0:00:02 > 0:00:06'Built in 12 weeks, for less than £1,000 each,
0:00:06 > 0:00:09'these houses seem one answer to the housing drive.
0:00:09 > 0:00:12'With a living room, dining annexe and kitchen downstairs...'
0:00:12 > 0:00:16Sound familiar? Well, that was in 1952, when Britain was in the grip
0:00:16 > 0:00:21of a housing crisis, following the devastation of the Second World War.
0:00:21 > 0:00:23Well, today we face a different battle.
0:00:23 > 0:00:26A housing shortage deepened by spiralling rent
0:00:26 > 0:00:30and house prices beyond the reach of many people.
0:00:31 > 0:00:36I'm in the Lake District to find out how churches can help and hear how
0:00:36 > 0:00:40a Good Samaritan made a difference for one family in Bristol.
0:00:40 > 0:00:43She named this figure and I was just like...
0:00:43 > 0:00:46They knew how much this house was worth,
0:00:46 > 0:00:49but they chose to be really generous.
0:00:49 > 0:00:51Also in the programme, Claire meets
0:00:51 > 0:00:54The Man With the Golden Flute, Sir James Galway,
0:00:54 > 0:00:58who performs a beautiful arrangement of The Lord's My Shepherd.
0:00:58 > 0:01:02And, with Lent underway, the Archbishop of York Dr John Sentamu
0:01:02 > 0:01:05tackles the subject of forgiveness
0:01:05 > 0:01:10in a powerful interview with Maureen Greaves, whose husband was murdered.
0:01:10 > 0:01:12I had no room for anger.
0:01:12 > 0:01:16The two men that killed Alan, I put them into God's hands.
0:01:27 > 0:01:30There's an Irish flavour to our music today,
0:01:30 > 0:01:33with celebrations for St Patrick's Day happening on Friday.
0:01:33 > 0:01:37But first, a joyful worship song reflecting the wonder of God
0:01:37 > 0:01:39and his sacrifice for us.
0:04:21 > 0:04:22Throughout the history of Britain,
0:04:22 > 0:04:25the church has been at the forefront of social change.
0:04:25 > 0:04:28More recently, campaigning against modern-day slavery,
0:04:28 > 0:04:31poverty and setting up food banks.
0:04:31 > 0:04:33So how are some church communities
0:04:33 > 0:04:35choosing to respond to the housing crisis?
0:04:38 > 0:04:41The Faith in Affordable Housing project works with churches
0:04:41 > 0:04:46of all denominations, advising them on the sale of land and property
0:04:46 > 0:04:48for the benefit of local people.
0:04:49 > 0:04:52Churches are centres of the local community
0:04:52 > 0:04:55and quite often the church building or church land
0:04:55 > 0:04:58can be quite an emotive subject for many.
0:04:59 > 0:05:03But actually, I think if we work to bring congregations with us
0:05:03 > 0:05:05in the developments that happen,
0:05:05 > 0:05:07it can be a really positive contribution,
0:05:07 > 0:05:09not just to the local community
0:05:09 > 0:05:11but to the role of the church in that community.
0:05:12 > 0:05:15Here in Ambleside, Faith in Affordable Housing advised on
0:05:15 > 0:05:18the conversion of an old Methodist chapel
0:05:18 > 0:05:20into 15 flats for local people.
0:05:21 > 0:05:23I think there we've got an example
0:05:23 > 0:05:27of keeping the tradition associated with the building, but giving it
0:05:27 > 0:05:31a new use and making sure it's still at the heart of the community.
0:05:33 > 0:05:37Eight miles from Ambleside is the pretty village of Coniston.
0:05:37 > 0:05:41Here, the sale of church land has made a difference to Leanne
0:05:41 > 0:05:44and her family who found themselves in desperate circumstances.
0:05:45 > 0:05:47I love that!
0:05:47 > 0:05:50Tell me about the house you used to live in, your old house.
0:05:50 > 0:05:54Well, it was old and the walls, they were crumbling.
0:05:54 > 0:05:58There was only the wallpaper that was holding it together.
0:05:58 > 0:06:02- I had to share a room with Sam when he came along.- Aw...
0:06:02 > 0:06:05Leanne, listening to your children talk about the old house,
0:06:05 > 0:06:08what does that make you feel like?
0:06:08 > 0:06:10The house that we did live in was actually a very nice house,
0:06:10 > 0:06:11but it was very old.
0:06:11 > 0:06:14Our last winter there was 2010,
0:06:14 > 0:06:16which was the coldest winter on record.
0:06:16 > 0:06:19We used to put the children to bed with their dressing gowns on.
0:06:19 > 0:06:21Sam's getting cold thinking about it!
0:06:21 > 0:06:24It was. It was very cold.
0:06:24 > 0:06:27Before you knew you got the chance to move, what was the situation?
0:06:27 > 0:06:29Desperate. Absolutely desperate.
0:06:29 > 0:06:31Why was there nowhere for you to move to?
0:06:31 > 0:06:34There's just not enough housing.
0:06:34 > 0:06:37Coniston is tourist-based and there are a lot of second homes,
0:06:37 > 0:06:39a lot of holiday homes,
0:06:39 > 0:06:43which is great because we do need them for our income as well,
0:06:43 > 0:06:46but it's now put people, local people,
0:06:46 > 0:06:48out of the market to buy or even rent.
0:06:48 > 0:06:51So, that's not a nice situation to be in?
0:06:51 > 0:06:53No, we needed to find somewhere to live.
0:06:56 > 0:06:57At their lowest ebb,
0:06:57 > 0:07:01Leanne and her family were offered a new home in affordable accommodation
0:07:01 > 0:07:05for local people built on land sold by the Diocese of Carlisle.
0:07:06 > 0:07:10Over the years, I've seen so many friends leaving the village
0:07:10 > 0:07:12and there was nowhere here for them to live.
0:07:12 > 0:07:16With the church developing the land, I know there's somewhere for
0:07:16 > 0:07:19my children to stay in Coniston when it's their turn.
0:07:19 > 0:07:21Sam, what do you like about this house?
0:07:21 > 0:07:25- I like having my own bedroom. - Aw, that must be nice.
0:07:25 > 0:07:27It is a beautiful close.
0:07:27 > 0:07:30What do you think about the fact that it's all happened
0:07:30 > 0:07:32because of something the church did?
0:07:32 > 0:07:36Well, it's actually a miracle of God's work
0:07:36 > 0:07:41that the church have chosen to give up their land for houses,
0:07:41 > 0:07:43so we can have a better life.
0:07:43 > 0:07:45And why is that important, that they did that?
0:07:45 > 0:07:48Well, it's Christianity.
0:07:48 > 0:07:53Jesus, well, he's given us a miracle and he's given us a home.
0:07:53 > 0:07:55And it's just really, really good.
0:10:48 > 0:10:51We're now in the second week of Lent,
0:10:51 > 0:10:55the period when Christians pause to reflect on their faith.
0:10:55 > 0:10:57For the next few weeks, we're doing exactly that,
0:10:57 > 0:11:00with a special series of interviews
0:11:00 > 0:11:03presented by the Archbishop of York, Dr John Sentamu.
0:11:06 > 0:11:09One of my great joys as I travel around the country
0:11:09 > 0:11:13is the opportunity to meet people who inspire me.
0:11:13 > 0:11:18I hope that by hearing their stories and faith, you too will find
0:11:18 > 0:11:22your own lives enriched and your faith strengthened.
0:11:23 > 0:11:28Today, I'm meeting Maureen Greaves, whose forgiving spirit when faced
0:11:28 > 0:11:33with a shocking and traumatic event in her life is an example to us all.
0:11:36 > 0:11:38On Christmas Eve 2012,
0:11:38 > 0:11:41Maureen's husband Alan was walking to his church,
0:11:41 > 0:11:45St Saviour's in Sheffield, to play the organ for midnight mass.
0:11:46 > 0:11:49But Alan never made it to the service.
0:11:49 > 0:11:55He was brutally attacked on the way and died three days later.
0:11:55 > 0:11:58His two killers are currently serving jail sentences.
0:11:59 > 0:12:04My prayer is that Jonathan Bowling and Ashley Foster
0:12:04 > 0:12:08will come to understand and experience
0:12:08 > 0:12:13the love and kindness of the God who made them in his own image...
0:12:13 > 0:12:17Despite this devastating loss, Maureen has continued the project
0:12:17 > 0:12:21she started with Alan, to provide for her community.
0:12:21 > 0:12:23- Good morning, Maureen. Are you well?- I am.
0:12:23 > 0:12:25- Are you?- Not so bad.- For food bank?
0:12:25 > 0:12:30Two years ago, Maureen was awarded the British Empire Medal
0:12:30 > 0:12:34for that work. She's a true example of faith in action.
0:12:38 > 0:12:42The events of that Christmas Eve five years ago
0:12:42 > 0:12:45must still be with you, really?
0:12:45 > 0:12:47How do you reflect on that event now?
0:12:49 > 0:12:52A number of people believe that
0:12:52 > 0:12:56God, in a sense, had deserted Alan and deserted me.
0:12:56 > 0:12:57I don't believe that.
0:12:57 > 0:12:59I believe that God was with Alan.
0:12:59 > 0:13:02He was with him as he was being attacked,
0:13:02 > 0:13:04and he was with him as he was dying.
0:13:04 > 0:13:08And I very much believe he was with me and enabled me to
0:13:08 > 0:13:12go through a very long journey, really, especially the first year.
0:13:12 > 0:13:16And I still miss Alan very, very much.
0:13:16 > 0:13:17We were a very ordinary couple,
0:13:17 > 0:13:20but it was a very extraordinary marriage too
0:13:20 > 0:13:22because we were truly in love when we married
0:13:22 > 0:13:25and we were still in love when he died.
0:13:25 > 0:13:27So the loss has been huge.
0:13:27 > 0:13:30And I live with his memories every day.
0:13:31 > 0:13:36Is it true that you have never expressed anger?
0:13:36 > 0:13:40It is, actually. I know it might sound quite strange.
0:13:40 > 0:13:43And I think I was so heartbroken and so full of grief
0:13:43 > 0:13:45that I had no room for anger.
0:13:46 > 0:13:50The two men that killed Alan, I put them into God's hands.
0:13:50 > 0:13:55I was able to leave them there. And so, no, I haven't felt anger.
0:13:55 > 0:13:59Some may say this is quite extraordinary.
0:13:59 > 0:14:01"Here is Maureen.
0:14:01 > 0:14:03"Husband has died.
0:14:03 > 0:14:05"Here are the two young men.
0:14:05 > 0:14:07"She's putting them into God's hands.
0:14:07 > 0:14:09"Isn't she crazy?"
0:14:09 > 0:14:13I just had a real, real desire to forgive them.
0:14:13 > 0:14:17And in fact when I thought of Jonathan and Ashley,
0:14:17 > 0:14:21it was always with a sense of, "Father, look after them
0:14:21 > 0:14:25"and bring them to a true knowledge of your forgiveness for them.
0:14:25 > 0:14:28"And a true awareness of how much you love them."
0:14:28 > 0:14:31- And I've never regretted doing that.- OK.
0:14:31 > 0:14:35Don't get the impression that every single day was easy. It wasn't.
0:14:35 > 0:14:39You do have your questions sometimes and you do have your doubts,
0:14:39 > 0:14:41but I just clung onto God's hand almost,
0:14:41 > 0:14:44and just remembered who this God was
0:14:44 > 0:14:46I'd served and worshipped for 40 years.
0:14:51 > 0:14:55I have to walk past the place where Alan died nearly every day.
0:14:55 > 0:14:58And so I've turned it into a little prayer time.
0:14:59 > 0:15:01I pray for many people,
0:15:01 > 0:15:03but I especially pray for Ashley and Jonathan.
0:15:03 > 0:15:06Because no-one is beyond God's grace.
0:15:06 > 0:15:10Everyone can be forgiven, no matter what they've done.
0:15:13 > 0:15:15Ooh, look at that. There's hardly any weeds left in that.
0:15:15 > 0:15:19Maureen, you threw yourself into work in the community, work
0:15:19 > 0:15:21which you and Alan had set up.
0:15:21 > 0:15:23Now, did that help in the healing process?
0:15:23 > 0:15:26It has helped in the healing process.
0:15:26 > 0:15:32The community project that I run with St Saviour's Church
0:15:32 > 0:15:34is to try and meet people's needs.
0:15:34 > 0:15:39And so my hope is to continue the work to reach out to the lonely,
0:15:39 > 0:15:43the lost and those that have the least in our community.
0:15:43 > 0:15:47- Well, Maureen, it's been a real delight to talk to you...- Thank you.
0:15:47 > 0:15:51..to share your understanding of forgiveness,
0:15:51 > 0:15:53of life and its traumas
0:15:53 > 0:15:58and yet still finding the life of faith holding you together.
0:15:58 > 0:16:01- So it's been a real pleasure. - Thank you.- Wonderful, wonderful.
0:16:01 > 0:16:03- Keep doing it!- I will. I will indeed.
0:18:28 > 0:18:33This coming Friday, 17 March, is St Patrick's Day, so I'm here in
0:18:33 > 0:18:38Patterdale in the Lake District, once known as Saint Patrick's Dale.
0:18:39 > 0:18:42According to legend, Patrick spent time in this area,
0:18:42 > 0:18:45converting many local people to Christianity.
0:18:45 > 0:18:47The church is named after him,
0:18:47 > 0:18:51and here he is in one of its stained-glass windows.
0:18:53 > 0:18:56So, in celebration of the patron saint of Ireland,
0:18:56 > 0:18:58here are The Priests with the Irish hymn,
0:18:58 > 0:19:02Ag Criost an Siol - To Christ the Seed.
0:21:49 > 0:21:53We continue with the Irish theme now with our next guest,
0:21:53 > 0:21:56known the world over as The Man With the Golden Flute.
0:21:58 > 0:22:00Claire caught up with Sir James Galway
0:22:00 > 0:22:03on his recent trip back home to Northern Ireland.
0:22:03 > 0:22:07Let me take you back to your childhood. Growing up in Belfast.
0:22:07 > 0:22:08A very musical childhood.
0:22:08 > 0:22:13Yeah, it was. The street I grew up in, everybody played something.
0:22:13 > 0:22:15There were very few people who didn't play anything.
0:22:15 > 0:22:19Your father and your grandfather, they were steeped in music as well?
0:22:19 > 0:22:22My dad played the accordion. My grandad played the flute
0:22:22 > 0:22:24and I think he must have been quite a good flute player
0:22:24 > 0:22:27because I think he played in the opera now and again.
0:22:27 > 0:22:30Because my uncle Joe who taught me the flute said
0:22:30 > 0:22:32he used to go and listen to my grandad play.
0:22:32 > 0:22:35Take me back to whenever you started the flute.
0:22:35 > 0:22:37What age were you when you started to play?
0:22:37 > 0:22:39I think about nine, something like that.
0:22:39 > 0:22:41I was in a flute band to begin with,
0:22:41 > 0:22:44then I played in the Belfast Military,
0:22:44 > 0:22:47and then I joined the 39th Old Boys, which was a big flute band.
0:22:47 > 0:22:50I really enjoyed it and I always practised.
0:22:50 > 0:22:55And then I began to think that this is a gift from God
0:22:55 > 0:22:58and you should not refuse a gift.
0:22:58 > 0:23:01You should look after it.
0:23:07 > 0:23:09Do you ever tire of performing?
0:23:09 > 0:23:12No, it's great. I really like performance.
0:23:12 > 0:23:14I like to get out there.
0:23:14 > 0:23:15You know what's great about it,
0:23:15 > 0:23:18you practice something and it's a disaster.
0:23:18 > 0:23:21And then a week later, it begins to hang together.
0:23:21 > 0:23:23Two weeks later, you've really got it up and running.
0:23:23 > 0:23:26And three weeks later it's ready to go.
0:23:26 > 0:23:28And you get out there and play,
0:23:28 > 0:23:31and all the things that you practised come to fruition.
0:23:31 > 0:23:34Before you go on-stage, do you have a routine?
0:23:34 > 0:23:38You have things that you do right before you go on to perform?
0:23:38 > 0:23:40Yeah, I do.
0:23:40 > 0:23:45But generally the last thing I do is pray to bless the performance.
0:23:45 > 0:23:48Now, I always like to play at the end of a concert Danny Boy
0:23:48 > 0:23:51because I think this is like a prayer in music.
0:23:51 > 0:23:54And I make a joke with the audience. You know, I tell them,
0:23:54 > 0:23:57"Now, listen, you don't have to get down on your knees
0:23:57 > 0:23:59"or hold your hands together or close your eyes
0:23:59 > 0:24:02"because the master says, 'Watch and pray.' "
0:24:02 > 0:24:04MUSIC: Danny Boy
0:24:10 > 0:24:13The piece you're going to perform for us,
0:24:13 > 0:24:16The Lord's My Shepherd, what does that particular piece mean to you?
0:24:16 > 0:24:18Well, first of all, it's a beautiful psalm.
0:24:18 > 0:24:23And secondly I thought, you know, this is the Queen's favourite song.
0:24:23 > 0:24:26So, if she's looking in, I'm playing it for her too.
0:24:26 > 0:24:29And performing alongside your wife Jeanne - how special is that?
0:24:29 > 0:24:32Yeah, it's nice. Yeah, it's very special.
0:26:41 > 0:26:44The housing crisis is a UK-wide problem, involving
0:26:44 > 0:26:49a complex set of issues, affecting both rural and urban communities.
0:26:49 > 0:26:52But ultimately it's about people.
0:26:53 > 0:26:56Last year, Rachel and her family were told out of the blue
0:26:56 > 0:27:00that they had to leave their rented home in Bristol.
0:27:01 > 0:27:04Within two weeks, we went from,
0:27:04 > 0:27:08"It might be a possibility that your house will be sold,"
0:27:08 > 0:27:09to, "The house is sold.
0:27:09 > 0:27:13"We'll have to get somewhere else to live very quickly."
0:27:15 > 0:27:17A house would come on the market for rent
0:27:17 > 0:27:20and it would be snapped up straightaway.
0:27:20 > 0:27:24You know, the prices have just gone out of control.
0:27:25 > 0:27:27And so we started thinking,
0:27:27 > 0:27:30"We're just going to have to move somewhere else."
0:27:30 > 0:27:34Obviously people have to up and leave their homes
0:27:34 > 0:27:36in much, much worse situations than ours.
0:27:36 > 0:27:39You know, people have to flee warzones and cross borders.
0:27:39 > 0:27:43It wouldn't have been the end of the world if we'd had to do it,
0:27:43 > 0:27:47but, for us, we were so well established.
0:27:47 > 0:27:49The community that we were very involved with,
0:27:49 > 0:27:52the church that we were part of.
0:27:52 > 0:27:54All of this, all of a sudden, gone.
0:27:54 > 0:27:56Just before uprooting their family
0:27:56 > 0:27:59for a property they didn't really want,
0:27:59 > 0:28:04Rachel received a call from her church, with news of a house
0:28:04 > 0:28:07being offered for rent in Bristol by a member of the congregation.
0:28:08 > 0:28:13When I walked in to this very house, I thought, "This is it.
0:28:13 > 0:28:17"This is the house I want our family to live in."
0:28:17 > 0:28:19And I literally looked at every room
0:28:19 > 0:28:21with this huge smile on my face.
0:28:21 > 0:28:26The best thing was when I spoke to my now landlady and she said,
0:28:26 > 0:28:30"Look, this house has been such a blessing to us and our family
0:28:30 > 0:28:34"and we want it to be a blessing to someone else in turn.
0:28:34 > 0:28:38"So we want to let it out at..." And then she named this figure.
0:28:38 > 0:28:40And I was like...
0:28:40 > 0:28:44They knew how much this house was worth,
0:28:44 > 0:28:47but they chose to be really generous.
0:28:49 > 0:28:52I guess, for me, the ongoing challenge just in living in
0:28:52 > 0:28:57this house, living in this incredible answer to our prayer
0:28:57 > 0:29:01is that if we feel prompted to be generous, then we need to do it.
0:29:01 > 0:29:05We need to be generous in turn because you just never know
0:29:05 > 0:29:08when we might be the answer to someone else's prayer.
0:30:45 > 0:30:49Next week, with the NHS under pressure,
0:30:49 > 0:30:54Aled experiences the highs and lows of life at Southport Hospital.
0:30:54 > 0:30:58But we end today with an inspiring hymn that urges us to build a house,
0:30:58 > 0:31:00not in the literal sense,
0:31:00 > 0:31:04but as Christians to bear witness to our unity in Christ.