BBC Turns on Specials for Easter
BBC Turns on Specials for Easter
The BBC has announced special programming for Easter. According to the Corporations Commissioning Editor, Religion, Daisy Scalchi, it offers from insights into how kindness and compassion bring joy, to how communities are built on faith.
Spread across BBC TV 1 and 2, and radio, the plan includes live Easter Day services, as well as reflections from around the country. The schedule includes a live service from Leeds Minster on BBC1. The Bishop of Leeds, the Rt Revd Nick Baines will lead that. The Archbishop of Canterbury will broadcast live from Canterbury Cathedral on Radio 4.
Actor Jill Halfpenny’s is down to introduce Easter Walks; a new series on BBC1 and iPlayer. In it she takes viewers on a journey through north-east England as she explores connections between faith and place, in Northumbria.
Easter from King’s on BBC2 features seasonal choral music and readings from King’s College, Cambridge. Urbi et Orbi. Pope Francis’s Easter message and blessing of the city and the world, live from Rome, airs BBC 1.
Leading into Easter, Pilgrimage: The road to the Scottish Isles returns to BBC1. This time Seven new pilgrims will follow the footsteps of St Columba in the sixth century.
Meantime, on Good Friday, Katie Piper offers ‘At the Foot of the Cross’ an evening of music and reflections. ‘Talking About Silence,’ a new series of essays premiers on Radio 3. In it, the Revd Professor Diarmaid MacCulloch explores varieties of spiritual silence in human life and beyond.
As part of its Easter offering, the BBC presents ‘A Believers Guide.’ This is a new five-part series on BBC1 and iPlayer. The series follows people as they go through significant moments in life, from dealing with loss, becoming a parent, to growing older. The series also looks at the role of faith during times of change.
Ms Scalchi also revealed that the package includes another opportunity to see a range of recent religious programmes. She said these are topped by the documentary ‘Mission Joy’: With Archbishop Desmond Tutu and the Dalai Lama, on the Faith and Hope page on BBC iPlayer.
'The BBC' she said, “is passionate about providing audiences with a vibrant mix of religious content, across its networks, bringing people together to worship, reflect, and celebrate.” Pointing to what she declared as the success of last year’s special Faith and Hope for the Spring season, she said she is delighted ‘that we are returning this year with a wide range of content to mark the faith festivals.