32 - Faith, Love and Walking Each Other Home | Bishop Arun Arora

Send us Fan Mail Some conversations are interviews. Others feel like coming home to an old friend. In this deeply personal episode, I'm joined by Bishop Arun Arora, Bishop of Kirkstall, someone whose place in my life goes back many years and to one of the most difficult chapters my family has ever faced. When my husband Jim was dying from cancer, Arun was a curate at St Mark's Church in Harrogate. He came into our home and became an extraordinary source of friendship, laughter, comfort and support. Jim wasn't a man of strong religious faith. In fact, when I first suggested Arun might visit, he reluctantly agreed that he could come once. Two hours later, after conversations about life, football and almost everything except religion, Jim simply said: "That lad can come again." And he did. In this episode, Arun and I remember those precious times together and the extraordinary moment, just two days before Jim died, when the three of us held hands and said the Lord's Prayer together. But I also wanted to discover more about the man I've known for all these years. Arun shares his remarkable journey from growing up in the Midlands in a Hindu and Sikh family to finding Christianity in perhaps the most unexpected of places: Villa Park. He talks about becoming a lawyer before eventually answering a call to ministry, the people who shaped his faith, his mother's initial reaction to his decision, and his own feelings that he didn't look or sound like the other people considering ordination. Our conversation explores faith, doubt, race, inclusion, belonging, grief and what it really means to meet another human being exactly where they are. We also talk about why doubt can be a healthy part of faith, the difference between optimism and hope, the Church as a "field hospital", and Arun's belief in the extraordinary power of knowing that we are loved. Above all, this is a conversation about people. The people who shape us. The people who sit beside us when life becomes difficult. And the people who are willing to walk with us for a while without expecting us to have everything figured out. Arun did that for Jim. He did it for me. And I will always be grateful. This conversation is filled with faith, humour, memories, hope and love, including the reassuring belief that however difficult the world may sometimes appear, love ultimately wins. Or, as one of my favourite Rumi quotes reminds us: "We're all walking each other home." I hope you'll enjoy walking alongside us for this very special conversation. If you enjoy my podcasts, please do subscribe and share. Feel free to comment as feedback is always welcome. Finally I would really appreciate it if you could buy me a coffee using THIS LINK. This helps me fund the podcast and keep it going 🙏