All Things Considered

Anyone who’s been out shopping in the last week will have found it impossible to miss the displays of chocolates, flowers and cards to be purchased and sent out as tokens of love, as we approach St Valentine’s Day on February 14. In Wales, many will have already celebrated St. Dwynwen’s Day on January 25. Both Valentine and Dwynwen are patron saints of lovers, and both dates are traditionally seen as opportunities to celebrate romantic love. Some dismiss the commerciality of the celebrations, and others take the opportunity to celebrate all loving relationships in their lives, including children and friends. Love is a central tenet in the Christian faith, with Jesus proclaiming the Great Commandment about loving God and loving our neighbour. ‘Love’ is so engrained in our everyday vocabulary but, what is love, and why is it so hard to define? How is it embodied in our lives today? And how hard is it to follow that Great Commandment, to love our neighbour – is it actually possible? Joining Rosa Hunt to discuss all this are:

Rev. John-Edward Funnell, Pastor of Noddfa Church, Abersychan;

Sr Teresa White, a retired teacher, member of the congregation of the Faithful Companions of Jesus, based in Poplar, East London;

And Rev. Delyth Liddell, a Methodist Minister and Coordinating Chaplain at Cardiff University.

Peter Francis has been the Warden of Gladstone’s Library at Hawarden in Flintshire for twenty-five years. Built in memory of the great Victorian prime minister, today it’s Britain’s only residential library. With over 200, 000 books, reading rooms and ‘Writer-in-Residence’ schemes, in the present day it’s a place for retreat, reflection and a home for the intellectually curious.

Peter Francis is also an Anglican Priest. Throughout his career, from his ministry as a chaplain in the East End of London to Provost of St Mary’s Cathedral in Glasgow, he’s pursued a vision of an inclusive church. He’s a person who has always questioned orthodoxy, and has been closely involved with the movement for the ordination of women. This questioning has led him to great soul searching, and today he holds an understanding of Christianity without supernatural elements. He tells his story in a new book called ‘The Widening Circle of Us: a Theological Memoir.’

Bernadette Farrell is Roy's guest today. As well as her composing, she’s played a significant role in training and encouraging lay people in the leading of public worship. She’s taught at a theological seminary, advised bishops and commissions, and led worship in many settings.

But she’s always been concerned to work out the implications of her faith to wider society, not least as a community organiser leading campaigns on issues such as housing, health and wages, and responsible for a report on immigration later adopted by the government. She was the first deputy director of the community alliance Citizens UK.

As we mark twenty years since the 9/11 terror attacks: tragic events which changed the world, and continue to affect us today, Azim Ahmed explores the legacy of this event from the perspective of the Muslim community here in Wales.

Twenty years ago, British Muslims found themselves at the centre of extra scrutiny: there were questions about whether the politics of the hijackers were shared by Muslims here in Wales and whether the Twin Tower attacks were the beginning of an inevitable clash of civilisations between East and West.

There was also an increase in hostility and Islamophobia, as Muslims became a suspect community. We hear from members of the Muslim community who experienced this prejudice.

This crisis also led to positive change, with new initiatives, organisations, and an appetite for greater understanding between communities and religions. We hear how this inter-faith dialogue led to the foundation of the 'Wales Faith Communities Forum' which thrives today, and the foundation of the 'Muslim Council for Wales' to unify the faith community.

The shocking events of 9/11 took place 20 years ago this week, and this is the first of a number of BBC Radio Wales programmes marking the anniversary.

One of the responses to the ideology espoused by the 9/11 terrorists has been an attempt to export Western values, particularly those of democracy and human rights. But that’s just the latest episode in a long historical process: whether through the Cold War of the 20th century, or through the missionary activity of colonial nations in the 19th century and earlier, there’s been a belief that Western Judeo-Christian values and systems offer something uniquely important to the world – indeed that it’s a responsibility to share them.

So what do today’s peacekeepers and aid workers have in common with historical colonialists and missionaries? What’s been learned from past mistakes? And since the chaotic withdrawal from Afghanistan, and President Biden’s declaration of an end to American nation-building, what’s left for the idea of Western values?

Roy Jenkins talks to

Colonel Richard Kemp: former commander of UK forces in Afghan

Dr John Wilsey: Associate Professor of Church History and Philosophy, The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary

Prof Andrew May: Head of the History Program at the University of Melbourne

Dr Elaine Storkey: former chair of Tear Fund