Torch Trust is a Christian organisation with a worldwide vision for people with sight loss. We produce a weekly radio programme called Reflections which airs on RNIB Connect Radio. The show focuses on faith and disability in today's world and here you can find a podcast version of the show. Uploaded weekly, after our Sunday broadcasts, this version has had music tracks removed.
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Reflections Podcast 1st September 2024: Rev Augustine Tanner-Ihm
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Rev Augustine Tanner-Ihm shares what life was like growing up in Chicago, and how living with borderline personality disorder, dyslexia and dyspraxia have all impacted his faith.By Torch Trust
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Reflections Podcast 25th August 2024: God and Fencing
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This week on Reflections with Marilyn Baker, we hear from the Reverend Shuna Body MBE, who wears a multitude of hats in her day to day life: she’s a vicar in Kent, works for the fire service, a school governor, chair of a charity, is married to a sheep farmer, she’s a fencing coach, a […]By Torch Trust
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Reflections Podcast 18th August 2024: International Paralympics Committee and Paralympic Games 2024
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This week on Reflections Marilyn is in conversation with Craig Spence from the International Paralympic Committee ahead of this year's games in Paris talking about how the Paralympics have become one of the world’s largest sporting events, diversity and inclusion, what we can expect in 2024, and some of the positives and difficulties that surround …
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Reflections Podcast 11th August 2024: Sight Village Central Review 2024
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This week on Reflections Marilyn Baker is joined by Torch Trust’s Sheila Armstrong to chat about Sight Village Central 2024 that took place recently in Birmingham, an exhibition which offers a unique opportunity to discuss and engage with new innovations and technology for people living with any degree of sight loss.…
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Reflections Podcast 04th August 2024: Sports and Sight Loss
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How do you get on with getting out and about with sight loss? Hazel Dudley is a Liverpool football fan and regularly travels to games – she shares her experiences with us about her travels, enjoying sport as a fan, and the importance of Jesus in her life too.By Torch Trust
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Reflections Podcast 28th July 2024: Dave Clarke OBE – Paralympics GB
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Dave Clarke OBE is a former England and Great Britain Blind Footballer who captained sides during his 144 appearances for his country and also scored 128 goals. He has been entered into the English Football Hall of Fame for his achievements and is now the Chief Executive of the British Paralympic Association and Paralympics GB . […]…
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Reflections Podcast 21st July 2024: The Eric Liddell Community
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With the Olympics getting underway very soon, we’re this week thinking about the Christian Missionary Eric Liddell, the famous Scottish athlete and devout Christian who during the 1924 Olympic games in Paris dropped out of the 100-metres run —his strongest event—because the qualifying heats were scheduled for a Sunday. Joining us to chat about Eric…
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Reflections Podcast 14th July 2024: Blind Fury Ministries
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This week on Reflections, we’re hearing from another sporting voice - in fact, in the United States he’s got a notable standing as a national champion blind bowler, securing a top-10 national ranking! He’s also a drummer, and a marriage minister that seeks to help couples bring God into the centre of their marriages. His name is John Helton and is …
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Reflections Podcast 07th July 2024: Love All Serve All
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On Reflections this week we’re turning our attention to the tennis fortnight that’s now underway at Wimbledon and hearing from Carolyn Skinner of Third Space Ministries, a charity that supports the fans trying to get into the ground with a friendly smile, eye masks, and the love of God!By Torch Trust
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Reflections Podcast 30th June 2024: Penny Melville-Brown OBE (Part 2)
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This week on Reflections is the second part of our inspiring special with Penny Melville-Brown OBE, a former Royal Navy Commander who lost her sight during her time serving in the Navy. But after losing her sight, she didn’t give up on life – she turned her hand to helping those with disabilities get back […]…
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Reflections Podcast 23rd June 2024: Penny Melville-Brown OBE (Part 1)
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This week on Reflections is the first of a 2 part inspiring special chatting with Penny Melville-Brown OBE, a former Royal Navy Commander who lost her sight during her time serving in the Navy. But after losing her sight, she didn’t give up on life – she turned her hand to helping those with disabilities […]…
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Reflections Podcast 16th June 2024: Father’s Day
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Sunday 16th of June, marks Father’s Day in the UK– a day where we pay tribute to dads and the roles they play in shaping our lives. The day however also brings with it hurt for some and we’ll be looking at the highs and lows of what Father’s Day is about with the singer […]By Torch Trust
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Monday 10th of June, marks the start of National Carer’s Week. It’s a time to reflect on and appreciate the people across the UK who do such amazing work caring for others. Here on Reflections we’ve spoken to lots of people about the different forms caring takes and what it involves so today’s show is […]…
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Reflections 02.06.24: Loneliness Awareness
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Today we’re talking about loneliness – something that everyone has most likely felt at one time or another. To mark the upcoming Loneliness Awareness Week, we’re chatting with Lucy from Marmalade Trust and exploring some wonderful resources that might be able to help. Learn more at https://www.lonelinessawarenessweek.org/…
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At the start of this year, Torch Trust had a change in leadership and we were joined by a brand new CEO. Her name is Sarah Dawkins and now that she’s nearly six months in to the role, we wanted to hear how she was finding it. Our producer Grace caught up with Sarah to […]By Torch Trust
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Reflections 19.05.24: Pentecost Reflections
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On today’s show we’re observing and exploring Pentecost, the day that the Holy Spirit descended on Mary and the Apostles, with some lovely reflective pieces…By Torch Trust
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Torch’s accessible lending library is one of our most popular and long-running services, and we recently discovered that one person has borrowed nearly 1000 braille and audio books from us! We caught up with Patricia to find out more about her life, experience of sight loss, faith and love of reading……
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Scripture Union have been running Christian holidays for many years and this year they’re launching a new holiday called Families Inc which is aimed at younger children with additional needs. We thought it sounded marvellous so we spoke with Helen Vinter to learn more…By Torch Trust
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Reflections 21.04.24: Exploring Cathedrals
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More and more places are starting to offer tactile tours so that blind or partially sighted people can really get a feel for a building or venue. We think these tours can be such a great way to get to know somewhere without needing to see it, so we joined Kate Risdon for a tactile […]By Torch Trust
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Today’s episode is all about the joys of holidays and we’re exploring some of the lovely Christian holidays that Torch runs for blind and partially sighted people!By Torch Trust
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On this week’s episode, we’re shaking off the cobwebs and focusing on fitness for spring. How can people with disabilities best find ways to get fit that work for them? Join us as we explore this topic!By Torch Trust
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Join us on this very special day as we celebrate the Resurrection with an uplifting show featuring a brand new retelling of the Easter story from the points of view of some characters we don’t usually hear very much about…By Torch Trust
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Reflections 24.03.24: Palm Sunday, Maundy Thursday
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Join us on the Reflections podcast for the start of Holy Week – a very eventful week in the life of Jesus which leads up to Easter Sunday. Today is Palm Sunday, which marks Jesus’ entrance into Jerusalem. We’ll also be taking a look at Maundy Thursday and exploring a very old tradition…By Torch Trust
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We’re halfway through March and Spring is well and truly in the air so join us on the Reflections podcast for a lovely spiritually uplifting episode celebrating new life and all that that entails…By Torch Trust
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This week on the Reflections podcast, we’re celebrating Mother’s Day by taking a special look at some of the mothers in the Bible!By Torch Trust
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Braille Bibles give blind people around the world the opportunity to read the word of God for themselves. But, just as important as having a Bible in a format you can read, is having it in a language you understand! Jake Kyle from Compass Braille joins us in this episode to explore this fascinating topic……
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Reflections 25.02.24: Disabled Christians Fellowship Groups
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Fellowship has been an important part of Christianity right since the beginning but for some people it can be very difficult to find community: they may be isolated, unable to get to church or they may feel unwelcome even if they can get there. Well, the Disabled Christians Fellowship have a mission to help people […]…
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Ash Wednesday is just around the corner and that means the start of Lent and time to begin preparing for Easter! So join us for this episode of Reflections as we explore what this important period of time means for us all…By Torch Trust
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Reflections 04.02.24 More Than Able Part 1
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Many people associate sight loss with aging, but it can happen at any time of life. In this episode we hear from Ella Abel who lost her sight in her 30s, Ella shares openly about what impact this has had on her life…By Torch Trust
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Reflections 28.01.24: National Storytelling Week 2024
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At Torch we love a good story – in fact we have more than 3000 books available for people with sight loss to borrow from our accessible lending library! So, it’s a good job that it’s National Storytelling Week, because that gives us the perfect opportunity to share some of the best books joining our […]…
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Reflections 21.01.24: In Conversation with Julia Chapman
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This week on the Reflections podcast, we speak with Julia Chapman, a Torch trustee who became partially sighted due to retinal dystrophy. This interview was first recorded a couple of years ago for our previous CEO Tim Jeffrey’s Sight Loss 101 series, but it’s a great conversation about what it’s like to lose your sight […]…
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Tim Jeffrey has finished his time as Torch’s CEO – and while he’s been with us he’s made some fantastic contributions to Reflections! With that in mind, we couldn’t let him go without asking him to share his reflections on faith, sight loss and where God is leading him next…By Torch Trust
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Reflections 07.01.24: Celebrating Epiphany
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On the 6th January, people around the world marked the Feast of Epiphany, or the Day of the Three Kings. But how is this special period celebrated in different places? We decided to find out, as well as enjoying some lovely spiritual reflections related to this time of year…By Torch Trust
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It’s time for our New Year’s Eve extra long special! Listen in as we prepare for the year ahead and cast our ears back on on the year that has passed with our ‘Reflections on Reflections’ retrospective…By Torch Trust
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It’s Christmas Day and the Reflections team are ready and waiting to celebrate with you. Join us for an extra long episode of beautiful, uplifting faith-filled interviews, thoughts and more as we explore what Christmas really means for us all…By Torch Trust
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Join us for a festive celebration of Christmas Eve, featuring a lovely interview with Rosalie Dias about what Christmas was like for her growing up in Tanzania…By Torch Trust
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The third Sunday in Advent has a wonderful theme: JOY! So join us for a fun-filled, cheerful festive episode of Reflections as we prepare for Christmas and feel the joy of knowing Christ the Lord…By Torch Trust
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The second Sunday in Advent is known by some as the Day of Peace so that’s our focus for this week’s episode! Join us for a peaceful time of spiritual reflection that we hope will leave you feeling surrounded by God’s love – and a little more ready for Christmas!By Torch Trust
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On this week’s Reflections, we’re marking the first Sunday of Advent and exploring the theme of hope that the day is centred around. Join us for some beautiful spiritual preparation for the beginning of the Christmas seasonBy Torch Trust
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Heinrich Barth lost his sight when he had a brain aneurysm several years ago. He and his wife Irene join us on Reflections to share how their love and faith got them through a terrifying time and how God has blessed them via a return to one of Heinrich’s passions. See Heinrich’s photos and buy […]By Torch Trust
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This week we’re chatting to the lovely Rosalie Dias who we met on a Torch holiday! Rosalie shares her experiences with having Stargardt Disease, being a Christian, and having a passion for poetry…By Torch Trust
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On this week’s show we mark Remembrance Sunday by celebrating the work of SASRA. SASRA, which stands for The Soldiers’ & Airmen’s Scripture Readers Association, have a mission to introduce soldiers and air force personnel to a practical experience of the Christian faith by living and working alongside them, and sharing scripture with them.…
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Reflections 05.11.23: Bonfire Night and Advent Books
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This week on Reflections, we’re thinking about fireworks and we’re exploring the wide possibilities of Advent reading. Yes, it may feel a little early still to think about anything festive, but it’s the perfect time to start planning our reading for the season, helping us prepare for the joy of Christmas.…
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Reflections 29.10.23: Illness, Disability and Caring
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This week on Reflections, we’re exploring the realities of being a carer, having a disability or experiencing illness. We’re joined by author Bernadette Meaden who wrote a book which faces up to all of these topics and explores how the Bible can be a source of support.By Torch Trust
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On this week’s Reflections show, we’re joined by Anthony Cooper, recently appointed MBE, who dreamed of a life in the military from a young age. When he joined the army, the unexpected happened and changed his life forever. Join us for his story of sight loss, faith, doubt and God’s transforming love.…
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On this week’s Reflections show, we’re doing some serious myth-busting as Marilyn, Sheila and Jan explore some of the misconceptions often held about blind and partially sighted people.By Torch Trust
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Reflections 01.10.23: Happy Birthday Songs of Praise
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This week we’re wishing popular British TV show ‘Songs of Praise’ a very happy 62nd birthday as we chat with conductor Paul Leddington-Wright about his many years of work on the show!By Torch Trust
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Reflections 24.09.23: The Tale of St Nathalan
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This week’s podcast takes us all the way back to 7th century Scotland as we explore the life and legends of St Nathalan…By Torch Trust
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Reflections 17.09.23: Looking Forward to Sight Loss Sunday
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Have you ever found it difficult to take part in church services? Do you discover barriers to participation in church life? At Torch we often hear from blind and partially sighted people who are facing these challenges, so we set up Sight Loss Sunday. This is a day focused around waking the church up to […]…
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Reflections 10.09.23: Unashamed with Tracy Williamson
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Today we’re speaking with Tracy Williamson about her new book, Unashamed, which aims help us all live lives free from feelings of shame and past hurts, and to show us how transformative the healing love of God can really be. Get copies in standard print at https://www.unashamed.org.uk/ or in braille and large print from Torch […]…
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