Fatherhood Songs of Praise

Oh, that's better. Father's Day - surely the one day in the year

where I get to relax, and for a change,

have my children looking after me.

Perhaps I will unwind with a nice cup of tea.

I wonder where they are. Hello?

Hello?

Typical.

Coming up, we meet the dad whose own experience of fatherhood

turned his world upside down.

A daughter who discovered a father she didn't know she had.

And we sing some great hymns

that celebrate God as the Father.

So, sit back and enjoy.

Father's Day is a day of thanksgiving.

It is a day to think about our dads. And for many of us, like me,

to celebrate being a dad.

Many hymns capture the belief in God as the Father,

including our first hymn that paints a glorious picture of God.

From the beautiful setting of St Andrew's University,

the congregation sing Immortal, Invisible.

I have been having a look into the origins of Father's Day.

It is believed to have been the idea of Sonora Smart Dodd -

a young American woman who wanted to thank her father,

who had raised her, following her mother's death.

It was officially sanctioned as a day of celebration

by President Richard Nixon,

back in 1972.

Pretty impressive to think one girl's dream

is now recognised all over the world.

Our next fabulous song is one of thanks,

performed by Gamlingay Village College Choir.

Mark Stibbe has four children,

so he knows the joy and pains of fatherhood.

But he's never met his own dad.

I never met my biological father,

because before my twin sister and I were born,

he disappeared from the scene.

We don't know his name.

We don't even know if he is still alive.

We know our birth mother's name.

But other than that, the rest is a mystery.

But for Mark and his twin sister,

it wasn't long until they became part of a new family.

There were two people, Philip and Joyce Stibbe,

and they came into the orphanage in Hackney and took Claire and me

in their arms

and drove us to their home,

where we started a very different life.

A life of real opportunities, actually.

Despite the love of his new family,

Mark still felt a deep sense of abandonment.

Even though I had a great adoptive father,

I felt a deep sense of loss

at not ever having known my biological father.

When I became a Christian,

I found it really easy to relate to Jesus,

because he is the friend that sticks closer than a brother.

That's what the Bible describes him as.

But I found it difficult to relate to God as a father,

because I projected

the face of my biological father onto my heavenly father.

In 1987, Mark had an experience

that changed everything.

I was ordained as a minister in the Church of England,

and I was given the youth programme.

So I took these young people to a Youth for Christ rally,

and I thought, "This will change them".

In the end, it wasn't them who changed, it was me.

This song began to play that I had never heard before.

In fact, I had never heard a song like that before.

The words went, "Father God, I wonder how I managed to exist

"without the knowledge of your parenthood and your loving care."

Singing that song for the first time,

I really couldn't sing it, to be honest.

I was crying.

God is not a father who walks out on his kids.

He will be with me through thick and thin,

come hell or high water.

Through the tears, I saw that for the first time.

As we'll hear, this discovery took Mark's life

in a different direction.

Mark's own experience of fatherhood

has inspired him to help others.

The Father's House Trust is a charity

that I formed in 2008.

The real message at its heart

is that God is the most loving dad in the universe.

Through charity work and leadership courses,

the Trust helps those who have difficult,

or often no relationship,

with their fathers.

What inspired me to start the charity was

I had an opportunity to go to Uganda,

and I was speaking in an orphanage.

I think I was listening to God,

and I felt like he said to me,

"You know what? You being orphaned,

"and adopted, is not a curse on your life.

"It's perhaps the greatest gift you could have been given.

"And I want you to bring the Father's love

"to the fatherless throughout the world."

Here in the UK, the Trust has made a big difference.

Liz Pembroke had a happy and fulfilling childhood,

but didn't know how to receive her father's love.

On a practical level, he was there.

I do know it was hard for him,

and men of his generation,

to express their love.

I really just wasn't a confident young girl,

and needed lots of affirmation.

And lots of hugs and kisses.

As I have got older, and have reflected back,

I realise...

I did look for that affirmation

and love

in other places.

Maybe I didn't think to look for it from my dad.

MUSIC: "Girls Just Wanna Have Fun" by Cyndi Lauper

Liz's contact with the Father's House Trust

helped her understand how God's love could transform her relationship

with her dad.

I didn't even know that God

could love me,

or even that he existed in that way.

I put these defences up round my heart, if you like.

But actually, that protection was stopping me

from receiving God's love.

So, as that barrier is gradually being broken down by God,

then something magical happens.

I think the most beautiful thing

is that I'm at a stage where I...

really, really know that my dad loves me,

and that's just...

the most wonderful thing -

the realisation that he always has loved me.

So that's just really very wonderful.

A great hymn, sung by the congregation at Pershore Abbey.

Coming up next, a song from Ireland's queen of song, Dana.

If you don't mind, I'll carry on my sweeping.

# Oh, I know why you are crying

# I can feel the pain you feel

# I'm walking here beside you

# And my love for you is real

# Yet it seems that you don't know me

# You can't hear the words I say

# Are the eyes of those around you

# Cold and empty as your day?

# I am the light

# The light of the world

# I am the light And the light will burn

# Within the hearts of those who love me

# It lights the way

# For those who yearn

# To see the light

# The light of the world

# I am the light And the light will burn

# And like a moth Drawn to the flame

# Consumed in my love

# You are born again

# Who will speak my word of comforts?

# Who will laugh for love of me?

# Who will shine out in the darkness

# So that all the world can see?

# Yet the flame of love is growing

# Like a tide that never turns

# Like the sun that's never setting

# So the flame of love will burn

# I am the light

# The light of the world

# I am the light

# And the light will burn

# Within the hearts of those who love me

# It lights the way for those who yearn

# To see the light

# The light of the world

# I am the light And the light will burn

# And like a moth

# Drawn to the flame

# Consumed in my love

# You are born again

# And like a moth

# Drawn to the flame

# Consumed in my love

# You are born again. #

That song was composed by Dana, incidentally.

Lovely, isn't it?

There are so many hymns and songs

that focus on different aspects of God, the Father.

My own personal favourite reminds us

that God's love for us is written in our hearts.

Here it is, sung by Maltman's Green School.

Sing, O daughter of Zion.

Shout aloud, O Israel.

Be glad, and rejoice with all your heart.

The Lord, your God, is with you.

He is mighty to save.

He will take great delight in you.

He will quiet you with his love.

He will rejoice over you, with singing.

Over the years on Songs of Praise, we have met many fathers

with all kinds of thought-provoking stories.

One that I particularly admired was the story of David Lyle,

from Northern Ireland,

who told us movingly about his own son.

Matthew was a lovely, witty lad.

I'm not just saying that myself

because I was his father.

The letters we received about him

after his death

were heartbreaking,

because they were unanimous in painting this picture

of a joyful, friendly,

affable, kind, generous person.

But yet, he was a tormented soul.

Drugs and addiction

cursed his life,

and brought him to terrible places.

It's a normal reaction for anyone faced with

the terrible tragedy of losing your only son

to ask the question, "Why?

"Why us? Why me?"

But we came through that,

and indeed, my wife was very, very clear in her thinking

that God is sovereign.

We were given new strength

to come through that terrible period in our lives.

Faith held us through it and brought us through it.

And through all the doubts

and the problems that you face with this,

and the crushingness that you go through,

and the times when you feel utterly broken.

And it was faith,

it was the love of Christ

that brought us through it.

I think it is very important,

in terms of dealing with the death of your only son,

that you actually

celebrate the good memories you have.

And I've found that this is an important part of faith -

of Biblical faith -

that we are

to approach everything

with thanksgiving.

I give thanks for Matthew's life.

My wife Helen and myself started the website for Matthew,

because he had such important things to say

about drugs and addiction.

His own words about how addiction

had captured his life, and enslaved him and destroyed his life -

his own words are so powerful.

This reality needed to be brought out to people,

in the hope that even one life might be saved

from this misery that drug-taking brings.

In life, we are always dealing

with the certainty of the unexpected.

That is the biggest single reality

that everybody watching this programme faces.

I think faith in the love of Christ - faith in the risen Christ -

is an important way of dealing

with the certainty of the unexpected.

Our father, who art in heaven

Hallowed be thy name

Thy kingdom come

Thy will be done

On earth as it is in heaven

Give us this day our daily bread

And forgive us our trespasses

As we forgive those who trespass against us

And lead us not into temptation

But deliver us from evil

For thine is the kingdom

The power and the glory

For ever and ever. Amen.

Despite it being Father's Day,

I've not had too much time to rest, have I?

And I've ended up making my own tea.

Just typical.

I tell you what - let's all of us just sit back and enjoy

a great hymn to finish.

MUSIC: "Swing Low, Sweet Chariot"

News now of our next School Choir of the Year competition,

which gets more exciting every year.

We're looking for the best junior

and senior school choirs in the land.

If you think your school choir has got what it takes,

check out our website...

..where you will find out all about the competition.

You can also watch all of this year's finalists -

to see what your choir should aim for.

Although the deadline isn't until the end of November,

now is the time to plan to take part -

so your choir doesn't miss the chance to be crowned

national champions.

If you have never entered before, this could be your year.

# Hallelujah! Yeah! #

The Songs of Praise School Choir of the Year competition,

where every voice counts.

Next week, meet God's architect.

I'll discover why, 200 years after his birth,

the churches and cathedrals

designed by Augustus Pugin

still echo his faith.

And there will be hymns galore

from churches and cathedrals which inspired,

or were inspired by this grand designer's grand designs.

Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd