0:00:02 > 0:00:06Let me give you some clues as to where we are this week.
0:00:07 > 0:00:12We're in one of the world's leading areas for exhibiting sculpture.
0:00:13 > 0:00:18You can find cutting edge architecture that is transforming the city.
0:00:18 > 0:00:23It's world famous for producing this, forced rhubarb.
0:00:25 > 0:00:29The cathedral is reopening after a thoroughly modern makeover.
0:00:30 > 0:00:34You might be surprised to learn we are in West Yorkshire.
0:00:34 > 0:00:36Welcome to Wakefield.
0:00:36 > 0:00:40In this week's Songs Of Praise, I'll be finding out
0:00:40 > 0:00:44how the enterprising people of Wakefield are transforming their city.
0:00:44 > 0:00:46I'll be visiting the Hepworth Wakefield
0:00:46 > 0:00:49to learn how faith inspired the city's most famous daughter.
0:00:49 > 0:00:52We step inside the newly transformed cathedral.
0:00:52 > 0:00:54In the week we celebrate St George's Day,
0:00:54 > 0:00:57our congregation have dressed especially for the occasion.
0:01:02 > 0:01:04Like many former coalmining areas,
0:01:04 > 0:01:08Wakefield has been down on its luck in recent years.
0:01:08 > 0:01:10But all that is changing.
0:01:11 > 0:01:13Thanks to an enterprising spirit,
0:01:13 > 0:01:15the city is enjoying a period of regeneration
0:01:15 > 0:01:19and there's a real positive feeling as you talk to people here.
0:01:22 > 0:01:26Stepping up onto centre stage is Wakefield Cathedral.
0:01:26 > 0:01:28After a year-long renovation project,
0:01:28 > 0:01:32it's ready to reveal its new look nave.
0:01:33 > 0:01:38In January last year, the congregation sat in the pews for the last time.
0:01:38 > 0:01:41After the service, the nave was closed
0:01:41 > 0:01:43and the main doors were locked.
0:01:43 > 0:01:4715 months later, the first stage of work is complete.
0:01:47 > 0:01:51I don't know about you but I can't wait to see inside.
0:01:51 > 0:01:56We've been wondering in recent weeks whether the darkness would ever end
0:01:56 > 0:01:59but with luck, and God's blessing, the light will come.
0:01:59 > 0:02:02Three, two, one...
0:02:02 > 0:02:04ALL: Ah!
0:02:06 > 0:02:08What did you think when they first said,
0:02:08 > 0:02:10we're going to renovate the church and take out the pews?
0:02:10 > 0:02:12I was devastated.
0:02:12 > 0:02:14What do you think of it now?
0:02:14 > 0:02:17I think it's wonderful. I really do.
0:02:17 > 0:02:20There was a lot of people that didn't like the pews going
0:02:20 > 0:02:25but I'm sure they will have all come to terms with it.
0:02:25 > 0:02:27It's wonderful to be here at the start of a new era
0:02:27 > 0:02:30but to many people of course, tradition is just as important.
0:02:30 > 0:02:34Last Tuesday was St George's Day and we begin with a hymn
0:02:34 > 0:02:37written especially for England's patron saint.
0:02:37 > 0:02:41To accompany us, we have members of the Carlton Main Frickley Colliery Brass Band,
0:02:41 > 0:02:44recently crowned Yorkshire champions.
0:04:38 > 0:04:40The man with the vision and determination
0:04:40 > 0:04:47to oversee the £3 million project to create a 21st-century nave is the Dean.
0:04:47 > 0:04:53I've been amazed and delighted how so many different people have come together in the project.
0:04:53 > 0:04:56People from all over the city who hadn't been in here before
0:04:56 > 0:04:59have rallied round to help it happen.
0:04:59 > 0:05:01Why was it necessary?
0:05:01 > 0:05:05A lot of the infrastructure was failing so one motivation
0:05:05 > 0:05:08was to actually safeguard the building for the future.
0:05:08 > 0:05:11The second is, this cathedral belongs to the whole community
0:05:11 > 0:05:14and we wanted to make a space where we could use it for the whole community
0:05:14 > 0:05:16and where they'd all be welcome.
0:05:16 > 0:05:21The pews very important to some people.
0:05:21 > 0:05:23Ingrained with history and for some people,
0:05:23 > 0:05:29it's just not a proper cathedral if there aren't pews there?
0:05:29 > 0:05:32I quite liked them but we needed flexibility
0:05:32 > 0:05:35and you cannot have flexibility with pews, so they had to go.
0:05:35 > 0:05:37When you undertake a project like this,
0:05:37 > 0:05:40you have to be aware of what you're leaving behind as well.
0:05:40 > 0:05:43How did you set about protecting that?
0:05:43 > 0:05:48I thought, 2012 is a leap year, we'll have a project, 366 days,
0:05:48 > 0:05:53and we'll try and get a different photographer to come in each day and take a photo.
0:05:53 > 0:05:56And we did that and we created a website
0:05:56 > 0:06:01and I think it's been a marvellous way of bringing the whole community into the project.
0:06:01 > 0:06:03Local amateur photographer Mick Wilson
0:06:03 > 0:06:06had never been inside the cathedral before volunteering.
0:06:06 > 0:06:10I took two photos, I came in twice
0:06:10 > 0:06:13and the one I did on 16 December, I asked if I could dedicate that
0:06:13 > 0:06:18to the memory of my great niece who sadly died at birth in October.
0:06:19 > 0:06:23The cathedral were glad to do that and they said prayers for her,
0:06:23 > 0:06:26for Olivia May.
0:06:26 > 0:06:31It was nice. The whole family found it a loving, caring thing to do.
0:06:31 > 0:06:35The idea of doing something on January 6th, on Epiphany,
0:06:35 > 0:06:39when we celebrate the visit of the Magi.
0:06:39 > 0:06:43I just thought, if I could find that phrase, the three wise men.
0:06:43 > 0:06:46When I found these guys out here laying the stone,
0:06:46 > 0:06:49I just thought it would be great fun.
0:06:50 > 0:06:53It was brilliant, absolutely brilliant.
0:06:53 > 0:06:56I loved the fact that you could come and spend as long as you wanted
0:06:56 > 0:06:58just wandering around and taking photographs.
0:06:58 > 0:07:02There was a window where people could peer in.
0:07:02 > 0:07:06I noticed that there was a woman there.
0:07:06 > 0:07:09I thought, "Wow, let's take a photograph of this."
0:07:09 > 0:07:15I posted it up on the 366 Days website which said, "Peering In!"
0:07:15 > 0:07:21This, you see, gives us a tremendous documentary,
0:07:21 > 0:07:23not only on how the nave is changing,
0:07:23 > 0:07:26but how the cathedral remained very much alive,
0:07:26 > 0:07:29right through the time the work was going on.
0:09:26 > 0:09:28This area, closer to the high altar,
0:09:28 > 0:09:31will be the next part of the cathedral to get a makeover
0:09:31 > 0:09:34and while building work was going on down there in the nave,
0:09:34 > 0:09:37for services, everybody had to squeeze in here.
0:09:37 > 0:09:41Among those working hardest to keep things running smoothly are the choir.
0:09:41 > 0:09:47# My soul doth magnify the Lord... #
0:09:47 > 0:09:49It kind of added percussion, if you like,
0:09:49 > 0:09:52with the hammers and the sawing and whatever,
0:09:52 > 0:09:57so when we've been practising for Evensongs, it has been quite noisy.
0:10:01 > 0:10:03I remember quite recently
0:10:03 > 0:10:05that there was so much dust in the cathedral
0:10:05 > 0:10:08that we couldn't wear our surplices, the white robes that we wear,
0:10:08 > 0:10:11because all the dust would just gather on the surplices
0:10:11 > 0:10:13and essentially make them black.
0:10:14 > 0:10:19We weren't allowed the heating on so it was absolutely freezing.
0:10:19 > 0:10:22You could actually see your breath coming out of your mouth
0:10:22 > 0:10:25and that was really quite freaky sometimes.
0:10:25 > 0:10:27But it didn't really affect our singing at all.
0:10:27 > 0:10:32It still sounded pretty good.
0:10:32 > 0:10:36That characteristic sound of young voices singing choral music
0:10:36 > 0:10:38is of course a wonderful heritage of our country
0:10:38 > 0:10:41and it's celebrated every year when young people
0:10:41 > 0:10:46sing for the title of BBC Radio 2 Young Chorister Of The Year.
0:10:46 > 0:10:48If you're a chorister or know someone who is,
0:10:48 > 0:10:51you can find full details of the competition on the Songs Of Praise website
0:10:51 > 0:10:56and just click on Radio 2 Young Choristers Of The Year 2013.
0:10:57 > 0:11:02I was chosen to be a finalist in 2011.
0:11:02 > 0:11:04That presented me with a brilliant opportunity
0:11:04 > 0:11:07to go and sing in St Martin in the Fields in London.
0:11:07 > 0:11:11I would recommend entering for anybody,
0:11:11 > 0:11:17because it was definitely a fantastic experience which I would love to do again.
0:11:20 > 0:11:27# Lord, I have loved the habitation
0:11:27 > 0:11:35# The habitation of thy house
0:11:37 > 0:11:40# The place where thy glory dwells
0:11:40 > 0:11:48# The place where thy glory dwells
0:11:51 > 0:11:59# The habitation of thy house
0:12:04 > 0:12:09# The place where the Lord dwells
0:12:13 > 0:12:19# The place where the Lord dwelleth
0:12:20 > 0:12:27# Bless us O Lord who tarry in this cathedral
0:12:27 > 0:12:36# Grant that what we sing with our lips, we may believe in our hearts
0:12:38 > 0:12:43# And what we believe in our hearts
0:12:43 > 0:12:46# Show forth in our lives
0:12:48 > 0:12:56# Through Jesus Christ, our Lord
0:12:59 > 0:13:03# Lord, I love thy habitation
0:13:04 > 0:13:13# The habitation of thy house
0:13:14 > 0:13:18# The place where they glory dwells
0:13:20 > 0:13:27# The place where thy glory dwells
0:13:30 > 0:13:35# I love the habitation
0:13:35 > 0:13:41# The habitation of thy house
0:13:44 > 0:13:50# The place where thy glory dwells
0:13:50 > 0:13:58# The place where thy glory dwells. #
0:14:10 > 0:14:13Just down from the cathedral by the River Calder
0:14:13 > 0:14:17is a stunning new art gallery, the Hepworth Wakefield.
0:14:17 > 0:14:20The gallery has been an extraordinary success story,
0:14:20 > 0:14:25drawing visitors from all of the world, generating millions of pounds for the local economy
0:14:25 > 0:14:28and putting Wakefield on the map.
0:14:29 > 0:14:32The Hepworth Gallery takes its name from Dame Barbara Hepworth.
0:14:32 > 0:14:36Born in Wakefield in 1903, she went on to become
0:14:36 > 0:14:39one of the most influential artists of the 20th century.
0:14:39 > 0:14:42Much of her work has a spiritual element.
0:14:42 > 0:14:46I really think all good works are an act of praise
0:14:46 > 0:14:49and they are essentially religious throughout the history of man,
0:14:49 > 0:14:52from the cave drawings.
0:14:52 > 0:14:57One of the gallery's biggest supporters has been Stephen Platten,
0:14:57 > 0:14:59the Bishop of Wakefield.
0:14:59 > 0:15:02One of the things I'd say about regeneration here in Wakefield
0:15:02 > 0:15:05is that we desperately needed it.
0:15:05 > 0:15:08The coal industry, the woollen industry had died
0:15:08 > 0:15:11and so economic and social regeneration have been crucial.
0:15:11 > 0:15:14But those on their own aren't sufficient.
0:15:14 > 0:15:17There is a sense that you need spiritual regeneration.
0:15:17 > 0:15:20In a purely religious way, in the background of Christianity,
0:15:20 > 0:15:24but it can also mean more than that in a way that...
0:15:24 > 0:15:29OK, it's always important to have enough money in your pay packet
0:15:29 > 0:15:31but there's a stage beyond that where somehow
0:15:31 > 0:15:34our hearts need to be taken and lifted up.
0:15:34 > 0:15:38If you look at a piece like the Crucifixion we have here though,
0:15:38 > 0:15:41you might not identify it as anything to do with the Crucifixion.
0:15:41 > 0:15:44You might not although of course, if you look at it,
0:15:44 > 0:15:47there's an obvious cruciform structure to it
0:15:47 > 0:15:49and one of the things she herself said about it
0:15:49 > 0:15:51was that she wanted something
0:15:51 > 0:15:54that somehow represented what crucifixion was,
0:15:54 > 0:15:57but also something that you could almost walk into.
0:15:57 > 0:16:03But I very much wanted to make a crucifixion which enabled one
0:16:03 > 0:16:08to recognise the figure of Christ on the cross
0:16:08 > 0:16:12and the rudimentary forms.
0:16:12 > 0:16:16And to bring one, as it were, to one's knees.
0:16:16 > 0:16:20So in a way, this captures, in a modern context,
0:16:20 > 0:16:23that sense of Christ's suffering
0:16:23 > 0:16:27happening through very ordinary objects.
0:16:27 > 0:16:30Well, I think looking at the view behind me now,
0:16:30 > 0:16:34where you actually see the cathedral framed by the crucifixion
0:16:34 > 0:16:37by Hepworth, is really rather a marvellous characterisation
0:16:37 > 0:16:39of what that might be about.
0:16:39 > 0:16:43She was born here in Wakefield and baptised in the cathedral.
0:16:43 > 0:16:48- Did she draw her inspiration for her work from here?- Unquestionably.
0:16:48 > 0:16:50In two rather different ways.
0:16:50 > 0:16:52First of all because of the Yorkshire landscape.
0:16:52 > 0:16:54Even around here where people, I suppose,
0:16:54 > 0:16:56think much more of mills and mines,
0:16:56 > 0:17:00actually, of course, there's marvellous countryside
0:17:00 > 0:17:04outcrops of rock and so all of that will have helped her
0:17:04 > 0:17:06in her artistic inspiration.
0:19:31 > 0:19:34Created in Yorkshire is a cooperative
0:19:34 > 0:19:36set up by Lynne Thompson.
0:19:36 > 0:19:39Members work at home to produce a range of crafts
0:19:39 > 0:19:43and then they share duties to ensure the shop is staffed and organised.
0:19:43 > 0:19:45At a time when many high streets are struggling,
0:19:45 > 0:19:48Lynne is confident that an enterprising spirit
0:19:48 > 0:19:52and plenty of hard graft can bring colour and inspiration to the city.
0:19:54 > 0:19:57I just love it. I just love the shop.
0:19:57 > 0:20:00I love the fact that we're sort of bringing something
0:20:00 > 0:20:02that's unique to Wakefield.
0:20:03 > 0:20:08I think that Wakefield's sending out a message that we're no longer going to be a town that's dying.
0:20:10 > 0:20:13That's what we are, we're a community and to stand in the background,
0:20:13 > 0:20:17watching the different members, they're all helping each other.
0:20:17 > 0:20:20Catherine Knowles is one of the founder members
0:20:20 > 0:20:22of Created in Yorkshire.
0:20:22 > 0:20:25I take a copy of a child's drawing.
0:20:25 > 0:20:30It could be a family portrait or their favourite place or a pet,
0:20:30 > 0:20:34anything, you know, the wonderful pieces of artwork that children do.
0:20:34 > 0:20:38And parents give them to me and I translate them directly onto fabric
0:20:38 > 0:20:42so you end up with an embroidered version.
0:20:44 > 0:20:47Community, for me, is about having things in common with people.
0:20:47 > 0:20:50Things that bring you together and things that you can share.
0:20:50 > 0:20:54So it doesn't have to be the community of people who live on your street.
0:20:54 > 0:20:56Many of us don't know our neighbours any more and certainly,
0:20:56 > 0:20:59in our house, we haven't lived in our town for very long
0:20:59 > 0:21:02so we don't have a very tight local community.
0:21:02 > 0:21:07The three things that keep us are our school and church
0:21:07 > 0:21:09and Created in Yorkshire.
0:21:09 > 0:21:13Those are the parts of my life where I feel part of a bigger group.
0:21:15 > 0:21:18I think Wakefield is a wonderful place. It's got lots of promise.
0:21:18 > 0:21:20There's lots of regeneration in the city
0:21:20 > 0:21:23and I think Wakefield is definitely back on the map.
0:24:11 > 0:24:13Replacing the floor of the cathedral
0:24:13 > 0:24:19provided an opportunity to install a new spiritual tool, a labyrinth.
0:24:19 > 0:24:22A labyrinth's a sacred path.
0:24:22 > 0:24:24They've been used by different religions,
0:24:24 > 0:24:27different cultures over many centuries.
0:24:27 > 0:24:32I hope that this will be another tool in which people can feel welcome
0:24:32 > 0:24:34and they can encounter the divine.
0:24:34 > 0:24:39It can be used by people who have a Christian faith
0:24:39 > 0:24:42or another faith or no faith at all.
0:24:44 > 0:24:47It's absolutely gorgeous!
0:24:47 > 0:24:52How lovely that the community are going to have such an instrument.
0:24:52 > 0:24:56I'm open to the process and, yeah, we'll see what happens.
0:24:56 > 0:24:59Hoping it's going to be peaceful.
0:24:59 > 0:25:00A bit of peace, yeah.
0:25:00 > 0:25:04The journey into the centre is about releasing the things
0:25:04 > 0:25:06that are dragging you down.
0:25:06 > 0:25:09And then when you reach the centre of the labyrinth,
0:25:09 > 0:25:12it's about listening to the divine.
0:25:12 > 0:25:18And then the journey out of the labyrinth is about returning,
0:25:18 > 0:25:21returning to our everyday lives.
0:25:22 > 0:25:24That was amazing.
0:25:24 > 0:25:28Peaceful, beautiful, joyful.
0:25:28 > 0:25:33It's made me smile. Erm, surprisingly touching.
0:25:33 > 0:25:35It made me think about my life really, basically.
0:25:35 > 0:25:38That you're following a path and that's how I felt
0:25:38 > 0:25:41when I walked in the labyrinth, yeah.
0:25:41 > 0:25:45It's like a journey into the labyrinth and in a sense,
0:25:46 > 0:25:48taking God with you.
0:25:48 > 0:25:51Reaching the centre and then bringing him with you out
0:25:51 > 0:25:54so in a sense, God's around you all the time,
0:25:54 > 0:25:58on all the journeys throughout your life.
0:25:59 > 0:26:02Singing for us now from the centre of the labyrinth
0:26:02 > 0:26:04we have Jonathan Viera.
0:26:04 > 0:26:06I looked down and there was this labyrinth
0:26:06 > 0:26:09and actually this song is I Want Jesus To Walk With Me,
0:26:09 > 0:26:11incredibly appropriately.
0:26:11 > 0:26:14A story about our humanity really, in our sorrows, in our joys,
0:26:14 > 0:26:17in our trials, he walks with us.
0:26:17 > 0:26:20That is the kind of mystical and wonderful belief
0:26:20 > 0:26:22that we as Christians have and I love the song.
0:26:22 > 0:26:24It's simple and it's a great song
0:26:24 > 0:26:26and I'm playing with my fantastic son so there we go.
0:26:30 > 0:26:35# I want Jesus to walk with me
0:26:37 > 0:26:42# I want Jesus to walk with me
0:26:44 > 0:26:49# All along my pilgrim journey
0:26:52 > 0:26:58# I want Jesus to walk with me
0:27:03 > 0:27:08# On my trials, oh Lord, walk with me
0:27:11 > 0:27:15# On my trials, oh Lord, walk with me
0:27:18 > 0:27:23# When the shades when the shades have fallen
0:27:25 > 0:27:31# I want Jesus to walk with me
0:27:36 > 0:27:41# In my sorrows walk with me
0:27:44 > 0:27:50# In my sorrows, oh Lord walk with me
0:27:53 > 0:27:55# When my heart
0:27:55 > 0:27:58# When my heart is aching
0:27:58 > 0:28:03# I want Jesus right there to walk with me
0:28:10 > 0:28:14# In my joys, oh Lord, walk with me
0:28:17 > 0:28:21# Oh in my joys, oh Lord walk with me
0:28:25 > 0:28:30# When my life is filled with laughter
0:28:32 > 0:28:36# I want Jesus to walk with me
0:28:39 > 0:28:43# In my trials, oh Lord walk with me
0:28:46 > 0:28:50# In my sorrows walk with me
0:28:54 > 0:28:58# In my joys walk with me
0:29:01 > 0:29:07# I want Jesus to walk with...
0:29:11 > 0:29:16# Me. #
0:29:23 > 0:29:26'Heavenly father, in our ever-changing world,
0:29:26 > 0:29:29'give us the vision to embrace change
0:29:29 > 0:29:32'and welcome the opportunities it brings.'
0:29:33 > 0:29:36'Help us to make the most of our creativity
0:29:36 > 0:29:39'and to use of God-given talents to bring joy to others.'
0:29:41 > 0:29:45'Bless the enterprising work that we do in your name
0:29:45 > 0:29:48'and may we feel your love guiding us, day by day.'
0:29:49 > 0:29:52May Almighty God, who has given us the desire
0:29:52 > 0:29:56and hope to recreate this cathedral
0:29:56 > 0:29:58and to transform our city
0:29:58 > 0:30:03grant us grace also to renew our lives in faith and love
0:30:03 > 0:30:06and the blessing of God Almighty, the Father,
0:30:06 > 0:30:11the Son and the Holy Spirit be among you and remain with you always.
0:30:11 > 0:30:13CONGREGATION: Amen.
0:30:16 > 0:30:19Before we leave Wakefield Cathedral,
0:30:19 > 0:30:21you may be wondering what they did with all the pews.
0:30:21 > 0:30:24They were turned to crosses like this one
0:30:24 > 0:30:26by inmates at Wakefield Prison
0:30:26 > 0:30:29and were then handed out to the congregations of local churches.
0:30:29 > 0:30:32It's a lovely reminder of our trip here
0:30:32 > 0:30:36and what better way to finish than a hymn written by this gentleman,
0:30:36 > 0:30:39William Walsham How, the first Bishop of Wakefield
0:30:39 > 0:30:42when this ancient All Saints Church
0:30:42 > 0:30:45was granted cathedral status in 1888.
0:33:27 > 0:33:30Next week, David meets actress Danniella Westbrook,
0:33:30 > 0:33:32adventurer Bear Grylls
0:33:32 > 0:33:35and Lord Taylor of Warwick to discover how they deal
0:33:35 > 0:33:37with fame and faith in the public eye
0:33:37 > 0:33:40and to hear the hymns that inspire them.
0:34:03 > 0:34:05Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd