PRESS RELEASE
Leaving Egypt podcast celebrates its first anniversary
It’s been a year since Leaving Egypt was launched to explore what it means to be God’s people in a time of unravelling. The podcast is co-hosted by Jenny Sinclair and Al Roxburgh.
Leaving Egypt celebrates its first anniversary this month. Since its launch, Leaving Egypt has published 25 episodes and launched a conversation forum to allow listeners to meet each other and engage with podcast guests. Leaving Egypt has so far seen an impressive 12,000 downloads from 63 countries.
Jenny Sinclair builds on her upbringing as the daughter of a bishop at the heart of reconciliation after the Toxteth riots in Liverpool, which forged her work drawing on Catholic social teaching as Director of Together for the Common Good. Al Roxburgh is a Canadian pastor, teacher and writer with over 40 years’ experience in church leadership and the founder of missional networks. Together, they speak to leading thinkers from around the world and from different traditions to read the signs of the times, and explore stories of how local expressions of God’s people are contributing to the reweaving of hope in our common life.
Avril Bagient was an early guest on episode 5 of Leaving Egypt. She spoke to Al and Jenny about the importance of listening to the Holy Spirit in our neighbourhoods and what she sees happening on the ground that makes this new energy so significant. Director of Pastoral Ministry for the Diocese of Northampton and Co- Director of the School for Synodality, Avril said:
“Sometimes it’s too easy to characterize what’s going on in local congregations in terms of struggle and decline. But much more is happening. Across many churches there’s something stirring – Christians coming together to listen and discern the activity of the Spirit in their communities. Leaving Egypt is providing a helpful platform to explore the many powerful things happening in our churches and communities. It is an excellent resource for the church and those of us working to build God’s kingdom in this challenging times.”
The year ended on a high note with Sr Helen Alford, Dean of Social Sciences at the Angelicum in Rome, exploring the meaning of human freedom, the exercise of personal choice and how this has given rise to the phenomenon of widespread loneliness.
Leaving Egypt returns for its second series in September, beginning with Paul Kingsnorth and followed by David Cayley, Corey Brooks, and Sian Wade.
The Leaving Egypt community on Substack is growing. Members of this community have the opportunity to meet together in informal monthly online gatherings. Explore the episodes and join the Leaving Egypt community at leavingegyptpodcast.substack.com
ENDS