Fr Alex Frost, Vicar in Burnley and presenter of the popular “The God Cast” podcast will be sharing stories from his varied life and his passion for those who live in poverty in a talk at the Cathedral on Friday 17 March at 7pm.

In an event run jointly with Carlisle Foodbank, Fr Alex will share stories from his best-selling book “Our Daily Bread – from Argos to the Altar”.

Describing himself as the ‘fundamentally unemployable’ he is the host of The God Cast, a podcast devoted to issues of faith and spirituality, which has featured celebrities such as Eamonn Holmes, Alastair Campbell and football legend Lou Macari.

He was ordained in 2012 after a mixed career working as a football referee, manager at Argos and a stand-up comic, and graduated at Carlisle Cathedral following later studies with the University of Cumbria.

Fr Alex made headlines when he featured in a 2021 BBC documentary “The Cost of Covid – One Year On”, which has been viewed over 12 million times since it was aired.

Running a food bank from a car park in Burnley, helping the desperate amid his flock as the pandemic raged, Fr Alex’s down-to-earth style of ministry struck a chord with people of all faiths, cultures and classes across the UK in a time when the divide between rich and poor widens.

‘No-one cares, that is the real pandemic,’ Fr Alex said about his 17,000 parishioners whose souls he has care of at St Matthew’s, yards from the estates which have been abandoned and forgotten.

About his visit to Carlisle, Fr Alex says: “I'm very excited about returning to Carlisle Cathedral, the place I was awarded my Practical Theology degree in 2015 and I’m looking froward to being part of an event that will support the foodbanks in their fabulous work in and around the city”.

Tickets are £12.50 which includes a donation to Carlisle Foodbank and are available on the Cathedral website or from the Cathedral Shop.

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Fr Alex’s talk is part of the Cathedral’s series of events through 2023 following the theme of “Untold Stories”.