At Your Service

Christian Aid Week starts today and the project for this year is to use the mighty pigeon pea to transform the lives of the people of Malawi - people living in extreme poverty, but with the capacity to raise their standard of living with help to farm - and use -  the hardy pigeon pea crop more efficiently. Local Christian Aid Representative, Louise Whitelegg, joins us with all the details. An...

We conclude our coverage of the official opening of the new Salvation Army Church and Community Centre in Ballacottier Crescent on the Isle of Man Business Park in Braddan which took place over the weekend of 27th and 28th April 2024.     In this programme we share words and music from a time of worship, recorded during the Sunday morning service on the celebration weekend, led by Captai...

Commissioners Paul and Jenine Main are the Territorial Commanders - or leaders - of The Salvation Army throughout the UK, Ireland - and the Isle of Man.  But between 1991 and 1997, they were young Corps Officers, leading the Salvation Army based in the Lord Street Citadel in Douglas. Now - nearly 30 years later - they're back on the Island for the official opening and dedication of the ne...

On the programme today, Salvation Army Corps Officers Captains Dylan and Rachael Nieuwoudt are looking forward to the Official Opening of their magnificent new Church and Community Centre in Douglas - and to welcoming General Lyndon Buckingham to perform the ceremony - the first visit of a Salvation Army world-wide leader to the Isle of Man since the mid-1930's We go deeper into the earth art...

Rev'd Liz Hull, Vicar of St Thomas's Church in Finch Road, in the Cultural Quarter of Douglas, joins us today to tell the GAIA story .... the giant illuminated 3-dimensional globe which will seem to float - framed inside St Thomas's magnificent archways, and its famed Nicholson Murals.  A chance for us to see our Earth as never before .....  For details of tickets, special ev...

Christian Aid Isle of Man Representative Louise Whitelegg is here with an invitation to a great party - to celebrate all the work that's been achieved in Burundi, thanks to the generosity of the Manx public and the IOM Government Overseas Aid - and to say goodbye to all those completed projects - because it's time now to turn our attention to Malawi - a country in the grip of serious pover...

Easter Day celebrates events which took place over 2,000 years ago, but which still remain at the very heart of the Christian faith. In words and music, we explore the first Easter, and reflect on what it is saying to our world today. Includes music from the Lay Clerks and Choral Scholars of St German's Cathedral in Peel, conducted by the Cathedral's Director of Music, Dr Peter Litman, sin...

This is the week that the Christian Church calls HOLY - and although it recalls events that happened over two thousand years ago, its message is central to the Christian faith, and the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, the Son of God, continues  to offer hope to people exposed to almost unbearable suffering. Today, through the spoken word, music, conversations - and a tragically true st...

After establishing Cafe Lingo 8 years ago based in the Promenade Methodist Church in Douglas - offering a relaxed and welcoming hub for anyone new to the Island, and for whom English is not their first language, Karen Norton and husband Tim are taking a well-earned retirement.  But it'll be business as usual at Cafe Lingo - the Nortons join us today to tell us who is taking over - and the...

Jenny Sinclair is the founder director of the charity Together For The Common Good - but what is 'the common good' and why should we care about it?  In this first of two programmes featuring conversations with Jenny, she sketches out her background as a teenager in Liverpool during the 1970's,  when her Father, David Sheppard, was Anglican Bishop of Liverpool - and what she h...

Today has been chosen as a National Day of Reflection - a time to pause and remember all who died during the Covid pandemic, and those who still mourn their loss - we make a space to mark the day with words and music; Mike Hardie is the Community Partnerships Manager for The Leprosy Mission and he's back on the Island to meet supporters of the charity, make some new friends and share stories f...

Paul Keeys, Director of Walking Through the Bible will be back on the Island on 2nd March to lead a day walking through the New Testament in St John's Methodist Church from 10am - 4.30pm - he joins us to explain why this is such a valuable and entertaining day! Jacko the dog achieved fame when Peter Shimmin introduced us to him on Thought for the Day almost ten years ago - Peter is back ........

Rev'd Jo Smart came to the Island in September 2022 and is a Methodist minister based in Peel with care of the churches in the West and in Douglas.  But her early life suggested a very different career - as a dancer!  In conversation today, we find out what it took to make that life-changing decision - and how her skills as a dancer shapes her ministry. We also discuss the season of...

This is the start of National Marriage Week - and Valentine's Day is just around the corner - but that's not what we're talking about, as I take author, broadcaster and Baptist Minister Richard Littledale out for a walk in Glen Mooar.  As we explore St Patrick's Chapel - Cabbal Pherick - the site of an 8th century keeill, we talk about the great gift of FRIENDSHIP ..... and th...

On the programme this week, Rev'd Richard Littledale, Baptist Pastor, preacher, author, BBC broadcaster and expert storyteller joins us to talk about his new book LET IT GROW - written for children, it's a collection of garden projects and fun facts to help them learn how to care for God's planet. Manx-born Very Rev'd Canon John Mann has recently retired as Dean of Belfast Cathedra...

27th January each year is Holocaust Memorial Day - a time to reflect on the 6 million Jews, and thousands of others who died in the Nazi persecution during World War 2, and the millions who have died in subsequent genocides in Cambodia, Rwanda, Bosnia and Darfur.    Leonard Singer was a prominent member of the Isle of Man's Jewish community -and during his time as an MHK for Ramsey,...

Poet, Anglican priest, academic, singer/songwriter, lecturer and biker, Rev'd Dr Malcolm Guite made his first visit to the Island at the end of last year - and loved everything he saw.  In the first part of an interview recorded during his visit, he talks about his childhood in Nigeria, and the power of poetry - to change the course of a life, and to take on a life of its own. The second...

President of the Methodist Conference of Britain, Rev'd Gill Newton, and Vice President, Deacon Kerry Scarlett, are visiting the Island this weekend as part of their year of office, during which they will visit as many Methodist circuits as possible. The Methodist Conference is the governing body of the Methodist Church in Britain, of which the Methodist Church on the Island forms a part - and...

One By One is an international charity dedicated to preventing the exploitation of vulnerable people - particularly children and young teenagers - and today in conversation with founder and CEO Becky Murray we find out how it all began - quite by accident - during a trip to Sierra Leone, with 50p and  a pair of pink flip flops. We were all deeply saddened to learn of the death of Marilyn Cann...

Looking back over a year of weekly opportunities to be AT YOUR SERVICE - today's specially extended programme includes extracts from interviews with the Most Reverend and Rt Honorable Stephen Cottrell, Archbishop of York, actress Wendy Craig, singer and Songs of Praise presenter Aled Jones, Academic and Scientist Rev'd Professor David Wilkinson, Baptist Minister Richard Littledale -and a f...

In 2024, the popular Broughton Boys Choir - or to give them their correct title - the choir of St John the Baptist church in Broughton, Lancashire - will make their 50th annual visit to the Isle of Man for their Choir School.  Choirmaster John Catterall has accompanied the choir on every single one of those visits, and looks forward to a really special visit to mark the 50th anniversary. &nbs...

In this special extended edition of At Your Service for Christmas Eve, my guest,  country singer/songwriter CHARLIE LANDSBOROUGH talks about family life, finding - losing - and finding his faith again, being a schoolteacher before finally breaking into show business - and lots more!   Charlie talks about his faith with honesty and simplicity -  a properly down-to-earth story of one...

On At Your Service today, we've words and music from the recent Tynwald Carol Service recorded in St George's Church, Douglas, plus three folk tales based on the message of Christmas,  from author and broadcaster Richard Littledale. Carlos Philips and the Hon Clare Barber MHK give the Bible readings, there's music from the Tynwald Choir directed and accompanied by Dr Jonathan King...

On today's programme I talk with the Rt Reverend Mark Davies, Bishop of Middleton in the Diocese of Manchester about his life and vocation to the priesthood.  Bishop Mark is set to become a regular visitor to the Island, as he has been chosen to be Commissary Bishop, taking care of the Diocese of Sodor and Man until a permanent appointment is made.   Over the years, Bishop Mark has t...

Ramsey-based business AFD Software celebrated the Company's 40th Anniversary at their recent Annual Charity Event - and they marked the milestone by donating a total of £1million, divided between over 80 local and global charities, nominated by the staff of AFD - The Postcode People. But there was more - a further £2.2million will be used to buy an aircraft for Mission Aviation Fel...