Browse content similar to 17/07/2016. Check below for episodes and series from the same categories and more!
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The British people have spoken and the answer is, "We're out." | 0:00:02 | 0:00:05 | |
Since the results of the EU Referendum, | 0:00:05 | 0:00:08 | |
the country is facing changes and uncertainty on many fronts. | 0:00:08 | 0:00:11 | |
The Church is no exception. | 0:00:11 | 0:00:14 | |
When you have a seismic event, cracks open up, | 0:00:14 | 0:00:18 | |
and some fairly unpleasant things can come out of those cracks. | 0:00:18 | 0:00:22 | |
There have been comments on Facebook that people are going round | 0:00:22 | 0:00:25 | |
to European people's doors saying, | 0:00:25 | 0:00:27 | |
"Would you like us to help you pack?" | 0:00:27 | 0:00:29 | |
If you think that all the situation is just smashing you down, | 0:00:30 | 0:00:35 | |
you always can go to the church and just pray | 0:00:35 | 0:00:38 | |
or just make your own conversation with God. | 0:00:38 | 0:00:42 | |
This week on Songs Of Praise, | 0:00:42 | 0:00:44 | |
we've come to Boston in Lincolnshire, | 0:00:44 | 0:00:47 | |
the town that recorded the highest proportion | 0:00:47 | 0:00:50 | |
of Leave votes in the country. | 0:00:50 | 0:00:52 | |
I'm here to see how the diverse and multinational church communities | 0:00:52 | 0:00:56 | |
reacted to the reality of life after the Leave vote. | 0:00:56 | 0:01:00 | |
And a year after her visit to the camp in Calais | 0:01:00 | 0:01:03 | |
known as the Jungle, Sally has a surprising reunion. | 0:01:03 | 0:01:06 | |
And of course we'll be bringing you wonderful music from across the UK, | 0:01:16 | 0:01:20 | |
with out first hymn reminding us | 0:01:20 | 0:01:22 | |
that whatever might be changing around us, | 0:01:22 | 0:01:24 | |
nothing changes the love of God. | 0:01:24 | 0:01:26 | |
Hear the name Boston | 0:03:52 | 0:03:53 | |
and you're inclined to think of the American city called Boston | 0:03:53 | 0:03:57 | |
by the 17th century emigrants | 0:03:57 | 0:03:59 | |
who took the name of their hometown with them | 0:03:59 | 0:04:01 | |
when they left Lincolnshire in search of a new life. | 0:04:01 | 0:04:05 | |
In recent years, though, | 0:04:05 | 0:04:06 | |
the story has been more about people coming IN to Boston. | 0:04:06 | 0:04:10 | |
According to the 2011 census, the town is home to a higher proportion | 0:04:10 | 0:04:16 | |
of Eastern European immigrants than anywhere else in England and Wales. | 0:04:16 | 0:04:21 | |
With many being Catholic, | 0:04:21 | 0:04:23 | |
this has led to a marked increase in attendance at St Mary's Church, | 0:04:23 | 0:04:27 | |
but it's not without its problems. | 0:04:27 | 0:04:29 | |
-Lord, in your mercy... -ALL: -Hear our prayer. | 0:04:29 | 0:04:32 | |
Most churches would welcome a rise in numbers attending. | 0:04:33 | 0:04:37 | |
Do you? | 0:04:37 | 0:04:38 | |
Well, of course. | 0:04:38 | 0:04:40 | |
And I think people generally do, but after all, | 0:04:40 | 0:04:45 | |
St Mary's is a microcosm of Boston in some ways, | 0:04:45 | 0:04:50 | |
and I recognise that people have felt bewildered to some extent | 0:04:50 | 0:04:57 | |
and occasionally overwhelmed by the sheer numbers | 0:04:57 | 0:05:01 | |
who've come very rapidly into the community. | 0:05:01 | 0:05:06 | |
Although there hasn't been an increase in reported hate crimes | 0:05:06 | 0:05:10 | |
in Boston since the referendum, | 0:05:10 | 0:05:12 | |
across the UK the police have reported a sharp increase | 0:05:12 | 0:05:16 | |
in the second half of June. | 0:05:16 | 0:05:18 | |
It's a rise that's drawn a strong response | 0:05:18 | 0:05:20 | |
from national church leaders. | 0:05:20 | 0:05:22 | |
The outbursts of the last week, two weeks, may pass, | 0:05:22 | 0:05:27 | |
but the signal has been set at "danger" for our cohesion, | 0:05:27 | 0:05:32 | |
and the church must respond with a fresh effort in integration. | 0:05:32 | 0:05:37 | |
I've been in a few churches in the last week | 0:05:40 | 0:05:42 | |
and I look round and I think, | 0:05:42 | 0:05:43 | |
"I wonder how all these people are thinking." | 0:05:43 | 0:05:45 | |
And a number of parish priests have said to me, | 0:05:45 | 0:05:48 | |
"Please could you give us something | 0:05:48 | 0:05:50 | |
"that is of reassurance to our congregations." | 0:05:50 | 0:05:52 | |
We have to ask ourselves that golden question, | 0:05:57 | 0:06:00 | |
"Am I treating others as I would like them to treat me?" | 0:06:00 | 0:06:04 | |
Or, put it this way around, "Would I expect my fellow Britons, | 0:06:05 | 0:06:10 | |
"who live in European countries, | 0:06:10 | 0:06:12 | |
"to be treated in the way that some, a few people, in this country | 0:06:12 | 0:06:17 | |
"are treating European citizens here?" | 0:06:17 | 0:06:20 | |
Earlier this month, a joint friendship service was held | 0:09:10 | 0:09:13 | |
by all the churches in the town. | 0:09:13 | 0:09:15 | |
Neal Mugglestone is the leader | 0:09:15 | 0:09:17 | |
of the ecumenical group Churches Together. | 0:09:17 | 0:09:20 | |
He voted Out in the referendum, | 0:09:20 | 0:09:22 | |
as he believes it will benefit business, but he's also seen | 0:09:22 | 0:09:26 | |
the effect the Leave result has had on the local community. | 0:09:26 | 0:09:29 | |
Over the last few years, as the population in Boston has grown, | 0:09:29 | 0:09:32 | |
with more and more Europeans coming in to find work | 0:09:32 | 0:09:35 | |
and find better lives here, that in itself has caused tension. | 0:09:35 | 0:09:40 | |
I think over the last recent weeks, | 0:09:40 | 0:09:42 | |
since the vote took place, then, yes, there's been... | 0:09:42 | 0:09:45 | |
That's heightened, if you like. | 0:09:45 | 0:09:47 | |
It's a shame, and it shouldn't be that way, | 0:09:48 | 0:09:50 | |
but there have been comments on Facebook | 0:09:50 | 0:09:53 | |
that people are going round to European people's doors saying, | 0:09:53 | 0:09:56 | |
"Would you like us to help you pack?" | 0:09:56 | 0:09:59 | |
Erm... You know, it shouldn't be like that at all. | 0:09:59 | 0:10:03 | |
Do you think in some ways churches can lead the healing for the town? | 0:10:03 | 0:10:07 | |
I think we must. Yes, without a doubt. | 0:10:07 | 0:10:09 | |
As Churches Together in the town, | 0:10:09 | 0:10:11 | |
we've got a great united feel between us. | 0:10:11 | 0:10:15 | |
All the churches pull together, we work together, | 0:10:15 | 0:10:17 | |
we do an awful lot of things in the town, | 0:10:17 | 0:10:19 | |
and that now needs to spread out more into the European community. | 0:10:19 | 0:10:22 | |
We just need to find ways to do it. | 0:10:22 | 0:10:24 | |
Let us pray for all the other countries of the European Union. | 0:10:25 | 0:10:29 | |
Yvonne Stevens has lived in Boston all her life | 0:10:30 | 0:10:33 | |
and is a UKIP councillor. | 0:10:33 | 0:10:36 | |
She's seen first-hand how her town and her church has changed. | 0:10:36 | 0:10:40 | |
I feel like a foreigner in my own town. | 0:10:40 | 0:10:42 | |
It feels like, really, if the sunshine was there all the time, | 0:10:43 | 0:10:46 | |
one would assume one was on holiday. | 0:10:46 | 0:10:49 | |
Because when you shop on Saturday, the place is full of people | 0:10:49 | 0:10:55 | |
with a different tongue to mine doing their shopping as well. | 0:10:55 | 0:10:58 | |
But isn't it true that the immigrants are filling jobs | 0:11:00 | 0:11:03 | |
that badly need to be done? | 0:11:03 | 0:11:05 | |
That may be true to a point. | 0:11:06 | 0:11:09 | |
The amount of immigrants we've got... | 0:11:11 | 0:11:13 | |
..is excessive. | 0:11:14 | 0:11:16 | |
I feel that we need to draw a line and say, | 0:11:16 | 0:11:20 | |
"OK, if you've got the skill that we need, then welcome." | 0:11:20 | 0:11:25 | |
But we can't, en masse, in my opinion, | 0:11:25 | 0:11:28 | |
just say, "Carry on coming and swamp us." | 0:11:28 | 0:11:31 | |
There are now three Polish and two English Masses each weekend | 0:11:33 | 0:11:37 | |
at St Mary's Catholic Church where Yvonne attends. | 0:11:37 | 0:11:41 | |
Could you have joint services? | 0:11:41 | 0:11:42 | |
Would you like to work towards that? | 0:11:42 | 0:11:44 | |
I would love it. | 0:11:44 | 0:11:45 | |
These people are coming to an English service | 0:11:45 | 0:11:50 | |
simply because they're in England. | 0:11:50 | 0:11:52 | |
And let them learn - but even if there's a social evening | 0:11:52 | 0:11:57 | |
on at church, they don't come. | 0:11:57 | 0:11:59 | |
They're welcome, | 0:11:59 | 0:12:01 | |
but they choose not to. | 0:12:01 | 0:12:02 | |
Marcin came to Boston from Poland over ten years ago. | 0:12:05 | 0:12:09 | |
He and his wife have three, | 0:12:09 | 0:12:11 | |
soon to be four, children who were all born here. | 0:12:11 | 0:12:14 | |
He runs his own business in the town and often leads worship | 0:12:14 | 0:12:18 | |
in the Polish services at the church. | 0:12:18 | 0:12:20 | |
Some people feel that your community is not integrating | 0:12:20 | 0:12:24 | |
as long as you're having your own separate Mass | 0:12:24 | 0:12:28 | |
that's actually in Polish. | 0:12:28 | 0:12:30 | |
Yes, we can speak in English, but we always feel in Polish. | 0:12:30 | 0:12:34 | |
And, for me... | 0:12:34 | 0:12:36 | |
I cannot express myself as much in English as in Polish. | 0:12:36 | 0:12:41 | |
The English Mass is really... | 0:12:45 | 0:12:47 | |
It's OK, I go to the English Mass sometimes as well, | 0:12:47 | 0:12:51 | |
but singing Polish songs and praying in Polish, | 0:12:51 | 0:12:55 | |
that's what was taught by my parents, by my grandmother. | 0:12:55 | 0:13:00 | |
PRAYER IN POLISH | 0:13:00 | 0:13:02 | |
It's really important for us to have Catholic Mass | 0:13:03 | 0:13:06 | |
in Polish language here. | 0:13:06 | 0:13:08 | |
Christians are taught to love our neighbour | 0:13:09 | 0:13:12 | |
and to welcome the stranger. Is that happening? | 0:13:12 | 0:13:15 | |
I know that there are people who maybe they've experienced | 0:13:15 | 0:13:19 | |
some bad things from immigrants or something, | 0:13:19 | 0:13:24 | |
maybe that's how it is. | 0:13:24 | 0:13:26 | |
But one of the most important rules in our faith is forgiveness, | 0:13:26 | 0:13:31 | |
you know, we should forgive our neighbours | 0:13:31 | 0:13:34 | |
and our neighbours should forgive us. | 0:13:34 | 0:13:37 | |
I know sometimes it's hard, but this is where the process begins, | 0:13:37 | 0:13:42 | |
from the forgiveness. | 0:13:42 | 0:13:44 | |
Well, from a hymn with words that date back to the 14th century, | 0:16:28 | 0:16:32 | |
to a modern song that has been proving very popular with churches | 0:16:32 | 0:16:35 | |
all around the world in the last couple of years, | 0:16:35 | 0:16:38 | |
and shares the same sentiments of reassurance in turbulent times. | 0:16:38 | 0:16:43 | |
Here's Jess Clemmons with Oceans. | 0:16:43 | 0:16:46 | |
# You call me out upon the waters | 0:16:48 | 0:16:53 | |
# The great unknown where feet may fail | 0:16:54 | 0:17:00 | |
# And there I find You in the mystery | 0:17:03 | 0:17:09 | |
# In oceans deep my faith will stand | 0:17:09 | 0:17:15 | |
# And I will call upon Your name | 0:17:18 | 0:17:24 | |
# And keep my eyes above the waves | 0:17:25 | 0:17:29 | |
# When oceans rise my soul will rest in Your embrace | 0:17:31 | 0:17:38 | |
# For I am Yours and You are mine | 0:17:38 | 0:17:45 | |
# Spirit lead me where my trust is without borders | 0:17:45 | 0:17:51 | |
# Let me walk upon the waters wherever You would call me | 0:17:51 | 0:18:00 | |
# Take me deeper than my feet could ever wander | 0:18:00 | 0:18:06 | |
# And my faith would be made stronger | 0:18:06 | 0:18:11 | |
# In the presence of my saviour | 0:18:11 | 0:18:16 | |
# Spirit lead me where my trust is without borders | 0:18:16 | 0:18:21 | |
# Let me walk upon the waters | 0:18:21 | 0:18:25 | |
# Wherever You would call me | 0:18:25 | 0:18:30 | |
# Take me deeper than my feet could ever wander | 0:18:30 | 0:18:37 | |
# And my faith would be made stronger | 0:18:37 | 0:18:41 | |
# In the presence of my Saviour | 0:18:41 | 0:18:47 | |
# And I will call upon Your name | 0:18:50 | 0:18:55 | |
# And keep my eyes above the waves | 0:18:58 | 0:19:04 | |
# When oceans rise | 0:19:04 | 0:19:05 | |
# My soul will rest in Your embrace | 0:19:05 | 0:19:11 | |
# For I am Yours and You are mine | 0:19:11 | 0:19:18 | |
# Oh-oh. # | 0:19:20 | 0:19:23 | |
Last August, Songs Of Praise hit the headlines | 0:19:32 | 0:19:35 | |
when Sally visited the Calais camp known as the Jungle. | 0:19:35 | 0:19:39 | |
There she saw the makeshift church built by Christians in the camp | 0:19:41 | 0:19:45 | |
and met Biniyam, a young Ethiopian | 0:19:45 | 0:19:47 | |
determined to worship in the most challenging of circumstances, | 0:19:47 | 0:19:52 | |
and equally determined to get to Britain. | 0:19:52 | 0:19:54 | |
When I talked to Biniyam in that simple church in Calais, | 0:19:56 | 0:19:59 | |
it was hard to imagine what the future might hold for him. | 0:19:59 | 0:20:03 | |
I certainly didn't think I'd be finding him | 0:20:03 | 0:20:05 | |
in the heart of the Welsh community in Newport. | 0:20:05 | 0:20:08 | |
The Bethel Church here runs a project called the Sanctuary. | 0:20:09 | 0:20:13 | |
Many asylum seekers and refugees are sent to the area by the Home Office, | 0:20:13 | 0:20:17 | |
and the church is helping them adapt to their new life. | 0:20:17 | 0:20:20 | |
Can we ask him another question? | 0:20:20 | 0:20:22 | |
Why do you want to play football? | 0:20:22 | 0:20:24 | |
Biniyam's learning English with some of his... | 0:20:24 | 0:20:27 | |
Is this the English class? | 0:20:27 | 0:20:29 | |
..fellow English learners today, and here he is. | 0:20:29 | 0:20:31 | |
Biniyam. | 0:20:31 | 0:20:33 | |
Hello, fancy meeting you here. | 0:20:33 | 0:20:35 | |
How are you doing? | 0:20:35 | 0:20:37 | |
I'm fine. | 0:20:37 | 0:20:38 | |
-You've got official leave to remain now. -Yeah, yeah. | 0:20:38 | 0:20:40 | |
Yeah, finally, thanks to God. | 0:20:40 | 0:20:43 | |
Remind me why you had to leave Ethiopia. | 0:20:45 | 0:20:47 | |
-They tried to kill you? -Yeah. | 0:21:02 | 0:21:04 | |
He fled Ethiopia and travelled across the Sahara desert, | 0:21:04 | 0:21:08 | |
eventually reaching the coast. | 0:21:08 | 0:21:10 | |
There he joined 200 others as they tried to cross the Mediterranean. | 0:21:10 | 0:21:14 | |
So everybody in the boat went in the water? | 0:21:25 | 0:21:27 | |
After a perilous journey at sea, | 0:22:09 | 0:22:11 | |
Biniyam risked his life again to come here illegally, | 0:22:11 | 0:22:15 | |
holding on to a lorry as it travelled through | 0:22:15 | 0:22:17 | |
the Channel Tunnel. | 0:22:17 | 0:22:19 | |
Why didn't you stay in France? | 0:22:19 | 0:22:21 | |
Biniyam was able to prove his claim for political asylum. | 0:22:41 | 0:22:44 | |
The Home Office accepted his life was in danger | 0:22:44 | 0:22:47 | |
and have granted him the legal right to remain in the UK. | 0:22:47 | 0:22:50 | |
Here at the Sanctuary, he's found a sense of community and friendship. | 0:22:51 | 0:22:56 | |
Sarah Croft runs the project, | 0:22:56 | 0:22:58 | |
and works with the many refugee and asylum seekers, | 0:22:58 | 0:23:01 | |
offering practical and emotional support. | 0:23:01 | 0:23:04 | |
For me, it's a demonstration of my faith. | 0:23:04 | 0:23:06 | |
I don't want to just be a Christian that comes to church on a Sunday, | 0:23:06 | 0:23:10 | |
reads my Bible and it's about me and mine. | 0:23:10 | 0:23:13 | |
I think we need to be hands and feet | 0:23:13 | 0:23:15 | |
and do things to demonstrate our love for people. | 0:23:15 | 0:23:20 | |
What would you say to people | 0:23:20 | 0:23:21 | |
who think that actually refugees just shouldn't be here, | 0:23:21 | 0:23:24 | |
they should be somewhere else? | 0:23:24 | 0:23:26 | |
I would say, "Put yourself in their shoes." | 0:23:26 | 0:23:28 | |
I would say, "If that was you and your family needing to flee | 0:23:28 | 0:23:32 | |
"a very dangerous situation, would you stay where you were | 0:23:32 | 0:23:35 | |
"and perhaps put your family in danger, | 0:23:35 | 0:23:38 | |
"or would you try and get out | 0:23:38 | 0:23:39 | |
"and come somewhere where your family can be safe?" | 0:23:39 | 0:23:42 | |
What are your plans now, now that you are legally here in Britain? | 0:23:45 | 0:23:50 | |
You want to be a nurse? | 0:23:55 | 0:23:56 | |
How has the sanctuary here helped you? | 0:24:00 | 0:24:02 | |
Back in Boston, whatever the issues the Leave vote has caused, | 0:26:34 | 0:26:39 | |
everyone believes that things will get better - | 0:26:39 | 0:26:42 | |
but it may take many years. | 0:26:42 | 0:26:44 | |
We go to the church as often as we can, | 0:26:45 | 0:26:49 | |
and if you think that all the situation is just smashing you down, | 0:26:49 | 0:26:56 | |
you always can go to the church | 0:26:56 | 0:26:58 | |
and just pray or just make your own conversation with God. | 0:26:58 | 0:27:02 | |
He's always that light somewhere, you just follow it | 0:27:02 | 0:27:05 | |
and you will find the answers for all your questions, | 0:27:05 | 0:27:08 | |
for all the troubles you've got. | 0:27:08 | 0:27:10 | |
Just over three quarters of the reception class | 0:27:12 | 0:27:16 | |
next...in the autumn, will be English as an alternative language. | 0:27:16 | 0:27:22 | |
Now, those are the people who will naturally integrate here, | 0:27:23 | 0:27:31 | |
and what we need to do here is see how we can lay | 0:27:31 | 0:27:37 | |
sound foundations on which that integration can be built. | 0:27:37 | 0:27:44 | |
We're looking at two decades, not two years. | 0:27:44 | 0:27:49 | |
PRAYER IN POLISH | 0:27:49 | 0:27:50 | |
People can learn a new language with which to bring up a family. | 0:27:53 | 0:27:58 | |
But the last language that changes deep inside a person | 0:27:58 | 0:28:02 | |
is the language in which they pray. | 0:28:02 | 0:28:04 | |
Because you pray in your mother tongue, | 0:28:04 | 0:28:07 | |
and we have to find a balance of enabling people who arrive here | 0:28:07 | 0:28:12 | |
to have some ministry in that mother tongue, | 0:28:12 | 0:28:15 | |
in the culture in which their faith is nurtured, | 0:28:15 | 0:28:19 | |
as well as inviting them to make their contributions | 0:28:19 | 0:28:23 | |
and be part of the Catholic life wherever it is they might lead. | 0:28:23 | 0:28:27 | |
That's just about it from Boston, | 0:30:54 | 0:30:56 | |
but at this time of great change for our nation, | 0:30:56 | 0:31:00 | |
our last hymn is a prayer that love, respect and tolerance | 0:31:00 | 0:31:04 | |
might bring healing to all people wherever and whoever they are. | 0:31:04 | 0:31:09 |