Escaping Debt Songs of Praise

The decorations have been taken down,

we're clinging to those New Year's resolutions

and many of us are watching our wallets now that Christmas is over.

For some, that can mean falling into debt but we'll be seeing how

some church groups have been helping people to rebuild their lives.

So, yes, we've now been debt-free for just over three years

and it's just fantastic.

And tips on managing your money from young Christians.

Also this week, a community inspired to get fit in a cathedral.

In the cathedral? No way.

As fast as you can. Keep those arms pumping and your legs pumping.

And Claire McCollum finds a place of worship in a back garden.

It looks quite a small shed, really, on the outside,

but people have likened it to Doctor Who's TARDIS.

Our music this week includes a captivating performance

in Russian from Katie Melua...

..and uplifting hymns and songs from around the UK.

# In the light of God We are marching... #

Now, many of you will know that Friday

was the traditional Christian festival of Epiphany,

celebrating the gifts presented at Christ's birth,

so we start this week with an Epiphany hymn - Brightest and Best.

On average we spend £7 billion a week in the shops

and in December and January that rises by an extra billion pounds.

January is a chance to grab a bargain,

if you've got any cash left,

but what if that money isn't exactly yours?

When Naomi and Perry first started a family,

they were all too familiar with borrowing money.

I knew it wasn't really a good thing to go putting a load of money

on a credit card and yet I think the temptation is just too much.

It's like you've got to have the best pram for your child,

the decent car, nice house.

We started getting a car on finance and we had another credit card.

But with Perry short of work as a bricklayer, money was running out

and pressure was mounting just to pay for essentials.

Even shopping each week just to feed us

and not being able to put petrol in the car,

so it's just constant. It's just like this weight, this burden.

How bad did it get?

I ended up owing the wrong people some money, for a couple of

thousand pounds, and I just didn't have that money to give them.

Naomi had to go to my mum's

and then we had people knocking on the door trying to get the money.

That was like rock bottom,

the fact that I had to leave our own flat with two children

because really we were scared of what these people would do.

To be faced with that was just, yeah, horrendous.

The couple were introduced to Christians Against Poverty, or CAP,

one of several charities who help people get out of debt.

How's it all going?

-It's been fantastic, hasn't it?

-It's been amazing.

They came through the door and just became friends with us instantly.

It wasn't just like a normal debt company, where you phone them up

and they do everything over the phone.

The love was just really, like, overwhelming.

I just wanted to burst out crying because it's like we've kind of

got ourselves into this mess and yet you're here to come and help us.

Do you think any of these areas have changed at all?

-Are you spending more on food, for example?

-Yes.

The charity devised a plan to deal with the outstanding debt

and Naomi and Perry now keep a regular budget for essentials.

Everything was taken care of.

-We literally were able to kind of just....

-Breathe again.

-Yes.

We were getting so many letters

from obviously the car finance and credit cards.

Everyone knows the brown letters are normally something bad

but they even said, "Look, now you don't even have to open them.

"You don't have to worry about it because we're going to sort that out."

Slowly but surely, the family have got back on their feet

and the values of the charity have had a lasting impact.

Perry is in full-time work and the couple are now members of a church,

where Naomi leads the worship.

We weren't Christians then, but looking back we can really see

just how much God was working in our lives.

# To be near you, oh, God, when you come... #

The transformation that God's done is just amazing.

And what about those debts?

-All gone.

-Yeah, we have no debts now.

We've now been debt-free for just over three years

and it's just fantastic.

Has that temptation gone to spend just for the sake of spending?

It's always there, but if we haven't got the money then we save for it.

And the freedom from now following Jesus as well,

all combined, it was just like this new life.

We were born again, literally.

January is a great time to think about getting fit,

especially if we've overindulged during the Christmas period.

I know, I know. I should probably be taking the stairs!

But how about working out in a cathedral?

For hundreds of years, Chelmsford Cathedral

has helped its congregation with their spiritual wellbeing.

Well, now it's helping them step up their physical fitness, too.

-Are we ready to get going today?

-ALL: Yes.

Are we ready to get going today?

-We couldn't believe it. In the cathedral? No way.

-Yes.

Nice and high and all the way back down.

It's the only exercise I do.

Great work.

This is Faith and Fitness.

It's the brainchild of personal trainer Jordan De Leon,

who found many of his clients were curious about his faith.

The question of God kept on coming up more and more and it was easier

to do that in that fitness setting than it was to do everyday life.

So Jordan approached the dean of the cathedral with his idea.

Interesting suggestion. How about it?

It is called Faith and Fitness,

so saying yes to that was kind of easy.

Well done. Keep going.

The congregation weren't immediately sure it was the right thing to do.

No, not in the Cathedral.

Jesus threw the moneylenders out of the temple

and so we shouldn't be doing such a thing.

But as the class went on, it came to me that Jesus

was also a healer as well as a preacher

and we are being uplifted both spiritually and physically.

As soon as you come in, it lifts your spirits as well.

It's so totally different.

It's very nice, actually.

Quite therapeutic.

It keeps us moving. We must keep our joints moving.

-How old are you?

-Sssh.

-93.

-93?!

-And I'm 85.

-No way!

We might be in a church setting and focused on God,

but that doesn't stop me from working them hard all the way through.

Left, right, left, right, left, right, duck.

We all feel a bit fitter and stronger, yes.

-He doesn't moan at you, does he?

-No.

-No.

Faith and Fitness has been such a blessing.

Being able to do my passion, which is fitness, and to be working

for God is the most spiritually rewarding thing that I've ever done.

My favourite bit is the bit at the end,

where we sit in quiet and commune with God.

And it has to be said, Jordan, you do it all for free, don't you?

Yes, I do it all for free.

I definitely feel like my payment comes from people coming to the class,

building that relationship with God,

so I couldn't ask for anything more than that.

When I leave here, I feel a little bit different.

Do you know what I mean? All worn out!

# Siyahamb' ekukhanyen' kwenkhos'

# Siyahamb' ekukhanyen' kwenkhos'

# Siyahamb' ekukhanyen' kwenkhos'

# Siyahamb' ekukhanyen' kwenkhos'

# Siyahamba

# Siyahamba

# Siyahamb' ekukhanyen' kwenkhos'

# Khanyen' kwenkhos'

# Siyahamba

# Siyahamba

# Siyahamb' ekukhanyen' kwenkhos'. #

Orthodox Christians celebrated their Christmas day yesterday,

so for our next song we've got something quite special

and a little bit different from Katie Melua.

It's called All Night Vigil, sung in Russian,

and based on a sacred choral work by the composer Rachmaninov.

Nunc dimittis, the fifth movement from the All Night Vigil

by Rachmaninov, is considered one of the greatest musical achievements

by the Christian Orthodox Church,

and it really reminds me of this mythical notion I have

of the frozen Russian forest.

This was an idea that my grandad kind of facilitated

by telling us all these great adventure-filled tales

of escaping from a Siberian labour camp when he was 18.

Now, I'm not sure how truthful or not these stories are,

but, as a child growing up, the Russian forest just took on

this mythical notion, especially at winter time.

And, for me, this track really takes me there.

Over 450,000 Orthodox Christians worship in the UK

in beautifully ornate churches up and down the country,

but there's one church which is slightly more modest.

As Claire McCollum has found out,

St Fursey's in Norfolk is no bigger than a garden shed.

It's so tiny that processions only take a few steps.

The church was built by Father Stephen Weston,

a former Church of England priest, in the garden of his own home.

I've been to a number of churches in my time,

but never one in a back garden.

Why here?

Well, we were a small group of people who wished to become Orthodox

and, in Great Yarmouth, 60 miles away was a Greek Orthodox parish

and then in Norwich there was a Russian Orthodox parish,

but we wanted to be English Orthodox.

-It's quite amazing, whenever you come through the door.

-Yes.

Well, it looks quite a small shed, really, on the outside,

but people have likened it to Doctor Who's TARDIS

because it seems to be bigger on the inside than on the outside.

We wanted to build it as authentically Orthodox as possible,

hence its Byzantine style.

It's only 18 foot by 13 foot,

but we have a nave, two transepts and two side chapels.

This weekend is an important one for the church as they head out

of their little building to hold a service outside.

We celebrate Theophany when other Christians in the West

are celebrating Epiphany

and it's the baptism of our Lord in the River Jordan.

That's why many Orthodox congregations go down

to a nearby river or stream, or even the sea,

to bless the element of water.

We throw the cross into the waters.

It's attached to a string, of course, so we don't lose it

and the baptism of our Lord Jesus Christ

is a revelation to us of the Holy Trinity.

The eternal heart of compassion of Thou incomparable mercy.

When you first decided to build this Church in your garden,

what did the neighbours say?

The old gentleman who lived there said,

"Well, Stephen, I don't mind if you build a cathedral in your back garden!"

He used to sit in his kitchen window

and he said it gave him comfort to see the cross on top of the church.

January sales are often the best time to grab a bargain,

so the temptation to spend, spend, spend is never far away.

We heard earlier how one couple became debt-free

with the help of a Christian charity.

Well, in south London, another church group is tackling debt

with a more preventative approach.

The young people who made this video are members

of the Pentecostal Credit Union,

one of over 300 credit unions around the UK.

They want to teach a new generation to be responsible with their money.

And in workshops like this one in New Life Assembly Church

in Dulwich, young people learn how credit unions operate.

Members pool their savings,

providing a fund from which loans can then be made.

The difference between a credit union and a bank, really,

is that the members own it.

Spend less on games.

We provide low-cost loans

and actually pretty good rates of interest

on the dividends for savings.

My advice to others would be to keep your credit score high,

have a budget and save.

The most important thing in my opinion is saving

because, once you start saving, that's the foundation

for all your money issues and worries.

I would research on how successful people save their money...

..and the mistakes that people who are not successful,

how not to do those mistakes.

When you don't have money to spend on something,

don't buy it and wait until you do have the money to buy it.

We felt it was really, really important to get good habits

around spending, around saving and, of course, also around giving.

You could probably find a better tariff.

See if you can get a better deal.

How important is it to you to explain to people the emotional side of money?

I think it's really important.

If you have a lot of money, there's an assumption that you are

more important in life or you have more status in life.

Oh, yeah. I get it.

We're working with the young people here

to say your money doesn't define you -

that is not about who you are.

This work is tremendously rewarding.

It is amazing to see these young people,

when the light comes on

and you really hear them talking about how...

The plans they're making and how they're going to save

and just to see them develop really.

# How lovely is Your dwelling place

# Lord God Almighty

# And my soul longs and even faints for You

# How lovely, how lovely

# Is Your dwelling place

# Your dwelling place

# Lord God Almighty

# And my soul longs and even faints for You

# Better is one day in Your courts

# Better is one day in Your house

# Better is one day in Your courts

# Than thousands elsewhere

# Better is one day in Your courts

# Better is one day in Your house

# Better is one day in Your courts

# Than thousands elsewhere

# Better is one day Better is one day in Your courts

# Better is one day Better is one day in Your house

# Better is one day Better is one day in Your courts

# Than thousands elsewhere

# Better is one day Better is one day in Your courts

# Better is one day Better is one day in Your house

# Better is one day Better is one day in Your courts

# Than thousands elsewhere

# Better is one day in Your courts

# Better is one day in Your house

# Better is one day in Your courts

# Than thousands elsewhere

# Better is one day in Your courts

# Better is one day in Your house

# Better is one day in Your courts

# Than thousands elsewhere

# Better is one day

# Better is one day

# Better is one day

# Better is one day

# Better is one day

# Better is one day

# Better is one day in Your courts

# Better is one day in Your house

# Better is one day in Your courts

# Than thousands elsewhere

# Better is one day in Your courts

# Better is one day in Your house

# Better is one day in Your courts

# Than thousands elsewhere

# Better is one day in Your courts

# Better is one day in Your house

# Better is one day in Your courts

# Than thousands elsewhere

# Better is one day in Your courts

# Better is one day in Your house

# Better is one day in Your courts

# Than thousands elsewhere

# Better is one

# Day. #

APPLAUSE

Before we go, I've just got time to tell you that next week,

ahead of Donald Trump's inauguration as US president,

we visit the tiny island of Lewis in the Southern Hebrides

to explore its unexpected links with the future leader of the free world.

And we'll hear about the strong Presbyterian history of the island.

We stay in Scotland for our final hymn

from St Machar's Cathedral in Aberdeen.