Browse content similar to 21/02/2016. Check below for episodes and series from the same categories and more!
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A recent survey discovered that attendance | 0:00:03 | 0:00:06 | |
at Church of England services had fallen below a million | 0:00:06 | 0:00:08 | |
for the first time. Some churches are being forced to close. | 0:00:08 | 0:00:12 | |
Many lie empty and others are sold and often turned into flats. | 0:00:12 | 0:00:16 | |
So what's being done? Well, there is some good news. | 0:00:16 | 0:00:19 | |
On today's Songs Of Praise, | 0:00:19 | 0:00:21 | |
I'll be discovering the creative things that people are doing | 0:00:21 | 0:00:23 | |
to keep their church at the heart of the community. | 0:00:23 | 0:00:26 | |
And no, you're not seeing things - the church IS a Post Office. | 0:00:26 | 0:00:29 | |
We meet some members of the Northern Ireland Fire & Rescue Service, | 0:00:31 | 0:00:34 | |
who are firefighting for Christ. | 0:00:34 | 0:00:36 | |
I don't need to be in a church to serve. | 0:00:36 | 0:00:39 | |
We can all serve our communities in whatever place we're at. | 0:00:39 | 0:00:43 | |
-One, two, three, go! -DANCE MUSIC PLAYS | 0:00:43 | 0:00:45 | |
And Josie's in central Manchester at a church | 0:00:45 | 0:00:47 | |
taking worship music to the next level. | 0:00:47 | 0:00:50 | |
And where the pastors seem to want to steal our jobs! | 0:00:51 | 0:00:54 | |
Welcome to Songs Of Praise this morning! | 0:00:54 | 0:00:56 | |
It's great to have you with us. | 0:00:56 | 0:00:57 | |
We have some great music, | 0:01:06 | 0:01:08 | |
including a performance from one of Scotland's finest - Barbara Dickson. | 0:01:08 | 0:01:12 | |
And it's the second week of Lent, so, for those of you who've given | 0:01:12 | 0:01:15 | |
something up, here's a hymn of encouragement. | 0:01:15 | 0:01:18 | |
Visit any village, town or city | 0:04:30 | 0:04:32 | |
and the one thing you'll find is a church. | 0:04:32 | 0:04:35 | |
They're an important part of our heritage. | 0:04:35 | 0:04:37 | |
The Church of England has 16,000 of them around the country. | 0:04:37 | 0:04:41 | |
But there's a problem - fewer and fewer people | 0:04:41 | 0:04:43 | |
are attending the services and, although people may like | 0:04:43 | 0:04:46 | |
the idea of their local church and its sense of history, | 0:04:46 | 0:04:49 | |
they may not want to pay for its upkeep. | 0:04:49 | 0:04:51 | |
I've come to St James's Church in London. | 0:04:53 | 0:04:56 | |
Like many, their day begins | 0:04:56 | 0:04:57 | |
with early-morning prayers for parishioners. | 0:04:57 | 0:05:00 | |
Oh, Lord, open our lips and mouths... | 0:05:00 | 0:05:02 | |
For years, they were a very small congregation | 0:05:02 | 0:05:05 | |
worshipping in a huge empty church, until their vicar - | 0:05:05 | 0:05:08 | |
the Reverend Andrew Foreshew-Cain - came up with a plan. | 0:05:08 | 0:05:12 | |
Is this a church or is it a Post Office? | 0:05:12 | 0:05:15 | |
It's a church, a Post Office and it's a whole lot more. | 0:05:15 | 0:05:17 | |
Come on inside and I'll show you. | 0:05:17 | 0:05:19 | |
MUSIC: Please Mr Postman by The Marvelettes | 0:05:19 | 0:05:21 | |
Wow! It's really noisy! BUZZ OF CONVERSATION | 0:05:21 | 0:05:24 | |
-It's like it's a Post Office and so much more! -So much more. | 0:05:24 | 0:05:27 | |
How do you get a Post Office in a church? | 0:05:27 | 0:05:30 | |
We had a tweet in 2014 from the local estate agent. | 0:05:30 | 0:05:34 | |
They were looking for a shop front for the new Post Office and I said, | 0:05:34 | 0:05:38 | |
"I haven't got a shop front, but I've got a really big church." | 0:05:38 | 0:05:41 | |
And that's not the only thing you've got here. | 0:05:41 | 0:05:44 | |
Oh, no, we have all kinds of things in here now. | 0:05:44 | 0:05:46 | |
We have a cafe and we employ a bunch of people there as well. | 0:05:46 | 0:05:49 | |
-This play centre... -And the big play centre. -..is huge! -Big and noisy! | 0:05:49 | 0:05:52 | |
Local mums were saying there wasn't much in the area for them | 0:05:52 | 0:05:55 | |
to do with their kids and it seemed a perfect marriage. | 0:05:55 | 0:05:58 | |
We get 3,500 people a week through the building. | 0:05:58 | 0:06:01 | |
What do you think of people who think that churches should be | 0:06:01 | 0:06:04 | |
a place of worship and quiet contemplation? | 0:06:04 | 0:06:07 | |
Well, I think they can be at times, | 0:06:07 | 0:06:09 | |
but they can also be places of life and enthusiasm and engagement. | 0:06:09 | 0:06:14 | |
-And that's what this place is. -So, you have all of this, | 0:06:14 | 0:06:17 | |
all of this engagement, you also have all of this, | 0:06:17 | 0:06:19 | |
-the high altar... -Everything. -..the services that are happening here. | 0:06:19 | 0:06:22 | |
So how do you maintain it as a place of faith? | 0:06:22 | 0:06:25 | |
When we built the place, we consciously chose not to | 0:06:25 | 0:06:27 | |
separate out all of this from the worship space. | 0:06:27 | 0:06:30 | |
-Yes. -So it all flows in, one to the other, | 0:06:30 | 0:06:32 | |
so God is watching over everything that we do here. | 0:06:32 | 0:06:35 | |
That's an important message, I think, to send to people | 0:06:35 | 0:06:37 | |
who come in here - that all of life is important to God. | 0:06:37 | 0:06:40 | |
And we have Sunday worship, when all of this is closed, and it is a place | 0:06:40 | 0:06:44 | |
of quiet contemplation and prayer and worship. | 0:06:44 | 0:06:48 | |
And the congregation appreciate that. | 0:06:48 | 0:06:50 | |
When Andrew came up with this idea, I thought he was mad. | 0:06:50 | 0:06:54 | |
Just look, I mean, it's absolutely amazing. | 0:06:54 | 0:06:57 | |
It's become a social hub for the neighbourhood. | 0:06:57 | 0:07:00 | |
The play area, personally, I don't like it. | 0:07:00 | 0:07:04 | |
But I do understand its purpose as well. | 0:07:04 | 0:07:06 | |
What it does, it brings people into the church, | 0:07:06 | 0:07:09 | |
who actually absorb the ambience of the church, whilst conducting | 0:07:09 | 0:07:14 | |
sort of secular activities, like going to the Post Office. | 0:07:14 | 0:07:17 | |
The church is about family and community. | 0:07:17 | 0:07:20 | |
That's exactly what this is. | 0:07:20 | 0:07:22 | |
The congregation has doubled, which is nice. | 0:07:22 | 0:07:25 | |
It was from a very low ground. | 0:07:25 | 0:07:27 | |
We're about 40-50 people on a Sunday now. | 0:07:27 | 0:07:29 | |
And we're now getting children and young families coming, | 0:07:29 | 0:07:32 | |
which we didn't get before. | 0:07:32 | 0:07:34 | |
And do you think that that's as a direct result of them having come in | 0:07:34 | 0:07:37 | |
-here first? -I'm sure that's exactly the reason why they're coming to us. | 0:07:37 | 0:07:40 | |
Because they are here, they are comfortable with the space, | 0:07:40 | 0:07:44 | |
and, when they come back on a Sunday morning, | 0:07:44 | 0:07:46 | |
they're in a familiar environment, which isn't intimidating, | 0:07:46 | 0:07:49 | |
and they know is welcoming. | 0:07:49 | 0:07:51 | |
When we think of traditional church music, | 0:10:23 | 0:10:25 | |
it's often accompanied by a church organ. | 0:10:25 | 0:10:28 | |
For generations, it provided the soundtrack to worship and still, | 0:10:28 | 0:10:31 | |
of course, has a role to play in the story of Christian music. | 0:10:31 | 0:10:36 | |
But as Josie's been finding out, there are increasingly | 0:10:36 | 0:10:38 | |
churches up and down the country that are busy writing a new chapter. | 0:10:38 | 0:10:42 | |
Welcome to Manchester. | 0:10:44 | 0:10:45 | |
Not the most recognisable part of the city, I'll grant you that. | 0:10:45 | 0:10:49 | |
But today, it's not about what you can see, | 0:10:49 | 0:10:51 | |
-it's about what you can hear. -MUSIC POUNDS | 0:10:51 | 0:10:53 | |
And this is no ordinary warehouse. | 0:10:53 | 0:10:56 | |
ROCK MUSIC PLAYS # Fearless! # | 0:10:56 | 0:10:59 | |
Here we go! | 0:11:01 | 0:11:02 | |
ALL: # We are, we are We are fearless! # | 0:11:02 | 0:11:06 | |
It feels like you've walked into a rock concert. | 0:11:06 | 0:11:09 | |
But it's Sunday morning and it's 10am! | 0:11:09 | 0:11:13 | |
And this is the Audacious Church! | 0:11:13 | 0:11:16 | |
# ..for Jesus! We are, we are, we are fearless! | 0:11:16 | 0:11:21 | |
# We are living for Living for Jesus! # | 0:11:21 | 0:11:24 | |
In a time when some congregations are in decline, Audacious has grown | 0:11:24 | 0:11:28 | |
from 90 to well over 3,000 members in just eight years. | 0:11:28 | 0:11:33 | |
Is there anybody here who's in love | 0:11:33 | 0:11:36 | |
-with Jesus this morning? -CHEERING | 0:11:36 | 0:11:38 | |
Good morning, welcome to church. | 0:11:38 | 0:11:41 | |
The church runs community projects and the services have | 0:11:41 | 0:11:44 | |
all the traditional elements, including a sermon. | 0:11:44 | 0:11:47 | |
I serve the man. | 0:11:47 | 0:11:49 | |
-APPLAUSE -And the man has a plan! | 0:11:49 | 0:11:52 | |
But it's the very contemporary sound of the music that stands out. | 0:11:52 | 0:11:56 | |
The Bible talks about having shouts of joy, um, clapping hands, dancing. | 0:11:56 | 0:12:01 | |
And so, there is a real element of celebration in the Bible. | 0:12:01 | 0:12:04 | |
I think, when you understand what Jesus has done, | 0:12:04 | 0:12:07 | |
how can you keep quiet? We really feel like that's the case. | 0:12:07 | 0:12:10 | |
We can't be quiet, we can't shut up and God is so great! | 0:12:10 | 0:12:13 | |
-DANCE MUSIC PLAYS -I want to see every single person | 0:12:13 | 0:12:16 | |
off their feet! Front to back, one, two, three, go! | 0:12:16 | 0:12:19 | |
Can you remember that first time you got here - | 0:12:23 | 0:12:25 | |
-what was your first impression of it? -Wow! | 0:12:25 | 0:12:27 | |
When we first came, the music was a bit of a culture shock. | 0:12:29 | 0:12:31 | |
But you just sort of go with the flow, I suppose, in a way. | 0:12:31 | 0:12:34 | |
# ..we will shine the brightest! # | 0:12:34 | 0:12:37 | |
I mean, as an African, we dance everything, we sing everything! | 0:12:37 | 0:12:41 | |
I enjoy it, cos it's something different. It's out of the ordinary. | 0:12:41 | 0:12:45 | |
# ..make us one, bring us light! # | 0:12:45 | 0:12:48 | |
The music's new, the music's fresh. | 0:12:48 | 0:12:51 | |
And that's why, you know, I certainly enjoy being here | 0:12:51 | 0:12:53 | |
and why I know these guys do as well. | 0:12:53 | 0:12:54 | |
-# Ray of light! # -Here we go ! | 0:12:54 | 0:12:57 | |
To many, the songs in an Audacious service may sound radical, | 0:12:58 | 0:13:02 | |
but, for the band who write them, the approach is nothing new. | 0:13:02 | 0:13:06 | |
Key change, and you get off the stool. | 0:13:06 | 0:13:08 | |
'When you look at William Booth and The Salvation Army,' | 0:13:08 | 0:13:11 | |
and brass bands - that was, you know, the secular music of the time. | 0:13:11 | 0:13:14 | |
And that was, you know, | 0:13:14 | 0:13:15 | |
-their way of getting people into the church. -Yeah. | 0:13:15 | 0:13:17 | |
With something familiar, that they could understand and relate to. | 0:13:17 | 0:13:20 | |
It's just all about finding a new and a fresh | 0:13:20 | 0:13:23 | |
and a relevant expression of our worship and praise to God. | 0:13:23 | 0:13:28 | |
When you're having the stage, the lights, the music, | 0:13:28 | 0:13:31 | |
how do you ensure that it is an act of worship and not a performance? | 0:13:31 | 0:13:37 | |
We're not coming here just to have own personal time. | 0:13:37 | 0:13:39 | |
Like we're coming here to be a part of the church, part of the family, | 0:13:39 | 0:13:42 | |
and we're worshipping together | 0:13:42 | 0:13:43 | |
and so, there has to be an outward expression and you could say, yes, | 0:13:43 | 0:13:46 | |
it's performance, but not performance in the sense of, | 0:13:46 | 0:13:50 | |
"Look at me, everyone!" but it's actually, "Look at Jesus!" | 0:13:50 | 0:13:53 | |
# We are, we are We are fearless! | 0:13:53 | 0:13:56 | |
# We are living for Living for Jesus! # | 0:13:56 | 0:14:00 | |
They may not remember a sermon, even though I thought it was brilliant. | 0:14:00 | 0:14:04 | |
What they're going to remember is the songs that they're singing. | 0:14:04 | 0:14:07 | |
And I think it was probably John Wesley who actually said, | 0:14:07 | 0:14:09 | |
"We learn our theology through the songs that we sing." | 0:14:09 | 0:14:12 | |
# We are living for Living for Jesus! # | 0:14:12 | 0:14:15 | |
CHEERING | 0:14:15 | 0:14:17 | |
Wow! That music would certainly wake you up on a Sunday morning! | 0:14:19 | 0:14:23 | |
Now, our next hymn comes from South London and, | 0:14:23 | 0:14:26 | |
whilst it may not be quite as loud, it's certainly just as heartfelt. | 0:14:26 | 0:14:30 | |
SIREN WAILS | 0:17:08 | 0:17:11 | |
We've all heard about trying to get the work-life balance right, | 0:17:11 | 0:17:14 | |
but what about the work-faith balance? | 0:17:14 | 0:17:17 | |
Sometimes it's all too easy to hang up our faith on the door | 0:17:17 | 0:17:20 | |
on the way into work. | 0:17:20 | 0:17:21 | |
But one group of Christian firefighters from the | 0:17:21 | 0:17:23 | |
Northern Ireland Fire & Rescue Service meet up regularly to help | 0:17:23 | 0:17:27 | |
each other deal with the difficult situations they are called to face. | 0:17:27 | 0:17:31 | |
Fire, guys! | 0:17:33 | 0:17:35 | |
When firefighters respond to an 999 emergency call, | 0:17:35 | 0:17:39 | |
they have to be prepared for any situation, | 0:17:39 | 0:17:42 | |
as Watch Commander Paddy Quinn from Omagh knows only too well. | 0:17:42 | 0:17:46 | |
SIREN WAILS | 0:17:46 | 0:17:48 | |
It's a house fire. | 0:17:48 | 0:17:49 | |
And, according to this, it's two persons reported. | 0:17:49 | 0:17:52 | |
-The police had phoned it in. -OK, sir. -Michael, you got it covered? | 0:17:52 | 0:17:55 | |
Even for experienced firefighters, like Paddy, | 0:17:55 | 0:17:57 | |
it can be traumatic when the call is to attend a serious incident. | 0:17:57 | 0:18:01 | |
Through the Troubles in Northern Ireland, | 0:18:01 | 0:18:03 | |
the biggest loss of life in one incident was the Omagh bomb. | 0:18:03 | 0:18:06 | |
CAR ALARMS WAIL | 0:18:06 | 0:18:08 | |
Paddy was one of the firefighters on watch in Omagh back in 1998, | 0:18:08 | 0:18:13 | |
when the Real IRA exploded a car bomb | 0:18:13 | 0:18:16 | |
in the centre of the market town. | 0:18:16 | 0:18:18 | |
For us, as firefighters, to have to go | 0:18:18 | 0:18:21 | |
and deal with that, it was very traumatic. | 0:18:21 | 0:18:23 | |
I'd never witnessed a scene like it. | 0:18:23 | 0:18:26 | |
Especially since you knew people. People were asking me to help them. | 0:18:26 | 0:18:29 | |
And it was just like the most impossible thing to do, | 0:18:29 | 0:18:32 | |
was to help that day, because there was so much need | 0:18:32 | 0:18:35 | |
and, as a firefighter, you felt so helpless. | 0:18:35 | 0:18:38 | |
And it's something that I never talked about for years, | 0:18:38 | 0:18:40 | |
cos of respect for the families and nobody needed to know the trauma. | 0:18:40 | 0:18:44 | |
You sort of parked it in the back of your mind, | 0:18:44 | 0:18:46 | |
but every now and again, it came back to you. | 0:18:46 | 0:18:48 | |
-Robert initially asked me... -Because of the nature of their work, | 0:18:48 | 0:18:51 | |
Firefighters are encouraged to talk about their experiences. | 0:18:51 | 0:18:55 | |
And one of the organisations in Northern Ireland | 0:18:55 | 0:18:58 | |
that can provide support is Firefighters for Christ. | 0:18:58 | 0:19:01 | |
Once a month, the group meets in Belfast and it's the job | 0:19:01 | 0:19:04 | |
of one of the founding members to cook up a hearty breakfast. | 0:19:04 | 0:19:08 | |
Primarily, Firefighters for Christ is about encouraging firefighters | 0:19:08 | 0:19:11 | |
to live their lives for Jesus Christ. We have trained chaplains | 0:19:11 | 0:19:14 | |
within Firefighters for Christ. | 0:19:14 | 0:19:16 | |
We also have counselling facilities within Firefighters for Christ. | 0:19:16 | 0:19:19 | |
People that are having issues - either family issues, | 0:19:19 | 0:19:23 | |
finances, or just not dealing with life well. | 0:19:23 | 0:19:25 | |
It's quite a difficult job, | 0:19:25 | 0:19:27 | |
in the sense that there's a lot you can take home with you. | 0:19:27 | 0:19:29 | |
What you've seen and what you've had to cope with. | 0:19:29 | 0:19:31 | |
A lot of the times, you might be the only Christian on the station, | 0:19:31 | 0:19:34 | |
not just the watch, but potentially the station altogether. | 0:19:34 | 0:19:37 | |
So it's nice to have other guys there that have a faith. | 0:19:37 | 0:19:41 | |
Firefighters for Christ is a worldwide organisation | 0:19:41 | 0:19:44 | |
and, as part of their mission work, Paddy recently visited Uganda, | 0:19:44 | 0:19:48 | |
where they support a children's home. | 0:19:48 | 0:19:51 | |
These people are just so alive | 0:19:51 | 0:19:53 | |
in their love of God and their praise of God. | 0:19:53 | 0:19:56 | |
We're able to bring funds out to them, to bring clothes out to them, | 0:19:56 | 0:19:59 | |
pay for the new roof on the emergency relief building. | 0:19:59 | 0:20:02 | |
And they were also there to train local firefighters | 0:20:02 | 0:20:05 | |
and deliver free life-saving equipment. | 0:20:05 | 0:20:08 | |
Firefighters throughout the world are firefighters. | 0:20:08 | 0:20:10 | |
We have a brotherhood, we have a bond. | 0:20:10 | 0:20:13 | |
And, in that bond, we want to be able to save people. So, yes, | 0:20:13 | 0:20:16 | |
we want to help them save themselves | 0:20:16 | 0:20:18 | |
and save others with these practical techniques of rescue. | 0:20:18 | 0:20:22 | |
But ultimately, our main goal is | 0:20:22 | 0:20:24 | |
that we rescue their spiritual lives. | 0:20:24 | 0:20:26 | |
'If you take Jude 23, it says exactly what firefighters do - | 0:20:26 | 0:20:30 | |
'to snatch others from the fire and save them.' | 0:20:30 | 0:20:33 | |
-Good morning, church. -ALL: Good morning. | 0:20:33 | 0:20:35 | |
3-0 seconds, 30 seconds! | 0:20:35 | 0:20:37 | |
'Firefighters, we serve, because our name says service. | 0:20:37 | 0:20:40 | |
'Whether it be in a really serious situation, such as the Omagh bomb. | 0:20:40 | 0:20:45 | |
'Equally as important is when we go to an old lady | 0:20:45 | 0:20:47 | |
'who's burnt her cooking and is in distress and we go and help her. | 0:20:47 | 0:20:51 | |
'And it's shown me that I don't need to be in a church to serve.' | 0:20:51 | 0:20:54 | |
We can all serve our communities in whatever place we're at. | 0:20:54 | 0:20:57 | |
SIREN WAILS | 0:20:57 | 0:21:00 | |
Great to hear the congregation in Bristol there. | 0:23:28 | 0:23:31 | |
Now, we have some wonderful performers on Songs Of Praise | 0:23:31 | 0:23:34 | |
and this lady has been entertaining us for many years, with hits such as | 0:23:34 | 0:23:38 | |
I Know Him So Well and January, February. | 0:23:38 | 0:23:41 | |
Here, singing a song from her latest album, Barbara Dickson. | 0:23:41 | 0:23:45 | |
# My song is love unknown | 0:23:46 | 0:23:53 | |
# My Saviour's love to me | 0:23:53 | 0:23:58 | |
# Love to the loveless shown | 0:23:58 | 0:24:01 | |
# That they might lovely be | 0:24:01 | 0:24:07 | |
# O who am I | 0:24:07 | 0:24:10 | |
# That for my sake | 0:24:10 | 0:24:14 | |
# My Lord should take | 0:24:14 | 0:24:17 | |
# Frail flesh and die? | 0:24:17 | 0:24:21 | |
# Sometimes, they strew His way | 0:24:24 | 0:24:31 | |
# And His strong praises sing | 0:24:31 | 0:24:35 | |
# Resounding all the day | 0:24:35 | 0:24:39 | |
# Hosannas to their King | 0:24:39 | 0:24:45 | |
# Then "Crucify!" | 0:24:45 | 0:24:48 | |
# Is all their breath | 0:24:48 | 0:24:52 | |
# And for His death | 0:24:52 | 0:24:54 | |
# They thirst and cry | 0:24:54 | 0:25:00 | |
# They rise and needs will have | 0:25:03 | 0:25:09 | |
# My dear Lord made away | 0:25:09 | 0:25:14 | |
# A murderer they save | 0:25:14 | 0:25:18 | |
# The Prince of Life they slay | 0:25:18 | 0:25:23 | |
# Yet steadfast He | 0:25:23 | 0:25:27 | |
# To suffering goes | 0:25:27 | 0:25:30 | |
# That He His foes | 0:25:30 | 0:25:33 | |
# From thence might free | 0:25:33 | 0:25:38 | |
# Here might I stay and sing | 0:25:39 | 0:25:45 | |
# No story so divine | 0:25:45 | 0:25:50 | |
# Never was love, dear King | 0:25:50 | 0:25:54 | |
# Never was grief like Thine | 0:25:54 | 0:26:00 | |
# This is my Friend | 0:26:00 | 0:26:03 | |
# In Whose sweet praise | 0:26:03 | 0:26:07 | |
# I all my days | 0:26:07 | 0:26:09 | |
# Could gladly spend. # | 0:26:09 | 0:26:17 | |
Earlier in the programme, I told you about | 0:26:20 | 0:26:22 | |
the recent Church of England survey that discovered that numbers | 0:26:22 | 0:26:25 | |
attending weekly services had fallen to their lowest ever. | 0:26:25 | 0:26:28 | |
It's dwindling numbers like that | 0:26:28 | 0:26:30 | |
that cause churches like this to close. | 0:26:30 | 0:26:33 | |
St Alban's Acton Green in West London was empty for seven years. | 0:26:33 | 0:26:38 | |
Now it's reopened as part of the Church of England's initiative | 0:26:38 | 0:26:41 | |
to create 100 new congregations in London by 2020. | 0:26:41 | 0:26:46 | |
It's quite an ambition. | 0:26:46 | 0:26:47 | |
'The man tasked with achieving this | 0:26:49 | 0:26:50 | |
'is Bishop of Islington, the Right Reverend Ric Thorpe.' | 0:26:50 | 0:26:53 | |
In a church, I've never seen anything like this! | 0:26:53 | 0:26:56 | |
'Here at St Alban's, they've come up with an unusual plan.' | 0:26:56 | 0:26:59 | |
Why have you got a tent indoors? | 0:26:59 | 0:27:01 | |
While they're fixing up the building, | 0:27:01 | 0:27:02 | |
a tent means that the congregation can stay warm inside. | 0:27:02 | 0:27:07 | |
'Well, that's a novel way of solving the problem | 0:27:07 | 0:27:10 | |
'of no heating and a leaky roof.' | 0:27:10 | 0:27:12 | |
Bishop Ric, how do you create a new congregation | 0:27:12 | 0:27:15 | |
-where there isn't one? -Well, | 0:27:15 | 0:27:17 | |
in the Church of England, you need three things to start a new church - | 0:27:17 | 0:27:21 | |
-you need a Bishop who says yes... -Mm-hm. | 0:27:21 | 0:27:23 | |
..you need a leader, like a vicar who's going to go | 0:27:23 | 0:27:25 | |
and lead the new thing, and then you need a group of people | 0:27:25 | 0:27:29 | |
who are going to follow that leader and start something new. | 0:27:29 | 0:27:33 | |
Um, welcome to St Alban's this morning. | 0:27:33 | 0:27:35 | |
-Um, how are you all doing? -CHEERING | 0:27:35 | 0:27:37 | |
And then, that leader - the vicar - says, | 0:27:37 | 0:27:40 | |
"OK, we're going to encourage people to start coming," | 0:27:40 | 0:27:43 | |
and the services might start soon after that, and then, | 0:27:43 | 0:27:46 | |
once those things are happening, then you're up and running. | 0:27:46 | 0:27:49 | |
SINGING | 0:27:49 | 0:27:51 | |
And we want to recognise that there are lots of different groups | 0:27:51 | 0:27:54 | |
of people in London who we're not connecting with. | 0:27:54 | 0:27:56 | |
And so, starting 100 new congregations is about saying, | 0:27:56 | 0:28:00 | |
"Let's find those places, those people groups, | 0:28:00 | 0:28:03 | |
"those networks and say, 'Let's start a church for them.'" | 0:28:03 | 0:28:07 | |
And St Alban's has certainly found those family groups. | 0:28:07 | 0:28:10 | |
Well, this church didn't look like it had a future. | 0:28:15 | 0:28:18 | |
It was, er, going to be converted | 0:28:18 | 0:28:19 | |
into residential flats - nine luxury flats - | 0:28:19 | 0:28:22 | |
um, but the local community were up in arms about that | 0:28:22 | 0:28:26 | |
and 5,000 or so signed a petition to save the church | 0:28:26 | 0:28:29 | |
for the community and to be a church again. | 0:28:29 | 0:28:31 | |
Um, I've lived in the area a long while, um, and it just felt | 0:28:31 | 0:28:35 | |
very important to keep this as a local community space. | 0:28:35 | 0:28:38 | |
-It's a good place for mums and fathers to be... -Yeah? | 0:28:38 | 0:28:42 | |
..and basically get to know each other and it's a nice place | 0:28:42 | 0:28:46 | |
for the littler kids to bounce around and have fun. | 0:28:46 | 0:28:49 | |
What is it that excited you about coming over here? | 0:28:49 | 0:28:52 | |
I guess it was kind of the blank canvas, so the opportunity | 0:28:52 | 0:28:55 | |
to reopen it, start another congregation here and just put | 0:28:55 | 0:28:59 | |
your own flavour on it, really, take it wherever you want to go. | 0:28:59 | 0:29:03 | |
-ALL: -# ..we surrender to the truth... # | 0:29:03 | 0:29:10 | |
When they come in, hopefully they find a welcome, | 0:29:10 | 0:29:12 | |
and community that they want to be part of. | 0:29:12 | 0:29:15 | |
And then, actually, at the end of the day, what changes | 0:29:15 | 0:29:17 | |
people's lives, what makes them stay, is Jesus, it's the Gospel. | 0:29:17 | 0:29:21 | |
The same Gospel that's been preached for thousands of years, | 0:29:21 | 0:29:23 | |
but it still changes people's lives today - | 0:29:23 | 0:29:25 | |
that's why people stay in church. | 0:29:25 | 0:29:27 | |
That's about it for this week. | 0:31:13 | 0:31:14 | |
Next week, Aled Jones encounters some Welsh pride | 0:31:14 | 0:31:17 | |
in Port Talbot as he discovers how the community there is | 0:31:17 | 0:31:20 | |
dealing with the future of their steelworks. | 0:31:20 | 0:31:23 | |
Now, we finish with a hymn that reminds us that, | 0:31:23 | 0:31:25 | |
although styles may change, faith endures. | 0:31:25 | 0:31:28 |