Isle of Lewis Songs of Praise


Isle of Lewis

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Today, Songs Of Praise visits the Isle of Lewis,

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off the west coast of Scotland.

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I'm aboard a local trawler on its way into Stornoway harbour,

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and I'm glad it's a relatively calm day today - believe me, it is! -

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because this is an island that can get

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battered by Atlantic storms in winter.

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It's also quite a private island

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with a traditionally deep attachment to its churches.

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Today, it finds itself under a rather unlikely spotlight, though,

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because of its links with probably the most powerful man in the world.

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'It was from here that a young woman emigrated to America, and on Friday

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'her son, Donald Trump, will become the President of the United States.

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'We'll be following in Mary Ann Macleod's footsteps,

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'finding out more about the faith that underpinned her life,

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'and tracing her family roots.'

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And she was baptised here, and her name is in that book!

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You were very excited when you discovered this, weren't you?

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-Mary Ann.

-There she is.

-Daughter of Malcolm Macleod and Mary Smith.

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'And we'll reveal how Donald Trump's early life in New York was

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'influenced by a charismatic church minister who wrote

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'a book that sold millions.'

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We'll also be hearing about a tragedy that overwhelmed the

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Isle of Lewis, when more than 200 men returning from the

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First World War drowned within just feet of the shore.

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I would say it probably ripped the heart out of the island.

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Just look at this - sky, sea, wind, the joy of Lewis.

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With that in mind, let's have our first hymn.

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It's by the American composer Dan Schutte.

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'Lewis is the largest island in the Outer Hebrides, and it was

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'here over a century ago

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'that a young woman, Mary Ann Macleod, grew up.

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'She was to become the mother of a future American president.

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'Donald Trump's relatives were crofters working

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'a small amount of land to survive, but often this wasn't enough.

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'I'm here at Stornoway harbour to meet the Reverend James Maciver,

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'to find out how they made ends meet.'

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Life would have been very hard.

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Crofts on the island generally tend to be quite small,

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portions of land maybe four or five acres, something like that,

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so it really would be impossible to make

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a living out of that entirely on its own,

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so many people combined crofting and fishing.

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It would have meant danger

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but also difficulty, hard work, uncertainty with weather and so on.

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So it would have been a very difficult lifestyle, really,

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for her family and many others.

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When Mary Ann was just two,

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the First World War broke out and had a dramatic effect on the island.

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Proportionally, more men from the island actually served in the war,

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per head of population, than any other district in the whole country,

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which meant that the losses, obviously, proportionally,

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were also greater, which of course explains, to some extent at least,

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why some people chose to leave and to emigrate.

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Mary Ann was just 17 when she decided to start a new life.

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She left her home and her parents behind and she sailed to America.

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GAELIC CHORAL SINGING

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But Mary Ann, whose first language was Gaelic, would never forget

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the island or the Presbyterian faith that she grew up with.

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The church was built in 1909,

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three years before Mary Ann was born, so she would have been

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in this main sanctuary here as part of the Gaelic congregation.

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And she was baptised here, and her name is in that book!

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You were very excited when you discovered this, weren't you?

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We have the United Free Church Of Scotland Baptismal Register,

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-and in 1913, you can see the entry there for Mary Ann.

-There she is.

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Daughter of Malcolm Macleod and Mary Smith of Tong.

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Mary Ann was youngest of ten,

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-and we have another seven siblings here...

-Goodness!

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-..all baptised together on the same day...

-On the same day!

-..in 1903.

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-Any Donalds in there?

-Yes, there's Donald.

-Oh, yes, so there is.

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'She would go on to name one of her own children Donald.'

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But her passion for her roots went much further.

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Mary Ann kept returning here year on year when she was Mary Ann Trump,

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and she used to sit with her family in the front pew upstairs.

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We'd be talking about the '60s, '70s, '80s.

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We're proud of her, as a congregation.

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Islander Christine MacCuish remembers the overseas visitor.

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From the organ, I could see this very striking figure -

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tall, beautifully turned out. Her hair was just immaculate.

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So you managed to get a good look,

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even though you were playing the organ.

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I did. And Mrs Trump was conversing freely with the congregation

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in her native tongue, Gaelic.

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-Ah, she was talking Gaelic?

-Yes, she was.

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She obviously never forgot her first language.

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What values do you think she might have taken with her?

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Mary Ann's upbringing wouldn't have been easy.

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She would have developed a resilience that's characteristic

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of the Hebridean, and I think she'd have taken that with her to America.

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# Deep peace of the running wave to you

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# Deep peace of the flowing air to you

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# Deep peace of the quiet earth to you

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# Deep peace of the shining stars to you

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# Deep peace of the gentle night to you

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# Moon and stars pour their healing light on you

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# Deep peace of Christ

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# Of Christ

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# The light of the world to you

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# Deep peace of Christ to you. #

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The seas around Lewis can be treacherous.

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Donald Trump's own great-grandfather was drowned in a fishing accident.

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And shortly, we'll hear about the worst maritime disaster to

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strike the island.

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But first, a hymn written in 1860 by William Whiting, who felt his life

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had been spared when his ship was almost claimed during violent seas.

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Earlier, we learned how badly Lewis was hit by the First World War,

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but the biggest single loss of life

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would actually come after the conflict had ended.

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The sinking of the Iolaire on New Year's Day 1919 remains

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Britain's worst peacetime disaster at sea since the Titanic.

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Those who died were in touching distance of home.

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The men were returning to Lewis after four years away fighting

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in World War I, and what made it even more awful was that some

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of their families were waiting

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right here on the harbour pier for their men to return,

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unaware of the disaster that was unfolding less than a mile away.

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Earlier, the Iolaire had set sail from the Scottish mainland.

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The men on board had survived the horrors of war and were eager

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to be reunited with their loved ones.

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But as the ship entered Stornoway Bay, disaster struck.

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Local author John MacLeod has written an account of the tragedy.

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This is where the Iolaire disaster happened,

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where the vessel ran aground.

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She came round the corner of the bay late at night, pitch-black,

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far too close to the shore, and with inexperienced officers

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in charge who had never sailed her at night.

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The ship struck a notorious reef, the Beasts of Holm,

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which lie below this marker.

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Suddenly, with a tremendous bang, she keeled over to the side.

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Dozens of youths aboard on the open decks were washed away,

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left fighting for their lives in the sea,

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soaked to the skin, chilled, terrified.

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Most who tried to make it ashore were immediately lost,

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but one man held his nerve.

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John Finlay MacLeod plunged into the ferocious waters with a line,

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and used the momentum of the waves to reach dry land.

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There's only one chance. Just keep afloat.

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And watch out for the waves.

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And don't take the first one...

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..or the second. But watch the third one.

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It's always the highest.

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Once ashore, John and others brought dozens to safety.

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But the remorseless sea would claim 205 lives, with only 80 survivors.

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Anne Macaulay's great-grandfather was one of those who drowned.

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She remembers how deeply her grandmother Mairi was affected.

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My granny was ten when her father died.

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She was the only one of the five children in her family who

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properly knew what it was like to have their father at home,

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and therefore she was the one who most keenly felt his loss.

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There were so many losses.

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I would say it probably ripped the heart out of the island.

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People just closed the door on it,

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because I think talking about it would have just been too painful.

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The Church was very strong in the island, and I would say that

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the faith of the people up here at that time is what got them through.

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# God on high

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# Hear my prayer

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# In my need

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# You have always been there

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# He is young

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# He's afraid

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# Let him rest

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# Heaven blessed

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# Bring him home

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# Bring him home

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# Bring him home

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# He's like the son I might have known

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# If God had granted me a son

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# The summers die

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# One by one

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# How soon they fly

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# On and on

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# And I am old

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# And will be gone

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# Let him live

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# Bring him home

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# Bring him home

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# Bring him home. #

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Between the two World Wars, the Isle of Lewis saw hundreds of

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islanders move away to build new lives.

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In our next story,

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we hear about people who've left their homes to come to the UK.

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Three years ago, St Mark's Church in Stoke got a new vicar,

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the Reverend Sally Smith.

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'It was typical, really, of a church in a post-industrial city.'

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Just a handful in the congregation on a Sunday morning,

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of mainly white people.

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But that soon changed.

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A growing number of asylum seekers were arriving in Stoke, and

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Sally couldn't turn her back on the new influx of people to her area.

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-ALL:

-Hallelujah!

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We opened the door to welcome people into a drop-in,

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where people could come and have a cup of tea, a piece of toast.

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-Are you going now?

-No, I go home.

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Some of those have responded to the kindness that they've

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encountered and they've wanted to learn more about Jesus,

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so they've started to come along and worship with us and become

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part of the life of the church.

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'And so we have regular baptisms now.'

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Receive the sign of his cross.

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And we've done around 60 baptisms this year, and probably 50 of those

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are from a Muslim background.

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-Amen.

-Amen.

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'One of the questions I often get asked is,

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' "Aren't they just doing this to get their papers?" '

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And I, as a follower of Jesus and as a minister, as a priest,

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I have to say, "What would I want for this person in front of me?

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"How would Jesus respond to this person in front of me now?"

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..the riches of his grace.

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Zahir already has a visa to stay in the UK,

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but he still chose to be baptised.

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-TRANSLATION:

-I was really happy. I can't describe my feelings.

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I'm going to change to a new version of me.

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With a growing congregation of asylum seekers,

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Sally saw a new need, and the solution was on her doorstep.

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There was a house across the road from the church, which I bought.

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I had some money in the bank which wasn't earning any interest.

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'We were able to buy that house and do it up with the help of

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'volunteers who come along to the drop-in, who have many, many skills.

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'Now it provides accommodation for people who are completely destitute.

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'I get contacted by churches around the country who've seen

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'things about us in the media and have said, "Exactly the same

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' "thing's happening here in our church,"

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'not just Anglican churches.'

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-Beautiful!

-Nice?

-Nice!

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There is something happening around not only this country but

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around Europe, a spiritual awakening.

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Jalal was a TV engineer in Iran.

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He says that installing systems into people's houses which allowed

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them to tune in to foreign news made him a target for the regime.

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-TRANSLATION:

-Everything has changed in our lives now.

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Our lives are full of joy, hope, love, kindness, peace.

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Life used to be based on fear, but now it's totally changed.

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There's a prophecy in the Book of Isaiah that talks about the

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wealth of the nations coming to us, and about foreigners

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rebuilding our cities and building up our walls that have been

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broken down, and I believe that asylum seekers and refugees

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are the wealth of the nation.

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-# Yes, Lord

-People came to worship him

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# Yes, Lord... #

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'And not everyone will see that.

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'But we need to be able to see through the eyes of the

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'prophet and we need to see the gifts and the skills and the

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'abilities and the treasure that's coming to us, and to welcome them.'

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They've brought new life to my church, and I wouldn't change one

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moment of what's happened over the last couple of years.

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# Our Father, all of heaven roars your name

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# Sing louder, let this place erupt with praise

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-ALL:

-# Can you hear it, the sound of heaven touching earth?

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# The sound of heaven touching earth... #

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Sing together again. Our Father.

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The sound of heaven!

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# The sound of heaven touching earth... #

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Spirit break out.

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# Spirit break out... #

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Let's sing it together. King Jesus!

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Here on the Isle of Lewis, I've been following in the footsteps of

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Mary Ann Macleod, the late mother of president-elect Donald Trump.

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Mary Ann experienced a hard life here,

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and the First World War had devastated the male population

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and the chances of a young woman getting married.

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To make matters worse, Mary Ann was the youngest of ten children

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and only one son could inherit the family croft.

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You can understand why she decided to follow her sisters to

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a new life 3,000 miles away in New York City.

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Mary Ann arrived in 1930, and six years later,

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she married Frederick Trump, with whom she had five children,

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the most famous, Donald.

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As the child of immigrants,

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his mother in particular thought it was important to make sure

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that her children grew up going to church and knowing their

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understanding of their Christian faith through church attendance.

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At a Presbyterian church in Manhattan,

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Donald Trump met his greatest spiritual influence,

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the controversial pastor Dr Norman Vincent Peale, who wrote the

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international bestseller The Power Of Positive Thinking.

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His most famous book put forth a philosophy that if you

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thought good things would come your way,

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then good things would come your way, and if you changed your

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attitude then your life around you would change.

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Many Christians objected because it didn't adequately handle the

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reality of suffering in the world and the reality of evil.

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While some distanced themselves from the Peale theology,

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Donald Trump was a close friend.

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The pastor officiated at family occasions,

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including the funeral of his mother, Mary Ann.

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Donald Trump made a name for himself as

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a property tycoon and star of The Apprentice USA.

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In 2008, he visited Lewis with his eldest sister to explore his roots.

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Today, I'm retracing his steps with Iain Maciver,

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a local journalist who was there that day.

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This house here is where his mother was born and brought up,

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so Donald Trump himself came here to have a look.

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We were all waiting at Stornoway Airport, and Trump One landed,

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you know, with great ceremony, and he appeared at this door.

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And very presidential, looking back at it!

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He sort of stepped into a limo and was swept off.

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It was almost like a foretaste of what was to come!

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The house has remained in the family,

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so the visit was also a reunion.

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-OK. Got enough?

-Excellent.

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The cousins were assembled and waiting, and they all went in.

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We're told that he had a quick tour of the house. It didn't take long.

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Within a few minutes he was back out, battling the wind again.

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-I won't say, "You're fired," right?

-Oh, you can do that one, as well.

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Donald Trump is a controversial character, to say the least.

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Is it difficult for the Macleod family to be in the spotlight

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in the way that they've had to be recently?

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The cousins, they have decided amongst themselves

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that the best thing to do, at least for the moment,

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is to say nothing at all, and they certainly have

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no intention of upsetting, you know, their cousin.

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What do you think Donald Trump might have got from his Lewis

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heredity that would prove useful for Donald Trump in his presidency?

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We may already be seeing some of the Lewis background,

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the traits coming through in Donald Trump,

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in that he says what he thinks, whether he's saying,

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"You're fired," or whether he's giving his views about immigration.

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So although they're a reserved people,

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when they're put on the spot, island people, too, will usually

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tell you exactly what they think, whether you like it or not.

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I'm not going to give you a question. You are fake news.

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Go ahead.

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Donald Trump is no stranger to controversy,

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as evidenced again this week.

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And after a divisive election campaign, it's not just Lewis

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people who are wondering what sort of president he's going to be.

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He has often in the campaign put people against one another.

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Whether he will keep that up during the presidency we don't know.

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I brought my Bible.

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-LAUGHTER

-See?

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He has said that he wants to be a great representative of

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Christianity in the presidency, and so I think I, for one, will be

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looking to him to see what that looks like.

0:29:100:29:13

Thank you.

0:29:130:29:14

Christianity isn't something that you just say or you believe,

0:29:140:29:17

it's something you do, and so I'll be watching.

0:29:170:29:20

Next week, we're in Hull, the 2017 UK City of Culture.

0:30:530:30:58

But we end today with a hymn, a beautiful hymn,

0:30:580:31:01

from Scotland's capital. Bye for now.

0:31:010:31:04

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