyshire
Produced by: Rachel Matthews | A project of the Methodist Church
Join the Spill the Spirituality community, follow the show and reach out to the hosts - we'd love to hear your thoughts, stories and feedback!
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