St Patrick's Day Songs of Praise


St Patrick's Day

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Welcome to Songs of Praise.

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And in the week that we celebrate St Patrick's Day,

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we're in Londonderry in Northern Ireland.

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Last year, all roads led to Derry

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as the city celebrated 12 months in the spotlight

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as the UK's very first City of Culture.

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And what a great party that was.

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So, how do the people of Derry plan to keep that spirit of hope alive?

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And does the message of Ireland's patron saint have anything to add?

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This week, we hear from men and women

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who are carrying on the message of St Patrick.

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Choirs from the Derry area sing some great hymns

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in the city's historic Guildhall.

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And there's music from Derry singer-songwriter Eilidh Patterson.

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The historic walled city of Derry lies at the mouth of River Foyle.

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This is one of the oldest continually-inhabited areas of Ireland.

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And today, it's home to just over 100,000 people.

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The city gets its name from the Irish word Daire, which means oak.

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A symbol which is still proudly displayed across the city.

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James I granted Derry a royal charter in the 17th century.

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And the name London was added to the city's official title.

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That link is still evident today.

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The city's magnificent Guildhall

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a reminder of the historic association

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with the city of London and its guilds.

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And its in this newly-refurbished Guildhall

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that the choirs from the area have gathered

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to sing their songs of praise.

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As we prepare to celebrate the life of Patrick,

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we'll start with William Walsham How's great hymn,

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For All The Saints.

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2013 was a year-long celebration of culture

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which will be remembered by the people of Derry for a long time.

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The city opened its doors and its heart to the world.

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And they came in their tens of thousands.

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It was a year of unprecedented scenes.

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Images that captured a new picture of Derry

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and showed off this once-troubled city in a new light.

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The City of Culture baton has now been handed on to Hull

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as they prepare for 2017.

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Now, although the pace of life in this city is getting back to normal,

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there's also a determination that the spirit of hope

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built up during the last year wont be lost.

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Pat Storey shares that view.

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She's the first female Anglican bishop in the UK and Ireland.

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And prior to her recent appointment,

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Pat was the Rector of St Augustine's Church on the city's walls.

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As the first woman to lead the church in Ireland,

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she's following in the footsteps of the saint whose name she shares.

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Great to see you all! Group hug!

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I would describe our church as maybe being a very happy wee church,

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but maybe I would describe it as in a circle facing inwards,

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having a great wee time.

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And I think the City of Culture in 2013, the one thing it made us do

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was maybe turn around in that circle and face outwards.

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And that's actually been really significant

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in terms of just engaging with people outside our walls.

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I think the role of the church going into 2014

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after City of Culture's really important.

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Because I think a lot of us were thinking towards the end of 2013,

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"What are we going to do now?"

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"Is this going to be a really boring city now because we've done everything?"

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And it has been a fantastic year,

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but its just been a year in the life of this city.

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It has to leave a legacy and catapult us into a future with hope.

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So, what difference will having a woman in the House of Bishops make?

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I don't like to generalise by saying women are more this and men are less that,

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but I do think that maybe the way women make decisions

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is maybe quite different from men.

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Women tend to maybe gather information,

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talk it over and make decisions together.

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You know, for instance, if we're talking about some of the big issues,

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like, you know, maybe abortion or something like that,

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I'll be the only person on that board this could ever have happened to,

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an unexpected pregnancy could ever have happened to.

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So I come as a wife and mother.

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But I suppose hopefully, I bring Pat.

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And my gender, it really is secondary to that.

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Well, obviously the first test of a new bishop

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is getting up those pulpit steps.

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And I can tell you, it's going to be quite a test to get down them again.

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Patrick's main message was,

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I bring Christian faith, there is hope in Christ.

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Because Patrick, you know, risked his life.

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He left everything behind and he came to bring Christian faith.

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He felt that strongly about it.

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I think we should still have that kind of missionary zeal,

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even if we never set foot out of Ireland.

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But still, that missionary zeal that Christian faith works,

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Christian faith is true

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and Christian faith makes a difference to your life.

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The message of Patrick, my message,

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the message of every Christian in this city

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and in this country is the same.

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You know, this person is worth knowing.

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And it is all about personal faith. It's all about the person.

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This year, Derry has branded itself as Music City.

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It's very proud of its diverse musical heritage,

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especially when it comes to writing hymns.

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Perhaps the city's best-known writer was Cecil Frances Alexander,

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the wife of William Alexander, the Bishop of Derry and Raphoe.

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Cecil Frances was the author of many well-loved hymns,

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including All Things Bright And Beautiful

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and Once In Royal David's City.

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But perhaps her best-known hymn

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was inspired by the view from her window

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as she looked at one of the many small hills

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that are features of this part of the country.

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Although we can't be sure exactly which hill she had in mind,

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she likened the scene to Golgotha, the place of Christ's crucifixion.

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She was then inspired to pen the words of that great hymn,

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There Is A Green Hill Far Away.

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Beneath the beauty of this city, there's also pain.

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Because like so many parts of the UK,

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a shocking number of people here die by suicide.

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The River Foyle which runs around this city is deceptively dangerous.

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And sadly, the river and the bridges which span it

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have been used by many people as a way to end their lives.

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As a community reaction to these tragedies,

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for the past 20 years,

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the volunteers of Foyle Search and Rescue

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have been on the front line in the fight to prevent death by suicide.

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Joanne, why do you do what you do?

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The reason I got involved in the beginning

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was because my husband and I stopped with a man on the bridge

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who was contemplating taking his life.

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And we stopped and we stayed with him

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and we talked to him until the police came and help arrived.

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It can be absolutely anyone.

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Any age, male, female, any background.

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There's no single common denominator other than that they are ill

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and they are unwell and they want to end their life.

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I'm talking to you here on a Saturday night.

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Will this be a particular night

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that you guys will expect to be called out?

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We run a duty night on Thursday, Friday and Saturday night

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and we go out on duty from 10:00 to just after 3:00 in the morning.

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And the reason we pick Thursday, Friday and Saturday night

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is they are the nights people go out to socialise.

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And sometimes if people are going out in the wrong frame of mind

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and they get some alcohol

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and that fuels maybe something that's going on in their own head,

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and because of that then, negative feelings creep in.

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For me, it's... I just want to come out and help people

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and offer something back to the community.

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And it gives me a good feeling, as well, to help other people.

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One night, me and a colleague were in the boat

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and a girl went off the top deck of Craigavon Bridge.

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And we managed to get a hold of her to get her out,

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but I literally had to lie on top of the girl

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to keep her from going back into the water. She did not want to be saved.

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And it was basically, how dare I infringe on her rights to do what she wanted.

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And going down the river in the boat, she calmed somewhat and began to cry.

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And she opened up slightly with me on the boat

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and she turned around to us and said,

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"Thank you for giving me a second chance."

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The people that we deal with sometimes,

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it really opens their eyes up to say,

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"There are people here that care."

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Albeit that they're in a very dark place at the time.

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Sadly, not all can be rescued.

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Basically, what I do if we make a recovery,

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into myself subconsciously, I would say a prayer

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for that person we take out of the water.

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And that probably comes down to my faith

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in greater things beyond here.

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And for me, it's an essential.

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It's not something I've ever shared with anybody before,

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but I just feel it's important.

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I do have faith. I do believe in God.

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There is a comfort in knowing that he is out there.

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Yes, it's difficult at times not to question

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why he allows things such as suicide to happen,

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but you still have to believe.

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# Tiny strands of starlight pierce the darkness

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# Here and there a flicker comes and goes

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# And underneath this wonder

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# I have feelings so secure

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# And I'm not afraid to feel the cold wind blow

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# Because you are there

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# Even though I cannot see you

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# You are there

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# Though sometimes I cannot hear you

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# And I'll never be alone

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# For you won't leave me

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# So I'll just sit here in the safety of your love

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# You know I haven't felt like this forever

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# It's only since you came into my heart

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# And I believe that some day

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# We'll meet beyond the stars

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# But till that day I'll know when were apart

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# That you are there

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# Even though I cannot see you

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# You are there though sometimes I cannot hear you

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# And I'll never be alone

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# For you won't leave me

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# So I'll just sit here in the safety of your love

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# I'll just rest here in the safety of your love

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# Ooo-ooo-ooo-ooh. #

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Back in 1748, a cargo ship called The Greyhound

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was making its way from Africa to England

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when it was caught in a fierce storm off the Irish Coast.

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On board was a slave trader, John Newton.

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By his own admission, a blasphemous rogue.

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Convinced that he was about to die,

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the non-believer called out to God for help.

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The storm abated and the crew spotted land.

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They made it safely to shore just along the coast in County Donegal.

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That close brush with death was a turning point in Newton's life.

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While his ship was being repaired,

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Newton, in his diaries, comments that he came to a church in Derry,

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where he gave thanks to the God who hears and answers prayers.

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Some years later, Newton was ordained as a clergyman

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and he became a mentor to William Wilberforce

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in his fight to introduce anti-slavery legislation.

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To illustrate his sermons, Newton wrote hymns.

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His most famous work inspired by his first encounter with his god.

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# Amazing Grace, how sweet the sound

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# That saved a wretch like me

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# I once was lost, but now am found

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# Was blind, but now can see

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# 'Twas Grace that taught my heart to fear

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# And Grace, my fears relieved

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# How precious did that Grace appear

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# The hour I first believed

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# Through many dangers toils and snares

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# I have already come

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# 'Twas Grace that brought us safe thus far

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# And Grace will lead us home

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# The Lord has promised good to me

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# His word my hope secures

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# He will my shield and portion be

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# As long as life

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# As long as life

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# As long as life endures. #

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Just across the road from the Guildhall,

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this city garden is the home of Ireland's only world peace flame.

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Around the garden, local children

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have created a pathway of engraved tiles.

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A series of written pledges

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that tell of their commitment to live together in peace.

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Although the flame was lit just last year

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when Martin Luther King Junior visited the city,

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the project was inspired by the experiences of a local minister

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when he was many miles away from Derry.

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During the second half of 2008, I spent 14 weeks in Camp Bastion

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as the chaplain of the hospital facility there.

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And in those 14 weeks, just short of 1,100 casualties

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came pouring into that facility.

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It was a wake-up call for me.

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Because I began to reflect on how

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this is what it used to be like back home,

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but thank God we've exchanged our guns for government

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and former enemies are now talking instead of fighting.

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Is there a danger that we think

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it will never return and therefore we become complacent?

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Yes, we are not where we once were,

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but we are far from where we need to be.

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And so we must create the conditions

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that will allow us to see each other as God sees us.

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People made in the same image.

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David started this process by inviting schools from across the city

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to write a 25-word peace pledge.

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The children then gathered together

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to transfer their message onto clay tiles.

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These would then be used to create the Pathway to Peace.

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We've grown up with the notion that children should be seen and not heard.

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How foolish.

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The wisdom that I have identified within the peace pledges

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that children from the age of five right through to 18

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have been composing, it's quite humbling.

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It's quite moving.

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It's such a nice project for Derry as a whole

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because all the schools are coming together.

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I designed this because I have a dove on it for peace.

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They're more or less saying, it's time to reach out.

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Are you going to tell me a little bit about yours?

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That's like the Pathway to Peace there and the worlds behind it

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and then all the children or people are holding hands.

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That shows they're working together as a family by holding hands.

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That's beautiful.

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What we need to do more than anything else

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is to turn not on one another or from one another,

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but towards each other. That's it in a nutshell.

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What does the message of the patron saint

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have to add, if anything, to what you're doing?

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Just as Patrick felt he was raised up as a stone

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with a message for the people,

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these messages will be used to encourage all of us

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to keep on and on and on

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building a shared future from a divided past.

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The blessing is taken from St Patrick's breastplate

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and is led by Father Paul Farren

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and Archdeacon Robert Miller from the city's cathedrals.

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May we arise today through a mighty strength,

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the invocation of the Trinity.

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Through belief in the Threeness,

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through confession of the Oneness of the Creator of creation.

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BOTH: May Almighty God bless you,

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the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. Amen.

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And that is almost it from this St Patrick's Day Songs of Praise.

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And whether you're Irish or not, have a good one.

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Until the next time, Happy St Patrick's Day.

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Next week, Bill celebrates the rich cultural heritage of the Isle of Man

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and meets a Manx teenager who is saving the environment

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by growing her own clothes.

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There'll be hymns from Peel Cathedral

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and performances from singer-songwriter Christine Collister

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and Manx choir Caarjyn Cooidjagh.

0:33:120:33:15

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