0:00:04 > 0:00:09On 5th September 1694, a great fire swept through Warwick.
0:00:11 > 0:00:15Whole streets were destroyed along with most of St Mary's Church.
0:00:17 > 0:00:19The town and the church were rebuilt
0:00:19 > 0:00:23and today this is one of Britain's finest parish churches.
0:00:24 > 0:00:27We've come here to find out more about this wonderful building.
0:00:27 > 0:00:30We're also visiting other churches in Warwickshire and beyond
0:00:30 > 0:00:34which have been renewed in surprising and inspiring ways.
0:00:37 > 0:00:41Today, how a village church has literally risen from the ashes.
0:00:41 > 0:00:44A transformation into a place of play as well as prayer.
0:00:44 > 0:00:47What a new chapel means for a 19th-century college.
0:00:47 > 0:00:50Plus hymns from our congregation
0:00:50 > 0:00:52and international star, Hayley Westenra.
0:01:01 > 0:01:05Across Britain, churches are changing.
0:01:05 > 0:01:08Many congregations are going through challenging times.
0:01:08 > 0:01:12While some churches have closed, and even been demolished,
0:01:12 > 0:01:14new ones have opened.
0:01:16 > 0:01:19Wherever people need to worship, often what brings them together
0:01:19 > 0:01:22is a desire to praise God and our first hymn,
0:01:22 > 0:01:25based on Psalms 148 and 150,
0:01:25 > 0:01:28is a magnificent hymn of praise.
0:04:01 > 0:04:05The tower of the Collegiate Church of St Mary rises over the town of Warwick
0:04:05 > 0:04:08higher even than the castle.
0:04:08 > 0:04:11However, when it came to rebuilding the church after the great fire,
0:04:11 > 0:04:14the tower here nearly wasn't built
0:04:14 > 0:04:17because it was realised the original design was flawed.
0:04:19 > 0:04:21The story goes that Sir Christopher Wren was called in
0:04:21 > 0:04:25to advise and he said it needed to be built outside the church's walls.
0:04:25 > 0:04:29This is why the tower sits over what was originally the road
0:04:29 > 0:04:32with the entrance to it separate from the church.
0:04:34 > 0:04:40Inside, the church's three fine organs are proof of a long and distinguished musical tradition.
0:04:40 > 0:04:43The choirs of St Mary's Collegiate Church are now going to sing
0:04:43 > 0:04:47a verse from a prayer traditionally attributed to St Patrick.
0:04:49 > 0:04:54# Christ be with me
0:04:54 > 0:04:59# Christ within me
0:04:59 > 0:05:03# Christ behind me
0:05:03 > 0:05:08# Christ before me
0:05:08 > 0:05:13# Christ beside me
0:05:13 > 0:05:18# Christ to win me
0:05:18 > 0:05:26# Christ to comfort and restore me
0:05:27 > 0:05:33# Christ above me
0:05:33 > 0:05:37# Christ beneath me
0:05:37 > 0:05:42# Christ in quiet
0:05:42 > 0:05:47# Christ in danger
0:05:47 > 0:05:55# Christ in hearts of all that love me
0:05:58 > 0:06:06# Christ in mouth of friend and stranger
0:06:09 > 0:06:16# Christ in mouth of friend
0:06:16 > 0:06:24# And stranger #
0:06:35 > 0:06:40Martin Green was looking for a new job after spending three years as the vicar
0:06:40 > 0:06:43of St Nicholas Church in the Warwickshire village of Radford Semele.
0:06:43 > 0:06:46He was moving on, or so he thought.
0:06:46 > 0:06:51I was away on interview, had the first stage of interviews
0:06:51 > 0:06:57on the Friday night and that night, had a very vivid image, really.
0:06:57 > 0:07:04A vivid image of a kind of dark mass, really and out of which
0:07:04 > 0:07:06there was an arm and a hand coming.
0:07:07 > 0:07:08That sense of help.
0:07:12 > 0:07:15So, there was something calling me back.
0:07:15 > 0:07:16I came home and that night
0:07:16 > 0:07:21the church was broken into and set on fire.
0:07:21 > 0:07:22What was left?
0:07:22 > 0:07:27Nothing, just the walls, really. We were left with a shell and the tower.
0:07:29 > 0:07:31- It must have been devastating? - It was.
0:07:31 > 0:07:36That sense remains with me, standing in the ruins.
0:07:36 > 0:07:40It felt as if that spirit of worship
0:07:40 > 0:07:45and prayer that had been there for generations had just vanished.
0:07:46 > 0:07:51There was a huge sense of grief because of memories and events
0:07:51 > 0:07:55and things over generations that had been part of village life
0:07:55 > 0:07:58and suddenly, all of that was gone.
0:07:58 > 0:08:01The village war memorials were here and they were all destroyed.
0:08:01 > 0:08:03They were screwed up metal.
0:08:07 > 0:08:09Almost six years after the fire,
0:08:09 > 0:08:12the church has been completely rebuilt.
0:08:13 > 0:08:17It is beautiful and very different from what was here before.
0:08:17 > 0:08:20The mix of the new and old has been really cleverly done, I think.
0:08:20 > 0:08:23The top of the bell tower, which I have left uncovered
0:08:23 > 0:08:28so people can see the original stone, I think it is lovely.
0:08:28 > 0:08:32The cross that we have on the communion table was made
0:08:32 > 0:08:35out of some of the burnt joists under the floor.
0:08:36 > 0:08:41The building has risen again, there is new life for the church.
0:08:41 > 0:08:45Is there new life for the community of the church,
0:08:45 > 0:08:48- for the spirit of the church as well?- Well, there is, yes.
0:08:48 > 0:08:51When the fire happened that Sunday it was Palm Sunday.
0:08:51 > 0:08:55The church congregation moved over to the community hall in the village
0:08:55 > 0:08:58and we stayed worshipping there over those five years
0:08:58 > 0:09:01and during those years, the church has grown, so in fact,
0:09:01 > 0:09:05the church moving back in is a bigger and stronger church
0:09:05 > 0:09:07than it was when the fire happened.
0:09:08 > 0:09:13We've had a difficult journey but, having said that, for me,
0:09:13 > 0:09:16it has been a story of what the church should be,
0:09:16 > 0:09:21that out of brokenness and destruction, there is hope
0:09:21 > 0:09:24and God's part of that is bringing something new
0:09:24 > 0:09:27out of something that's actually been a terrible tragedy.
0:12:02 > 0:12:05All the mediaeval stained glass was destroyed in the fire
0:12:05 > 0:12:07that devastated St Nicholas'.
0:12:08 > 0:12:13Now the new windows are one of the finest features of the restored church.
0:12:13 > 0:12:18Most of them were designed and made by the stained-glass artist, Emma Blount.
0:12:18 > 0:12:22I was very touched by what had happened to the church,
0:12:22 > 0:12:24that it had burnt down,
0:12:24 > 0:12:28and the windows were part of its rejuvenation and the new life.
0:12:28 > 0:12:33And I put a lot of prayer and thought into the designs.
0:12:33 > 0:12:35Emma is still working on one window.
0:12:35 > 0:12:39It will go in the prayer space in the church.
0:12:39 > 0:12:43The design is of a waterfall of God's love
0:12:43 > 0:12:46and God's Holy Spirit coming down onto people.
0:12:46 > 0:12:51The orange rocks represent the people and they are soaking in God
0:12:51 > 0:12:55and they're not trying to be good Christians, they're just being still.
0:12:55 > 0:12:59I am using fused glass techniques, so you cut out bits of glass
0:12:59 > 0:13:01and you put them on top of each other and then you fuse them
0:13:01 > 0:13:04in the kiln to 800 degrees centigrade.
0:13:04 > 0:13:10Then it comes out in these beautiful smooth bricks of melted glass
0:13:10 > 0:13:15that I will then put together with lead came that you slot the glass into.
0:13:15 > 0:13:17Then you solder the lead joints.
0:13:20 > 0:13:23Perhaps the most striking window is in the Chancery.
0:13:23 > 0:13:27It has a theme of rejuvenation and rebirth.
0:13:27 > 0:13:31In the lights at the top of the window, I've got an egg,
0:13:31 > 0:13:37a lamb, a lily, a peacock's feather and a peacock butterfly.
0:13:37 > 0:13:40They're all symbols in art that symbolise resurrection.
0:13:41 > 0:13:44The church had burnt down so the centre of the design
0:13:44 > 0:13:46is a burnt forest and then around the edges,
0:13:46 > 0:13:51it comes to life with a child with fruit and fresh spring leaves.
0:13:51 > 0:13:55That's what I felt was happening with the church, it was going to come to life.
0:13:55 > 0:13:57Sticky blue, this is!
0:13:57 > 0:14:00The church certainly has come to life.
0:14:00 > 0:14:02As well as the usual Sunday services,
0:14:02 > 0:14:05there are also regular sessions especially for families.
0:14:05 > 0:14:08They are rather aptly known as Messy Church.
0:14:08 > 0:14:10Shall we wash your hands?
0:14:10 > 0:14:14We do an hour of arts and crafts based around a theme
0:14:14 > 0:14:19and then we have a short worship out in the church.
0:14:19 > 0:14:21Then everyone sits down and eats together.
0:14:22 > 0:14:26It's about enabling children to come in a less formal setting
0:14:26 > 0:14:29and adults to come in a less formal setting.
0:14:29 > 0:14:33Sometimes a Sunday service can be quite daunting if you're not a regular churchgoer.
0:14:33 > 0:14:37We get tremendous support from the whole congregation,
0:14:37 > 0:14:39mucking in and helping with food
0:14:39 > 0:14:43and saving their old toilet rolls and everything for us.
0:14:43 > 0:14:46- Does it take a lot of cleaning up afterwards?- Yes, quite often.
0:14:46 > 0:14:49We spend a lot of time hoovering glitter off the seats!
0:14:51 > 0:14:55I wonder how that would go down with some of the older members of the congregation?
0:14:55 > 0:14:58I think they saw what benefits it was bringing
0:14:58 > 0:15:01and the new faces we were getting.
0:15:01 > 0:15:05It's about bringing people to God in a different way.
0:17:41 > 0:17:45Eight years ago, the congregation of Howden Clough Methodist Church
0:17:45 > 0:17:48had dwindled to just six members.
0:17:50 > 0:17:54Having opened in 1872, the community in Birstall, West Yorkshire,
0:17:54 > 0:17:59didn't seem to need a traditional church building on their doorstep any more.
0:18:00 > 0:18:04But then one of the remaining church members had an idea.
0:18:04 > 0:18:07Turn it into a soft play area for children.
0:18:07 > 0:18:12When I explained to the congregation here what I wanted to do,
0:18:12 > 0:18:15the concept of a soft play area was totally out of their understanding.
0:18:15 > 0:18:21The vast majority had never ever set foot in one, and for them to graciously say yes
0:18:21 > 0:18:23really was a massive miracle.
0:18:25 > 0:18:28The first challenge was to find a theme that fitted with the place
0:18:28 > 0:18:33and so you start thinking, where could the Bible fit into soft play?
0:18:33 > 0:18:39The nearest I could get that the designers of the soft play equipment had was Noah's Ark.
0:18:39 > 0:18:42In the playhouse you have a blue floor which is the sea.
0:18:42 > 0:18:46You have the ship which is the Ark, animals in it.
0:18:46 > 0:18:51So everything round the side is the colours of the rainbow.
0:18:51 > 0:18:53When people come in for the first time,
0:18:53 > 0:18:57the first question I'm asked is, "Was this a church?
0:18:57 > 0:19:01"Have you just bought the building and converted it into a soft play area?"
0:19:01 > 0:19:04It's a brilliant opportunity because I am able to tell them,
0:19:04 > 0:19:07no, it still is a church. We are all Christians here.
0:19:09 > 0:19:12We haven't a conventional service because there's no pews
0:19:12 > 0:19:15and no chairs and no altar any more.
0:19:16 > 0:19:20Playhouse Praise that we started after six months
0:19:20 > 0:19:22was our version of a normal service.
0:19:22 > 0:19:25The chairs and the tables stay as they are
0:19:25 > 0:19:27and we have worship within the soft play area.
0:19:27 > 0:19:31We do crafts, we sing songs and we tell stories from the Bible
0:19:31 > 0:19:36to try and bring families into the understanding of what it means to be a Christian.
0:19:36 > 0:19:40Some people walked through the door and cried when they saw the place
0:19:40 > 0:19:43because they just experienced God here
0:19:43 > 0:19:46and they'd never experienced it before in a building.
0:22:15 > 0:22:19CHORAL VOICES
0:22:20 > 0:22:23On the night of May 17th 1941,
0:22:23 > 0:22:27German bombers attacked a railway viaduct in Nuneaton.
0:22:27 > 0:22:29Some missed their target,
0:22:29 > 0:22:33and the nearby church of All Saints Chilvers Coton was destroyed.
0:22:33 > 0:22:35Only the tower remained.
0:22:36 > 0:22:40But this church came back to life in the most extraordinary way.
0:22:40 > 0:22:42German prisoners of war were being held nearby,
0:22:42 > 0:22:46and some of them volunteered to help the parishioners rebuild it.
0:22:48 > 0:22:51Once you're inside, there's plenty of evidence of their handiwork,
0:22:51 > 0:22:53especially some beautiful and intricate carvings.
0:22:53 > 0:22:57For instance, the scenes on the lectern include Moses holding
0:22:57 > 0:23:01the Ten Commandments and Jesus preaching from a boat.
0:23:01 > 0:23:03The detail really is extraordinary.
0:23:05 > 0:23:08The font is made from one of the destroyed pillars, and this
0:23:08 > 0:23:13beautiful cover was carved by a German craftsman out of sycamore.
0:23:13 > 0:23:16And on the back here is the face of a child,
0:23:16 > 0:23:19which he modelled on his own son.
0:23:21 > 0:23:24The names of the craftsmen are engraved in stone in the churchyard.
0:23:25 > 0:23:29But perhaps the most potent symbol of what this church represents
0:23:29 > 0:23:31is the phoenix on the altar.
0:23:31 > 0:23:34It's an emblem of the rebirth of the church,
0:23:34 > 0:23:38and of reconciliation after the destruction of the Second World War.
0:23:42 > 0:23:46# Sleep my child
0:23:46 > 0:23:51# And peace attend thee
0:23:51 > 0:23:56# All through the night
0:23:58 > 0:24:02# Guardian angels
0:24:02 > 0:24:05# God will send thee
0:24:07 > 0:24:12# All through the night
0:24:13 > 0:24:20# Soft the drowsy hours are creeping
0:24:21 > 0:24:28# Hill and vale in slumber sleeping
0:24:30 > 0:24:37# I, my loved ones watch them keeping
0:24:38 > 0:24:42# All through the night
0:24:48 > 0:24:55# While the moon her watch is keeping
0:24:57 > 0:25:02# All through the night
0:25:03 > 0:25:10# While the weary world is sleeping
0:25:12 > 0:25:17# All through the night
0:25:18 > 0:25:25# O'er thy spirit gently stealing
0:25:25 > 0:25:32# Visions of delight revealing
0:25:34 > 0:25:40# Breathes a pure and holy feeling
0:25:41 > 0:25:48# All through the night. #
0:26:06 > 0:26:10There's been a theological college at Cuddesdon, near Oxford, since the 1850s.
0:26:10 > 0:26:13It's also home to an order of nuns.
0:26:13 > 0:26:17The original Victorian chapel had become too small to accommodate
0:26:17 > 0:26:20the increasing number of students, so a new one was commissioned.
0:26:20 > 0:26:24And in February last year, the new chapel, designed to meet
0:26:24 > 0:26:28the needs of both students and Sisters, was formally dedicated.
0:26:31 > 0:26:33Such was its acclaim that it went on to be
0:26:33 > 0:26:36shortlisted for the 2013 Sterling Prize for architecture.
0:26:38 > 0:26:42What we wanted was a space that the minute people walked into,
0:26:42 > 0:26:48they went "wow" and wanted to stay and pause and worship and pray.
0:26:49 > 0:26:53- It is an extraordinary space, isn't it?- It's phenomenal.
0:26:53 > 0:26:55It's pure, clean, confident.
0:26:55 > 0:26:58The light floods in from the top of the chapel
0:26:58 > 0:27:02and all seems to flow down, and that lifts the eyes to the heavens.
0:27:02 > 0:27:05That was the intention, really, of the architect.
0:27:05 > 0:27:07There's a new chapel here
0:27:07 > 0:27:09but has it brought something new to the community?
0:27:09 > 0:27:13I think what the new chapel's done is renewed our faith in Christ
0:27:13 > 0:27:16for the nations for the 21st century.
0:27:16 > 0:27:19It's given us a sense that the faith that we learn about from yesterday
0:27:19 > 0:27:23is relevant today and has a voice for tomorrow.
0:27:23 > 0:27:27And the new chapel seems to say that, in stone and wood, in glass
0:27:27 > 0:27:29and in the amazing spiritual depth
0:27:29 > 0:27:32and character it has throughout the space.
0:27:33 > 0:27:37It needs to be a space that works not just for students,
0:27:37 > 0:27:41in prayer but also, of course, for the Sisters who are here as well.
0:27:41 > 0:27:45Absolutely and there's a small side chapel built for them as well.
0:27:45 > 0:27:47So, they can use that for more intimate worship,
0:27:47 > 0:27:50for the offices during the day.
0:27:50 > 0:27:52THEY PRAY THROUGH SONG
0:27:52 > 0:27:57I think it's absolutely wonderful, mainly because of the shape.
0:27:57 > 0:27:59And also, as you walk in,
0:27:59 > 0:28:02one's eye is taken up to the light.
0:28:02 > 0:28:07And if we think about Jesus is the light, it sort of says everything.
0:28:08 > 0:28:12And in some senses, it reminds me of being on a boat.
0:28:12 > 0:28:16- Ah, that was intentional. - Yes.- It's an upturned boat.
0:28:16 > 0:28:20Rather like you find in some Norwegian churches.
0:28:20 > 0:28:23Do not withhold your compassion from me only.
0:28:25 > 0:28:29I'm a second-year student in the college.
0:28:29 > 0:28:33The light coming through the glass windows in the morning
0:28:33 > 0:28:39when the sun rises gives you such a beautiful feeling that God is here.
0:28:40 > 0:28:43I find this chapel's really peaceful
0:28:43 > 0:28:46and you can come in here away from the hustle and bustle
0:28:46 > 0:28:48of everything that's going on at college and around you.
0:28:48 > 0:28:52So simple and plain, there's nothing to distract you.
0:28:52 > 0:28:56It's just the peace and the quiet and the blank canvas, in a sense.
0:28:56 > 0:28:58A place where you can listen to God.
0:30:46 > 0:30:50May the heavenly Father, who raised our Lord Jesus from the dead,
0:30:50 > 0:30:52give us hope in our brokenness
0:30:52 > 0:30:56and bring His glory to shine out of the rubble of our lives.
0:30:56 > 0:31:02And may His blessing of peace rest upon us now and always, amen.
0:31:06 > 0:31:10The places we have visited show how churches can be transformed
0:31:10 > 0:31:14and despite considerable challenges often gain so much when they,
0:31:14 > 0:31:17literally in some cases, rise from the ashes.
0:31:17 > 0:31:21And our final hymn is a reminder that God can be our guide
0:31:21 > 0:31:23through change and chance.
0:33:30 > 0:33:32Next week is Chinese New Year
0:33:32 > 0:33:35and Aled's visiting London's Chinatown,
0:33:35 > 0:33:37with traditional hymns from St Martin-in-the-Fields,
0:33:37 > 0:33:40a church with its own Chinese congregation and a special
0:33:40 > 0:33:44performance by cellists Julian Lloyd Webber and his wife, Jiaxin.