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Spill The Spirituality

Spill The Spirituality

Written by: The Methodist Church
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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.


© 2026 Spill The Spirituality Social Sciences Spirituality
Episodes
  • Liminal Spaces: Navigating Life's Transitions, Faith, and the Music That Carries Us | Spill the Spirituality Live at Cliff College

    Liminal Spaces: Navigating Life's Transitions, Faith, and the Music That Carries Us | Spill the Spirituality Live at Cliff College
    May 28 2026
    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 small4:02 — Introducing guests Mary Sharples and Rob Halligan5:25 — Mary on being 27: constant change, accidental careers, and feeling transient7:53 — "At what point do you feel grown up?" — pensions, volunteers, and the approval of teenagers8:42 — Mary on needing roots: change is easier when you have a network around you9:18 — Rob on 25 years as a self-employed musician: the constant life of change on the road10:54 — Rob's project on liminal spaces: learning to value the in-between moments11:56 — 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 action13:22 — Rob: "I'm a musician who is a Christian" — still learning what it means to follow Jesus15:00 — Rob's defining moment: losing his father in the 9/11 attacks on the 99th floor of the South Tower15:36 — Standing in Coventry Cathedral: "Father, Forgive" — anger, faith, and a giant reality check16:21 — Choosing to believe: "I think this God likes us"17:31 — Injustice, Operation Enduring Freedom, and where Rob sees God *not* present18:25 — "I love you in the Lord" — what it means when love is really just tolerance19:18 — Mary on working in dementia care: it's not a sad job — it's a joyful one20:16 — Weekly community groups, uninhibited characters, and the gift of being present21:22 — "It's a lesson in just being present" — freedom from embarrassment and cringe22:18 — Where Mary sees God: in diverse communities drawn together by care23:12 — East Manchester's mishmash of volunteers and the intergenerational miracle of showing up24:33 — Trey's aunt, Frank Sinatra, and the power of music for people with dementia25:17 — 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 wrote26:00 — 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 Avalon27:23 — The panel's musical memory lane: The Bangles, Kids from Fame, Sharon Shannon, and Showaddywaddy30:48 — Mary on body memory: why people with dementia remember how a song *feels* even when words are gone32:29 — What takes you to a deep spiritual place? Folk music, R&B brunch clubs, and collective dancing33:59 — Jaz on "Grace" in Tottenham Court Road: dancing in an old church at 3pm as a spiritual act35:05 — Rob on art, creativity, and crying at a pot on the Great Pottery Throw Down35:31 — Stairway to Heaven at the Kennedy Honors: when art does something you can't explain36:40 — 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 stories38:10 — Jaz: hard-earned humility in, imposter syndrome out39:06 — Mary: leave behind the constant questioning of every decision; go forward freely and tread lightly40:17 — 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 toastRob 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-FarrRecorded live at: Cliff College Festival, DerbyshireProduced by: Rachel Matthews | A project of the Methodist ChurchJoin the Spill the Spirituality community, follow the show and reach out to the hosts - we'd love to hear your thoughts, stories and feedback!Learn about Spill the Spirituality Podcast, Community & EventsLike us on FacebookFollow us on TwitterFollow us on InstagramFind us on TikTok
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    41 mins
  • Wild at Heart: Vets, Beavers, Grief, and the Church of Nature | Sean McCormack (That Vet Sean)

    Wild at Heart: Vets, Beavers, Grief, and the Church of Nature | Sean McCormack (That Vet Sean)
    May 21 2026

    Hey Y'all,

    What happens when a vet, wildlife broadcaster, and nature mystic sits down with Jaz and Trey? This. Sean McCormack - known to many as That Vet Sean, familiar from Springwatch, The One Show, and his Sunday Times pets column - takes us on an extraordinary journey from cocaine-swallowing puppies to urban beavers, from speciesism to secret grief, and from Catholic Ireland to finding his church in the natural world.

    Expect big laughs, unexpected tears, and a conversation that might just change how you think about animals, the planet, and what it means to be human.

    Timestamps:

    0:00 — Intro & welcome: Who is Sean McCormack (That Vet Sean)?
    1:28 — Exotic pets, zoo vets & the wild beginning of Sean's career
    3:00 — The late-night call: cocaine, a puppy, and a kitchen surgery request
    4:11 — What drives a child to become a vet? Nature, family & being the "weird kid"
    5:32 — The hidden mental health crisis in veterinary medicine
    6:33 — Vets have the highest suicide rate of any profession — why?
    6:39 — How our relationship with pets has transformed in one generation
    8:19 — Do pets truly serve the animal, or just us? The ethics of pet-keeping
    9:54 — Speciesism: Why do we eat cows but not dogs?
    10:49 — Grass-fed beef vs. dairy and eggs: the counterintuitive truth about animal welfare
    12:50 — "It's not the cow, it's the how" — regenerative agriculture explained
    14:45 — Kids who don't know where potatoes come from: our disconnection from nature
    15:20 — Nature is everywhere, even in cities — but we've stopped noticing
    18:05 — The Ealing Beaver Project: bringing beavers back to zone 4 of London
    19:51 — Beavers solving urban flooding better than engineers — and David Attenborough's reaction
    20:16 — Working alongside Sir David Attenborough on *Wild London*
    21:10 — Shifting to spirituality: what does nature mean to Sean?
    22:13 — Trey's seal colony encounter on Caldey Island (and being gently told off by Sean)
    23:47 — Sean's spirituality: "My church is the natural world"
    29:37 — No Mow May, dominion, and why human superiority is destroying the planet
    31:22 — The hypocrite's dilemma: flying to Costa Rica as a conservationist
    33:06 — Grief, loss, and the partner who wasn't out: Sean opens up
    34:23 — The Irish relationship with death, wakes, and why grief shouldn't be hidden
    38:20 — Three years of secret grief — and why speaking his name finally brought healing
    43:35 — The forest walk video that went viral: "There's no shame in this"
    45:52 — Growing up gay in Catholic Ireland: denial, self-preservation, and coming out at 18
    47:35 — A second coming out: burnout, identity crisis, and hating a career he'd built his life around
    50:49 — Sean's advice for anyone stuck on the wrong path: listen to that voice sooner
    53:34 — "You're only as sick as your secrets" — on sharing, therapy, and moving forward
    54:07 — Closing reflections: spirituality, openness, and honoring connection

    Follow Sean: Instagram @thatvetSean
    Wild London (with David Attenborough) - available on BBC iPlayer
    The Ealing Beaver Project - Paradise Fields, Greenford, London

    Spill The Spirituality is a project of the Methodist Church in Britain. New episodes every week - subscribe and leave a review wherever you listen.

    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!

    • Learn about Spill the Spirituality Podcast, Community & Events
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    Show More Show Less
    58 mins
  • Ghosts, Quantum Physics, and What Consciousness Leaves Behind - A Supernatural Conversation With Evelyn Hollow

    Ghosts, Quantum Physics, and What Consciousness Leaves Behind - A Supernatural Conversation With Evelyn Hollow
    May 14 2026

    Hey Y'all,

    In this episode, Trey and Jaz sit down with Scottish writer, broadcaster, and paranormal psychologist Evelyn Hollow — known for her work on Uncanny and The Battersea Poltergeist — for a wild, wide-ranging conversation about what ghosts might actually be, why consciousness is science's last great mystery, and whether the paranormal and the spiritual are closer than we think.

    Evelyn takes us from the Battersea poltergeist case that became the number one podcast in the world, to modern-day ghost sightings (yes, there are ghosts in hoodies), to a fascinating theory that what we call ghosts might not be dead people at all — but glimpses through time. Along the way, the conversation moves into quantum physics, the politics of who gets to define the sacred, why so many women are drawn to paganism, and what it means that every culture on Earth seems to be accessing the same mysterious thing and calling it by different names.

    Jaz also finally tells her abbey ghost story to an actual expert. The verdict? It's complicated.

    Funny, mind-bending, and unexpectedly moving — this one will have you side-eyeing empty rooms for weeks.

    Timestamps:

    • 2:41 — Introducing Evelyn Hollow: paranormal psychologist and broadcaster
    • 3:00 — Growing up in Scotland; swapping forensic psychology for parapsychology
    • 5:05 — The Battersea Poltergeist and becoming the number one podcast in the world
    • 7:46 — Why aren't there modern ghosts? (There are — one wears a Nirvana T-shirt)
    • 11:28 — Do ghosts have an expiry date? The half-life of consciousness
    • 12:59 — Jaz's abbey ghost story: the woman at the foot of the bed
    • 15:00 — Sleep paralysis, the priming effect, and why Jaz's story is hard to explain
    • 20:15 — The Salem witch trials: mass hysteria or something more calculated?
    • 23:48 — Is everyone accessing the same spiritual reality?
    • 27:34 — Could consciousness be quantum? Why ghosts make scientific sense
    • 29:00 — Weighing the soul and the 0.7 gram preacher's tale
    • 32:24 — Paganism: pre-Christian faith and the power of the land
    • 34:56 — Feminism and faith: who wrote the book?
    • 38:09 — Local gods vs. universal truth
    • 41:29 — What comes after death? Where consciousness might go

    -----

    Guest: Evelyn Hollow
    Find her: Instagram @EvelynHollow

    Spill the Spirituality is a project of the Methodist Church in Britain. Produced by John Ryan and Rachel Matthews. Hosted by Trey Hall.

    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!

    • Learn about Spill the Spirituality Podcast, Community & Events
    • Like us on Facebook
    • Follow us on Twitter
    • Follow us on Instagram
    • Find us on TikTok

    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!

    • Learn about Spill the Spirituality Podcast, Community & Events
    • Like us on Facebook
    • Follow us on Twitter
    • Follow us on Instagram
    • Find us on TikTok
    Show More Show Less
    46 mins
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