Sunday

For Iranians living in the UK, the past weeks have been filled with uncertainty and fear for loved ones and growing concern about what happens next. We hear from Rev Mohammad Eghtedarian and his wife Maryam, who both fled Iran around the year 2000. Maryam was already a Christian and Mohammad converted on the journey he took as an asylum seeker coming to Britain.
It can be difficult to think of what we want to happen to our remains after death. A step forward in providing an alternative to burial or cremation has been legalised in Scotland, known as aquamation. Could other parts of UK soon follow? There are theological considerations for those who believe in ‘the resurrection of the body and the life everlasting'.
There is a new superhero on our screens. The Ninth Master is an English language film that follows a Sikh warrior who discovers martial arts. There are now touring screenings around the UK. Its director and lead actor, known as Flex Singh, has been speaking to Sunday.
Presenter: Julie Etchingham
Producers: Katy Booth, Rebecca Kelly and Felin Gakwaya
Studio managers: Chris Mather, Phil Booth, Amy Brennan and Catherine Everatt
Production co-ordinator: David Baguley
Editor: Tim Pemberton

The Anglican Communion’s long-running divisions over same-sex relationships have sharpened again after a major gathering in Nigeria. At the Global Anglican Futures Conference, or Gafcon, bishops and archbishops from Africa, Asia, Latin America and elsewhere voiced strong opposition to what they see as the theological drift of parts of the Communion, including the Church of England. Emily Buchanan has been to Abuja and brings reaction from across the Anglican world.
The programme also turns to the war in the Middle East and its religious dimensions. More than a week after the start of the US-Israel war with Iran, Emily Buchanan speaks to the Archbishop of Jerusalem and the Middle East, and to aid workers supporting people displaced by bombing in southern Lebanon.
Presenter: Emily Buchanan
Producers: Amanda Hancox and Rosie Dawson
Reporter: Bara'atu Ibrahim
Studio managers: Nat Stokes, Paul Lewis and George Willis
Editor: Rajeev Gupta

William Crawley speaks to Bishop Guli Francis-Dehqani about US and Israel air strikes on the country she fled as a teenager, when the Islamic revolution was taking place.
He also hears from Iranian academic Roxane Farmanfarmian and Anshel Pfeffer, Israel Correspondent for The Economist.
A new film about a sacred Scottish tradition premieres at the Glasgow Film Festival. 'Psalms of the People' follows Rob MacNeacail on a personal journey as he explores the cultural heritage of Gaelic psalm singing.
The Christian poet Harry Baker has written 100 poems for the first 100 days of his newborn son’s life, an ode to modern fatherhood in all its chaos, tenderness and bleary-eyed wonder. The book is called "Tender: 100 Poems for the First 100 Days of Life".
PRESENTER: WILLIAM CRAWLEY
PRODUCERS: CATHERINE MURRAY AND KATY DAVIS
STUDIO MANAGERS: KELLY YOUNG AND BEN HOUGHTON
PRODUCTION CO-ORDINATOR: DAVID BAGULEY
EDITOR: CHLOE WALKER

US civil rights activist and religious leader, Jesse Jackson is remembered, following his death at the age of 84. He campaigned alongside Martin Luther King in the 1960s, and later ran for president twice - his political message was infused with the traditions, and the cadences, of the Black Baptist church.
A musical film called The Testament of Ann Lee was released in the UK this week. It explores the story of a woman from Manchester who preached gender and social equality as the founder of the Shakers movement. Dancing, singing and a search for ecstatic experiences were a central part of worship, as well as vows of celibacy.
Documents in the US ‘Epstein files’ reveal that Donald Trump’s former adviser Steve Bannon discussed plans with Jeffrey Epstein to "take down" Pope Francis, even exploring a film based on a controversial book about the Vatican. The messages, reported by CNN and Religion News Service, cast the Vatican as a geopolitical pressure point in wider culture wars.
Presenter: William Crawley
Producers: Katy Booth and Bara'atu Ibrahim
Studio Managers: Sam Biddle, Tom Clarke and Elijah Waddington
Editor: Tim Pemberton

Archbishop of Westminster Richard Moth gives his first interview since being installed on St Valentine's Day. The 67-year-old becomes the leader of the Catholic Church in England and Wales, taking over from Cardinal Vincent Nichols who retired last year.
Ramadan and Lent are due to get underway around the same time next week - a coincidence that hasn't been seen in decades. We hear from two friends - one Christian and one Muslim - about what they have learned from the other's season of preparation and abstinence.
Have you picked up or deepened a spiritual practice by exposure to another faith?
War surgeon David Nott talks to Emily about the faith that motivates him to operate in the most dangerous situations, and the maverick Christian organisation, the Free Burma Rangers that enables his work in Myanmar.