At Your Service

On today's programme we're celebrating the life-changing message of Easter that's at the very heart of the Christian faith. There's great Easter hymns, worship songs from Graham Kendrick and Stuart Townend, a new composition from John Rutter, written to show solidarity with the people of Ukraine, and reflections and prayers too - and Ruth Rice from the charity Renew Wellbeing is ba...

Today is the start of the week that the Christian Church calls Holy - it begins with Palm Sunday - a day which recalls the tremendous excitement of the crowds when Jesus rode into Jerusalem on a donkey -  they greeted him as their King, spreading palm leaves and even their cloaks on the ground under his feet - yet just FIVE days later, these same crowds were calling for the same Jesus to be c...

Growing a supportive community ..... Scripture Union is an interdenominational, evangelical Christian organization,  founded over 150 years ago - and works with churches and partner organisations, inviting children and young people to explore the difference Jesus can make to the challenges and adventures of life.   Scripture Union England and Wales works  on the Isle of Man through...

My special guests on this week's programme are different in many ways, but are united by a dedication to a powerful organisation that’s rooted in the Anglican Church, but  whose four and a half million members reach out around the world to support family life in all its forms - helping it to thrive in all circumstances, particularly when difficulties come along.   They are Rev&...

In The Bible we read ..... 'and what does the Lord require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness and to walk humbly with your God' This is a verse that's often quoted by Christian Aid and similar charities, who share a vision for 'a world where everyone can live a full life, free from poverty'  But what about the 'walking humbly' part of that Bible verse?...

Ruth Keggin-Gell is the Manx Language Development Officer with Culture Vannin - dedicated to encouraging people to get interested and involved in wider use of the Manx language.  When she thought of using Manx in our church services, she found an enthusiastic supporter in Pioneer Minister Rev'd Alex Brown.   On AT YOUR SERVICE today they discuss how this could be done, and Ruth has d...

The Season of Lent - six  weeks of preparation for the celebration of Easter - started last week, on Ash Wednesday.  But what are its origins - and what does it offer us today?  We eavesdrop on a conversation between Patrick Woodward and Russ Bravo ` And this week's special guest is Manx-born Ruth Rice, founder of Renew Wellbeing, the charity which runs simple cafe-style spaces...

Friday March 4 is WORLD PRAYER DAY - there'll be services around the Island at different times on that day, which will link the Isle of Man with praying people all over the world, using the same theme "I know the plans I have for you". The service this year has been prepared by the Christian women of England, Wales and Northern Ireland.  But, in the light of recent developments,...

Ways to pray is the theme that links three guests on today's programme.  Reverend Alex Brown has been a Pioneer Minister in Douglas for the last couple of years, having conversations with people of all ages who have either never had any contact with a church, or have tried it, and left.  What has he learned? And what is the significance of his commissioning service taking place later...

Love is in the air today!   Ahead of the day when a billion cards will be exchanged world-wide, Saint Valentine tells his story - and Louise Timmins tells her story of patience, prayer and total trust in God's guidance, which eventually led to her chance to adopt two children. Russ Bravo reflects on the nature of another kind of love, and there's music from the Jane Lilley Singers, an...

Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II, Lord of Man, is the first British Monarch to reach a Platinum Jubilee - on this day -  the 6th of February 2022, she completes 70 years of devoted service to the United Kingdom, the Realms and the Commonwealth.  This morning we pause for a moment of reflection, and pray God's blessing on her.   Sunday 30th January was World Leprosy Day.  Sadl...

The theme for National Holocaust Memorial Day 2022 was  'One Day' - a stark reminder that life can fatally change for ever in the space of just one day.  On today's programme we hear stories from three Holocaust survivors, and reflect on the horrifying fact that genocide can still happen today.   Cardinal Michael Fitzgerald is a Roman Catholic priest belonging to the Mis...

Philip Longworth is a 'glass half full' person!   Partially sighted all his life, Philip has faced every challenge with courage and positivity - and has dedicated his working life to reaching out with compassion and understanding to other people with their own challenges to face. Now he's living on the Island and has just started a new job with the Anglican Diocese of Sodor and Ma...

Open Doors UK, and Kintsugi Hope are just two of around 90 charitable organisations who last year each received a share of around £2 million which AFD Software, the Postcode people based in Ramsey, gave away from their company profits during 2021.   On this week's programme, I talk with Diane Regan of Kintsugi Hope and Henrietta Blyth from Open Doors UK - Kintsugi Hope is dedicated...

The 6th of January is the official end of the Christmas season - it finishes with the Epiphany - a feast that is celebrated in different ways, according to local customs, all around the world.  In the Christian church, it is the day when we recall the 3 Kings, or Magi, following a star to find the Christ child, and is a reminder that the Son of God came to offer fullness of life to everyone -...

Traditionally, the sound of Big Ben heralds the start of a New Year - so our first At Your Service programme for 2022 takes bells and their traditions for its main theme.  Anglican Priest, Father Michael Brydon, is Chaplain to the Rt Rev'd Peter Eagles, Bishop of Sodor and Man - but joins in the programme today with a wealth of stories and bell-ringing legends to share.  Plus there&#...

Celebrating the second day of Christmas in words, music and reflections.  The children of Marown Primary School, assisted by their teacher Mrs Jacqueline Shirtliff, share a selection of poems on different aspects of the Christmas story. Church leaders - Anglican Bishop Peter and senior priest in the Roman Catholic Church on the Island, Monsignor John Devine - both reflect on celebrating Chris...

Celebrating the birth of Jesus Christ, with an hour of carols, Christmas songs, Bible readings and reflections.  The music is : Angel Tidings (Rutter) Once in Royal David's City Mary Did You Know? (Peter Hollens version) Gabriel's Message (Matt Creer version) Away in a Manger (Kings College Cambridge Live Recording In the Stillness (Kings College Cambridge - composer Sally Beamish) Wh...

Two very different Carol Services held this week provide words and music to help us prepare to celebrate the deeper significance of Christmas - that lies beyond gifts and gatherings.   We have two carols - "Gabriel's Message" and "Jesus Christ, The Apple Tree" - sung by the Choir of King William's College, Castletown, conducted by their Director of Music, Mr Steve...

Welcome to Week 3 of Advent - the time which the Christian church uses to prepare for the great celebration of Christmas. The coming of Jesus Christ as a helpless baby - a human like us - sharing our earthly life, but leading us to an everlasting life - is often likened to the darkness of our world being driven out by the light of Christ.  So it's appropriate that, at this time, we celebr...

Pioneer Minister Reverend Alex Brown is constantly looking for ways to offer the powerful and life-changing Christian message in ways that will speak to the many people who don't feel drawn to formal, organised religion and attending church services.   He's also passionate about keeping Christ at the very centre of everything about Christmas - and once again he's leading a re-tell...

A nostalgia podcast to celebrate the start of the season of Advent - the four weeks of preparation for the great feast of Christmas.   We go back to the year 2006 when Oliver King and Nigel Pemberton led the music in the Cathedral in Peel - as Musical Director and Organist respectively, and Canon Brian Kelly was at the helm!   There's a lovely piece by the Manx Children's Choir,...

It's an Inter Faith Special on At Your Service this week, as we explore the Baha'i Faith in conversation with Dr Tim Anglin and David Joughin.   Deborah Taubman, of the First Church of Christ, Scientist, has  composed a prayer specially for Her Majesty the Queen, our Lord of Mann, and in our second feature today, I'm starting my Christmas shopping - in Churches Bookshop in it...

A special programme for this Remembrance Sunday - words and music for reflection and for hope - hope for better, peaceful world.  Singer/songwriter Ralph McTell (of Streets of London fame) has always been interested in the First World War but it was a visit to the Menin Gate that compelled him to write his latest song - Unknown Soldier.  On today's programme he not only sings the son...

On the programme this week ..... the similarities between Southwark Cathedral on the South Bank of the Thames and Cathedral Isle of Man in Peel might not seem instantly apparent - but they're there - and we explore them this morning in conversation with the Dean of Southwark Cathedral, the Very Reverend Andrew Nunn.   We'll also discover why he and two colleagues are here on the Islan...