Sunday

Dom Gervase Hobson-Matthews was a monk who trained and taught at the Benedictine run Downside Abbey. During WW2 he served as a chaplain to the 1st Artillery Division. He kept a diary that chronicled his experience helping troops to withdraw from the beaches of Dunkirk where he was killed in June 1940. Days before his death, he rejected an opportunity to return home. To mark the 80th anniversary of the Battle of Dunkirk the Abbey’s Director of Heritage Dr Simon Johnson tells us about Dom Gervase’s courage and martyrdom through archive and extracts from Dom Gervase’s diary.

The screenwriter and novelist Frank Cottrell-Boyce has written a new book for a bible study series called “How the Bible Can Help Us Understand Forgiveness”. He discusses the subject with Marina Cantacuzino, founder of the Forgiveness Project, which collates powerful stories of forgiveness from around the world.

The Saudi authorities have yet to officially cancel this year’s Hajj. Whilst the Muslim world has been celebrating Ramadan, they have not had to make this difficult decision but after Eid everyone will be asking if the Great Mosque in Mecca can re-open at the end of July for the most important pilgrimage in Islam. Emily discusses the problem with Dr Carool Kersten, Reader in the Study of Islam & the Muslim World at King’s College London.

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Award-winning fitness instructor Lavina Mehta is doing special exercise classes online for the elderly South Asian community in this country. She is joined every day by her 72-year-old mother-in-law Nishaben Mahendra Mehta who translates Lavina’s instructions into Gujarati and does all the exercises as well.

This week, President Trump announced that the Navajo Nation - which includes vast stretches of land in northern Arizona, New Mexico and Utah - will receive more than 600 million dollars of federal government aid. The reservation, which is home to about 175,000 people, has been one of the hardest-hit areas in the United States for its rate of Covid-19 infection. Joe Boland from the charity ‘Catholic Extension‘, which provides support for Native American tribes tells William about the problems they are facing.

Post pandemic many say that the Church of England will never be the same again. While their doors may be physically closed - spiritually – some believe that God is reaching into more homes than ever. Online services are booming and pulling in record numbers of participants. But when all of this is over and the doors to places of worship reopen will there still be a demand for congregations gathering via the web? William is joined by Rev Charlotte Bannister-Parker, Chaplain to the Bishop of Oxford for Online Services and the author and academic Dr Bex Lewis who studies how we interact with the digital world.

Producers: Carmel Lonergan

Series Producer: Amanda Hancox

On VE Day 75 years ago the bells of churches and cathedrals across the country were rung in celebration. Anniversary events will be very different this year as many of them have been cancelled as people adhere to rules that prohibit mass gatherings. Using archive and contemporary recordings from some who were there in May 1945 we remember the moment when the unconditional surrender of Nazi Germany to the Allied forces ended World War II in Europe.

The charity Christian Aid has announced that they are projecting an annual loss of £6 million due to a fall in income because of Covid-19. They plan to furlough 20% of their staff and reduce the pay of everyone else. The cuts come as they launch their major annual fundraiser, Christian Aid Week. The charity's CEO Amanda Khozi Mukwashi debates the funding crisis facing charities that focus on international projects with Christine Allen, Director of the Catholic charity CAFOD.

The Archbishop of Canterbury led the first virtual assembly for the online school, Oak National Academy this week. Another project has embraced technology to help keep school choirs performing. The Catholic Diocese of Leeds has launched daily online singing sessions for thousands of children who would usually be singing in school. Co-ordinator Tom Leech explains why music is an important part of home schooling for children in some of the most deprived areas of West Yorkshire.

Ramadan is an important part of the religious calendar for muslims both spiritually and socially. Remona Aly reports on how families, friends and scholars are ensuring they keep traditions and customs associated with the Holy month alive.

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Photo: © Dean and Chapter of Westminster Abbey

As protests to end the lockdown continue across some states in America, Edward Stourton speaks to two Christian pastors in Virginia who have responded differently to the stay-at-home order.

Our correspondent in India reports on claims that Hindu nationalists are exploiting Covid-19 to ramp up prejudice against Muslims.

Mud Orange – a new ‘creative agency’ launched at the start of this year's Ramadan - is, according to its founders, the first in the Western world to specialise in targeting the Muslim consumer, while aiming to reshape the public image of Muslims.

The BFI’s 'Jewish Britain on film' is a free-to-view online collection of films which gives an insight into the life of British Jews over the last century. It brings together the earliest surviving depictions of Jewish characters in British cinema as well as documentaries and homemade cine films.

Continuing our chaplains series, Fr. Dan Mason, National Catholic Chaplain to Gypsies, Roma and Travellers explains the issues affecting those communities during the pandemic.

With a wide variety of online worship now available to anyone anywhere, Sunday offers a guide to where you can surf the services that meet your liturgical tastes: beginning with Protestant denominations.

And intensive care doctor Mark Tan shares his ‘Telephone Lament for Coronavirus’.

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There’s no Passion play on the streets of Chester this year, so the city’s Mystery Plays go online for the first time.

In an exclusive interview with the papal biographer and journalist Austin Ivereigh, Pope Francis has given an insight into his life under lockdown amid the Covid-19 pandemic.

Also, Cardinal Vincent Nichols, head of the Catholic Church in England and Wales and the BBC's Middle East correspondent Yolande Knell reflect on the impact that coronavirus has had on Easter celebrations here in the UK and across the Holy Land.

There are growing concerns about the conditions inside prisons during the coronavirus lockdown with up to 4 thousand low-risk offenders set for temporary release. The Anglican Bishop to Prisons, James Langstaff explains his concerns.

And the Jewish Chronicle, one of the longest running Jewish newspapers in the world has announced it has ceased trading with the loss of jobs.

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Picture Credit: Neil Kendall

The Covid pandemic has created ‘battlefield’ conditions for UK doctors who may soon have to make very difficult decisions about who to prioritise for life-saving treatment. Edward Stourton discusses the underlying ethical principles with Dominic Wilkinson, Professor of Medical Ethics at Oxford University; and Rev Dr Brendan McCarthy, National Adviser on Medical Ethics for The Church of England.

Urban naturalist Bob Gilbert uncovers some of the native plants and trees in Britain that have a close association with the Easter story.

Comedian Paul Kerensa has been listening and watching some of the online services that have sprung up and reports on some of the holy howlers when things didn't go entirely to plan.

There are calls for some churches to reopen for private prayer. As well as practical questions about health and safety, the lockdown raises theological questions about the meaning and importance of scared space. Catholic Journalist Tim Stanley and the Anglican Bishop of Hertford Michael Beasley discuss.

With Ramadan less than three weeks away, British Muslims are preparing for a dramatically different experience during the Holy Month this year. Jehangir Malik, CEO of Muslim Aid explains how his family and his community are adapting to the crisis.

Producers: Amanda Hancox

As the UK adapts to the social restrictions during the Covid-19 pandemic, Edward Stourton looks at the impact it is having on grieving families at funerals.

Producers: Amanda Hancox

The landscape for all faith communities has changed dramatically this week. The doors to churches, mosques, temples and cathedrals closed as communities do their bit to try and keep worshipers safe and reduce the spread of the coronavirus. But keeping those communities together and supporting them through a time of national crisis is proving to be challenging. Joining Edward Stourton to discuss how their faith communities are navigating the current crisis are the Rev Prof Gina Radford - a former Deputy Chief Medical Officer for England, Imam Abid Khan from the Cheadle Mosque and Community Centre in Manchester and Rabbi Laura Janner-Klausner - Senior Rabbi to Reform Judaism.

The main solution for many religions to the temporary closure of worship spaces, has been to start broadcasting services, prayers and devotional messages online. Sophia Smith-Galer has been taking a look at religion in the digital age and this week she took part in virtual reality Christian service in which the pastor was in the United States and the congregation was spread out all over the world.

Today will be a very different Mothering Sunday as many families will be unable to get together. So, The Mother’s Union is stepping up to support members who will be in insolation this Sunday because of the coronavirus. Their Chief Executive - Beverley Jullien - joins William to discuss some of the suggested activities that her organisation has come up with.

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In the coastal town of Folkestone, historians and archaeologists are celebrating a remarkable find. It dates from 7th Century and is thought to be the earliest verified remains of the English Saint Eanswythe – one of the first converts to Christianity in England. The BBC's Religion Editor, Martin Bashir, reports from Folkestone.

Andrew Billen from The Times unpacks the dispute between the Dean of Christ Church College and the some of the academic staff that has cost over £2.5 million in legal fees and created damaging divisions.

Italy is in lock-down as the entire nation has been quarantined to contain the spread of the coronavirus. Rome is a place of pilgrimage for millions of people but the Vatican and St Peters Square is closed to the public. Emily talks to Christopher Lamb, Tablet’s Rome correspondent, about the latest news and how coronavirus might impact Easter celebrations.

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Sophia Smith Galer reports on religious apps, in the first of a three part series for the BBC World Service Heart and Soul on religion in the digital age.

To mark International Women’s Day we hear from three young women about what their faith means to them in 21st century Britain.

And the BBC’s Laura Bickers tells Edward why a South Korean religious sect is being investigated over its links to the high number of Coronavirus confirmed cases in the country.

Producers: Catherine Earlam, Helen Lee