All Creatures Great and Small Songs of Praise

RHINO GRUNTS

Someone's hungry.

This is Emma and she's just one of the stars of the programme,

cos today it's all about the animals.

I know what you're thinking. It's going to be ZOOper!

So, this week we celebrate all creatures great and small...

..visit a school where the children share the playground with alpacas...

and meet the dog who is more than man's best friend.

Zoos are a great way of introducing children to animals

from all over the world.

And here at Chester Zoo, over 400 species fight for your attention.

Some are cheeky.

Some bigger...

..and some...

scarier.

And zoos like Chester play an important role in conservation

and ensuring generations to come will still be able

to marvel at the animals.

This is Liza. She's a sitatunga, a form of antelope.

Now, our music today celebrates creatures great and small,

and our first hymn was written by St Francis of Assisi,

who's the patron saint of all lovely animals.

I wake up in the morning and I hear the sound of the gibbons

alongside the morning chorus of the birds.

In the afternoon and evening,

you can hear the lions roar from some way away.

So it's a fascinating place to live nearby.

Local resident David Clough is Professor of Theological Ethics at the University of Chester,

and takes a keen interest in the plight of animals.

I think zoos can be very important places,

and Chester has done a lot in relation to animal welfare

and they work on preservation of endangered species here

and they contribute to conservation projects around the world, too.

One way of thinking about zoos in Christian terms would be to think about the story of Noah's Ark.

There's a sense in which zoos are playing a role in preserving

whole diversity of species, just as God charged Noah with

in the story of the flood.

Some would say we're the number one species.

Why do we need the animals that aren't useful to us?

Well, if Christians believe that God had a reason to create them,

then Christians should be attentive to what God is doing in relation to other animals in the world

and try to participate in that, and not be just attentive to human interests,

but look much more widely.

It's usually the saints that have some dealing with the animals.

There's some magnificent stories that I think indicate

that Christians have thought concern and harmony with the animal kingdom

is very close to holiness and saintliness.

One of my favourites is the story of St Kevin,

and the story goes that he held up his hands in prayer

and while he was praying, a little bird came and made its nest and laid eggs on top of his hand.

And St Kevin was so concerned to be attentive to the welfare of that bird

that he kept his hand out until all the birds had fledged

and had flown away.

I think if we have a strong sense that God has willed

this magnificently diverse creation,

then these partial encounters we can have with animals,

even in the context of a zoo, can remind us of the magnificence

of God's grace to human beings and to the whole of creation.

# For the beauty of the Earth

# For the beauty of the skies

# For the love which from our birth

# Of and around us lies

# Of and around us lies

# Lord of all, to thee we raise

# This, our joyful hymn of praise

-# For the joy of human life

-# For the joy of life

# Brother, sister, parent, child

-# Brother, sister and child

-# Friends on Earth

-# Friends on Earth

-# And friends above

# Friends above

-# For gentle thoughts and mild

-# For gentle

-# For gentle thoughts and mild

-# Thoughts and mild

-# Lord of all, to thee we raise

-# Lord of all, we raise

-# This, our joyful hymn of praise

-# Our joyful hymn of praise

# For each perfect gift of thine

# To our race so freely given

-# Graces human and divine

-# Graces human and divine

-# Flow'rs and buds of Earth

-# A-ah

# Flow'rs and buds of Earth

# Lord of all, to thee we raise

-# This, our joyful hymn of praise

-# This, our joyful hymn of praise

-# This, our joyful hymn of praise

-# Our hymn of praise. #

It's all very well school children going to the zoo,

but you wouldn't really expect animals to go to school...would you?

Cardinal Wiseman Catholic School in Coventry has its very own farm,

and it was the brainwave of teacher Sean O'Donovan.

Well, the idea is really to get the kids out of the classroom

and be caring for animals.

We run an agriculture course and an animal care course.

And it suits some kids. Really suits them well.

We're a city school, so really this helps a lot, having animals here.

Many kids, before we got the pigs, didn't know what a pig looked like,

how big it was, what it smelt like and so on.

-But it's not really a petting farm, is it?

-No.

And that's very important. There are certain animals here that have pet names

and then the animals which are going to go in the food chain, they don't.

And that's a very important distinction I think that schools need to make.

-How long have you been on the course?

-Two months.

-Are you enjoying it?

-Yeah, it's good.

-Great.

-What's the best bit about it?

Um, working with the animals.

Yeah, taking care of them, seeing all the different things we've got.

Working with animals in a farm is just amazing for me.

-It's great having all the animals in the school, isn't it?

-Yes.

What's your favourite animal?

-Alpaca.

-Why do you like that so much?

-They're just really cool.

-Are they?

-Yeah.

What do you hope they learn

from the getting in and getting dirty aspect of it?

Well, I want them to enjoy it.

These are exam classes that they do, so they do that as well.

But they learn this responsibility - they learn caring for people.

That transmits then to caring for other humans,

and that all goes back to our faith as a Christian,

caring for other people.

-It's the best part of my week.

-Really?

-Yeah.

-Why do you love it?

I just like to be outdoors. This course is just brilliant.

Rather than sitting in the classroom just getting told what to do,

you're outdoors, being practical.

-Being around the animals is great.

-Should more schools copy yours?

Yeah, definitely.

It teaches a lot of the students about sustainability

and how to do your own thing.

This is a faith school. How does it fit in with that aspect of things?

It is, and I think that's an important part of the whole setup.

We have the idea of the Good Shepherd here -

I think in St John's Gospel where he said, "I'm the Good Shepherd",

and I think that's an important point,

particularly with having the sheep and animals,

and if you can get kids to care for animals,

then they'll go on to care for people.

Well, we all know the expression that a dog is a man's best friend.

Look at these painted dogs fast asleep.

But there are some dogs who go above and beyond the call of duty.

She is very uplifting.

Just her spirit, she is full of life.

And a good distraction from what might be misery otherwise.

She definitely takes your mind off the negative side of everything.

She is full of energy and, you know,

you can't stop to think about your woes, really.

At the beginning of last year, Tony and Sandra's son Conrad

was on a tour of duty in Afghanistan serving in the Parachute Regiment.

They fought nearly every day, which I think is incredible.

Lots of the guys do lots of fighting out there,

but I think that checkpoint came under particular...

you know, difficult circumstances.

But they faced it bravely.

Just last February, Conrad's patrol came under fire.

He became the 353rd British soldier to die in Afghanistan.

It's really difficult.

The way we've tried to deal with it is to carry on

as we thought he would have liked us to carry on,

and carry on as he went on with life.

We said the other day that he keeps us forever off our knees

because you do just want to fall on your knees and give up.

He'd written in letters how he had got this dog at the checkpoint,

and how they were all looking after her -

how he was feeding her and teaching her to sit and give paw and stuff.

So, after he died, we thought about the dog

because we'd been given an instruction at Christmas

that he would like to bring the dog home.

So, we thought that was our job.

But the odds of getting Peg home safely were extremely low.

She's at the most dangerous checkpoint in Helmand Province.

We have to get her, bring her back, she has to make that journey,

she has to be well, not diseased,

and then she's got to fly back and do six months in quarantine.

It is just incredible.

And she's handled that as if it was a walk in the park.

And at each point, somebody has helped. Somebody has helped.

She's a great comfort, and it's almost spiritual, having her about.

How precious is she?

She is very precious.

-Yeah.

-Yes.

She's our link to his time in Afghanistan,

and, you know, by virtue of that, a link back to him.

A reminder of him, yes.

But a lovely reminder of him.

Yeah, definitely the same spirit -

always on the go, looking for the next adventure.

She'd patrol with them,

she'd lie down when he lay down, she'd get up when they got up.

I think she gave all the soldiers a real boost.

And when you're out doing that job,

and facing the enemy, and engaging the enemy,

to get back and have something that is a reminder of home,

and takes away that very unnatural environment,

it has got to be really comforting.

The other thing is, we know she gave Conrad and the guys a lot of comfort.

# Whispers in a dream

# The world is quiet and waiting

# And all around the air is still

# And sings the angels

# When all is come to pass

# The storm has breathed its last

# And the rain

# Has washed our fears away

# Love will find

# Whispers in the wind

# The clouds part to let the light in

# And all around the air is still

# Then sings the angels

# When all is come to pass

# The storm has breathed its last

# And the rain

# Has washed our fears away

# Love will fall

# On us all

# And we can smile

# Again. #

There are lots of references to animals in the Bible.

The Wise Men travelled on camels, and a humble donkey was good enough

to carry the Son of God into Jerusalem.

We still recognise their importance today

as more and more churches catch on to the idea of pet services.

The teachings of St Francis of Assisi,

friend and protector of all animals,

are recalled at a Noah's Ark service.

The services first became popular back in the 1940s

and have hardly changed over the years.

It's all about worshipping God,

primarily through the animals.

It's a time when we can come

and bring our pets, and say thank you to God

for what we cherish in them, how they enrich our lives,

and their loyalty as well.

Who's this?

We get various animals at our pet services, from dogs and cats,

rats, rabbits,

budgerigars...

Oh, and hens. For the last couple of years, a lady has brought hens.

We've never had any fights in the church.

One or two strong minded dogs bark a lot sometimes when they come in,

but they soon settle down.

All creation is God made, and this is part of my faith.

I look after God's creatures,

and they bounce around!

I believe that I have been given guardianship of my animals

I have to look after them to the best of my ability.

It's important to come and give thanks

for having my pets and remember the ones that I have lost as well.

Irwin's a canine partner.

Every day with Irwin, I feel blessed by him.

So, I suppose this is like a little bit of payback for Irwin,

that he comes today and he gets his blessing.

I would like to think that all prayers are answered.

And, in the Bible,

Jesus told us to have concern, even for the smallest of creatures.

I think, probably, the pets do get something from it

in that the thanks that their owners give,

and the fact that we've taken them to God in prayer.

Loving God, you are a remarkable God,

whose graciousness knows no limits.

Not only have you created the great Earth,

but also you are to every living creature, their kind and loving God.

Let us rejoice in the goodness of God,

shown in the beauty of our animal companions.

And the blessing of God Almighty the creator and the Redeemer,

be upon you and upon all animals today and always.

Amen.

Well, I have thoroughly enjoyed my day out at Chester Zoo.

Our final hymn is a celebration of all of God's creation -

that's me and my new little friends here.

Until next time, goodbye.

Next week, inspiring hymns from the land of my birth

as some of the finest male voice choirs in Wales

sing classic Welsh hymns that will stir your soul.

Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd