New Year Honours Songs of Praise

With Christmas over, our thoughts turn to the New Year.

In two days' time, in a uniquely British custom,

our head of state, her Majesty the Queen,

will honour the great and good for services to their country.

Since 1877, the New Year Honours List has made the headlines,

and in recent years, we've seen actors, sporting heroes,

even some Songs Of Praise presenters collecting their medals

from the palace.

But it's not all about famous faces.

Most of the 2,000 or so honours every year go to people

most of us have never heard of.

But with hard work and humility, they have served their communities.

This week, we hear the story of one man's bravery on the buses.

An MBE for giving out chocolates.

And an OBE for the man changing Manchester.

And we'll be giving God the honour in song,

with the help of Only Boys Allowed

and Matt Redman's international hit, 10,000 Reasons.

There is one place in the country to which all those with honours

have privileged access.

We are in St Paul's Cathedral and this is the OBE Chapel,

and people who've been given honours are allowed to hold

family weddings and baptisms here.

The chapel commemorates the founding of the Order of the British Empire

in 1917 by King George V

to honour the efforts of the public in the First World War.

These days, the Cabinet Office in Westminster

takes care of the process, and it's far more open than it used to be.

Anyone can nominate anyone for an honour.

We then consider those nominations.

The recommendations then go to the Prime Minister

and those recommendations are put forward to the Queen.

We feel an immense sense of pride for what people have achieved.

Actually, you feel a bit humble

because they have done quite extraordinary things.

It is often a validation of years and years

of terrific work in their community.

The idea of giving honour is at the heart of the Christian faith.

The word "worship" means giving worth.

And we do that now with our first hymn,

written by a retired bishop, Timothy Dudley-Smith.

He's got an OBE himself for services to hymnody.

Before anyone's honour is announced,

a strictly confidential procedure is followed.

When somebody is put forward for an honour,

they have, themselves, to agree to take the honour.

And they can indeed turn it down.

And we expect them then to send us a letter back saying yes or no.

If they are anything like me,

you worry whether you've ticked the right box for a few weeks.

The medals themselves are prepared by hand

at small factories, like this one.

And each medal represents a different kind of service.

The knighthood is for exceptional achievement

at national and sometimes international level.

CBE is also typically national.

When we come to the OBE,

we are thinking very much about regional or county level.

And then MBE and BEM are for local community achievement.

So the fact that the honour comes from the Queen,

it's recognition at the highest level

of what they've done, often for many, many years.

Joan Kingham has spent her entire life in Dursley in Gloucestershire.

-How are you?

-Very well.

-How are the children?

-Excellent.

She was given the MBE in 2011 after 70 years of voluntary work.

Just one of her many achievements was to help start this day centre

for elderly people nearly 50 years ago.

At 94, she is now older than all the visitors.

Visit a lot of sick people in hospital.

I visit people in their homes.

Why do all this work, though, when you could have retired

and have a quiet life and put your feet up?

I'd be bored stiff.

Wouldn't suit me at all, no, I like being with people.

I've always liked that

and I think it's part of my faith too, really.

John chapter 10, Jesus said, "I have come that they might have life.

"Life in all its fullness.

"Life in the here and now."

And for me, that's Dursley.

Tell me how it felt when you learned that you had been given the MBE.

I was flabbergasted. It was a great honour.

But the thing that thrilled me most was that it pleased other people.

Everybody was so excited. More excited than I was, I think.

There were so many there. It was so wonderful, yes.

I still don't know why I got it

because whatever I was able to do in Dursley,

I did because I liked doing it. It wasn't a chore at all.

And do you have strong memories of the investiture?

SHE LAUGHS As you can see, I'm very wobbly now.

And in those days, three years ago, I was still rather wobbly.

I had a horror of falling on the Queen.

Having to curtsy was a bit of a task for me.

I only gave a little bob, I think.

And you wore something special that day, didn't you?

I wore my best suit and I wore a hat.

Which is something unheard of. I never wear hats.

This was, I suppose you'd call it, do they call them fascinators?

-Fascinators, yes.

-Little thing you stick on the back of your head.

Oh, I looked absolutely ridiculous.

So what did you do with it afterwards?

Oh, that's another story. I gave it to my church for their auction sale.

And my friend bought it for £20. She had a bargain.

THEY LAUGH

Joan, one of your favourite hymns is, I Heard The Voice Of Jesus Say.

Why do you like that one so much?

It speaks so much of what God does for people

because of rest and peace and life and light.

And can you remember what those words are?

"I came to Jesus as I was, weary and worn and sad.

"I found in him a resting place and he has made me glad."

In the 1980s, a spate of thefts from Andy Hawthorne's fashion factory

in Manchester gave him the motivation

to try and help local youngsters.

I well remember coming to this factory in the middle of the night,

and we probably got phone calls three or four times from the police.

In fact, chasing lads down that very street there,

they were carrying our stock.

It seemed like the lads who were growing up here knew little of Christ

and certainly had never seen the Christian faith demonstrated.

And me and my brother had his dream that maybe we could see the church

mobilise for tough, inner-city communities like this.

And it began on a wing and a prayer,

forming a pop band to play at local events.

Its success allowed him to found the Message Trust.

26 years later,

that same charity has been praised for rejuvenating council estates

around the UK and seeing dramatic reductions in crime.

It's been an amazing 26-year journey

and starting to see transformation come.

We're not the silver bullet for mission for Manchester,

but definitely, we've played our part.

And Manchester is a very different place.

We're not seeing full-blown revival yet,

that's what we're dreaming for, but things are different.

The only one who can get you a place in heaven, Jesus Christ...

In Andy's newest venture, he's helping young people in prison

who face the challenge of returning to life on the outside.

The day they come out of prison, we can provide them with a job,

we can provide them with a home in a safe environment

and we can provide them with supported mentoring.

And every single young offender that we've been able to deliver that to

hasn't re-offended.

They haven't even been back in court. I mean, it's a miracle.

Five years ago, Mo Timbo was serving a prison sentence.

Today, he's a manager for a phone company.

'Andy's ministry and the Message Trust, they gave me hope.'

They prayed for me, they give me advice,

they give me a vision for my life

'that let me know, no matter what your past has been like,

'there's always a future for you.'

I certainly don't think the OBE has changed me,

apart from I've got three letters on my business card.

Mr Andrew Hawthorne.

When you're as in your face with your Christian faith as we are,

people can think you are a bit wacko.

But there is a credibility that comes from it.

Actually, the OBE came because of work amongst young people

in Greater Manchester that's delivering.

It's a bit like getting your obituary before time

when you get an OBE. And you realise how much, well,

how much you're loved, but how much this work is loved.

What motivates me to keep going

is the amazing stories of changed lives.

Just when I feel like giving up,

I'll hear another dramatic story of somebody who's just utterly,

utterly messed up, and that person has now gone

and not just made some little Christian commitment,

but gone on to do great things in their own right.

'That's what keeps me going and that's what gets me

'out of bed in the morning. We love the fact'

that God changes lives,

that's what we are about, the Message Trust -

any life, no life is too broken

for God not to put it back together again.

A mate of mine, Matt Redman,

has written a beautiful song called 10,000 Reasons,

and we have 10,000 reasons

and a whole lot more to praise God at the moment.

# The sun comes up

# It's a new day dawning

# It's time to sing your song again

# Whatever may pass

# And whatever lies before me

# Let me be singing when the evening comes

# Bless the Lord, O my soul

# O my soul

# Worship his holy name

# Sing like never before

# O my soul

# I'll worship your holy name

# You're rich in love

# And you're slow to anger

# Your name is great

# And your heart is kind

# For all your goodness

# I will keep on singing

# 10,000 reasons for my heart to find

# So bless the Lord, O my soul

# O my soul

# Worship his holy name

# Sing like never before

# O my soul

# I worship your holy name

# And on that day

# When my strength is failing

# The end draws near and my time has come

# Still my soul will sing your praise

# Unending

# 10,000 years and then forevermore

# Forevermore

# Bless the Lord, oh, my soul

# Oh, my soul

# Worship his holy name

# Sing like never before

# Oh, my soul

# I'll worship your holy name

# Bless the Lord, oh, my soul

# Oh, my soul

# Worship his holy name

# Sing like never before

# Oh, my soul

# I'll worship your holy name

# Yes, I will worship your holy name

# Lord, I'll worship your holy name. #

West Croydon bus station is managed by Nana Nyarko, MBE.

My job is different. Every day is different.

In August 2011, he found himself in the line of fire.

Extraordinary scenes in London tonight

as fires, riots and lootings spread across large parts of the capital.

A massive blaze is burning in Croydon in south London

after a furniture store...

During the London riots, Nana took decisive action

to protect the public in Croydon

from the growing unrest across the capital.

I don't think they even knew what they were doing.

Some of them were just following their friends,

shouting, running around.

Because of the volume, I thought, "I have to keep my station safe."

So I thought, "I'll close the station."

So, was it just you? Were you the last one here?

-I was with my cleaner.

-With the cleaner?

I can remember a kid came to me and said to me,

"Uncle, it's better you go home."

And I thought, "No, I'm not going home. I'm on duty.

"I'm staying on until my duty is over."

-Were you scared at any point?

-No, I wasn't.

In west Croydon, you have to talk to these kids like your own kids,

so I was just doing my job.

How did you feel when you found out about the MBE?

Oh! It was a humbling experience.

I received the honour to share... That's the word,

to share with my family, my friends and my work colleagues.

When we were driving through the gates of Buckingham Palace,

my sister just said,

"This is not an honour from anyone, it's an honour from God.

"You know, for you to be honoured."

Prince Charles saw me and he knew for sure I'm from Ghana.

I said to him, "I'll be going home to show the award to my mum."

He just said, "I hope Mum is proud of you."

When you go to church, is there a favourite hymn of yours?

Yes, Amazing Grace.

I don't know what that song does to me. It just raises my spirit.

I like that song, Amazing Grace.

# Amazing grace

# Amazing love

# Amazing grace

# Amazing love

# Amazing grace. #

Britain's busiest RAF base is Brize Norton.

And it's home to Meg Atkinson MBE, who, for 40 years,

has been sweetly spreading the gospel.

This is a Meg's Mix.

It's got all different things in and it comes with a little smiley face.

Smile, God Loves You.

I like to feed the body as well as the soul.

Meg works for SASRA,

the Soldiers' and Airmen's Scripture Reader Association,

offering Christian support to the armed forces.

CHEERING

How are you doing, guys?

She's just relentlessly enthusiastic.

You see Meg and she'll cheer you up straight away.

She always talks about God and gives you chocolate.

More importantly, she makes you happy.

Food for thought.

Who would like to tackle this little exercise?

Wherever the lads and lasses are working,

I'm allowed to go in and get alongside them.

CHEERING

I only know about fishing nets.

The military just really is full of banter.

But, of course, I'm able to give it back as well.

And in a good way.

Meg's infectious enthusiasm, and rather, dare I say it,

sort of impish wit and humour,

you can't be bored,

you can't be miserable when Meg's around.

She will lift your spirits at every turn,

and when you're least expecting it.

Meg deals with people who put their lives on the line.

And she wants them to have an understanding

of what the Christian faith and what Jesus Christ has done for them.

And at the end of the day, that's what she's really talking about.

Miss Meg Atkinson, for services

to the Soldiers' and Airmen's Scripture Reader Association.

Meeting Princess Royal in investiture

was really, really lovely and a real honour.

And she did tell me to be careful and to take care of myself.

The MBE hasn't changed me at all.

I still do my ministry with the same enthusiasm, and I find even now,

I'm more comfortable calling it my Meg's Best Efforts

because I can get quite emotional about it, even now.

# Our Father

# Which art in heaven

# Hallowed be

# 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

# And the power and the glory

# Forever

# And ever

# Amen

# For thine is the kingdom

# And the power and the glory

# Forever

# And ever

# Amen

# Amen. #

Heavenly father, we give all the glory and honour to you,

for you alone deserve it.

Thank you for your gracious love fulfilling us every day.

And may that love transform us

and change the lives of everyone across the nation.

In Jesus' name, amen.

It's easy to be overawed by the achievements of the people we've met this week,

but it's worth remembering that they only received their honours

because someone noticed and nominated them.

And any one of us can do that.

Perhaps it's fitting, then, that our last hymn

comes from a wordsmith whose MBE was for services to hymn writing.

The late Fred Pratt Green.

Next week, for Epiphany Sunday, David finds out

what we can learn from the Wise Men in the Christmas story

and why this is such an important festival in the Eastern Church.

There are glorious hymns from Blackburn Cathedral

and inspirational music from soul singer, Carleen Anderson.