Sunday Folgen

The Chelsea Flower Show finally opens its doors on Monday 20th September. Reporter Vishva Samani went behind the scenes for a sneak preview of The Bible Society’s Garden, Psalm 23, designed by Sarah Eberle The Assisted Dying Bill gets its second reading in the Lords next month. As the debate gains momentum, our Presenter William Crawley asks how we can find more comfortable and beneficial ways of talking about the subject of death and dying. He’s joined by Liz Slade, Chief Officer of the General Assembly of Unitarian and Free Christian Churches and Dr. Hina Shahid, GP and Chair of the Muslim Doctors Association. King Ina of Wessex, a Christian, confirmed the right of Churches to offer Sanctuary in 693. By 1624 those rights were abolished, but the Church is still seen as a place that people can turn to for Sanctuary in one form or another. Only last week a group of Church of England Bishops accused the Government of criminalising ‘the Good Samaritan’ under proposals outlined in the National Borders Bill, requiring Border Force vessels to turn back migrant boats, rather than give safe passage to the UK. We explore what Sanctuary means in the modern world with Dr Louise Hampson, from the Centre for the Study of Christianity and Culture, who is also leading a Sanctuary Exhibition at Beverley Minster and The Rt Revd Dr David Walker, Bishop of Manchester. Sisters, Uzma and Ambreen Hameed, have written a two-book novel series called ‘Undying’. It’s a black comedy about two rival sisters in a British Muslim family. The sisters tell William how the project brought them closer together, as they assessed what it meant to live with the label British Muslim.Producers: Jill Collins and Louise Clarke-RowbothamEditor: Tim Pemberton

The first hate crime recorded after the 9/11 attacks in the US was against an observant American Sikh man Balbir Singh Sodhi. He was murdered by a man who thought his turban meant he supported the Taliban. Now Sikhs in the US and UK are concerned that the rising profile of the Taliban in Afghanistan is once again leading to abuse. We hear from the community and ask what might be done to remedy what they call "religious illiteracy".This year the UK opened its borders to people from Hong Kong in what is said to be the biggest migration here since Windrush. It's expected that between 130,000 and 300,000 will come over time. These are people who are unhappy with the path Hong Kong has taken since it was handed over to China in 1997. But key players on both sides of the argument over Democracy in Hong Kong had their roots in Christianity. William Crawley discusses this with former foreign correspondent and author of The Gate to China, Michael Sheridan. And we report on the UK's oldest synagogue, Bevis Marks and a fight against a proposal to build two tower blocks next to it. The synagogue's trustees say the proposed buildings will block almost all sunlight and change the atmosphere completely. We'll ask if we're paying enough attention to our Jewish Heritage with Professor Abigail Green, who's helping Heritage England to enrich their records with surprising Jewish connections to much-loved country houses like Strawberry Hill and Waddeson Manor. They're now inviting the public to "enrich the list" by bringing them their memories of Jewish life in important buildings: https://historicengland.org.uk/listing/enrich-the-list/

As the Rt. Rev. Jonathan Goodall, the Anglican Bishop of Ebbsfleet resigns to become a Roman Catholic, we explore what it means for both faiths. Our Presenter Edward Stourton is joined by Christina Rees, who was a member of the Church of England’s Synod for twenty five years and also a prominent campaigner for the ordination of women, and the Right Reverend Monsignor Keith Newton, who is responsible for the Ordinariate of our Lady of Walsingham. John Viney, a former Jehovah’s Witness Elder along with a former Witness whom we are calling Sarah, give us their reactions to the latest Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse Report Father Mychal Judge lost his life in the attack on the Twin Towers. His was the first death to be formally certified and he was identified as Victim 0001. As the 20th Anniversary of 9/11 looms, his friend and colleague Salvatore Sapienza and Francis DeBernado, Director of the New Ways Ministry, who has been working on Father Michael’s biography, reflect on the life of the Firefighter’s Chaplain. As the Taliban begins to form a Government, how do UK Muslims feel about the prospect of a new Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan? We’ve been getting the views of different sections of the British Muslim population. Rosh Hashanah marks the start of the Jewish New Year. But what does it symbolise and how is it traditionally celebrated? Different traditions observe the festival in slightly different ways as Esther Offenberg, Molly Taylor and Joe Hyman explain. Whilst many of the richer nations complete their vaccination programmes, many poorer countries have barely started. So how do we rectify this vaccine imbalance. Former Prime Minister Gordon Brown discusses the issue with our Presenter Edward Stourton.