Episode 6 City of Faith

CHOIR HUMS

Faith is God, it's love...

It's just the whole meaning to life.

It gives me meaning to keep going every day. And gives me joy.

That's faith for me.

We're in St Malachy's Chapel,

and we see so many people coming into here and they walk in,

and they go over and they light the candle

and they read the prayer,

and they think about the people they'll pray for.

They sit down and they pray

and they maybe look at the statue,

or they just think of God.

And you think of the candle lit for that person.

And I think that that's deep. That's very prayerful.

This is not just a big room, you know.

This is a church, this is a place of God, a place of prayer.

They've got a connection with something that's beyond this world.

And that gives them strength to go back out,

that things will be OK,

that God is there and He's looking after them.

And that the prayer will work.

A day without Mass

is not really a day, at all, for a priest.

Somebody said to me recently that if they ask a priest what he's doing,

he's either going to the altar,

or he's coming from the altar.

It's everything.

And the Mass is where I come to meet Christ,

and that's where the people come to meet Christ, as well.

It's that coming together.

And in the sacristy, when we're putting on the vestments...

Yes, you're just putting on clothes and tying ropes,

but you're thinking about the people you want to bring to Mass.

In this Mass, we're praying for youth,

and for all the young people.

They're here.

We're not waiting for them to grow up and then be part of the Church,

They are the Church here now.

This is my moment where, in a way,

Heaven and Earth come together.

And that's the centre to our whole faith -

where we come to meet Jesus.

Lord, I'm not worthy that you should enter under my roof,

but only say the word and my soul shall be healed.

At Mass, whenever I say the words -

"This is my body, and this is my blood" -

it's not me saying that, it's not mine.

It's Jesus' words through me.

So that's very deep and very spiritual.

That's everything for a Mass.

God is my Heavenly Father.

He is the one that I speak to

and I rest upon Him,

and I trust Him,

and I have put my faith in Him.

All we have to do, is accept Him and believe in Him,

and He will be Our Saviour.

If you keep your faith strong

and you pray with God

and you talk to God

and you read your Bible, you know,

you'll grow in your faith.

And we will be tested on different occasions,

but we have to keep the faith,

and God will bless us for that.

It's nice to be able to work here and have a nice place.

We only have a lend of it in this life.

You know, they're only possessions in this world.

We'll leave them all behind,

and it doesn't matter what we have - how much money, how much land...

All of it's going to be left behind.

In God's sight, we're all sinners, and, yeah, I was a sinner, too.

I would've been smoking,

and I was drinking, and...

numerous other things,

but God sometimes can strive with you.

Sometimes it just hits somebody straightaway,

but other times God can just move with you

and take you along in different phases.

Sometimes God can finally give you the question -

"Will you accept me, or will you not?"

All sins are pardonable,

but there's one sin that is not pardonable -

and that's when, for the very last time,

you refuse to accept Jesus as your Saviour.

The Lord's our shepherd,

and I know each one of us is his lambs,

and sometimes even with sheep,

if I pull one lamb away,

or one sheep away,

all the rest will follow.

Sometimes God's just trying to teach us the way,

you will be following.

Our life will come to an end

and we must be prepared,

and that's the why I accepted God as my Saviour.

I intend to be with Him in Heaven.

# ..go into the world

# Tell them about me

# Help them learn like you have learned

# To always follow me

# And if that's what Jesus said

# That's what I'll do... #

The first thing you're going to experience

is the real warm, friendly people at Armagh Baptist.

It's one of the things that

when we were there, when we first started,

it was really warm.

And the people are really genuine.

Really interested in you as a person.

# I'm ready to walk

# I'm ready to talk

# I'm ready to look into my heart...#

It is a fantastic place to be.

It's a busy place.

If you're involved in church life, then you're a busy person.

We wanted to really be involved in the youth work there,

and help out with various aspects of church life there.

And that is one of the conditions

of becoming a member, that you are baptised as a believer.

So when we came to the Baptist Church, yes,

it was something we had thought about,

and the pastor had spoken to us about it.

It was lovely, then, that we were both able

to be baptised together on the same evening.

It was really lovely, erm, that we did that...

-Together.

-..together, as a married couple.

It's special from the point of view

that we're both saying we're committed to God

and we want to identify with Jesus.

With the profession of your faith in the Lord Jesus,

and in obedience to Christ's command, we now baptise you

in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.

Amen.

If you think of married life as being a triangle -

that there's Alan in one corner and myself in the other

and God is right at the centre

and as we grow closer to God,

we grow closer to each other.

In our Christian walk, we can say,

"Well, this is what's going on in my life at the minute -

"How can I can help?"

That's the purpose of marriage, as well.

That God has given Joanne to me as a help,

and vice versa.

That's God's way, in terms of

what he wants from marriage, as well -

that we lovingly care for each other.

And how we develop in our relationship with God, as well.

MASS BEING SUNG

When I was at Queens, I loved it.

I was doing Computers in Business - wonderful subject,

made good friends, and really, really enjoyed it.

I wanted to start a computer business.

That was my plan, what I wanted to do.

But that priesthood thing was always there.

And I used to think to myself -

what do you want me to do, God? What you want me to do?

And I always got the answer really, really clearly -

"I want you to be a priest."

I kept doing what I wanted to do, you know, studying computers,

and making my friends and all the rest,

but I kept always thinking to myself "priesthood."

It's not going to be fun. It's not going to be exciting.

But...you know...starting my own business, and all that stuff...

I thought I'd be giving up all the enjoyment of life.

I remember sitting in the chapel - just there, and praying,

really knowing that God wanted me to be a priest,

and I remember - this sounds strange -

but I kind of got angry in myself.

"God, what are you doing to me? You're ruining my life!

"Here I am wanting to do what I want to do

"and you are here, coming in with - 'I want you to do this and this.'"

I was kind of angry with God, I really was.

And I heard God speak to me again, not in words, but in my heart,

and he said, "Thomas, if you want to go on and do your computers

"and have your life and start a family and all the rest,

"I am behind you, and that's good,

"but I really want you to be a priest."

And I remember that moment, like, everything kind of went down...

Because then I really felt God wasn't pressuring me into anything.

If I went ahead and went back to my classes and went on through life

it'd be fine, and he would support me and I'd have no regrets,

but at the same time, I couldn't, I feel,

go through with my whole life always knowing

that that was always there and always there,

and that I didn't try it out, at least.

I know he gives me the freedom to say yes or no.

In my heart, I couldn't say no.

And I had to say yes.

And I became a priest.

MAKES WHISTLE-CALLS

DUCKS QUACKING

Since I was brought up,

I was brought up to go to church.

I knew that there was a God in Heaven

and I needed to be saved to get to Heaven.

But I just thought that this was a thing

that I could put off to another day.

My wife, she was a Christian

from before we were married,

but her faith maybe drifted.

Because I maybe was leading her in a different direction.

It was just after we got married

and we had installed a gas cooker

that wasn't installed properly

and the gas leaked out of it and that was an explosion in the house,

and the both of us got severe burns

and we ended up in hospital.

At that stage she got herself right with God again.

She thought, if she would've been killed in that,

where would she be spending her Eternity?

But it never really crossed my mind.

I just kept leading the old life.

I am into my sport and we play football every Monday night,

and one night one of my fellow colleagues on the pitch

started to witness to me, as well.

And he would ask me,

"Trevor, are you not going to get yourself right with God?"

And I would say, "Yeah, some time.

"But maybe now is not the right time."

And he would quote a verse -

"Now is the accepted the time. Now is the day of Salvation."

That sort of hit me, as well.

I kept thinking to myself, "Now is the day of Salvation", you know.

I would need to get myself sorted out, because if...if my life...

If I get killed in a car accident,

or something happens to me, where will I end up going?

But I went on ahead just the same as usual.

My life continued on as usual, as well.

Faith is something that is active, it's vibrant.

For me it's developing.

In the relationship with God,

God wants to be a big part of everyday life -

in the big situations and the small situations.

God wants to teach me more about him.

He's a father, so he is.

And as a father, we are his children.

And he wants the best for us,

and sometimes the best mightn't be the best that we want!

Sometimes you want to go a certain path,

and as a father, he's lovingly guiding you maybe a different way.

Hello!

Daddy!

I suppose as the father that I am now to Charlotte, you know -

"Well, actually, if you went down that route,

"that's not the best for you."

Something might happen as result of that.

And more and more God has used Charlotte

to speak to me about His love for us as His children,

which has been really lovely,

and a different aspect of Christianity

that I would never have experienced until Charlotte came into our lives.

Father, I just thank you for the food that we have,

and thank you so much for your goodness to us,

and your faithfulness to us.

Thank you in Jesus' name. Amen.

Charlotte is our first daughter.

And we are expecting another baby -

we don't know if it's a boy or a girl. And, erm...

So she'll be two in a few weeks' time.

She's just a real wee treasure.

She's a real wee chatterbox.

As a couple we pray for each other

and, obviously, we pray for Charlotte that early in life

she will come to know God as her Saviour.

We know that's not something we can do for her,

and we just have to leave that in God's hands.

So, again, that's another example of faith.

Who's that man up the tree?

-Who's this?

-Who's that?

-Zacchaeus.

-Zacchaeus?

And who did he want to see up the tree?

-Jesus!

-Jesus! Yes!

When we found out that we were expecting Charlotte,

it was such a wonderful time -

as for any new parents expecting their first child -

Al and I had been praying and reading together,

and just thanking God for this new gift of life.

We've been given this verse in the passage we were reading

and it was "Do not be afraid. It is I, the Lord."

A lovely neat tummy.

So the whole nine months passed, and then, erm,

Charlotte arrived, or was on her way,

and, erm, unfortunately,

her heart rate started to drop quite considerably,

so they had to take me into theatre for an emergency section,

and, erm... It was really then, at that moment, that,

"Do not be afraid, it is I, the Lord" that really rung clear to me.

So what's Charlotte saying about this wee baby coming?

Well, mixed feelings, at times.

It was just as if God was there with me in the theatre, saying,

"Look, Joanne, don't worry.

"I have promised you, from day one,

"when you found out that you were pregnant,

"and I am faithful, and I will keep my promises.

And he did, and we have a lovely, healthy daughter.

No, so, everything went really well, and, erm...

The heartbeat's good and strong

and the head's down and everything, so...

No more appointments here, just the final one at the hospital.

# Joy to the Earth the Saviour reigns

# Let men their songs employ

# He comes to me

# His blessings flow... #

Christmas is a nice time.

You're with young children, as well, with presents, and all,

but it's always tinged with the sadness of the loss of my niece.

It was Christmas Eve, 2009,

I rang my sister Helen and a few friends, as well,

to wish them happy Christmas,

and then the next morning

I got a call from my nephew

to say that his sister had passed away during the night.

Caroline was only 25 years old,

and God had called her home to be with Him.

We always have a photograph of her just to remind us of her.

This photo actually was taken on the morning of the wedding.

I went with them down to the morgue to lift her remains.

I travelled with her father and the pastor and her husband,

and I was the only one in the car unsaved.

I just couldn't understand, couldn't get my mind around why...

Why God would take Caroline away -

because she was a Christian girl.

Caroline's father, his answer to me was,

Trevor, if there was just one soul saved out of this tragedy,

who do you think will be singing and rejoicing the loudest in Heaven?

And that really spoke to me.

Because this was a father

that just had the death of his daughter.

Such a tragic circumstance, it was, and yet and all

he was a Christian man himself and I could see

that his faith was keeping him strong in this situation.

So that spoke to me.

BABY GURGLES

I just think in terms of any birth,

there's always different circumstances that come along.

And we've really known God's help through the whole birth

and just the days after it, as well.

It's important to give thanks to God for Isaac,

because he's a healthy baby

and from the minute you find out

that you're having a baby,

God is so important

because God watches over him 24/7

and he never slumbers or sleeps.

While we're dying to have a sleep,

thankfully God's there watching him!

-Right, that you?

-Hm.

You want a puppy bag?

SQUEALS WITH PLEASURE

There's a real rush to get to church.

Probably adapting with two kids now,

and the time constraints that there are.

But, it's a good day,

and people are always excited to see newborns.

I think Isaac must be the youngest member of Armagh Baptist now.

So, unique in that point.

# O Lord, my God

# When I in awesome wonder

# Consider all the works

# Thy hand hath made... #

Hello!

-How are you?

-Hi, Jeremy.

-Jeremy, how are you?

-Hi, Grant.

You're very welcome.

And the wee man.

# ..throughout the universe displayed

# Then sings my soul

# My Saviour God to Thee

# How great Thou art... #

I really don't know how people who aren't Christians

can go through these big things in their lives

without having God, because, you know, humans -

we're weak, we're frail,

we make so many mistakes.

We're not perfect at all,

and never will be perfect.

And, I know that when I do have times, anxious moments, or fears,

I can just lay them all in God's hands

and that He will make those crooked paths straight for me.

# How great Thou art

# How great Thou art...#

INDISTINCT RECORDING

There is an acronym - Forsaking All I Trust Him.

That's what faith is for me.

Whatever in life, God is there to help me,

and I can rely on God, I can trust in God.

And, yeah, I will feel weak,

and I will be weak,

but God is saying that through that weakness

He's going to show His strength.

That's when God has really taught me a lot about Himself.

God wants to reveal Himself more and more to us,

and reveal Himself to be

someone that we can really grow in relationship with.

We rejoice in others being saved

but we want you to ask yourself today, are you saved?

Has this been your experience?

Could this be your testimony today?

'God had his hand upon me

'and he was striving with me all these times

'and the burden was getting very heavy and I couldn't

'fight it off any longer.

'I had to yield.

'And I bent my knee on 8 April 2011.

I remember getting down beside my bed

and the tears flooded down my cheeks,

I would say, for around two hours.

I asked Jesus Christ to come into my heart

and I can honestly say that God saved me.

I could feel the peace within.

And the burden just eased or rolled away,

whatever way you wanted to describe it.

But my burdens were lifted.

"I say unto you, there is joy in the presence of the Angels of God

"over one sinner that repenteth."

I think that verse speaks very loudly

of who would be singing in Heaven.

I am not ashamed of my faith.

I am quite keen to profess it to those who aren't saved.

It is my prayer that others will come to know the Lord

that is my Saviour.

I have now fulfilment,

I have peace in my heart,

I have joy within.

I am a new creature in God.

PARTY FAVOUR TOOTS

# Happy birthday to you

# Happy birthday, dear Thomas

# Happy birthday to you #

WHOOPS AND CLAPPING

"Father Thomas"...!

Oh, you're excellent!

Is this only for me?

I don't like sharing now!

I love my work.

Like, I really love meeting young people,

chatting with them, talking about faith.

I get a lot out of it.

Every day I get up and I know that I can touch people's lives,

or share faith with them.

Something really concrete.

Prayers for the faithful... It's all right me writing it, as a priest,

but does somebody want to take it on to write them as a young person,

rather than me as a priest writing it... (FADES)

I want more people to experience the joy that...

I have found in meeting God and growing in my faith.

I want more people to have that experience,

that positive experience of faith that makes a difference in your life.

How can we get young people to go to Mass?

I know it's the hardest question in the world, but, how can we do it?

-Just, like use social media, so, like, tweet, and use Facebook.

-Yes.

I don't start preaching.

It's the worst thing to do - to start preaching and say

"You must be doing this and this.

"This is what the Catholic Church teaches..."

Yes, that's all important, but you don't go in with that message.

I find I go in and start having the craic, chatting...

And I notice that does a lot for people.

Because they look at me and they go,

"There's a guy, he's an ordinary person, you know...

"This guy didn't fall out of the sky and land in the parish,

"he came from somewhere, and he's got a story,

"and maybe he has got difficulties, too."

And they connect with that,

and I think it brings people along on the journey of faith.

CHOIR HUMS

So I'd like to pray in thanksgiving for our group,

pray in thanksgiving for our faith

that's gathered us here today.

'At the start, they come, and they slip in, and they sit at the back.

'They just want to see what's going on.

'And then they get involved and they grow in their faith

'and that keeps them.

'And it's personal for them,

'and that means everything.

'They want to be here, they want to be involved,

'they're happy about their faith.

'And that shows you that that personal relationship

'they have connected with God has made the difference,

'and they want to pass it on to others.

'That's what it's all about - passing on the faith.'

CHORAL MUSIC PLAYS