Dunblane Songs of Praise

We're right in the middle of Scotland today,

in the lovely cathedral town of Dunblane.

And in this week's programme,

a unique school for the children of the military.

How a cathedral helps you to pray.

Hymns and songs from the Dunblane congregation,

and two very different choirs.

Look north, and we're in the Highlands.

Look south, and it's the industrial belt.

This is the crossroads of Scotland.

Dunblane's at a crossroads in another sense, too.

All around it are the enduring symbols of both

the earthly power struggles and the quiet journey of the soul

that have played themselves out in so much of Scottish history.

Take this rather grand monument, for instance.

It's celebrating the battles of the fighter William Wallace

against the English, of course, in the late 13th century.

The Battle of Bannockburn in 1314

was provoked by a siege of Stirling Castle,

which was the focal point of conflict between the Scots and the English for many years.

But at the same time, a small community was growing up

around the ancient religious settlement at Dunblane.

Dunblane Cathedral itself dates back to the 12th and 13th centuries.

From here, people have been looking out on the world and praising God for almost 1,000 years.

The cathedral is named after Saint Blane, who was born on the Isle of Bute.

There's still clear evidence of an early settlement around the church on Bute which bears his name.

The stones in the cathedral all tell a story.

These arches and pillars are testament

to the 300 years of exposure to the elements when the nave had no roof.

There are many stories told and memories honoured here,

not least the pupils and teacher killed in the town's primary school in 1996,

marked by this simple standing stone.

And a century ago, when the cathedral was having a new set of windows made,

the news that all lives had been lost

in Captain Scott's Antarctic expedition was commemorated in stained glass.

So this cathedral has long been a place of searching for meaning and for God in difficult times.

Queen Victoria School in Dunblane is the UK's only boarding school

for children from services families.

Built in memory of those who were killed in the Boer War,

it was paid for by soldiers at the time, each giving a day's pay.

The great thing that we provide for our families

is stability and continuity of education for their children.

Because if our families weren't sending their children to us,

their children would be moving around with them.

My parents move around every two years,

so I keep on having to make new friends.

One, two!

Everyone comes from the same family, everyone's military organised,

so everyone knows what everyone's like. You're all in the same boat.

It can be difficult at times.

There's been situations where pupils' parents have been

involved in something out there,

and the school just all pulls together as one.

'It's really quite amazing to see how much everybody

'is just there for each other.'

It doesn't matter whether your dad's, like, really far away,

or whether you just haven't seen him in a little while

and he's just come back. You've all experienced the same sort of thing.

It's the old story. If you've walked a mile in the person's shoes,

it just makes it much more easy to be empathic,

and that's what our children are with each other,

and that's a great strength of our pupils.

Well done, James.

I think the opportunities you get,

such as the Combined Cadet Force and the Duke of Edinburgh,

and the pipe band and dancing are amazing opportunities for people.

It's unbelievable.

All our children come from a family where at least one member of the family is serving,

so they all know what it's like.

We have a peer support system in each of the boarding houses

where the senior pupils in houses take up more of a kind of brotherly role or sisterly role.

Everybody's working closely with each other,

so the seniors will put the junior year groups to bed.

So in that sense it's more like the older sister

and the younger brother role model.

The younger pupils are aware of who to talk to, and our doors are always open.

They can just come, have a chat with us, we'll talk about a few things.

We're just here to, you know, put a little comfort into their hearts.

The children know they can get access to e-mail facilities and telephone facilities

so that if dad's phoning from Afghanistan and it's going to be at 8:15 on Friday morning

cos that's his slot, we make sure that the child can be in the office to take that phone call,

because that's essentially so important for them

to know that they can talk to dad, and that dad's OK.

When you leave, if you came in primary seven

you would have been with the same people for seven years,

so you know them pretty, pretty well.

-And you make friends really easily, cos you're always...

-You're all in the same situation.

..Like, around people.

The bonds that you make with people are really...

I don't think you get that at a normal school,

because you're here all the time with people, and it really is a home from home.

It's sort of like a sleepover every night,

cos you're with your friends a lot.

The friends you meet here are your friends for life.

It's basically a family for your time here.

# I will sing with the spirit

# I will sing with the spirit

# Hallelujah, hallelujah

# Hallelujah, hallelujah

# Hallelujah, hallelujah Hallelujah

# I will sing with the spirit

# I will sing with the spirit

# Hallelujah, hallelujah

# Hallelujah, hallelujah

# Hallelujah, hallelujah

# Hallelujah, hallelujah

# And I will sing with the understanding also

# Hallelujah, hallelujah

# And I will sing with the understanding also

# Hallelujah, hallelujah

# And I will sing with the understanding also

# Hallelujah, hallelujah

# Hallelujah

-# I will sing with the spirit

-Sing hallelujah

-# Sing with the spirit

-Hallelujah with the spirit

# Hallelujah, hallelujah

# Hallelujah, hallelujah

# Hallelujah, hallelujah

# Hallelujah, hallelujah

# Hallelujah

# Hallelujah. #

16 years ago, Andrew and Rebecca Wright adopted their twin sons,

David and Billy.

They wanted a service to mark the event,

but they also wanted it to reflect the day-to-day life of their new family.

They asked cathedral member Ruth Burgess to write a service for them.

After the boys were adopted, they decided they wanted to have

a service of thanksgiving in the church for that,

and we tried to leave gaps in it

so that the boys' interests could come into it.

So I remember writing one prayer that was about steam engines,

because I knew the whole family was into steam engines,

but I also suggested one of the things we might be thankful for

was Smarties, cos of the "S" and the alliteration,

and what they came back with was stones

because that's what they liked collecting,

so we had a prayer thanking God for stones and for steam engines.

'So what about the thousands of visitors to Dunblane Cathedral?

'They may want to pray, perhaps for the first time. How do they start?'

It says here, "Put your hands on the communion table."

Yes, because for some people praying is good if it has something physical to do with it,

so putting your hands down, for some people helps them to think.

For some people closing your eyes helps, for some people doing something helps when you pray.

These were cards that were there for visitors to use who came into the cathedral

that looked at specific things within the cathedral

and then suggested prayers, Bible readings.

Because not everybody who comes into the cathedral

is going to come in from a Christian background,

so sometimes the language of prayer isn't appropriate

so we wanted to put in things that we felt most people could share in.

'Another card is inspired by Captain Scott's Antarctic expedition.'

On the card that's connected with this window, we encourage people

to think about their best journey, and to think about their worst journey,

and maybe to walk around the cathedral while they're doing that.

Although no journey they think of could possibly have been as bad as that one, eh?

Hopefully not, no.

And maybe... I think the other thing on the card we encourage people to think about

is to think about or to pray for someone who's having a difficult journey.

Sometimes I think about something and then I have to let it

wander round my brain for a couple of days before it actually goes down onto paper.

But certainly, seeing God in nature and in creation and in other people

is part of who I am and what I believe,

and I also believe that the stuff that we use in churches should reflect

the concerns of the people in the pews as well as the people in the pulpit.

# Be still for the presence of the Lord

# The holy one is here

# Come bow before him now with reverence and fear

# In him no sin is found

# We stand on holy ground

# Be still for the presence of the Lord

# The holy one is here

# Be still for the glory of the Lord

-# Glory, shining, be still

-Is shining all around

# He burns with holy fire

# With splendour he is crowned

# How awesome is the sight

-# Our radiant king of light

-King of light

# Be still for the glory of the Lord

# Is shining all around

# Be still for the power of the Lord

-# Is moving in this place

-Be still

# He comes to cleanse and heal

-# To minister his grace

-Minister his grace

# No work too hard for him

-# In faith receive from him

-Receive from him

# Be still for the power of the Lord

# Is moving in this place

# How awesome is the sight

# Our radiant king of light

# Be still for the presence of the Lord

# The holy one is here. #

Stirling University was founded in 1967.

Seven years later, Nick Price came to teach.

I spent 26 very happy years here working my way up from lecturer

eventually to being a professor of biochemistry.

As a place to grow up, as a place to have a family,

as a place to live, and indeed a place to go running around here,

it was just a wonderful place. I had very happy times here.

Now, in 2004 your family suffered a terrible tragedy.

You lost your middle daughter, Rebekah.

It was January the 14th in 2004.

I came back to get a phone call, the kind of phone call

that's every parent's worst nightmare,

because we got the news that our daughter, Rebekah,

had been knocked off her bike on her way to work.

And after a week of keeping a vigil, she died.

And I think that as a family it just knocked us sideways.

But each day the post would bring more and more letters and cards,

not just ones saying how sorry people were,

but people really telling stories about how Rebekah

had meant so much to them, how Rebekah had led them to faith,

how Rebekah had a faith they envied,

and I think it just bowled us over.

For her funeral service,

we decided that we'd use this as a picture for a front cover.

It was just after she'd received her DPhil in Oxford in biochemistry,

and it shows really a great sense of fun.

Well, I think the overall message that came across from the funeral,

the memorial service, that we really wanted to convey was that

there was no way in which you could use the word waste,

that she had actually achieved so much, and still continues to achieve

through the effect she's had on other people.

God has a plan for all of us.

I think it's a bit like a ship or a boat

that suddenly encounters a storm and is blown off course.

And you're left thinking,

"Well, do I just go further and further off course?"

Or do you feel that there's something pulling you back onto the right course?

And I felt that, rather than, as I say, drifting further and further off course,

being angry or destructive about it, you know,

I like to see the way that you can get back onto course and can orient your life in a different way.

And the way that, in fact, you went on to orientate your life

was to become a lay reader in the church.

I've met ministers, actually, in the church who have suffered a similar tragedy

and have lost their faith, and yet in your case it seems to have been

almost affirmed in quite a dramatic way.

I think what it's taught me, really,

is that providence isn't something that you can put coins into a slot machine

and get something out, but you see with the benefit of hindsight,

looking back, you see that God was caring for us perhaps in other ways.

In the shadow of Stirling Castle, one of the country's

more difficult housing schemes is being transformed.

In the middle of it is the Salvation Army, providing, as ever, practical support.

We have drug workers here, we have alcohol workers,

we work with a doctor who comes in and uses the premises,

we have a podiatrist, and we also have a dentist on hand,

because often with our clients, when they're getting off drugs they've got problems with their teeth.

If they can get their teeth sorted, it makes a big difference,

gives them a right good boost to their morale and confidence.

One of the more controversial services you offer here

is the needle exchange for drug addicts.

Now, what's the thinking behind providing that facility?

Well, the needle exchange came about because at that time

a lot of people were reusing old needles or other people's needles,

and we came to the decision that to preserve life

and to stop cross-infection with HIV and hepatitis,

it would be better if we could engage with a service who provided clean needles.

So when somebody comes in to receive their needles,

the drug worker will try and talk them into using other methods

that doesn't include injecting, but the needles are there to pass on if they're continuing to inject,

to keep them safe to a certain degree.

I think as Christians we've got to give a helping hand in a very practical way.

And we see that as a practical way of helping people stay alive

until they are at the right place in life to change.

What experiences from your own past do you find most useful?

I was a heavy drinker myself, and I can often draw on that.

And also, being amongst drinkers, knowing how to handle them, as well.

Because often it's the first approach to somebody can make the difference.

If you speak to them the wrong way you can inflare a situation,

where, if you go about it maybe a jokey way,

you can get your point over without causing them

to turn violent or go off on one.

Some of them are just looking for guidance.

They like boundaries, they like to know where they can't cross the line,

so they sometimes need that, and they respect that.

Why do you do what you do?

It's our calling as Christians to help those who are less fortunate,

those who are struggling in life.

And who are we to judge why they're there or how they got there?

We're just there to try and help them turn the corner

and improve their lives from where they are.

Bless us, God, with saints to tell us stories...

..with angels to surprise us...

..with friends along the way.

Bless us, God, with strength and joy and courage...

..all the length and breadth of our nights and days.

BELLS CHIME

And so it's goodbye from Dunblane.

Next week, Aled stops off at St Pancras station in London,

one of the busiest train stations in the land.

He meets two chaps who spend most days just talking to people,

someone who wouldn't work anywhere else,

and someone who actually lives there.

And, of course, great hymns for the journey ahead.

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