15/05/2016 Songs of Praise

Do you find yourself, or someone in your family, spending

hours of their life on one of these?

Perhaps they're sharing their news

or pictures of what they had for dinner!

Well, today marks Pentecost, when the early followers of Jesus

received the gifts of the Holy Spirit and began spreading

the word, and today we're meeting people who are doing exactly that.

I'm joining the Church of England's first online pastor

and the new internet chat show where the spiritual world meets

the digital age.

I'm Vicky Beeching, a self-confessed technology addict, finding

the online world in a place you might least expect.

Radzi Chinyanganya visits a church that's taking itself to the

people by putting itself on wheels.

And I'm in North Wales,

retracing the steps of a young Welsh country girl whose

inspirational journey helped take the Bible from Wales to the world.

Amongst our music today we have a joyful performance from singer

and actor Julian Ovenden and hymns to celebrate

the gifts of the Holy Spirit and the birthday of the Church.

Our opening hymn recalls that first Pentecost and puts the Holy Spirit,

often referred to as a fire or flame, centre stage.

LAPTOP BEEPS

Whether we know it or not,

most of us are plugged into the digital world in some way or

another, whether that's using a mobile phone or an internet call

to family or friends or even looking for a recipe in an app.

But the idea of going to church online or using the internet to pray

can feel at odds with what we expect being religious is all about.

'Here at Christ Church in Little Drayton, the spiritual

'and digital worlds are coming together in a novel way.'

The 1,000-strong audience each week don't even need to

be on time for church. In fact, they don't need to come here at all.

'That's because this church becomes a pop-up TV studio for a weekly

'chat show called TGI Monday, or Thank God It's Monday,

'and viewers watch over the internet.'

The reason why my phone was ringing

is because it has to connect to ZeusCam.

'As the team set up, I'm catching up with presenter Ros Clarke,

'who's something of a pioneer.'

Ros, you're the first of a kind.

Well, you're right, Connie, I'm the first online pastor

in the Church of England, and

it means that I don't have a church, I don't have a congregation as such.

What I do is I use social media as a way of reaching out to people

who might never come into a church.

You know, I had a nun once give a very wise comment.

She said to me that there's a difference between healing and cure.

Ooh! And I think that's really important, to remember that.

Do some people think it's a little bit gimmicky?

I think there are people who worry that what we're trying to do

is replace church with something that's a bit more consumerist,

take it or leave it as it suits you.

And that's not what I'm trying to do.

It's not replacing the main thing, but it's hoping to add to that.

Please, if you're going through something like that,

if you've had experiences of that and you'd like help,

there are ways to get in touch with us - through the website,

the Facebook page - and we'd love to point you in the right direction.

An online chat show sounds like a really different way of doing

church. Yeah, it is. It's great. We have four of us who get together.

'We have different views about things, different

'expressions of Christianity and have a really good time.'

Awesome. Well, I'd love to check it out. Come and join us!

Well, we've got a question this week from Zoe Corney,

who sent this in via Facebook, and she asks...

'The panel debate a weekly question sent in by viewers

'from all over the world.'

When I was in the lab, I used to have a catchphrase when I did

my lab talks, and it was, "We're looking through a glass darkly."

And everyone loved that until they found out it was from the Bible.

It's really exciting to be a part of the show.

There's cameras all around, and they're just speaking their mind.

There's absolutely no script. So they just say what they think.

Connie, you're sitting watching. Come and tell us what you think.

'And even I get roped in.'

Tell us what you think about heaven. Ooh, thank you very much!

Well, do you know what? When I was a kid,

I used to think that heaven was a really creative place,

because in The Lord's Prayer, "Our Father, who ART in Heaven..."

GROANS AND LAUGHTER

'I saw my chance to ask some questions.'

So, digital and spiritual, do they mix?

I think they can in lots of ways. I think

particularly for people who are a little bit isolated already,

it's a way that church can really reach out

and say that you matter, we know you're still there.

And actually, disabled people getting online have

discovered that they do have an equal voice in this sector.

Today we're celebrating Pentecost,

and it seems that you're doing the same. Yeah.

It's about getting the word out there,

the good news about the Lord Jesus, to as many

people as possible in whatever way they're most likely to hear it.

Sing together again. Our Father...

The sound of heaven!

Spirit break out.

Let's conclude together. King Jesus...

At Pentecost, the early followers of Jesus were given the gift

of being understood in different languages

in order to spread the word.

This is a Welsh family Bible that's been passed on to me,

and to be able to read the Bible in your own language is

something that we might take for granted.

As a Welsh lass myself,

I'm proud to say that we owe a huge debt of thanks to a young Welsh

girl who embarked on a remarkable journey over 200 years ago.

'Josie has been retracing her now-famous footsteps.'

'Mary Jones was born in 1784.

'This is all that's left of her home in the beautiful

'countryside of North Wales.'

Every week, Mary would go to chapel

and marvel at the stories being read from the pulpit.

She longed for a Bible of her own

that she could read in her own language,

but her family were poor, and Welsh Bibles were scarce and expensive.

So Mary worked and saved for six years, until finally,

at the age of 15, she had enough money.

She heard of a man who had Welsh Bibles to sell in Bala,

26 miles away.

So she gathered her savings, said goodbye to her mother

and set off from this humble stone cottage on foot.

'Another Mary - Mary Thomas -

'has for many years been researching the route Mary would have taken.'

We are about two to three miles outside of Bala.

Mary Jones would have walked 20-plus miles as far as here,

and it would be evening time by the time she would have got here,

and the smoke would be rising from the chimneys

of the town as she entered down the hill.

What happened when she got there?

Thomas Charles, who was a very eminent preacher in this time,

he didn't have a Bible for sale,

but he gave her a Bible that he was saving for his friend.

'The Reverend Thomas Charles was so moved by this young girl's

'desire to have a Bible of her own that he went on to found

'Bible Society, which for over 200 years has been making

'the word of God available around the world.

'Because of Mary Jones,

'the Bible has been translated into over 3,000 languages.'

SHE READS IN WELSH

'And the memory of Mary is still very much alive in Wales.'

Today is very special, because 216 years after it left here

being clutched by Mary Jones,

her famous Bible is back in Bala.

'Although now a bank, this is the very building to which Mary Jones

'came to receive her Bible from Thomas Charles.

'Today, people have come from far and wide to see her now-priceless

'edition brought back under the watchful

'eye of Dr Onesimus Ngundu,

'guardian of Bible Society texts in Cambridge.'

That's my first time, actually, to see the safe where it used to be.

It's amazing to see its original home. Yes!

Onesimus, for you personally, what does it mean, what she did?

Here was a teenager being used of God.

'Little did she know the fruit of her work will affect

'the rest of the world.'

Now, all of us, irregardless of who we are,

we should never underestimate what God can do through us

even before or after we are gone.

Mary walked 26 miles for her Bible, but her story has travelled

far further than she could possibly have imagined.

Her love for the teachings of the stories of the Bible have

helped to take those scriptures from Wales to the world.

Thank you, Mary Jones.

IN WELSH:

# The Lord is my shepherd

# I shall not want

# He maketh me To lie down in green pastures

# He leadeth me

# Beside the still waters

ALL: # The Lord is my shepherd

# I shall not want

# He maketh me To lie down in green pastures

# He leadeth me

# Beside the still waters

# Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death

# I will fear no evil

# Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death

# I will fear no evil

# For you are with me

# You will comfort me

# You are with me

# You will comfort me

# Comfort me

# Surely goodness and mercy

# Shall follow me all the days of my life

# And I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever

# Forever

# Forever

# Forever. #

You may have noticed that news of our Christmas-card

competition has been going viral.

Just one of our short videos reached more than 140,000 people.

It's your chance to raise some money for Children in Need

by creating one of ten winning designs that will go on sale

later in the year.

But you've got to be quick. You've only got a week. It's a whole week!

The deadline is Monday the 23rd of May.

Now, I've enlisted some of the help of the panel here,

who have created some interesting designs...

ROS CHUCKLES ..which may give you

some food for thought.

Lovely. Lovely.

Maybe not this one. Not so much. LAUGHTER

But if you think you can do better, get creative and spread the word.

To enter, all the information and terms and conditions

are on our website...

Pentecost is a celebration of when the early Church was born,

often described as the Church's birthday.

So here's Downton star and singer Julian Ovenden to get us

in the party mood with his version of Get Happy.

# Forget your troubles and just get happy

# You better chase all your cares away

# Sing hallelujah, come on and get happy

# Get ready for the Judgment Day

# The sun is shining, come on and get happy

# The Lord is waiting to take your hand

# Shout hallelujah, come on and get happy

# We're going to the Promised Land

# We're heading 'cross the river

# Wash your sins away in the tide

# In the tide

# It's all so peaceful

# Peaceful on the other side

# Forget your troubles and just get happy

# You better chase all your cares away

# Shout hallelujah, come on and get happy

# Hallelujah!

# Get ready for the Judgment Day

# We're heading 'cross the river

# Wash your sins away in the tide

# In the tide

# It's all so peaceful

# Peaceful on the other side

# Whoa-oh, whoa, whoa

# Whoa, whoa, whoa

# Whoa-oh, whoa, whoa

# Forget your troubles, come on, get happy

# So happy!

# Come on and chase all your cares away

# Come on, baby, by my side

# Sing hallelujah, come on, get happy

# Get happy, get ready

# Get ready

# For the Judgment Day

# Get ready for the Judgment Day!

# Oh, yes! #

Next up is someone who is fully immersed in the digital world,

with tens of thousands of followers online.

Broadcaster and blogger Vicky Beeching is finding technology and

tweets in a place you might usually associate with privacy and prayer.

'Here in rural Herefordshire is the home of an award-winning blogger.

'Her blogs, or online diaries, have gained quite a following.'

Hello! Vicky!

'Sister Catherine Wybourne lives in a Benedictine community,

'and she's become known as the Digital Nun.'

Well, this is my monastic cell, where I sleep, read,

pray...and play with the internet.

So this is Digital Nun HQ. You could call it that, definitely!

'From this small room, her websites reach 120 countries

'and her blog has half a million views a month.'

When you blog, what sort of topics do you like to cover?

Anything under the sun.

I often use the liturgy or the rule of St Benedict or what's

going on in the world around us.

Has everyone in your circle of spiritual life been

supportive of these online endeavours?

I don't think I would say supportive.

Erm, some people have been highly critical.

But I think the Church must be wherever people are,

and if we retreat from the online world, then I think

the Church is retreating, too, into its own nice, cosy, safe backwater.

Many of us find it difficult to put our gadgets down and unplug.

How do you balance the monastic and the online?

Well, if I'm writing the blog and the time for Lauds comes -

that's the morning office of praise - I have to stop the blog

not quite in the middle of a word

but certainly at the end of the sentence.

'And that's great, because it reminds one that there are things

'rather more important than what one's doing online.

'That's just an aspect of life.'

# Quia quem meruisti portare

# Hallelujah. #

'Sister Catherine's not alone in her online pursuits.

'Even the dog, known as Brother Duncan,

'has his own internet presence.'

He's my co-blogging partner. He says all the things I daren't,

but he does like to blog about the big questions,

so for example how human beings should love one another.

And the spiritual life is really quire uncomplicated.

After all, if even a dog can grasp it, we should be able to, too.

VICKY LAUGHS

Today's Pentecost Sunday,

when we remember the Holy Spirit spreading the Gospel like wildfire.

How do you see your vocation continuing that?

Well, I think just as the Holy Spirit came down on the young Church

and gave it the gift of tongues

and there was Jesus' commission to proclaim the Gospel to all

nations, I think the internet's given us

another language that can reach every nation on the Earth.

At Pentecost, churches all over the UK

are reaching out to their communities in

all sorts of ways, but have you ever heard of taking a church

and putting it on wheels?

Well, that's exactly what happened recently in Greater Manchester,

and we sent Radzi to find out more.

It's a lovely morning, and I'm on my way to church.

Well, that's not strictly true.

Actually, the church is on its way to me.

This is the Mercy Bus, launched by the Roman Catholic

diocese of Salford, which aims to take the church to the people.

'The bus is the brainchild of a team led by Father Frankie Mulgrew.'

The concept is that we're going to have priests on board

and we're going to park up, and we open the doors

and the priests are available for people to come on board,

so either go to confession, receive a blessing or to have a chat

about anything that might be troubling them.

That's genuinely amazing.

I'm a Catholic myself, and my church is nothing like this.

Where did the inspiration come from?

I think the inspiration came from Pope Francis himself.

He's called this Jubilee Year of Mercy,

and we need to be walking with people,

we need to be walking next to people and side by side.

The challenge is we need to be walking with them

even when they're walking away from the Church.

So we need to reach out to them, really.

'Today's bus stop is a superstore car park in Bury,

'where Father Frankie's team of volunteers

'are waiting to be given their instructions.'

May Almighty God bless you through the intercession of Our Lady,

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

We need some people directly at this side,

but we also need people out left.

The bus offers the same private space for prayer and confession

as any other church,

meaning we need to stay outside with the Saturday shoppers,

and it's not long before the bus attracts its first visitors.

I think nothing can really replace the church in terms of the

experience you would get, but reaching out to the people

is what it's really about and having the bus here has been incredible,

really amazing experience.

People can go on it if they can't get to church

because they might be busy on some days.

It might be on schooldays, as well.

So they can just hop on the bus and talk to the priest.

Today we've had a great response.

I mean, we've had about 120 visitors on board the bus

and there's people that we're meeting

that they just can't cross the threshold of a church right now,

so we're coming to meet them halfway, basically.

And the hope is that when they come on board the bus,

what they experience on the bus will then inform them

and help them to make that next step across the church threshold.

APPLAUSE

Well, it seems to me that both the digital

and traditional way of spreading the word

can exist happily side-by-side,

as the Christian message is shared

amongst so many different communities.

Next week, Pam Rhodes finds out how the re-creation of a 1950s street

is helping people with dementia,

and in Liverpool, Claire McCollum

celebrates a spectacular pageant inspired by Pope John Paul II.

Until then, our closing hymn

asks for the Holy Spirit to be a part of our lives today.

Thank you for watching. Goodbye.

I want a nice, bold stripe.

Lace, lace, lace...

Oh, the haberdashery is amazing.

# Living in a material world... #

So that's your skirt so far? We've made you panic.

It's very hard not to panic!

Ah! # Living in a material world... #

It's sexy. Is she making you blush?