0:00:03 > 0:00:05This year marks 100 years
0:00:05 > 0:00:08since women over the age of 30 were first given the vote,
0:00:08 > 0:00:12so we celebrate Christian female pioneers past and present.
0:00:12 > 0:00:14Welcome to Songs Of Praise.
0:00:37 > 0:00:41We're in the city of Oxford to hear about a pioneering female minister
0:00:41 > 0:00:44ordained over 100 years ago...
0:00:44 > 0:00:47She was obviously just an incredibly tenacious woman.
0:00:47 > 0:00:49She didn't take no for an answer,
0:00:49 > 0:00:52and that is an inspiration in itself.
0:00:52 > 0:00:55..the first time cameras have filmed a stunning new discovery
0:00:55 > 0:00:58of Elizabethan Christian history...
0:00:58 > 0:01:01It is, in fact, the only object of dress that
0:01:01 > 0:01:04survives from Elizabeth I's wardrobe.
0:01:04 > 0:01:08..and the woman who launched her own Christian magazine.
0:01:17 > 0:01:21Our music this week features hymns written by women, and one of
0:01:21 > 0:01:25the most prolific was 19th-century American hymn writer Fanny Crosby.
0:01:25 > 0:01:27She wrote thousands of hymns,
0:01:27 > 0:01:32and this one is one of her most well-known, Blessed Assurance.
0:04:21 > 0:04:25This is Mansfield College at the University of Oxford where,
0:04:25 > 0:04:30a century ago, a significant moment in Christian history took place.
0:04:30 > 0:04:34It was here that Constance Coltman trained to be the first woman
0:04:34 > 0:04:37in the UK to qualify for ordination.
0:04:37 > 0:04:40She'd started her studies despite the authorities
0:04:40 > 0:04:43warning that there were no guarantees of a woman ever
0:04:43 > 0:04:45becoming a church minister and,
0:04:45 > 0:04:48although she graduated along with male trainees, there was
0:04:48 > 0:04:53one final step before her role could be made official.
0:04:53 > 0:04:56In October 1917, after her graduation,
0:04:56 > 0:04:59the Congregational Church of England and Wales
0:04:59 > 0:05:03formally recognised Constance Coltman as a minister -
0:05:03 > 0:05:05all the more remarkable when you consider that the
0:05:05 > 0:05:10Church of England didn't get women priests until 1992, 75 years later.
0:05:12 > 0:05:15Constance and her husband, Claud, also a minister,
0:05:15 > 0:05:19went on to lead churches across England for over 40 years
0:05:19 > 0:05:22in what's now known as the United Reformed Church.
0:05:23 > 0:05:26Today, I'm meeting 92-year-old Joan French,
0:05:26 > 0:05:30who has fond first-hand memories of Constance.
0:05:30 > 0:05:32So you remember her preaching?
0:05:32 > 0:05:34You remember her going up the steps and preaching?
0:05:34 > 0:05:36I can remember her in the pulpit and,
0:05:36 > 0:05:40when she was in the pulpit, she wore a little hat, like that,
0:05:40 > 0:05:44and a gown which, at my age - I was six when she came - I'd never
0:05:44 > 0:05:48seen before, so it was something that really stayed in my memory.
0:05:50 > 0:05:54- Did it seem unusual to have a woman minister?- No, perfectly normal.
0:05:54 > 0:05:57- Didn't know it was unusual.- Cos it was really unusual, wasn't it?
0:05:57 > 0:06:01It was, it was. And I've only come to appreciate that as I was older.
0:06:01 > 0:06:04And, of course, the baton's been passed to you, hasn't it?
0:06:04 > 0:06:07Cos now you teach at Sunday school.
0:06:07 > 0:06:09I try to teach in Sunday school, yes.
0:06:09 > 0:06:14I started while she was still there. They left in 1940.
0:06:14 > 0:06:17So Constance was married to Claud, who was also a minister?
0:06:17 > 0:06:22That's correct, yes. And I remember them together.
0:06:22 > 0:06:23It's an amazing thing, isn't it?
0:06:23 > 0:06:27Cos you think about the culture of the time, you know, women weren't
0:06:27 > 0:06:30necessarily encouraged to work outside the home at all, were they?
0:06:30 > 0:06:34- And yet, here she was.- Yeah, not many women went to work then.
0:06:34 > 0:06:36And tell me about this photograph.
0:06:36 > 0:06:41So that's Constance in the centre with Claud just behind her.
0:06:41 > 0:06:45It was taken in the gardens at Wolverton.
0:06:45 > 0:06:47She was a wonderful woman, wasn't she?
0:06:47 > 0:06:53To stand out against every other law, and to think she could
0:06:53 > 0:06:59do all that with no prospects of being acknowledged as a graduate.
0:06:59 > 0:07:03- Do you think she was brave? - I do, I do. She must have been.
0:07:03 > 0:07:07She always seemed calm, quietly spoken,
0:07:07 > 0:07:08but in control, yeah.
0:07:10 > 0:07:12Our next hymn is In Heavenly Love Abiding.
0:07:12 > 0:07:15- Tell me what you know about that hymn.- Oh, I love that hymn!
0:07:15 > 0:07:17It's wonderful, isn't it?
0:07:17 > 0:07:23The words in it just make you want to follow which, I suppose,
0:07:23 > 0:07:27is what I've done, isn't it? Followed through with the faith,
0:07:27 > 0:07:29following on with Constance.
0:09:56 > 0:10:00This is Hampton Court Palace - home, in the 16th century,
0:10:00 > 0:10:03to another pioneering woman, Queen Elizabeth I.
0:10:04 > 0:10:10Josie d'Arby has been allowed in to see a new piece of Tudor history.
0:10:10 > 0:10:14The experts here at Hampton Court are incredibly excited to
0:10:14 > 0:10:18have found something very special that dates back to
0:10:18 > 0:10:23Queen Elizabeth I herself, and it has a Christian connection, too.
0:10:25 > 0:10:29- Eleri, Josie, lovely to meet you. - Welcome to Hampton Court.- Thank you.
0:10:29 > 0:10:33Curator Eleri Lynn is taking me behind the scenes to see
0:10:33 > 0:10:38a church altar cloth found in St Faith's, Bacton, in Herefordshire,
0:10:38 > 0:10:41now kept under cover on the table.
0:10:41 > 0:10:46It's so precious, it can only be exposed for short periods.
0:10:46 > 0:10:50What's incredibly special is that we think it's made from a skirt
0:10:50 > 0:10:53once worn by Queen Elizabeth I herself.
0:10:55 > 0:10:59So we have the real thing in front of us, which I'll show you now.
0:11:00 > 0:11:03And I'm just going to ask my colleague, Libby,
0:11:03 > 0:11:04to come and help me.
0:11:04 > 0:11:08This is the first time cameras have seen the altar cloth
0:11:08 > 0:11:13revealed like this and I, for one, am incredibly excited.
0:11:13 > 0:11:14Oh, the colours!
0:11:15 > 0:11:18What we're looking at here is the back, and conservators
0:11:18 > 0:11:22here at Hampton Court have only recently removed the backing.
0:11:24 > 0:11:30So, if this is a part of something she would have worn originally,
0:11:30 > 0:11:31how rare is that?
0:11:31 > 0:11:37This artefact is a very, very rare survival because it is, in fact,
0:11:37 > 0:11:42the only object of dress that survives from Elizabeth I's wardrobe.
0:11:43 > 0:11:45It's made from cloth of silver.
0:11:45 > 0:11:49That was reserved by sumptuary law in the Tudor period to the very,
0:11:49 > 0:11:53very highest levels of society - generally, only royalty.
0:11:56 > 0:11:59It's as true as the day that it was embroidered.
0:11:59 > 0:12:03For the first time in 400 years, we're seeing these colours,
0:12:03 > 0:12:06and these are the colours that the Queen would probably have
0:12:06 > 0:12:07worn here at Hampton Court.
0:12:10 > 0:12:13Now, we're talking about pioneering women.
0:12:13 > 0:12:16Why, for you, was she a pioneering monarch?
0:12:16 > 0:12:21She established order and prosperity on the country, really,
0:12:21 > 0:12:25for decades, and the fact that, by the end of her life,
0:12:25 > 0:12:27she was seen as Gloriana
0:12:27 > 0:12:30and her reign is still referred to as a golden age I think is
0:12:30 > 0:12:34testament to the power and control that she wielded.
0:12:36 > 0:12:39And she felt very guided by God throughout her reign, didn't she?
0:12:39 > 0:12:42She said, "I will not make windows into men's souls,"
0:12:42 > 0:12:45which means that she wouldn't persecute people
0:12:45 > 0:12:47on the grounds of faith and that, as long as they were
0:12:47 > 0:12:52loyal subjects to her, she was very tolerant of those differences.
0:12:53 > 0:12:56And the imagery has Christian significance?
0:12:56 > 0:13:00In the early Reformation period and throughout the 16th century,
0:13:00 > 0:13:03religious iconography was forbidden,
0:13:03 > 0:13:08and so one way to show devotion to God was to embroider
0:13:08 > 0:13:13motifs of the natural world, which was in reverence to creation.
0:13:15 > 0:13:20Elizabeth was a very devout queen and woman.
0:13:20 > 0:13:25She saw herself as a vessel for God's direction,
0:13:25 > 0:13:32and she particularly wanted to use that in order to protect her country
0:13:32 > 0:13:37and her people. So she did pray every day for God's guidance.
0:13:37 > 0:13:40This is remarkable and stunning and very beautiful.
0:13:40 > 0:13:43- Eleri, thank you for sharing it with us.- Thank you. Thanks for coming.
0:15:55 > 0:15:56Constance Coltman,
0:15:56 > 0:15:59the first woman to be ordained in a UK denomination,
0:15:59 > 0:16:04studied here at Mansfield College in Oxford over 100 years ago.
0:16:04 > 0:16:08Reverend Jenny Mills is a more recent graduate of the college
0:16:08 > 0:16:12and has been a United Reformed Church minister for nine years.
0:16:12 > 0:16:13As ordained women,
0:16:13 > 0:16:17she and I have both been inspired by the story of Constance.
0:16:18 > 0:16:20She pushed the boundaries a lot.
0:16:20 > 0:16:25She was a suffragist, so she believed in the non-aggressive
0:16:25 > 0:16:28suffragette movement, so it was about peaceful negotiation.
0:16:28 > 0:16:32She was a pacifist, obviously just an incredibly tenacious woman.
0:16:32 > 0:16:35She didn't take no for an answer.
0:16:35 > 0:16:38I don't know about you but, you know, as an ordained woman,
0:16:38 > 0:16:41there is a sense of whose footsteps you're walking in, isn't there,
0:16:41 > 0:16:45and there's a certain weight that we carry that perhaps
0:16:45 > 0:16:49our male colleagues don't in terms of breaking ground?
0:16:49 > 0:16:51Yeah, and I think that was part of my problem,
0:16:51 > 0:16:54when people started saying to me, "I could see you as a minister,"
0:16:54 > 0:16:57because I kind of didn't think I fitted a mould.
0:16:57 > 0:17:00- Does that make sense - a mould? - Yeah, that really resonates with me!
0:17:00 > 0:17:02And so, I was, like, no, no, no, no, no!
0:17:02 > 0:17:08But every time I ran away from it, which I did for about five or six years,
0:17:08 > 0:17:11something would happen that made me go, OK, OK.
0:17:11 > 0:17:14And, at one point, I remember bargaining with God, which is
0:17:14 > 0:17:17something I've never done since and I would never do again,
0:17:17 > 0:17:20and I went, OK, God, if this is what I should do,
0:17:20 > 0:17:23one person this week - when we were on a residential -
0:17:23 > 0:17:26needs to say to me, "When are you going into ministry?"
0:17:26 > 0:17:30And, 10 people later, I just put my hands up.
0:17:30 > 0:17:33I remember saying, when I thought I was being called to ministry,
0:17:33 > 0:17:35I'll just see how far I can take it.
0:17:35 > 0:17:39And I presumed that, at some point, someone would just go, "No!"
0:17:39 > 0:17:41- And no-one has yet!- Yeah.
0:17:41 > 0:17:44But there's always that fear, isn't there, that someone,
0:17:44 > 0:17:46at some point, is going to realise?
0:17:47 > 0:17:49I mean, for me, there's a moment in communion
0:17:49 > 0:17:51when I hold up the chalice -
0:17:51 > 0:17:53and I never realised this until I did my first-ever communion -
0:17:53 > 0:17:57and I remember catching sight of my reflection in the cup and going...
0:17:57 > 0:17:58SHE GASPS
0:17:58 > 0:18:00And thinking, any moment now, someone's going to come
0:18:00 > 0:18:03and stop me from doing this. I'm not allowed, surely?
0:18:03 > 0:18:05I'm not grown-up enough to be a vicar!
0:18:05 > 0:18:09Jenny is now minister of a United Reformed Church in Buckinghamshire
0:18:09 > 0:18:14leading all ages in different forms of worship and community projects.
0:18:14 > 0:18:16Every day is a blessing.
0:18:16 > 0:18:18Even on the really rubbish days, I can wake up feeling, oh,
0:18:18 > 0:18:21I just can't do this, I've got nothing to give.
0:18:21 > 0:18:24And an encounter happens or something is said to you or
0:18:24 > 0:18:27somebody asks you for some advice and you just go, oh, my goodness!
0:18:27 > 0:18:28Thank you, God.
0:18:28 > 0:18:32And I don't even have to understand it - I just have to go, wow!
0:18:32 > 0:18:38This is and I am and God is. And that's where the blessing is.
0:18:38 > 0:18:41I like to think that, when we get there,
0:18:41 > 0:18:44Constance will be waiting for us, don't you?
0:18:44 > 0:18:47And there'll be a big get-together of all the women in ministry,
0:18:47 > 0:18:50going, "Ooh! Well, mine was like this, and my ministry was like that!"
0:18:50 > 0:18:52What do you think?
0:18:52 > 0:18:56Yeah, I think my worry might be she'll go, "Oh, no, you got that fact wrong!"
0:18:56 > 0:18:58Cos, you know, we were the witnesses to the Resurrection,
0:18:58 > 0:18:59so we've got good form.
0:18:59 > 0:19:04If we hadn't gossiped after the Resurrection, if women hadn't
0:19:04 > 0:19:07gone out and had a good old gossip, we wouldn't be here, would we?
0:19:07 > 0:19:11- So hurrah for Mary Magdalene and Constance!- Absolutely!
0:19:11 > 0:19:13- And hurrah for us!- Yeah!
0:22:27 > 0:22:29That song, What A Beautiful Name,
0:22:29 > 0:22:32was written by a young New Zealand woman called Brooke Fraser
0:22:32 > 0:22:37just two years ago, and it's already become a worldwide favourite.
0:22:37 > 0:22:40Our next hymn combines the new with the old.
0:22:40 > 0:22:44The 19th-century words were written by female hymn writer Charitie Bancroft,
0:22:44 > 0:22:48and the tune was composed in 1997 by musician Vikki Cook.
0:25:41 > 0:25:45Christian women have been pioneers in all sorts of different ways.
0:25:45 > 0:25:49Josie d'Arby's been meeting a 21st-century woman who's managed
0:25:49 > 0:25:52to combine her faith with a passion for fashion.
0:25:54 > 0:25:57I have always loved the idea of being able to express myself
0:25:57 > 0:26:00through what I wore and I really see fashion as a way
0:26:00 > 0:26:02to kind of express your personality.
0:26:02 > 0:26:05Ruth Awogbade loves the world of fashion
0:26:05 > 0:26:10and has worked for big companies, including Burberry and L'Oreal.
0:26:10 > 0:26:12Growing up I would hear that fashion is a very dark industry
0:26:12 > 0:26:14but actually I found it very full of life.
0:26:14 > 0:26:16Because we serve a creative God,
0:26:16 > 0:26:20so being able to be in an industry that is fast-paced, is creating,
0:26:20 > 0:26:24that's innovating, I found a very enriching experience.
0:26:24 > 0:26:28But Ruth wanted to make a difference in her industry through her faith
0:26:28 > 0:26:32and so she left her full-time job and in 2014 launched
0:26:32 > 0:26:38the first print edition of her Christian magazine called Magnify.
0:26:38 > 0:26:40I think, for me growing up, a lot of my friends,
0:26:40 > 0:26:42they either would say that they don't have a faith
0:26:42 > 0:26:45or they are kind of unsure as to what they think about faith.
0:26:45 > 0:26:50And I really wanted to create a platform that they could engage with on their levels.
0:26:50 > 0:26:53Why have you called it Magnify?
0:26:53 > 0:26:56It goes back to Luke 1, verse 46, where Mary cries out,
0:26:56 > 0:27:00"My soul magnifies the Lord and my spirit delights in God my saviour."
0:27:01 > 0:27:04And I think, for me, my vision and prayer and passion
0:27:04 > 0:27:07has always been to see Christ magnified.
0:27:07 > 0:27:11Who is your ideal reader? Who are you aiming this at?
0:27:11 > 0:27:13Women who are driven, who are passionate,
0:27:13 > 0:27:16who are very intelligent, who think deeply about things.
0:27:16 > 0:27:20And so the kind of surface-level answers don't really do it for them.
0:27:20 > 0:27:23I know that you have three Fs that you abide by.
0:27:23 > 0:27:25Can you talk to me about those?
0:27:25 > 0:27:27So Faith, Feminism and Fashion are our three words,
0:27:27 > 0:27:30which often people have to take a step back.
0:27:30 > 0:27:34But for me those were the words that I felt really encapsulated
0:27:34 > 0:27:36the heart of the magazine.
0:27:37 > 0:27:41Ruth's decision to take a step of faith into uncharted territory
0:27:41 > 0:27:44was seen by some as a big risk.
0:27:44 > 0:27:47It was quite a difficult thing when you go to parties or dinners
0:27:47 > 0:27:49and people are like, "Oh, what are you doing?"
0:27:49 > 0:27:54"Oh, you're doing a Christian magazine? OK. All the best with that!"
0:27:54 > 0:27:57So I think for me it was a huge leap of faith to trust that
0:27:57 > 0:28:01what would be next would be better than what I was leaving behind.
0:28:01 > 0:28:04Particularly in today's world we see that women's issues
0:28:04 > 0:28:07are at the forefront of a lot of media, a lot of media campaigns,
0:28:07 > 0:28:10and it is important that there is a voice of faith
0:28:10 > 0:28:12that is positive and enriching.
0:28:13 > 0:28:17Do you feel like a pioneer within your industry?
0:28:17 > 0:28:20I don't know if I would say that but I know what I am passionate about
0:28:20 > 0:28:22is creating something that doesn't exist.
0:28:22 > 0:28:25And if that is a pioneer, then I am very humbled
0:28:25 > 0:28:29but my personal relationship with God has got to be front and centre.
0:28:30 > 0:28:34That's what spurs me on to give other women the opportunity
0:28:34 > 0:28:37to be inspired and to be empowered.
0:28:37 > 0:28:40My own personal relationship with God teaches me to trust him
0:28:40 > 0:28:43more and more and even sometimes when I felt like my back has
0:28:43 > 0:28:47really been up against the wall, God just kind of, yeah,
0:28:47 > 0:28:50opens doors that we never could have imagined or expected.
0:28:57 > 0:29:02# When I fear my faith will fail
0:29:02 > 0:29:06# Christ will hold me fast
0:29:06 > 0:29:11# When the tempter would prevail
0:29:11 > 0:29:15# He will hold me fast
0:29:15 > 0:29:20# I could never keep my hold
0:29:20 > 0:29:25# Through life's fearful path
0:29:25 > 0:29:30# For my love is often cold
0:29:30 > 0:29:33# He must hold me fast
0:29:36 > 0:29:40# He will hold me fast
0:29:40 > 0:29:44# He will hold me fast
0:29:44 > 0:29:48# For my saviour loves me so
0:29:49 > 0:29:54# He will hold me fast
0:30:03 > 0:30:08# For my life He bled and died
0:30:08 > 0:30:11# Christ will hold me fast
0:30:12 > 0:30:17# Justice has been satisfied
0:30:17 > 0:30:21# He will hold me fast
0:30:21 > 0:30:25# Raised with Him to endless life
0:30:25 > 0:30:29# He will hold me fast
0:30:29 > 0:30:34# Till my faith is turned to sight
0:30:34 > 0:30:39# When He comes at last
0:30:39 > 0:30:43# He will hold me fast
0:30:43 > 0:30:47# He will hold me fast
0:30:47 > 0:30:51# For my saviour loves me so
0:30:51 > 0:30:57# He will hold me fast
0:30:57 > 0:31:01# He will hold me fast
0:31:01 > 0:31:05# He will hold me fast
0:31:05 > 0:31:10# For my saviour loves me so
0:31:10 > 0:31:17# He will hold me fast. #
0:31:36 > 0:31:39That's almost it from Oxford.
0:31:39 > 0:31:42Next week, Claire McCollum visits Lincolnshire to discover the link
0:31:42 > 0:31:44between woodlands and Christianity.
0:31:44 > 0:31:48And joins Bishop James Jones planting brand-new oak trees.
0:31:49 > 0:31:53Our final hymn was inspired by probably the most famous woman
0:31:53 > 0:31:56in the Bible - Jesus's mother, Mary -
0:31:56 > 0:31:58whose words of thanksgiving and praise
0:31:58 > 0:32:01resonate with Christians everywhere.