27/03/2016 Songs of Praise


27/03/2016

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Hello and welcome to a special Easter Sunday Songs Of Praise.

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I am in Poole in Dorset, to go behind the scenes

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of the town's community Passion play,

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to discover how it is having a meaningful and lasting effect

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on the lives of some of its actors.

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I have seen the Lord! Don't be sad. He came back for us.

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'I had lost a lot of my self-confidence,

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'but Poole Passion really helped me'

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to find that again.

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I'll be meeting a pastor from war-torn Syria,

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to find out why he'll be returning to his ministry there,

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in spite of the war.

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I want to serve the church back home

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and I want Christians to know what's going on.

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And David is in Oxford,

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to rediscover the long-lost tradition of carols at Easter.

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SINGING IN LATIN

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And as well as a wonderful mix of music,

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including a familiar carol for Easter,

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I'll also bring you details of how you can get involved

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with our Gospel Choir Of The Year competition.

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But we start in Birmingham,

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recalling what happened

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on the morning of the first Easter day -

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Christ's resurrection -

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celebrated in a great song from the writing team

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of Stuart Townend and Keith Getty.

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CONGREGATION SINGS

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WOMEN SING

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MEN SING

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ALL SING

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Since medieval times, the Passion play,

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depicting the last days in the life of Christ,

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has been at the heart of Easter worship for millions of Christians,

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and here in Poole,

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people from all walks of life have come together

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to produce their own community Passion play.

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One, two, three...and action.

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I'm Jamie Derrick, I'm 35,

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I play the role of Marcus, who captures Jesus.

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I will tell you a story,

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-but you're going to have to help me.

-Yes?

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'My name is Faustine. I'm 39.

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'I am originally from France,'

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but now I live in Bournemouth

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and I am playing the part of Mary Magdalene.

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Reaching out to people from all parts of community

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has been at the heart of the Poole Passion

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since it began in 2009.

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It is the brainchild of director and drama professional Sharon Coyne.

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Can we wind back to when you say Magdalene is a great speaker?

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'I was up in London and I saw an exhibition'

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and I was so inspired by it,

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because it was the Passion,

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and it was slow, moving actors

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in modern-day costume and I thought, "We could do that.

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"That is something we could do down here in Poole."

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So just explain how it's grown over the years.

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Well, it started as, supposedly, a one-off of two nights,

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with a cast of about, maybe, 30 to 40

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and now, it has grown to five nights

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and a full company of about 100.

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The cast is made up of people

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from a wide variety of very different backgrounds and ages,

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with actors ranging from seven years old

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right up to 80.

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While teaching drama in a local rehab centre,

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Sharon met recovering addict Jamie.

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I started using drugs and alcohol around the age of 12,

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started off just smoking marijuana, cannabis,

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and then it progressed.

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I was also quite excessively drinking.

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It, kind of, gradually got worse and it spiralled out of control.

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Two years ago, Sharon invited Jamie

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to become a cast member for the Poole Passion

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and he's never looked back.

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When I first done in the play, I didn't have much confidence,

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so it was, like, quite a big boost of confidence

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and it is working with a lot of people from the community,

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which was really important, as well, because I felt part of something.

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Somebody help me!

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Faustine has played the part of Mary Magdalene

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ever since the production began seven years ago

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and getting involved has had a major impact on her life.

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They have taken my Lord out of the tomb. Please...

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'I became quite disabled, became a recluse.'

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So Sharon decided to get me involved,

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to see if that could help me to get out of my shell.

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'I had lost a lot of my self-confidence,

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'but Poole Passion really helped me to find that again.'

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Some people have actively said, "Oh, I don't act, I can't do it."

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And yet, here they are,

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finding a voice and working together.

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They are courageous, I think,

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to stand in front of people in a costume and speak.

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WOMAN SINGING

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Since the start, Sharon has been striving

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to make the Poole Passion relevant and ground-breaking.

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Every time that we've done it, this will be our fifth production,

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we have changed the role of Jesus.

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So, so far, we have had a woman Jesus,

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we have had a Nigerian Jesus,

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we've got an Irish Jesus this time,

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and we have changed it,

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and that makes people look at the play differently.

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As the production prepares for the first night,

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cast members like Faustine and Jamie

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are grateful for the way the play has helped turn their lives around.

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I feel a lot of parallels with the story of the Roman guard

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who is, kind of, this brutal man,

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but Jesus got down and healed him,

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and I feel like that is what has happened to me.

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Later in the programme, I'll see first-hand

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how Sharon and the cast's first big night performance

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of the Poole Passion turns out.

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It is just very scary!

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SHE LAUGHS NERVOUSLY

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CONGREGATION SINGS

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MEN SING

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ALL SING

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WOMEN SING

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ALL SING

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Lord Enthroned In Heavenly Splendour,

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written back in their 19th century, but with that classic timeless feel

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of many of our great Easter hymns and, down the years,

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the Easter message has been set to a whole variety of styles of music,

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some of which have been lost in the mists of time.

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And so, in search of those old musical treasures,

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David has gone to a very old city, to find out more.

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# Ding-dong merrily on high... #

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Oxford, the City of Dreaming Spires -

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the perfect place to delve into history

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and to enjoy some carol singing.

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NEEDLE SCRATCHES

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No, not that kind of carol.

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There isn't a shepherd, wise man or a baby in sight.

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I've come here to rediscover

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the lost tradition of carols for Easter.

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Carols are actually songs of celebration

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dating back to medieval times

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and some were written specifically for Easter.

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'I have come to Oxford's famous Bodleian Library

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'to meet historian Dr Eleanor Parker, to find out more.'

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Eleanor, when I think of carols,

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I think of O Little Town Of Bethlehem, Away In A Manger -

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I think of Christmas. But originally,

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carols weren't just for Christmas, you're saying, right?

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That's right. Carols can be sung all year round and in the Middle Ages,

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people would sing carols on any occasion

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where they got together to celebrate something.

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But if carols aren't Christmas songs,

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what is a carol?

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Well, originally, the word would refer to dancing,

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so it comes from the idea of dancing in a ring

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and the songs that people sang as they danced would be called carols.

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And what form did they take? What were they like?

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Well, we actually have an example and I can show you one right now.

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Oh, wow. Yes, please.

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So, what we have got here is a Medieval Latin song.

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What is it about?

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It is really about the season of spring

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and it talks about how, in spring,

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things get warmer and the birds start to sing,

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flowers reappear on the Earth,

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and it talks about all these things as a reflection

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of the creative power of God.

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So why did people stop singing them?

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Why did Easter carols go out of fashion?

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One of the reasons is that the main occasions for singing them

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just, kind of, died out, as society changed,

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but another one might be that carols could sometimes be a bit subversive,

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because they could be sung by anyone.

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Authorities didn't always like people singing carols

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and tried to stamp it out a bit.

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So, were there protest carols?

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There were political and satirical carols,

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making fun of the rich or criticising social inequality.

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But they did keep being sung for quite a long time

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in folk tradition, even as late as the 19th or 20th century.

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To hear what our Easter carol sounds like in its original Latin,

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we have invited young musicians who specialise in early music

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to the majestic hall of New College.

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THEY PLAY TRADITIONAL TUNE

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THEY SING IN LATIN

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Eleanor, how does it feel to hear this music

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in this place?

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It's really lovely. I mean, this is just the kind of place

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where carols would have been sung in medieval Oxford,

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so it is really, really nice to hear it.

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Now, I have got the English lyrics,

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I can really see what you were saying

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about them speaking about spring and what it is like,

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and then speaking about God

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and weaving it all...

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Is this quite typical

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of the way that people used to write

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in this period?

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Yeah, medieval poets really loved writing about the spring

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and they liked seeing the signs of God in the natural world

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and, of course, the new life that comes

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with the resurrection of Christ at Easter is reflected

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in the new life that we see in the signs of the world around us.

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And now a French traditional carol,

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which is perfectly suited for springtime

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and the resurrection.

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CONGREGATION AND CHOIR SING

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MEN SING

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ALL SING

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CHOIR SINGS

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Well, I love carols, so it is nice to think

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we are allowed to sing them twice a year.

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And singing is right at the heart

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of our Gospel Choir Of The Year competition,

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so if your choir is thinking of entering,

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do it now, because this year's competition closes on May 1st.

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You can get all the details and the terms and conditions that you need

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on our website...

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To whet your appetite, here is a performance

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from one of last year's finalists.

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# Why do you cry?

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# He has risen

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# Why are you weeping?

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# He's not dead

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# He paid it all

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# On that lonely highway

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# And his anointing

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# I can feel

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# He shed his blood

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# Ohh, ohh, ohh

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# For my transgressions

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# Ohh, ohh, ohh

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# And by his stripes

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# We are healed

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# So, as you go

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# Through life's journey

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# Don't you worry

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# Lift up your head

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# Don't you cry

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# Ohh, ohh, ohh

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# Stop your weeping

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# Ohh, ohh, ohh

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# He has risen

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# He's not dead

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# Whoa, don't...cry

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# Wipe...your eyes

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# He's...not...dead

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# Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa

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# Don't...cry

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# Wipe your eyes

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# He's not...

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# Dead. #

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APPLAUSE

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This week's attacks in Brussels have been a stark reminder

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of the long shadow of terrorism that exists in our world today.

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Fortunately, such attacks are not part of OUR daily lives,

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but the same is not true for many Syrians,

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who are desperate to escape violence and flee the country.

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But there is one Syrian Christian who has been visiting Britain

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with no wish to stay here.

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He feels that his ministry is to be alongside

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those who are caught in the midst of conflict.

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Josie has been to the New Life Centre

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in Northallerton in North Yorkshire, to meet him.

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There is very little

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good news coming out of Syria at the moment,

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but for some people there, suffering the ravages of war,

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hope and comfort come in the form

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of Pastor Edward Awabdeh.

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He is in the UK to meet the Christian charity

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that helps support him.

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We never thought that Syria

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will plunge into such depths of darkness and killing.

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Of course, Damascus is a city that plays a big part in the Bible.

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What is the climate like there for Christians at the moment?

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The risk they go through is a risk on everybody who lives in Damascus.

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Everything you rely on, you just lost.

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Everything that was a priority in your life,

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you find out that it's lost its value completely.

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We go through some risky days

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with random shelling from around Damascus

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and that is very scary,

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because you cannot guess where this bomb will fall on.

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But any area that is threatened by the extremist Islamists,

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like Isis, Jabhat al-Nusra and others, they are very intolerant,

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to the degree that you deserve to be killed, if you're not like them.

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It is so sad to see people

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who want to take everything out, everything Christian.

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What is your message for those of us here?

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I want to tell the people of the whole world

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that evil is real.

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We can touch it every day.

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But Jesus and his victory is real also,

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and you can experience that every day.

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And one such triumph in the face of evil is the painful story

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of a teenage boy's sacrifice, in order to stay true to his faith.

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He knew that this town was taken by Jabhat al-Nusra.

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And he was expecting, the whole family,

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expecting that they might kill this son.

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They tried to protect him,

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to give him a false ID or something like that,

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but he rejected, his mother said.

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He said, "No, Jesus said if you deny me before man,

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"I will deny you before my Father in Heaven."

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And this is what happened.

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They asked him to deny Jesus

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and he said, "I want to be faithful to my Lord and Saviour."

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And they killed him right away.

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This is the age of martyrdom.

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In terms of going back to Syria, which you are doing very shortly,

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what are your feelings about returning?

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I can't wait.

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We feel that we are living a divine, meaningful life.

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We are so blessed to be the heart of Jesus for the broken-hearted

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and for the crushed and for people who are suffering at such a time.

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I would have not preferred to be anywhere else in the Earth

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at such a time.

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CONGREGATION SINGS

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MEN SING

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WOMEN SING

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ALL SING

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The one who has dipped his hand into the bowl with me

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will be the one to betray me.

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In Dorset, the early scenes of the Poole Passion

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are being played out.

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Judas, what are you saying?

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After seven months of painstaking preparations and rehearsals,

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tonight is the first of five performances.

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We have worked so hard to put this play together

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and we are just ready, now,

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to share this piece of work.

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The King of the Jews, Your Majesty(!)

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The productions moves across two churches,

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with a street procession of Jesus being led to his crucifixion.

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Come on, Jesus!

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Playing Jesus is an amazing privilege.

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You know, it's a... a fantastic emotional journey.

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It has given me a, sort of, greater understanding,

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in my own particular faith and beliefs,

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especially with the message

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of love, compassion, forgiveness and tolerance to all mankind.

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The Passion play being told in this way, in this community,

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makes it real, makes it relevant.

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It allows people to engage in an emotional way,

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and it really reaches deep inside us, at some level

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we perhaps really can't fully understand.

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Magdalene says that she was lost, that she was troubled

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and that, when she met Jesus,

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she found a new way of life.

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And for me, finding the Passion play gave me a new way of life.

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Do not touch me, Mary. Do not hang on to me.

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You have to let me go.

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The play culminates with the scene of the resurrection.

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I have seen the Lord! Don't be sad. He came back for us.

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For Sharon, this part of the story is the lynchpin

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of every Christian's faith.

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This is the message.

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If it had ended, if the resurrection hadn't happened,

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we definitely wouldn't be telling the story today.

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We would be lost.

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# Still be thou my vision... #

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It is because there is hope

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that Jesus did come back from the dead

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that is a very powerful and key message

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for Christians all over the world.

0:29:530:29:55

APPLAUSE

0:29:550:29:58

Jesus is for now. He is for everybody now.

0:29:580:30:01

He died for all of us 2,000 years ago.

0:30:010:30:04

It's just as relevant now as it was then.

0:30:040:30:06

I have done two, now.

0:30:060:30:07

I am not well enough to do any more. This is my last, I am sorry to say.

0:30:070:30:11

So it was quite emotional for you.

0:30:110:30:13

Well, I can't tell you how emotional it is been. I'm breaking up, now.

0:30:130:30:17

It is spiritual and you feel moved,

0:30:170:30:21

and I think we all feel moved inside, when we do it.

0:30:210:30:25

APPLAUSE

0:30:250:30:27

Well, we end the programme today, of course,

0:30:300:30:34

remembering the victims of those attacks in Brussels this week,

0:30:340:30:37

but also remembering that the message of Christ's resurrection,

0:30:370:30:41

especially on this most important day

0:30:410:30:44

in the Christian calendar, is hope.

0:30:440:30:46

So, wherever you are,

0:30:460:30:47

I wish you a safe and a peaceful Easter.

0:30:470:30:50

CONGREGATION SINGS

0:30:550:30:57

MEN SING

0:31:470:31:50

WOMEN SING

0:32:050:32:08

ALL SING

0:32:220:32:25

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