Mothering Sunday Songs of Praise

Welcome to Songs Of Praise, on this Mothering Sunday.

I've known some great mothers, my own and my wife

to name just a couple,

and today I meet two extraordinary mums,

the first right here in Brixton.

Let's form a circle!

To keep her son's legacy alive, she became a boxing coach.

Yes, a punching preacher!

SHE LAUGHS

And a mum who's fostered more than 20 children.

Josie d'Arby is joined by comedian Milton Jones to discover

what Comic Relief is cooking up.

I'm getting wood, I'm getting onions...

LAUGHTER

..which is weird, cos I didn't put any in.

And it's also the fourth Sunday in Lent, and the Archbishop of York

finds out why one girl gave up all her savings to buy a big purple bus.

We have some lovely music for you today,

and we begin with a hymn that speaks of divine love and human love,

so perfect for Mothering Sunday.

Right, open your arms out, so...

Lorraine Jones is a mum with many talents.

She has seven children and is a pastor in her church.

Three years ago she would never have imagined she'd also be

running a boxing gym.

ROCK MUSIC

Lorraine and her family live in Angell Town in Brixton.

In the past,

the area has had a lot of problems with youth violence

and, in 2014, Lorraine's son Dwayne was killed on the street.

-This is my home.

-Uh-huh.

And there's all my children here.

-And these are the pictures... of Dwayne.

-Yes.

-20 years old.

-Yes, yeah.

That's so young.

He was very fit.

-But very humorous...

-Yeah, you can see he's smiling...

You can see it in all his pictures, he's smiling.

How did you find out?

I literally saw Dwayne 45 minutes before the incident.

I just popped to the shops, got back, unpacked the shopping.

Two of his friends knocked the door

and said, "Mum, Mum, Dwayne's been stabbed." I said, "Is it serious?"

They said, "Yes, Mum." I said, "Do I need my car?"

They said, "No, Mum, it's just over there,"

pointing just literally about five minutes from here.

Dwayne had seen a young boy that he knew being chased

by a man with a knife and had run to help,

but he himself was attacked and fatally wounded.

The place where he fell has been turned into

a memorial by the local community.

The ribbons just bring me comfort.

It's where Dwayne was tragically struck down,

but it's a place that has become beautiful.

What is it that held you together through this?

I was helpless.

But I felt a strong presence...

of the Holy Spirit.

Peace.

And it's like I shifted into gear,

the gear of faith, strength and hope.

God has held me together and is holding us all together

as a family and as a community.

Lorraine wanted to do something to preserve Dwayne's memory.

-I didn't realise the extent of what he was doing until he died.

-Yeah.

He was working with the young people, doing the training

and boxing,

he was mentoring, he was motivating a lot of the young,

young boys, especially those that had come out of prison.

I was filled with compassion.

And I said, "OK, I'm going to set this up again."

And the help came from...

all over.

Lorraine worked closely with the local police to set up Dwaynamics.

It's a boxing gym for all ages, here in the heart of Brixton.

It's like family here.

And to help young people get off of the streets,

-I think it's really great.

-I think she's amazing.

She is probably one of the most inspiring people

I've ever met in my life.

It's important, because children are our future.

And what we invest in them is exactly what we will get back.

She wanted to build better relationships with the police

and the community and she wanted to help young people,

and that's what drew us together to try and do that.

Is it making a difference?

I think it is, because once they're in here, they're working with

positive role models, including the police officers that give up

their own time to come down here and help.

And then this leads to other things.

What you're seeing here is what Dwayne had a passion about,

to bring the community together in the midst of youth violence

that has been happening in Lambeth for many years.

Most of the young men and women on the estate refer to her as Mum,

because she's seen as a community leader, so she's a mum to everyone.

You've trained as well, haven't you?

Yes, in fact my whole life has taken a different direction!

I'm a qualified boxing tutor now, David.

-So you're a punching preacher?

-Yes, a punching preacher!

THEY LAUGH

# Shine your light. #

# Saviour... #

CHEERING AND APPLAUSE

Now it's time for the second in our series for Lent

from our very special guest the Archbishop of York, Dr John Sentamu.

He's interviewed three remarkable women

whose faith he's found particularly inspiring.

The Almighty has his own plan for us

and we all know he moves in mysterious ways

but, for one young woman,

that meant giving up her savings to buy a big, purple bus.

25-year-old Emily Finch has an indomitable spirit

and she's following what she believes is a calling from God.

Student Emily created a charity,

enabling churches to build relationships with young people.

Instead of a church hall, this is a youth club on wheels.

I'm...wondering in my brain, you know, what made you think

particularly that God was calling you and calling you to sink

-all your money into a second-hand bus?!

-Yeah, it's so true!

I've had a lot of questions about that.

I think a bus because it's mobile

and we're helping local churches do youth work.

-So, you spent all your savings?

-Yeah.

It was the money that my lovely parents put aside,

probably to go towards a deposit on a house, or something like that.

Is it paying any dividends?

It definitely is paying dividends.

We've seen amazing things happen in young people's lives

and they say that the bus is like their second home.

Most of the young people who come on our bus aren't Christian,

but the fact that we're Christians doesn't seem to bother them at all.

They know that we're there for them if they want to talk about God,

but also we don't have to talk about God.

We love them wherever they're at in life.

Have you ever had experience of young people coming there

and as soon as you start talking about praying, talking about God,

they say, "Oh, my goodness!"?

Oh, all the time! Yeah!

But often they... they end up loving it.

I think they love that we talk about the real things in life.

We had a boy on recently and we were doing, like, a prayer activity,

and it was listing the things that you are good at, your good

qualities that God has given you, and he said, "I've got nothing."

And so many of our young people don't believe they've got any worth

and it's such a privilege to walk alongside them

and show them that, in God's eyes, they are so loved

and they are precious to him.

The theme for today is thinking about hopes...

our hopes and dreams for the future.

And so what I want to say is dream big,

and I think all of these things,

God has so much greater plans than we can imagine.

The bus is the most recent thing that I've trusted God in.

It wasn't going from no faith to suddenly being like,

"I'm going to buy a bus,"

there was lots of other things that I trusted in him.

Yeah, as they say, you know, little drops of water,

if a lot of them keep coming, keep coming,

-eventually they will turn a water wheel, won't they?

-Yeah.

I've seen people's lives change and that's been the most

incredible thing, to witness that, to just see God at work,

and that is the best job that I could ever have,

so, yeah, it's changed my life.

So, how do you see your future?

-A career in public transport maybe?

-Ooh, um... I'm not sure!

At the moment, the charity is growing massively,

which is really exciting

and I imagine I'm going to be doing the bus for quite a bit longer.

HORN BEEPS

# Praise is rising

# Eyes are turning to you

# We turn to you

# Hope is stirring

# Hearts are yearning for you

# We long for you

# When we see you we find strength to face the day

# In your presence all our fears are washed away

# Washed away

# Hosanna

# Hosanna

# You are the God who saves us

# Worthy of all our praises

# Hosanna

# Hosanna

# Come have your way among us

# We welcome you here, Lord Jesus

# Hear the sound of

# Hearts returning to you

# We turn to you

# In your kingdom

# Broken lives are made new

# You make us new

# When we see you we find strength to face the day

# In your presence all our fears are washed away

# Washed away

# Hosanna

# Hosanna

# You are the God who saves us

# Worthy of all our praises

# Hosanna

# Hosanna

# Come have your way among us

# We welcome you here, Lord Jesus

# Hosanna. #

Comic Relief was launched on Christmas Day, 1985

and since then has raised billions,

supporting projects across the UK and the world.

Josie d'Arby has been to one scheme being cooked up in Somerset.

It's a cookery course run by Methodist teacher Jacquelene Seel,

where it's only men allowed.

I think, uh, 170...

Morning, everybody.

I thought it'd be really good if we did something for Red Noses

and I've got some little red noses, look.

The "Men Get Cooking!" classes have been running for 16 years

and have grown after funding from Comic Relief.

So, Jackie, where did the idea for "Men Get Cooking!" come from?

My Methodist background means that really I want to use all my skills

for the good of everybody else, so...

So why men only?

Some wanted to just dabble, they were maybe at a low ebb.

For example, if someone was bereaved and they were maybe having to

get by on ready meals, and also, sometimes we had people

who suddenly found themselves in a situation where they needed to cook.

Yeah, cos when you try and slice that, it's going to...

My wife, unfortunately, has a few health problems at the moment.

I've certainly taken on more of the cooking.

And beyond the cooking, Jackie, what-what are people telling you

that they're getting out of it on a very personal level?

It's so healing, really, just that humour...

-This is turning into the most perfect quiche!

-That's looking good, Sid. It is!

We've all got stories and episodes in our life

-where we just need somebody to help us along the way, don't we?

-Yeah.

'As it's a Comic Relief project, look who's turned up.

'It's comedian Milton Jones.'

-It reminds me of being in a sandpit.

-Yeah!

-Do you cook?

-Uh...

-You know Gordon Ramsay's a really good cook who swears a lot?

-Yes.

-I'm like him, only I'm not a really good cook.

-Now, why is that?

-Is it because you're a man?

-No, it's because I'm incompetent.

So what do you think about the fact

that it's more than about just cooking?

I think, especially for men, who find it difficult just to chat,

and it's really useful to have something that they can do

and talk off the back of it cos men aren't particularly good

at opening up and just being themselves.

The big thing for me was... was packing in work.

After 50 years of getting up and going to work all day,

I suddenly stop,

and the psychological adjustment I found very hard.

-Cos I never did much cooking.

-Mm-hm.

My wife usually did it and my mother wasn't keen

on being interfered with in the kitchen!

She was old school, you know, and you weren't allowed in.

And do you think that it's important that Comic Relief,

who fund so many things across the world,

also recognise the need within individual communities?

People are poor in all sorts of ways and often it's emotionally,

and that kind of poverty is sometimes harder to see

than, you know, not having money or food.

-That's really good, forming good clumps now.

-Yeah, I'm a natural.

For me, it's a privilege...

as a Christian to be walking along their journey.

If we can help each other along, faith and life,

we're just all in the hands of God, really, aren't we?

'With the quiches ready,

'it's now time for the all-important taste test.'

I'm getting wood, I'm getting onions...

which is weird cos I didn't put any in.

Wow, that was good fun. What do you make of that then, Milton?

Uh, it was great, wasn't it?

Seeing those old guys coming out of themselves.

And what about for you personally, first time having a crack in the kitchen?

It could be the beginning of something very big indeed.

-Oh, I hope to taste the fruits of your labour, Milton.

-Yeah.

Well, if you would like to donate to "Men Get Cooking!"

or any of the other fabulous causes supported by Comic Relief,

you can do so on your mobile phone...

Like many mums on Mother's Day,

Jackie Meredith loves having her family around.

As well as having three children and eight grandchildren,

she and her husband Bob have also fostered more than 20 children.

Seven years ago, Jackie and Bob received an unusual request.

They were asked to become foster carers with a difference

and to take on three boys who'd just arrived from Afghanistan.

'Back in 2009,

'the two brothers and their cousin were aged between 11 and 12,

'and they've really settled into life here with Jackie and Bob.'

-This is Ahmad.

-Nice to meet you.

-Ahmad, lovely to meet you.

Jackie, tell us, how did the boys come to be here?

Bob called me from home,

he said he'd had a telephone call from the fostering people saying,

would we look after some young asylum-seeking boys?

And, to be honest,

I feel quite guilty now because I didn't sort of know what to say

at the time to him, I was like, "I'm not sure about this."

And then, when we met the boys, they were so terrified,

just small, young boys,

didn't know where they were, didn't know who to trust,

and they'd had a horrendous journey for six months

getting from Afghanistan...

walking in the night to not being fed.

However they survived, I'll never know.

The boys' parents had sent them away to escape the dangers

of their war-torn country.

They arrived speaking little or no English

and with no understanding of our way of life.

The culture, obviously, was very different.

If you walked into the room they would stand up and we just...

You know, "You're at home, you don't have to, just sit down,

"relax, this is your home."

And also, I can remember distinctly with Ahmad, with his trousers,

his school trousers...

I ironed them and I gave them to him with the rest of the ironing

and he gave them back and was like, "Not good enough."

And I realised, yeah, the creases, I hadn't done it perfect enough,

so I did them again and he said, "No, not good enough."

And I thought, "This is going to go on here,

"it's never going to be good enough!"

So I got the ironing board out and said,

"You iron them how you want to do it."

And Ahmad said that back in their country,

the mum and the sisters would be inside and they would iron

those trousers 20 or 30 times because that's...

that was just the way it was.

I accepted that and understood it over a period of time -

we've just got to go slowly and understand each other,

and obviously we moved on and we smile about it now.

-And there were, of course, faith differences.

-Yes, exactly.

Um, obviously, we follow our faith, our Christianity faith,

and that's important to us in our life and our children

and our grandchildren, so we really respected how important it was

for the boys to continue with their faith, with being Muslims.

Having that faith there, you know, we're all human,

we can all help each other, we all have our own beliefs,

but at the end of the day,

this is the world and this is all that we live in,

and let's all make it one nice, happy place as best as we can.

-CHILD:

-Daddy, look, here's some...

There's a lot of love in this home, isn't there?

They've done every single thing that a real parent would do

for their own child.

They've supported us through school, supported us through, uh...

Just learning the language,

and they've always motivated us to go on and achieve and succeed.

I'm so grateful for them.

They've been like my mum and dad through all my time being here.

Jackie has been an amazing mum.

For me, being a mum, it's all really about making them happy,

secure and loved, and I think then the child will just flourish

if you can provide all that and the empathy with it.

This weekend has been a time for reflection and prayer

after the terror attack on Westminster on Wednesday.

Aled Jones went to meet the Reverend Rose Hudson-Wilkin,

who has close ties with Westminster through her role as chaplain

to the Speaker of the House of Commons.

They met at Lambeth Palace,

just across the Thames from the Houses of Parliament.

I know you were at the Houses of Parliament

when the attacker struck.

What was the atmosphere like there?

The atmosphere... I think at first it was bewilderment and shock.

We'd heard by then that someone had been hurt and I think we were

just hoping and praying that he or she would not have succumbed

to their injuries but sadly we learnt otherwise.

A police officer lost his life

trying to save other people's lives.

How do you reflect on his actions?

PC Keith will have given his life, he's given his life for us,

for me, and I hope for all of us that we will not take that

for granted, but that we will do something positive with our lives,

that we will shine the light of goodness, the light of compassion,

the light of mercy, as we continue with our own lives.

A lot of people also...

I've heard conversations on the news carried out,

saying that without religion, maybe we'd be better off.

You know, atrocities carried out in the name of so-called God.

Um, I think those people of faith...

the Christian faith, the Muslim faith,

or any other faith for that matter,

those people of real faith would not do something like...

This is perverted, this is evil personified.

Do you have a message for people watching our programme

who have maybe been affected by this,

or are watching at home frightened about the world that we live in now?

Yes, I think my message to those who are watching this programme today

is not to be fearful.

It's those words of our Lord Jesus,

"Let not your hearts be troubled at this time.

"Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you..."

And also, to say, do not allow someone who lived in a way

contrary to love to determine how WE respond.

# Make me a channel of your peace

# Where there is hatred

# Let me bring your love

# Where there is injury

# Your pardon, Lord

# And where there's doubt

# True faith in you

# Make me a channel of your peace

# Where there's despair in life

# Let me bring hope

# Where there is darkness

# Only light

# And where there's sadness

# Ever joy

# Oh, Master grant that I may never seek

# So much to be consoled as to console

# To be understood as to understand

# To be loved as to love with all my soul

# Love with all my soul

# All my soul Love with all my so-o-o-o-oul

# All my so-o-o-ul

# Make me a channel of your peace

-# A channel of your peace

-Oh!

# It is in pardoning

-# That we are pardoned

-Oh!

# In giving to all men

# That we receive

# And in dying that we're born to eternal life. #