Westminster Abbey Podcasts

Speaker: Canon Professor Vernon White Stand and Be Counted offers lectures and symposia for all those concerned with the health of Politics. This lecture is one of a series of 3 lectures, focussing on "Idealism and Compromise in Public Service: When the eye sees further than the hand can reach."

Speaker: Canon Professor Vernon White Stand and Be Counted offers lectures and symposia for all those concerned with the health of Politics. This lecture is one of a series of 3 lectures, focussing on "Idealism and Compromise in Public Service: When the eye sees further than the hand can reach."

Speaker: Canon Professor Vernon White Stand and Be Counted offers lectures and symposia for all those concerned with the health of Politics. This lecture is one of a series of 3 lectures, focussing on "Idealism and Compromise in Public Service: When the eye sees further than the hand can reach."

Recorded on Monday 23rd February at The Lady Chapel, Westminster Speakers: Sir Bernard Hogan-Howe, Assistant Comissioner Helen King and selected police officers The forthcoming General Election falls on the 750th anniversary of the First Parliament which convened in the Chapter House of Westminster Abbey, and the 800th anniversary of Magna Carta. Has our politics lived up to the expectations of its historic foundations? Elected and appointed public servants now face an allegedly cynical public. How do you win an election without selling your soul? What if you want to be idealistic and the world won’t let you? Stand and Be Counted offers lectures and symposia for all those concerned with the health of politics.

Speakers: Professor David Reynolds and Professor Sir Hew Strachan Chair: Mark Easton, BBC Home Editor Those gathered around the decision-making table in 1914 were only too aware of the moral issues at stake. What can those facing potential conflict today learn from the moral complexities then?

In a wide-ranging lecture entitled Humanising Hell – our Restless Conscience and the Search for Peace, Mr Hague reflected on the legacy of conflict from World War One to today, and called on Britain to maintain the ideas and ambition needed to prevent future conflict and to improve the condition of humanity.

The Feast of Dedication of a church is a celebration of the church building as a house of God and place of prayer. The present Abbey Church was dedicated in 13th October 1269. Since 13th October is the principal feast of St Edward, here at the Abbey we keep the Feast of Dedication on the following Sunday.

The Very Reverend Dr John Hall, Dean of Westminster #AdmiralPhillip

His Royal Highness The Prince of Wales attended a Service of Thanksgiving for the Life and Work of Sir John Tavener at Westminster Abbey on Wednesday 11th June at 12 noon.

Speaker: The Reverend Dr Sam Wells ‘What does one do in the face of the daily diminishment of human beings?’ The Revd Dr Sam Wells explores and challenges different understandings of justice and asks whether the church can model a way of life beyond justice. Read a transcript of this lecture on Westminster Abbey's website.

The Very Reverend Dr John Hall, Dean of Westminster We must admire the strength of character and determination of Edith Cavell and her commitment as a nurse to care for all without discrimination. She stands as an icon, an example and an inspiration, alongside Florence Nightingale whom we honour today and for whom we thank God, of nursing at its best, even in the most difficult circumstances. Simply expressed, the praise is of the highest. She was a good nurse.

His Royal Highness The Duke of Gloucester attended the annual Service of Commemoration and Thanksgiving to mark ANZAC Day at Westminster Abbey on Friday 25th April 2014.

Speaker: Claire Foster-Gilbert, Director, Westminster Abbey Institute Chair: The Right Honourable The Baroness D’Souza CMG, Lord Speaker Even if we know what is the right thing to do, and we want very much to do it, what then gives us the courage to act? What reminds those in public office of their vocation to serve? Powerful stories of journeys that resonate with the stories in our own lives can waken the giant within and remind us that the best, most interesting lives are lived for others. In this lecture, Claire Foster-Gilbert described the ‘hero’s journey’ as a map for lives of public service.

Speaker: Claire Foster-Gilbert, Director, Westminster Abbey Institute. Why should we be moral? What motivates public servants to keep serving the common good? Claire Foster-Gilbert argues that our moral sensibilities arise from the way we perceive the world around us. She suggests perceptions that can refresh our vison and evoke a will to be good, describing the spheres of interdependent life in which all participate; the sacredness of creation; the priesthood of all humanity; and the Sabbath principle.

Speaker: Claire Foster-Gilbert, Director, Westminster Abbey Institute. A robust moral decision is one that clearly identifies the moral issues at stake and takes them into account. For those in public office, being able to explain how they came to make such decisions is also critical. In this lecture, Claire Foster-Gilbert offers a framework for making comprehensive and comprehendable moral decisions by describing goal-based, duty-based and right-based thinking processes.

Audio includes: Wilfred Frost reads 'Remember Me' by David Harkins George Frost reads his Poem following the dedication of the Memorial Stone. Joanna Lumley reads 'A Sonnet of Sorts for a Star' by Joanna Lumley/Richard Stilgoe

Audio includes: Her Majesty The Queen's Commonwealth Day Message A performance by the Pipes and Drums of Gordon's School A reflection by the Right Honourable The Lord Coe Gaelic Anthem sung by the Choir of Westminster Abbey A reflection by The Right Honourable The Baroness Grey-Thompson Unbelievable Dream by Laura Mvula

Speaker: The Right Reverend Professor NT Wright, University of St Andrews Chair: Canon Professor Vernon White The faithfulness of God is a controlling theme of Pauls’ writings. Divine faithfulness, both to covenant and to creation, raises questions of considerable contemporary urgency: the new challenge to unity, a vision of ecological stewardship, the quest for holiness, and the renewal of mission, particularly in relation to social and political moods and structures. In these areas Paul cuts across the lines of fashionable thinking now, as he did in his own day: this lecture will explore the key current debates, and expound a fresh way of reading Paul (as in the author’s recent book). Read a transcript of this lecture on Westminster Abbey's website.