Happy All Hallow's Eve and All Saints Day, dear listeners! (Or close enough.) If you think this will be your typical episode, you're dead wrong. Today we're dealing with grave matter on The Living Church Podcast.

Literally, we are talking about graves, churchyards, clergy wills from the 17th and 18th centuries in Wales, and some fascinating social and religious history that these wills unearth. What does it mean if a dying man leaves his wife a featherbed? What is an apostle spoon? How did poverty, wealth, and marriage prohibitions affect clergy life? Why did so many people give away cheese in their wills?

This scary-cool history conversation is courtesy of Dr. Sarah Ward Clavier. Sarah is senior lecturer in early modern history at the University of the West of England, Bristol. She has a book out called Royalism, Religion, and Revolution: Wales, 1640-1688.

Sarah mentions the English Restoration and Interregnum in our episode today. Quick definition of these for those who don't know:

When King Charles I was executed in 1649, England had no king. Britain was run by various councils, assemblies, and parliaments until Charles II took the throne in 1660. Thus began the Restoration.

Our episode opens today with amazing organ work by Julian Petrallia, organ scholar at Incarnation Episocpal Church in Dallas, Texas. And at the end of the episode, you'll get to hear Julian play in full Prelude in C Minor, by Bach, BWV 546.

Shake out your church history trick-or-treat bag and open it wide. We promise more treats than tricks today!

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