0:00:06 > 0:00:08I hope you've got a head for heights.
0:00:10 > 0:00:14I'm climbing the bell tower of Paisley Abbey because, believe me,
0:00:14 > 0:00:18there's a view up here you've really got to see.
0:00:23 > 0:00:24Wow, what a view!
0:00:24 > 0:00:28You can see some of Paisley's grandest buildings from here,
0:00:28 > 0:00:31of the kind that still provide inspiration for people
0:00:31 > 0:00:33living in and around the town.
0:00:33 > 0:00:37In today's Songs Of Praise we've got inspiring music too,
0:00:37 > 0:00:41and I'll be meeting some of the people most proud to be living in Paisley.
0:00:44 > 0:00:48There are the stitchers, making sure Paisley's past is not forgotten.
0:00:48 > 0:00:54This lady is in all her finery with her cloche hat and fancy wee handbag.
0:00:54 > 0:00:59A world-renowned Paisley sculptor who's embarking on his work of a lifetime.
0:00:59 > 0:01:01It's a huge project. It will see me out.
0:01:01 > 0:01:04I'll be working on it until my dying day.
0:01:04 > 0:01:08And, of course, some wonderful hymns from a packed Paisley Abbey.
0:01:17 > 0:01:21People tell me that folk from Paisley are known as Buddies.
0:01:21 > 0:01:25It's such a popular term that Buddies is the nickname
0:01:25 > 0:01:28of the local football team - St Mirren.
0:01:29 > 0:01:33There are plenty of Buddies from Paisley inside the abbey now,
0:01:33 > 0:01:36ready to sing for us along with people from the surrounding areas.
0:01:36 > 0:01:40They've all come together to raise the roof with some of our
0:01:40 > 0:01:43best loved hymns, starting with Praise To The Holiest.
0:03:50 > 0:03:54Paisley has many fine monuments, not least to this chap,
0:03:54 > 0:03:56the Reverend John Witherspoon.
0:03:56 > 0:04:00He was an evangelical minister who left Paisley in the 18th century
0:04:00 > 0:04:03to go and run Princeton University and became the only clergyman
0:04:03 > 0:04:07to sign the American Declaration of Independence.
0:04:08 > 0:04:11The statue was made by the internationally acclaimed sculptor
0:04:11 > 0:04:15Alexander Stoddart, who has been commissioned by the Queen
0:04:15 > 0:04:19as well as making monuments that can be seen across the world.
0:04:20 > 0:04:22Tell me about your sculpture.
0:04:22 > 0:04:26You stand here in this studio and you could be in any century, couldn't you?
0:04:26 > 0:04:27You could be in any century
0:04:27 > 0:04:31because sculpture like this has been made for the last 2,400 years.
0:04:31 > 0:04:35Personally, I've always found old, dead people
0:04:35 > 0:04:39to be tremendous companions and they're seldom horrible to you.
0:04:40 > 0:04:44Tell me about the Christ figure we've got there.
0:04:44 > 0:04:46Well, this is a very small, what you call, a bozzetto.
0:04:46 > 0:04:49An Italian word and it means a quick study,
0:04:49 > 0:04:52modelled in about half an hour, maybe an hour, of a work that will
0:04:52 > 0:04:55eventually go through bigger dimensions
0:04:55 > 0:04:59until it reaches a rather heroic scale, bigger than life-size.
0:04:59 > 0:05:03What is it that's special about the pose as it is down there?
0:05:05 > 0:05:10You might just think it seems, as it were, domestic and occasional
0:05:10 > 0:05:15with no question of the essential mystery of the New Testament,
0:05:15 > 0:05:17which is overwhelmingly brilliant.
0:05:17 > 0:05:18I read it every day.
0:05:20 > 0:05:24But when you turn the work you notice that it does feature
0:05:24 > 0:05:29a very big, broad piece of wood lying horizontally.
0:05:29 > 0:05:33Then, in front of that broad piece of wood we see two hands...
0:05:35 > 0:05:38..significantly positioned.
0:05:38 > 0:05:41Then, on the point of the base, two feet crossed.
0:05:41 > 0:05:45So, really, with this one has an intimation of the final
0:05:45 > 0:05:50redemptive catastrophe in the story of Jesus, as it were,
0:05:50 > 0:05:53pre-figured in a domestic context.
0:05:54 > 0:05:58Where does this figure, and where is it going to, fit in your canon?
0:05:58 > 0:06:03This is a figure that is to be accompanied by the 12 apostles
0:06:03 > 0:06:06including Judas, which is a challenge.
0:06:07 > 0:06:11It's for a new chapel I'm helping to decorate.
0:06:11 > 0:06:13It's a huge project. It will see me out.
0:06:13 > 0:06:15I'll be working on it until my dying day.
0:06:15 > 0:06:18It's actually quite a profound object.
0:06:18 > 0:06:22This thing transpired out of my fingers, there was no real plan
0:06:22 > 0:06:28and the central mysteries of the work transpired uninvited as well.
0:06:28 > 0:06:31When this happens, you know you're doing the right thing
0:06:31 > 0:06:35because you're setting aside that vulgar thing called creativity.
0:06:35 > 0:06:40You're allowing that old-fashioned thing called inspiration to apply.
0:06:40 > 0:06:45You find that when you're inspired, your personality fairly withers.
0:06:45 > 0:06:47It's a kind of hypnosis and your eyes cross.
0:06:49 > 0:06:51And then you wake up two hours later
0:06:51 > 0:06:54and something is underneath your fingers,
0:06:54 > 0:06:57most of which you can't remember coming into existence.
0:06:57 > 0:07:02And this is the grail of artistic production.
0:07:02 > 0:07:05Tell me why you don't sign a work like this.
0:07:05 > 0:07:09I don't sign work that's religious.
0:07:09 > 0:07:12When it comes to something that represents a faith specifically,
0:07:12 > 0:07:14I don't really like to put my name on it
0:07:14 > 0:07:17because I don't think it's appropriate.
0:07:17 > 0:07:20I always write Paisley, where the work has been made,
0:07:20 > 0:07:24because Paisley needs a good shout these days.
0:07:24 > 0:07:26This is the town I work in and love.
0:07:26 > 0:07:29So I always credit the town for the place.
0:07:29 > 0:07:33So creating this thing of beauty and of power,
0:07:33 > 0:07:37what does the person of Christ mean to you?
0:07:37 > 0:07:42Well, gentle Jesus, meek and mild, is what it means to me.
0:07:42 > 0:07:47You know, rather than trying to leave the world a better place
0:07:47 > 0:07:51it's our duty to try to leave the world a better man.
0:07:51 > 0:07:53If we could do that, all of us,
0:07:53 > 0:07:57then won't the world become a much better place?
0:10:25 > 0:10:29When it was announced that Scotland was going to produce a Great Tapestry,
0:10:29 > 0:10:31telling the story of the nation in panels
0:10:31 > 0:10:35embroidered by volunteers, a group of Paisley women
0:10:35 > 0:10:38was determined to ensure their town's rich heritage was included.
0:10:40 > 0:10:43We wanted to get a group of people together to do something
0:10:43 > 0:10:45really worthwhile in the town.
0:10:45 > 0:10:48We put forward the Paisley Panel for that.
0:10:48 > 0:10:51We were given the theme of the 1930s. That's great.
0:10:51 > 0:10:55Paisley's been a place where everybody comes together and
0:10:55 > 0:11:00does things together, and we're all full of chat and that sort of thing.
0:11:00 > 0:11:03So we made it Paisley Patter, so we're doing the stitching
0:11:03 > 0:11:07and chatting and telling stories, and telling the stories about the mill.
0:11:07 > 0:11:11This is a woman who's going to Kelburne cinema in Paisley.
0:11:11 > 0:11:13It was on the Glasgow Road.
0:11:13 > 0:11:17It was built in the 1930s and this lady's in all her finery,
0:11:17 > 0:11:21with her cloche hat and her fancy wee handbag.
0:11:21 > 0:11:23I'm doing a St Mirren football player.
0:11:23 > 0:11:26It's one of Paisley's biggest features, St Mirren Football Club.
0:11:26 > 0:11:31It's one of the great things about it, everybody supports them even if they're not into football.
0:11:32 > 0:11:36It's really, really important that projects like this run.
0:11:36 > 0:11:39It's very much a community group and it's bringing people from
0:11:39 > 0:11:43all different walks of life together and that's what Paisley needs.
0:11:43 > 0:11:46It makes me feel proud to be part of it.
0:11:46 > 0:11:51You know, it's going to be up in the Scottish Parliament and in 100 years
0:11:51 > 0:11:56people will be able to look at it, and we'll be cutting up the daisies!
0:11:56 > 0:11:59I think that'll have to come round a bit. I'd love to see that.
0:11:59 > 0:12:03My values are just try my best to be a good person,
0:12:03 > 0:12:05to do what's right.
0:12:05 > 0:12:09To help your town, to help your family, to help your friends.
0:12:09 > 0:12:12That's the Christian value thing.
0:12:12 > 0:12:16We're relying on good people who want to do good things.
0:12:16 > 0:12:19I don't know who's got the threader now. Thank you.
0:12:19 > 0:12:25To be part of something that's going to be the Great Tapestry of Scotland.
0:12:25 > 0:12:26It's all going to be sewn together,
0:12:26 > 0:12:30all the ones from every town or city in Scotland that are doing them.
0:12:30 > 0:12:34It brings the whole of Scotland together, really.
0:12:34 > 0:12:37We've all done a part in that whole tapestry.
0:12:37 > 0:12:40Scotland is also rightly proud of its musical past.
0:12:40 > 0:12:44Now, Alistair Ogilvy weaves the words of a familiar Scottish hymn
0:12:44 > 0:12:47into a traditional folk tune.
0:12:52 > 0:12:55# O love that wilt not let me go
0:12:57 > 0:13:01# I rest my weary soul in thee
0:13:03 > 0:13:06# I give thee back the life I owe
0:13:08 > 0:13:12# May richer, fuller be
0:13:15 > 0:13:18# O light that follows all my way
0:13:20 > 0:13:24# I yield my torch to thee
0:13:26 > 0:13:30# My heart it restores its borrowed ray
0:13:31 > 0:13:35# That in sunshine fairer be
0:13:38 > 0:13:41# O joy that seekest me through pain
0:13:43 > 0:13:47# I cannot close my heart to thee
0:13:49 > 0:13:53# I chase the rainbow through the rain
0:13:54 > 0:13:58# That morn shall tearless be
0:14:27 > 0:14:31# O cross that liftest up my head
0:14:33 > 0:14:36# I dare not ask to fly from thee
0:14:38 > 0:14:43# And from the ground there blossoms red
0:14:44 > 0:14:48# Life that shall endless be
0:14:50 > 0:14:54# And from the ground there blossoms red
0:14:56 > 0:15:01# Life that shall endless be. #
0:15:10 > 0:15:14When Grace Terry moved to Paisley last year
0:15:14 > 0:15:17she had a broken marriage behind her and four children to support.
0:15:17 > 0:15:20She struggled both financially and emotionally.
0:15:20 > 0:15:22I felt very low.
0:15:22 > 0:15:25Confused.
0:15:25 > 0:15:27Depressed. I had nobody.
0:15:27 > 0:15:30Nobody to talk to.
0:15:33 > 0:15:37A lot has happened in my life and I'm just trying to pick myself up again.
0:15:37 > 0:15:39I had hope in God.
0:15:40 > 0:15:42That's all I had.
0:15:43 > 0:15:47Grace's fortunes changed when she heard about a community group
0:15:47 > 0:15:50whose doors are open to everyone.
0:15:50 > 0:15:54The project began when four Paisley churches joined forces
0:15:54 > 0:15:57to offer support to people in their community.
0:15:57 > 0:16:00These are going to represent your own Star journey.
0:16:00 > 0:16:02The project has a Christian ethos.
0:16:02 > 0:16:06We symbolise that Christian ethos through the fact
0:16:06 > 0:16:09we accept everybody who walks through our door. People are people.
0:16:09 > 0:16:15It doesn't matter if you are unemployed or employed,
0:16:15 > 0:16:19if you have a parenting issue,
0:16:19 > 0:16:23if you have an issue with addiction or a mental health issue, it doesn't matter.
0:16:23 > 0:16:25Or if you're just somebody who's new to the area
0:16:25 > 0:16:27and need to meet new people.
0:16:27 > 0:16:30So we actually serve everybody in the community,
0:16:30 > 0:16:31no matter who they are.
0:16:31 > 0:16:35The impression you get the first time you come in will tell you
0:16:35 > 0:16:37if you're going to trust the people there or not.
0:16:37 > 0:16:42It was uplifting, I would say, because when I walked in
0:16:42 > 0:16:47they were all welcoming and you sat down with a cup of tea and chatting.
0:16:47 > 0:16:51I met other people there, actually my best friend in Paisley.
0:16:51 > 0:16:54They've actually helped me with everything.
0:16:54 > 0:16:55Support.
0:16:56 > 0:16:58Listening ears.
0:16:58 > 0:17:01They are always there, they are great people.
0:17:01 > 0:17:04I just always say they are God sent.
0:17:05 > 0:17:07Star has helped me education-wise.
0:17:07 > 0:17:09Parenting-wise.
0:17:10 > 0:17:13Confidence-wise.
0:17:13 > 0:17:14You know, it's amazing.
0:17:16 > 0:17:21Star is a place where God's used them to actually bring me out,
0:17:21 > 0:17:24make me be who I'm supposed to be.
0:17:24 > 0:17:27Tell me that when all hope is lost, it's not lost.
0:21:25 > 0:21:29My addiction completely had consumed every aspect of my life
0:21:29 > 0:21:33to the point I was begging on the streets to feed that addiction.
0:21:33 > 0:21:36Steph Macleod was studying music at the prestigious
0:21:36 > 0:21:38Royal Conservatoire in Glasgow.
0:21:38 > 0:21:40But when his drinking spiralled out of control,
0:21:40 > 0:21:43he found himself on the streets.
0:21:44 > 0:21:46I was very messed up.
0:21:47 > 0:21:48So aggressive.
0:21:48 > 0:21:51I'd get kicked out of the homeless hostels.
0:21:53 > 0:21:56I'd sleep wherever I could and it tore my family to pieces.
0:21:58 > 0:21:59What brought you out of that?
0:21:59 > 0:22:03I found myself in a homeless centre run by the Bethany Christian Trust,
0:22:03 > 0:22:06which is a homeless charity,
0:22:06 > 0:22:10and the centre was geared towards men with addiction issues.
0:22:12 > 0:22:14They did a Christian recovery programme which...
0:22:16 > 0:22:19I just patronisingly nodded at first.
0:22:19 > 0:22:23I'd been to church as a kid but I didn't take it too seriously.
0:22:23 > 0:22:26But when I heard a guy give his testimony,
0:22:26 > 0:22:30he spoke about God in a way that I'd never heard before.
0:22:30 > 0:22:32About freedom and Christ.
0:22:34 > 0:22:38About breaking the chains of the life that had been killing me
0:22:38 > 0:22:41and finding the courage to live the life I was supposed to.
0:22:41 > 0:22:44And I made a commitment that night and I prayed,
0:22:44 > 0:22:47and I just asked God for a life worth living.
0:22:48 > 0:22:50A real sense of peace overwhelmed me,
0:22:50 > 0:22:53an inner peace I hadn't felt since I was a kid.
0:22:53 > 0:22:58People are sometimes a bit sceptical about the nature
0:22:58 > 0:23:02of that kind of very intense, emotional,
0:23:02 > 0:23:05transcendental experience you describe.
0:23:05 > 0:23:08I can't deny what happened to me that night
0:23:08 > 0:23:12because I know I was full of rage and fear,
0:23:12 > 0:23:16and just utter despair about the things I'd done to myself
0:23:16 > 0:23:20and to my family, my friends. And, er, to feel that sense of peace...
0:23:23 > 0:23:26I prayed and God answered my prayer that night.
0:23:26 > 0:23:28I cannot deny that.
0:23:28 > 0:23:31After that you rediscovered your music.
0:23:31 > 0:23:35Yes, I started writing songs in the centre about being homeless,
0:23:35 > 0:23:36and an addict and my faith.
0:23:36 > 0:23:39I was so blessed, my music was so very well received
0:23:39 > 0:23:44and I use it to share my story and I believe this with all my heart,
0:23:44 > 0:23:48that God has shown me I can be a much better man than I thought possible.
0:23:48 > 0:23:50I'm blessed by that.
0:23:50 > 0:23:55# When I found Jesus he was holding on to me
0:23:58 > 0:24:01# I was broken, I couldn't stand on my own two feet
0:24:04 > 0:24:07# He said a word and broke my chains
0:24:07 > 0:24:09# I was free to breathe again
0:24:11 > 0:24:15# My life was saved by the love and blood of Jesus
0:24:18 > 0:24:20# He was walking next to me
0:24:23 > 0:24:26# On the lonely path of my mind, made destiny.
0:24:29 > 0:24:32# He must have looked into my eyes
0:24:32 > 0:24:35# Saw the tears and heard my cries
0:24:36 > 0:24:40# For where I stood, I was saved by the blood of Jesus
0:24:42 > 0:24:43# Mm-mm
0:24:47 > 0:24:49# The empty promises
0:24:51 > 0:24:54# Of the world that had forsaken me
0:24:59 > 0:25:02# Left me in the wilderness
0:25:03 > 0:25:07# It was Jesus who rescued me
0:25:08 > 0:25:11# He called my name
0:25:11 > 0:25:14# And I would never be the same
0:25:16 > 0:25:18# Just one touch from the king of kings
0:25:20 > 0:25:22# Changes everything
0:25:25 > 0:25:26# Everything
0:25:28 > 0:25:32# When I found Jesus, he was heavy on my heart
0:25:35 > 0:25:38# I was lost for words, I didn't know where to start
0:25:40 > 0:25:43# All I know is I believe
0:25:43 > 0:25:47# But more than that, I have received
0:25:47 > 0:25:53# My sins were paid by the love and blood of Jesus
0:25:57 > 0:26:00# He took the weight off my shoulders
0:26:04 > 0:26:07# Came and gave me a rest
0:26:10 > 0:26:13# Gave me peace from my troubles
0:26:13 > 0:26:16# Lord, I have been blessed
0:26:16 > 0:26:20# Lord, I have been blessed. #
0:26:28 > 0:26:33Father, I believe you have a plan for my life.
0:26:33 > 0:26:37And I trust that you will be by my side always.
0:26:39 > 0:26:43Christ Jesus, help us use the talents you have given us
0:26:43 > 0:26:45to honour and praise you.
0:26:46 > 0:26:48Help me to remember and respect your teachings
0:26:48 > 0:26:50with a hope for a better future.
0:26:53 > 0:26:56Because your love helps me leave dark days in the past
0:26:56 > 0:26:58and look forward to tomorrow.
0:26:58 > 0:26:59Amen.
0:27:12 > 0:27:15# O for a closer walk with God
0:27:15 > 0:27:20# A calm and heavenly frame
0:27:25 > 0:27:29# A light to shine upon the road
0:27:35 > 0:27:40# That leads me to the lamb
0:27:52 > 0:27:54# Return
0:27:54 > 0:27:59# Oh, holy dove
0:27:59 > 0:28:03# Return
0:28:03 > 0:28:09# Return, return
0:28:13 > 0:28:20# Sweet messenger of rest
0:28:20 > 0:28:24# I hate the sins
0:28:24 > 0:28:36# That made thee mourn
0:28:41 > 0:28:46# And drove thee
0:28:46 > 0:28:52# From my breast
0:29:02 > 0:29:07# So shall my walk be close with God
0:29:07 > 0:29:11# So shall my walk be close with God
0:29:11 > 0:29:17# Calm and serene
0:29:18 > 0:29:22# My frame
0:29:26 > 0:29:31# So purer light
0:29:31 > 0:29:38# Shall mark the road
0:29:47 > 0:29:53# That leads me
0:29:53 > 0:29:58# To the lamb. #
0:30:26 > 0:30:29Up there in the right corner of the stained glass window
0:30:29 > 0:30:33is Paisley's coat of arms, granted to the town in 1912.
0:30:33 > 0:30:34The mottos reads,
0:30:34 > 0:30:39"Lord, let Paisley flourish by the preaching of thy word."
0:30:39 > 0:30:42And well into the 21st century this lovely abbey
0:30:42 > 0:30:45is doing its best to keep Paisley flourishing.
0:33:21 > 0:33:24Next week it's the Big Sing from London's Royal Albert Hall.
0:33:24 > 0:33:28Join Bill, star guests and an audience of 5,000 voices
0:33:28 > 0:33:31as he reveals the results of our vote
0:33:31 > 0:33:34to find the UK's favourite hymns.
0:33:34 > 0:33:36Tune in to see if your favourite is in the Top 10.
0:33:43 > 0:33:46Subtitles for the deaf and hard-of-hearing by Red Bee Media Ltd
0:34:03 > 0:34:06Everything to look forward to, on BBC Four.
0:34:08 > 0:34:10Would you consider me a dangerous terrorist?
0:34:10 > 0:34:12You don't want to discuss politics with me.
0:34:12 > 0:34:16Blues. Truly, it is not a sad music.