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Christian Compassion

Claire McCollum meets compassionate Christians including charity workers and a chef influenced by visiting an African cocoa farm.

Songs of Praise celebrates faith and compassion by marking 50 years of the Christian overseas aid charity Tearfund. Presenter Claire McCollum talks to a top chef whose view of chocolate has been transformed by a trip to a west African cocoa farm and she meets the aid workers who survived the Nepal earthquake of 2015. The Reverend Kate Bottley talks to Christian students on a five-day charity challenge diet of only beans and rice. Hymns and songs on the theme of compassion include O Jesus I Have Promised, Mighty to Save and Beauty For Brokenness, written by Graham Kendrick for Tearfund's 25th anniversary.

Music:
How Deep the Father's Love for Us from Green Pastures, Ballymena
Brother Sister Let Me Serve You from Pershore Abbey
Lord I Lift Your Name from LSO St Luke's, London
Inspired by Love and Anger from Romsey Abbey
Mighty to Save from Salvation Army, Sale
Beauty for Brokenness from All Saints Church, Ecclesall
O Jesus I Have Promised from Bangor Cathedral.

34 minutes

Stories

50 years of Tearfund
We find out how, from very small beginnings 50 years ago, multi-million pound charity Tearfund is now supporting aid workers in over 50 of the poorest countries around the world. The charity’s Director of Mission, Dr Ruth Valerio, explains how Christian values are at the heart of Tearfund’s work.

Modern-day Aid Workers
Claire meets a modern family who have spent their lives doing aid work around the world. She talks to Jude and Steve Collins about raising children in the Honduras jungle, how their faith helped them deal with living through the Nepal earthquake in 2015.

Working for a Christian Aid Charity
We hear from Hannah, a young Christian charity worker inspired by her faith to show compassion through her day to day work.

Christian Students’ Charity Challenge
Rev Kate Bottley meets a group of Christian students raising money for relief organisations by eating a diet of rice and beans for a week. She joins Abi, Lydia, and Jeremy for one of their meals to hear about the difficulties of the charity challenge and the impact it’s having on their faith.

How a Chocolatier Was Changed
Claire McCollum meets high-end chef Will Torrent, a Christian and charity ambassador, who makes decadent desserts for a living, to hear how he’s been changed and challenged by a trip to meet cocoa farmers in the Ivory Coast. She samples some of the truffles Will has made - inspired by his trip and using fairly traded & sustainable ingredients.

Credits

Role Contributor
Presenter Claire McCollum
Presenter Kate Bottley
Executive Producer Cat Lewis
Executive Producer Emyr Afan
Producer Mark Warburton
Series Producer Matthew Napier
Production Company Avanti Media

Broadcast