0:00:02 > 0:00:06Wow. York Minster, it's magnificent, isn't it?
0:00:06 > 0:00:07Just a year ago,
0:00:07 > 0:00:10Libby Lane walked down this very aisle and into the history books,
0:00:10 > 0:00:14becoming the first woman bishop in the Church of England.
0:00:14 > 0:00:17So, today on Songs Of Praise, she reflects on the challenges
0:00:17 > 0:00:20and she prepares to see herself captured on canvas.
0:00:21 > 0:00:27The real privilege has been not to be the first to open this door,
0:00:27 > 0:00:29but then to hold it open.
0:00:29 > 0:00:32One of those following Libby is Ellie Bangay.
0:00:32 > 0:00:35She's York Minster's first female curate
0:00:35 > 0:00:37and the youngest in the country.
0:00:37 > 0:00:40Richard Taylor is in another cathedral, Canterbury,
0:00:40 > 0:00:43exploring its links with the 12th-century Chaucer.
0:00:45 > 0:00:47And seven months after the devastating terrorist attack
0:00:47 > 0:00:51on holiday-makers in Tunisia, I have come to hear how one survivor
0:00:51 > 0:00:54is coming to terms with his terrifying ordeal.
0:00:54 > 0:00:58That's when I realised that I was probably going to die.
0:01:07 > 0:01:10In honour of Libby Lane's first year as a bishop,
0:01:10 > 0:01:13many of our hymns today are written and performed by women,
0:01:13 > 0:01:17and we begin with a traditional favourite by Fanny Crosby,
0:01:17 > 0:01:19brought right up-to-date with a modern accompaniment.
0:01:19 > 0:01:22And it's led by Nathan Jess.
0:01:22 > 0:01:25# Oh, whoa-oh... #
0:01:55 > 0:01:57# Oh, whoa
0:01:57 > 0:02:00# Whoa-oh... #
0:03:00 > 0:03:02# Oh, whoa
0:03:02 > 0:03:05# Whoa-oh
0:03:05 > 0:03:06# Yeah!
0:03:06 > 0:03:09# Oh, whoa-oh
0:03:09 > 0:03:11# Whoa-oh
0:03:11 > 0:03:13# Great things... #
0:04:19 > 0:04:22The Canon of the Church of England, authorised by...
0:04:22 > 0:04:27On the 26th January 2015, in York Minster, Libby Lane was
0:04:27 > 0:04:31consecrated as the first female bishop in the Church of England.
0:04:31 > 0:04:34It's been 12 months of new experiences, challenges
0:04:34 > 0:04:37and a few surprises, not least when her former college
0:04:37 > 0:04:41asked her to sit for her first portrait.
0:04:41 > 0:04:45And do you just want me to stand here like a spare part?
0:04:45 > 0:04:48- Pretty much. - LAUGHTER
0:04:48 > 0:04:54For me, it's been a year of real delight.
0:04:54 > 0:04:57There have been a number of surprises.
0:04:57 > 0:05:01I've found myself in unexpected places -
0:05:01 > 0:05:06standing in the middle of a field, giving prizes to the best cow
0:05:06 > 0:05:08at the Cheshire Show.
0:05:08 > 0:05:11There's also been the opportunities that,
0:05:11 > 0:05:16quite rightly, will never be in the public profile.
0:05:16 > 0:05:20The conversations with those who have been bereaved.
0:05:21 > 0:05:26When, in July, lives were lost in an explosion at a local wood mill,
0:05:26 > 0:05:30Bishop Libby ministered to a community deeply shaken by the disaster.
0:05:30 > 0:05:34But challenges have come in many forms, and opposition to her
0:05:34 > 0:05:37appointment was vocalised even at her consecration.
0:05:37 > 0:05:39- MAN:- No, not in the Bible!
0:05:39 > 0:05:41With respect, Your Grace,
0:05:41 > 0:05:45I ask to speak on this absolute impediment, please.
0:05:46 > 0:05:53Although I'm not unrealistic about the problems that we face,
0:05:53 > 0:05:59I'm glad that I belong to a church that allows opposition to be voiced.
0:05:59 > 0:06:03That we can disagree with each other
0:06:03 > 0:06:07and still belong to one another in Christ.
0:06:10 > 0:06:12It takes some getting used to,
0:06:12 > 0:06:17that my own face is going to be recorded for ever.
0:06:18 > 0:06:22So I wanted your eye to be fed into the portrait,
0:06:22 > 0:06:25passed through her hands, her Episcopal ring,
0:06:25 > 0:06:30and through her, ultimately, to end up on her faith.
0:06:31 > 0:06:36The contribution of women to every area of life,
0:06:36 > 0:06:41throughout time, has been enormous but often undervalued.
0:06:41 > 0:06:47And, until very recently, almost entirely unrecognised publicly.
0:06:47 > 0:06:51So, right now, I'm a little bit tense because we're about to show
0:06:51 > 0:06:54Bishop Libby the portrait for the first time.
0:06:56 > 0:06:58Ready for the big reveal?
0:06:58 > 0:07:02This is where I've got to so far.
0:07:03 > 0:07:06Tom, that is absolutely marvellous.
0:07:06 > 0:07:11- It-It looks like me, which is always a good thing.- Wonderful. That's a good start, yeah.
0:07:11 > 0:07:14- And I think it looks like I'm about to smile.- Yeah.
0:07:14 > 0:07:17- Really happy. Thank you, Tom. - Pleasure. Absolute pleasure.
0:07:17 > 0:07:23'People do speak of what I'm doing as being a pioneer.'
0:07:23 > 0:07:27But I feel like somebody who is walking in the footsteps
0:07:27 > 0:07:29of countless women and men
0:07:29 > 0:07:35who have actually prepared the road for me to be able to walk.
0:10:20 > 0:10:24York Minster is one of the largest Gothic cathedrals in northern Europe.
0:10:24 > 0:10:29No wonder it attracts thousands of visitors every year.
0:10:29 > 0:10:32For centuries, people have been making pilgrimages
0:10:32 > 0:10:34to Britain's great cathedrals.
0:10:34 > 0:10:36Richard Taylor, our church detective,
0:10:36 > 0:10:39is heading to Canterbury to discover more about its links with
0:10:39 > 0:10:43Chaucer and those famous pilgrims of his in The Canterbury Tales.
0:10:46 > 0:10:49In The Canterbury Tales, written in the 1380s,
0:10:49 > 0:10:5330 pilgrims meet at an inn in London
0:10:53 > 0:10:57en route to visit the shrine of St Thomas a Becket in Canterbury.
0:10:57 > 0:11:02They're a mixed bunch - a noble knight, a worldly prioress,
0:11:02 > 0:11:07a disgusting miller and, of course, the irrepressible wife of Bath.
0:11:07 > 0:11:11They decide to travel together, and they also decide that
0:11:11 > 0:11:16on the way, to pass the time, they will tell each other stories.
0:11:16 > 0:11:18The Canterbury Tales.
0:11:21 > 0:11:23Canterbury is a couple of days' ride from London,
0:11:23 > 0:11:26and you can well imagine the pilgrims trotting along one
0:11:26 > 0:11:30of the old pilgrim ways like this one, singing their songs
0:11:30 > 0:11:35and telling their tales until they'd round the corner...and there it was.
0:11:40 > 0:11:43Canterbury Cathedral is an amazing sight now,
0:11:43 > 0:11:47but, back then, it must have looked like a spaceship had landed.
0:11:47 > 0:11:50Like God's own palace had fallen from Heaven to earth.
0:11:52 > 0:11:55But nothing, nothing would have prepared them
0:11:55 > 0:11:57for what they were about to experience.
0:12:02 > 0:12:07Entering the cathedral was a sensory explosion -
0:12:07 > 0:12:09the heavy scent of the incense,
0:12:09 > 0:12:13the chanting of the monks, the brightly-painted walls
0:12:13 > 0:12:16and the columns that seemed to stretch up to Heaven.
0:12:24 > 0:12:28They came because if they visited these holy sites,
0:12:28 > 0:12:31they thought it would get them quicker to Heaven.
0:12:31 > 0:12:34But they also came because, at most of these sites,
0:12:34 > 0:12:37they were learning that miracles were taking place.
0:12:37 > 0:12:40And, of course, if you had something wrong with you, you would want
0:12:40 > 0:12:43to go on one of these pilgrimages to one of these holy sites
0:12:43 > 0:12:46in the hopes that whatever was wrong with you would in fact be cured.
0:12:46 > 0:12:49And were people coming for fun?
0:12:49 > 0:12:52I know you like to think that they probably came on organised
0:12:52 > 0:12:53package tours...
0:12:53 > 0:12:57Erm, to a certain extent, yes. Because Chaucer's Canterbury Tales,
0:12:57 > 0:13:00you have this jolly band of pilgrims coming down to Canterbury
0:13:00 > 0:13:03and there was a prize for the one that told the best tale.
0:13:03 > 0:13:06Did Chaucer himself come to Canterbury?
0:13:06 > 0:13:11I don't know of any written document that says Chaucer actually came,
0:13:11 > 0:13:15but I think, as Master of the King's Works, he would have been down.
0:13:15 > 0:13:18Because so much of Canterbury Cathedral was rebuilt
0:13:18 > 0:13:21towards the end of the 1300s.
0:13:21 > 0:13:24And Chaucer would have been here to oversee it, of course.
0:13:26 > 0:13:29If Chaucer did visit Canterbury, then he would've walked up
0:13:29 > 0:13:33these steps, worn away by countless pilgrims through the centuries.
0:13:35 > 0:13:37And when they reach the top,
0:13:37 > 0:13:41they'd see the miracle windows shining like jewels above them.
0:13:43 > 0:13:47The windows are an amazing record, showing real pilgrims, the tomb
0:13:47 > 0:13:52itself and some of the miracles that are said to have taken place here.
0:13:52 > 0:13:54They're like postcards from the past,
0:13:54 > 0:13:56showing you how this place really looked.
0:13:59 > 0:14:03Until, finally, they came to Thomas's tomb.
0:14:06 > 0:14:10Becket's tomb was destroyed on the orders of Henry VIII in 1538,
0:14:10 > 0:14:14and now a single candle marks the spot where it stood.
0:14:15 > 0:14:19But nothing could destroy the sense of wonder that it left with
0:14:19 > 0:14:24the pilgrims who came here, or the traces that they left behind them.
0:14:24 > 0:14:29Or the feeling that it still leaves visitors with today.
0:16:23 > 0:16:24BELL CHIMES
0:16:24 > 0:16:27- MALE VOICE:- # Lift up your heads, O ye gates
0:16:27 > 0:16:30# And be ye lift up, ye everlasting doors... #
0:16:30 > 0:16:33Choral singing is an important tradition in this country
0:16:33 > 0:16:34and we like to celebrate
0:16:34 > 0:16:37and encourage it in our School Choir of the Year competition.
0:16:37 > 0:16:40It features some of the country's finest young voices.
0:16:40 > 0:16:43This year, the final will be held at Sheffield City Hall, and if you'd
0:16:43 > 0:16:45like to be part of the audience,
0:16:45 > 0:16:47there are still some tickets available.
0:16:47 > 0:16:49Aled Jones will be hosting,
0:16:49 > 0:16:52and the all-important dates are Saturday the 27th
0:16:52 > 0:16:55and Sunday the 28th of February.
0:16:55 > 0:16:57To apply for your free tickets,
0:16:57 > 0:17:00contact the Songs Of Praise office by going to the website...
0:17:04 > 0:17:06Here's a taster from last year's competition.
0:17:06 > 0:17:09# O come, let us sing
0:17:09 > 0:17:11# Sing unto the Lord
0:17:11 > 0:17:15# Let's make a joyful noise to the rock of our salvation
0:17:15 > 0:17:19# Come before his presence with thanksgiving in our hearts
0:17:19 > 0:17:23# We'll make a joyful noise unto him
0:17:23 > 0:17:28- # As we sing - Halle-lujah
0:17:28 > 0:17:32- # As we sing - Halle-lujah
0:17:32 > 0:17:36# For the Lord is great
0:17:36 > 0:17:41# Greatly to be praised
0:17:41 > 0:17:43# Praised
0:17:43 > 0:17:45# Praised
0:17:45 > 0:17:48# Praised
0:17:48 > 0:17:52# For the Lord is great
0:17:52 > 0:17:58# Greatly to be praised
0:17:58 > 0:18:00# Praised
0:18:00 > 0:18:02# Praised
0:18:02 > 0:18:05# Praised
0:18:05 > 0:18:08# O come, let us worship
0:18:08 > 0:18:10# Bow down and worship
0:18:10 > 0:18:12# Bow before the Lord
0:18:12 > 0:18:14# For he is the Lord, our maker
0:18:14 > 0:18:18# He is our God and we are his people
0:18:18 > 0:18:22# We'll make a joyful noise unto him
0:18:22 > 0:18:27- # As we sing - Halle-lujah
0:18:27 > 0:18:31- # As we sing - Halle-lujah
0:18:31 > 0:18:33- # We sing - Halle...
0:18:33 > 0:18:36- # We sing - ..Lujah
0:18:36 > 0:18:40# Hallelujah
0:18:40 > 0:18:42- # We sing - Holy
0:18:42 > 0:18:44- # We sing - Worthy
0:18:44 > 0:18:48# To the Lord
0:18:48 > 0:18:50- # Power - Power!
0:18:50 > 0:18:52- # And strength - And strength!
0:18:52 > 0:18:55- # Belong - To you!
0:18:55 > 0:18:56# For ever and ever
0:18:56 > 0:18:59- # Power - Power!
0:18:59 > 0:19:01- # And strength - And strength!
0:19:01 > 0:19:03- # Belong - To you!
0:19:03 > 0:19:05# For ever and ever
0:19:05 > 0:19:08- # For ever and ever - For ever and ever
0:19:08 > 0:19:13- # For ever and ever - For ever and ever
0:19:13 > 0:19:15# For ever and ever
0:19:15 > 0:19:17# For ever and ever
0:19:17 > 0:19:19# For ever and ever
0:19:19 > 0:19:26# Amen
0:19:26 > 0:19:34# Amen
0:19:34 > 0:19:36# Amen! #
0:19:43 > 0:19:47For many people, lighting a candle and saying a prayer can bring
0:19:47 > 0:19:50great comfort during times of grief and sorrow.
0:19:50 > 0:19:55Seven months ago, 38 people, including 30 British citizens,
0:19:55 > 0:19:59were murdered in a terror attack by a lone gunman in Tunisia.
0:19:59 > 0:20:02David Grant has been to hear one story from a survivor.
0:20:04 > 0:20:08Last June, Colin Bidwell and his wife joined thousands of British
0:20:08 > 0:20:13holiday-makers who jetted off for some sun, sea and relaxation.
0:20:13 > 0:20:17It was one of the best hotels I've ever stayed in in Tunisia.
0:20:17 > 0:20:21The food was great, the staff were fantastic and the weather was good.
0:20:21 > 0:20:23It was just perfectly what we wanted.
0:20:23 > 0:20:26Little did Colin know that this tranquillity was about to be
0:20:26 > 0:20:29broken in the most devastating way.
0:20:30 > 0:20:3415 Britons are now known to have died in the attack
0:20:34 > 0:20:36on a tourist resort in Tunisia.
0:20:36 > 0:20:39And the Foreign Office says that number may well rise.
0:20:44 > 0:20:46The sound...
0:20:46 > 0:20:50I just naturally thought possibly a firework had just went off.
0:20:50 > 0:20:52And then, the second shot,
0:20:52 > 0:20:56I realised it was obviously some sort of gunfire.
0:20:57 > 0:20:59I turned and looked to my wife.
0:20:59 > 0:21:03She was already off her sunbed, running up the beach
0:21:03 > 0:21:04and telling me to run.
0:21:04 > 0:21:10As I leant over, the first round that I felt very close to me
0:21:10 > 0:21:12actually went underneath my arm.
0:21:13 > 0:21:18And I ran to the end of the sunbeds. I was still under fire.
0:21:18 > 0:21:22The gunman was obviously working his way through the sunbeds
0:21:22 > 0:21:25and then that's when I had the moment that I realised
0:21:25 > 0:21:27that I was probably going to die.
0:21:28 > 0:21:31And I ran and swum out to sea.
0:21:31 > 0:21:35It was an attack that would lead to Colin being shot twice.
0:21:35 > 0:21:38Thankfully, both Colin and his wife survived the ordeal.
0:21:40 > 0:21:42Colin soon returned to the UK
0:21:42 > 0:21:47but found that before going home or seeing family, something drew him
0:21:47 > 0:21:52here, to his local church, a place he had rarely visited until now.
0:21:52 > 0:21:57We drove outside the church and just creeped into the main entrance.
0:21:57 > 0:22:00And the congregation were talking about myself and my wife.
0:22:00 > 0:22:03- Really?- Yeah. It was just an incredible moment.
0:22:03 > 0:22:05I couldn't believe it.
0:22:05 > 0:22:08They were mentioning about what had happened in Tunisia on the Friday
0:22:08 > 0:22:10and that they were aware that possibly
0:22:10 > 0:22:13someone from the village was involved.
0:22:13 > 0:22:16So, me and my wife just looked at each other and decided,
0:22:16 > 0:22:19you know, maybe some significance, I don't know.
0:22:19 > 0:22:25How have you resisted the temptation to hatred?
0:22:25 > 0:22:27I must admit, in the beginning,
0:22:27 > 0:22:31I did find it a little bit difficult, the first few days.
0:22:31 > 0:22:36I had quite a few questions and took myself to the local mosque.
0:22:40 > 0:22:44'When he came to see me, he was horrified, very scared.'
0:22:44 > 0:22:48He asked me about Islam and about Muslims.
0:22:48 > 0:22:52'Well, I've understood, because it has been so fully explained,'
0:22:52 > 0:22:56some of the things I didn't really know about culture and belief
0:22:56 > 0:22:57and the way I feel about things.
0:22:57 > 0:23:00'It's been a great experience for me.'
0:23:03 > 0:23:06For now, Colin is just starting his journey
0:23:06 > 0:23:08and beginning to explore his faith.
0:23:08 > 0:23:10But the events of that day in June
0:23:10 > 0:23:13have had a life-changing impact on him.
0:23:13 > 0:23:16So, there's something in the power of prayer.
0:23:16 > 0:23:21I believe there is a supreme being and, at this moment in time,
0:23:21 > 0:23:24I'm just seeing where this journey takes me.
0:23:24 > 0:23:29But we certainly find comfort in coming to the church, yes, we do.
0:23:29 > 0:23:36# Let your arms enfold us
0:23:37 > 0:23:44# Through the dark of night
0:23:44 > 0:23:51# Will your angels hold us
0:23:51 > 0:23:55# Till we see
0:23:55 > 0:24:01# The light?
0:24:10 > 0:24:12# Hush
0:24:15 > 0:24:21# Lay down your troubled mind
0:24:24 > 0:24:30# The day has vanished
0:24:30 > 0:24:35# And left us behind
0:24:38 > 0:24:43# And the wind
0:24:43 > 0:24:49# Whispering soft lullabies
0:24:53 > 0:24:56# Will soothe
0:24:56 > 0:25:03# So close your weary eyes
0:25:08 > 0:25:15# Let your arms enfold us
0:25:15 > 0:25:23# Through the dark of night
0:25:23 > 0:25:30# Will your angels hold us
0:25:30 > 0:25:36# Till we see
0:25:36 > 0:25:43# The light? #
0:25:57 > 0:26:02York Minster has been here for 800 years, and for the first time
0:26:02 > 0:26:05in its history, they've appointed a female curate.
0:26:05 > 0:26:10At 24, Ellie Bangay is also the youngest curate in the country.
0:26:10 > 0:26:13In her first six months, she's made a big impact,
0:26:13 > 0:26:15with the help of her dog-collared friend.
0:26:15 > 0:26:18- Hi, Ellie. How are you?- Good, nice to meet you.- Nice to see you.
0:26:18 > 0:26:20And this must be George of the Minster?
0:26:20 > 0:26:22- Yes, this is George of the Minster. - Wow!
0:26:22 > 0:26:24- George...- George!- Come on.- Good boy.
0:26:24 > 0:26:27He's made a huge difference because he's so friendly and people
0:26:27 > 0:26:31just want to stop and talk to him and then, by default, to me.
0:26:33 > 0:26:38Ellie, as far as first places to work go, this is spectacular.
0:26:38 > 0:26:41You must feel like pinching yourself every day?
0:26:41 > 0:26:44- Yeah, it's quite something. - And your role as a curate...- Yes.
0:26:44 > 0:26:46What does that involve here at the Minster?
0:26:46 > 0:26:49Well, being a curate is kind of like being an apprentice,
0:26:49 > 0:26:53and I can do things like baptisms and funerals.
0:26:53 > 0:26:56I can't yet do weddings or preside at Communions because that's the
0:26:56 > 0:27:00job of a priest, which, hopefully, I will become in the next few months.
0:27:00 > 0:27:02'But there's still so much to do.
0:27:02 > 0:27:05'One of my favourite things is working across the road
0:27:05 > 0:27:09'at the Minster School, doing assemblies there.'
0:27:09 > 0:27:12So Jesus taught us to live in peace alongside other people,
0:27:12 > 0:27:14even when we don't agree with them.
0:27:16 > 0:27:19Ellie is part of the generation for whom women priests are the norm.
0:27:19 > 0:27:21She has only known acceptance.
0:27:21 > 0:27:24It was a different story for the Dean of York Minster,
0:27:24 > 0:27:26the Very Reverend Vivienne Faull.
0:27:26 > 0:27:30In 1994, she was one of the first women to be ordained
0:27:30 > 0:27:32and took on those who disagreed.
0:27:38 > 0:27:42And there are certain... actually, relatively few texts,
0:27:42 > 0:27:44particularly from the New Testament,
0:27:44 > 0:27:46from the Christian Scriptures,
0:27:46 > 0:27:50which would seem to indicate that women shouldn't be in authority.
0:27:50 > 0:27:52Inevitably, it was really hurtful,
0:27:52 > 0:27:56because it felt as if it wasn't just my role that was being rejected.
0:27:56 > 0:27:58It was me, it was personal.
0:27:58 > 0:28:03Now, nearly all of the relationships I have with those who were opposed
0:28:03 > 0:28:07are profoundly friendly because we've had to work through some very,
0:28:07 > 0:28:10very difficult questions together,
0:28:10 > 0:28:16and decide we really do disagree and we disagree quite strongly,
0:28:16 > 0:28:21but we still love one another within the boundaries of the Church.
0:28:21 > 0:28:23And that's very important to me.
0:28:23 > 0:28:25And how does that make you, Ellie, feel?
0:28:25 > 0:28:29Having people who've paved the way to where I am now means that
0:28:29 > 0:28:32I've faced very little opposition.
0:28:32 > 0:28:33Let us pray.
0:28:33 > 0:28:38So I'm just really grateful that it has been such a smooth transition into my job.
0:28:38 > 0:28:40Today, the church remembers Agnes,
0:28:40 > 0:28:43who was martyred at Rome in 304.
0:28:47 > 0:28:51# Just as I am... #
0:30:57 > 0:31:00Well, that's just about it from York Minster
0:31:00 > 0:31:03but, next week, as part of Chinese New Year, Josie d'Arby
0:31:03 > 0:31:06is joining some Chinese Christians on a pilgrimage to some
0:31:06 > 0:31:08little-known historic sites...
0:31:08 > 0:31:10in Barnsley.
0:31:10 > 0:31:12But, for now, we leave you with a great gospel song
0:31:12 > 0:31:16written by two women - Estelle Banks and Sylvana Bell.
0:31:16 > 0:31:17Thanks for watching.