The Archbishop of Canterbury was the latest guest to appear at ‘Speaker’s Corner’ in Camberley in March.
St Paul’s Church in Camberley has been hosting its Speaker’s Corner events for a few years, relaunching it in 2022 having taken a break over the pandemic. The events host conversations with key figures in society around topical cultural, ethical and moral issues.
With two or three sessions a year, the events are open for anybody to attend. Previous guests have included MP Michael Gove and Sir Jonathan Montgomery (Professor of Health Care Law at UCL), both drawing in crowds of 200+ - and helping to raise money for the local hospital.
The evening with Archbishop Justin Welby was broken into two halves – an interview followed by a Q&A session.
Interviewer, Tim Cross, said, “I decided to conduct a ‘Desert Island Disc’ style interview. We covered the archbishop’s early life and family connections, education and business career, and moved onto his rapid progression through the ranks to Archbishop of Canterbury.”
Justin Welby chose four ‘Desert Island Discs’, which were:
- Sacred Fire by Sarah Class
- 10,000 Reasons by Matt Redman
- Lamentations of Jeremiah I by Thomas Tallis
- We Rest On Thee by NYCYPCD
The Q&A part of the event included questions about slavery, no-prayer exclusion zones at abortion clinics, and how the archbishop deals with the media and hate mail.
With 300+ people attending March’s Speaker’s Corner, Justin Welby drew in a full house. “The comments I received about the evening,” added Tim, “were about Justin’s lack of ego and his humility, great sense of humour, and his open and honest responses to the questions.”
The evening managed to raise another £850 for Frimley Park Hospital, which will go towards their children’s work.
The next Speaker’s Corner will hopefully take place in the Autumn term. Do keep an eye out on St Paul’s website.