Show Notes
TRIGGER WARNING - this podcast contains description of abuse which some listeners may find upsetting. Each month, we’ll be taking a break from our regular podcast to bring you a brand-new Heroes of the Faith episode. In this series, we’ll explore the lives of key Christian women throughout history, guided by expert guests. Our hope is to find inspiration and encouragement as we reflect on how their faith shaped every area of their lives. In our first Heroes of the Faith episode, we’re joined by author Sarah Williams to explore the remarkable life of Josephine Butler—an English feminist and social reformer in the Victorian era. Driven by deep Christian conviction, Josephine fought for justice and dignity, bringing real and lasting change to the lives of some of the most marginalised women in society. → Stay Connected Conference 2026 Tickets – theorchardwomen.com Instagram – / theorchardwomen Website – https://theorchardwomen.com/
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A live recording from The Orchard gathering at Focus, with guest host Sarah Wynter. "Did you ask it to go, or did you tell it to go?" That was the question an older woman put to Emily after she'd spent months praying for breakthrough in her church. Most of us read Acts 3, where Peter tells a man to get up and walk, and can't quite relate it to our own lives. Emily Lazell, senior pastor at City Rise St Mark's in Battersea, and Chloe Swart, who heads up the Alpha UK team, are honest about that gap. Why authority is a position rather than a feeling, and why it rarely sounds like the loudest voice in the room. Plus what happened when Chloe, who was genuinely afraid of dogs, met her future in-laws' German Shepherd. Honest, warm and rooted in scripture. Stay Connected Conference Tickets: theorchardwomen.com Give to the Orchard: theorchardwomen.com/give Instagram: @theorchardwomen Website: theorchardwomen.com
Tim Mackie unpacks Exodus 1 and 2 in this special episode of The Orchard Podcast, recorded live at the Leadership Conference. The BibleProject co-founder asks what a few overlooked women can teach us about leadership. Pharaoh has all the power, but when he sees God's people flourishing, he feels threatened. The midwives and Pharaoh's daughter have no power at all, yet they fear God, see a crying baby rather than a threat, and take huge risks to protect life. It's a conversation full of fresh ways of seeing a familiar story, and it leaves you with a question to carry into your week: when something good happens that you didn't plan for, what's your first reaction? Honest, warm and rooted in scripture. Stay Connected Conference Tickets: theorchardwomen.com Give to the Orchard: theorchardwomen.com/give Instagram: @theorchardwomen Website: theorchardwomen.com
When the pain got too bad to think, let alone pray, Renee Bridger found another way. She picked up a set of prayer beads and said, "Let my pain be my intercession." In this episode, Rachel is joined by Bishop Esther Prior, to talk about her hero, Reverend Renee Bridger. Renee and her husband Francis adopted three Black children in the 1970s, long before that was common. She was in the first group of women ordained in the Church of England in 1994. And for years, in chronic pain, she prayed nine to five, Monday to Friday, as her life's work. Bishop Esther shares what it meant to be mentored by a woman who was steeped in scripture, open to the Holy Spirit, and shaped by the church mothers and fathers, and how Renee's understanding of suffering as a gift transformed the way she thinks about pain, purpose and intercession. Honest, warm and rooted in scripture. Conference Tickets — theorchardwomen.com Give to the Orchard — theorchardwomen.com/give Instagram — /theorchardwomen Website — theorchardwomen.com
They called her the Mother of the Salvation Army. She also wrote its theology and drew crowds that lined up around the block just to hear her preach. In this brand-new episode of The Orchard Podcast, Rachel is joined by Danielle Strickland to explore the life of Catherine Booth, co-founder of The Salvation Army, for Heroes of the Faith. Danielle shares stories that reveal a woman who was deeply loved by her nine children, who refused to marry William until he agreed to treat her as an equal, and who was never afraid to challenge the Church or disrupt the status quo. From the moment she stood up during William's preaching because she felt the Holy Spirit saying, "Tell them now," to the time she threw herself in front of a man beating a horse, her courage and conviction are hard to forget. Why does this hero still matter so much to Danielle, and what might she have to say to the Church today? Honest, warm and rooted in scripture. Follow The Orchard Podcast for more conversations like this one.
From the Archive: Fruit of the Spirit Equipping and encouraging you this summer Rach and Amy wrap up our Fruits of the Spirit series with a raw, inspiring conversation on SELF-CONTROL! How can we cultivate inner strength? What gets in the way? Join in on the final conversation of this series! Honest, warm and rooted in scripture. Sign up for our free summer journalling prompts - https://wispy-band-10288.myflodesk.com/fruit Conference Tickets — theorchardwomen.com Give to the Orchard — theorchardwomen.com/give Instagram — /theorchardwomen Website — theorchardwomen.com