BBC Radio 4 - Sunday Worship, Faith and Fairytales

BBC Radio 4’s “Sunday Worship, Faith and Fairytales” frames a Sunday service as a spiritual journey through folklore, fairytales, myth, and Christian faith. The program, led by Reverend Luke Aylen, begins as he arrives at Hereford Cathedral in the Welsh Marches, an area described as inspiring J.R.R. Tolkien’s Shire and C.S. Lewis’s Narnia. Aylen meets Revd. Canon James Pacey, the cathedral’s chancellor, who delivers a prayer invoking guidance, protection, and strength. The service also features music including “He Who Would Valiant Be” from the Worcester, Hereford and Gloucester cathedral choirs, and an instrumental piece by Sequentia with Barbara Thornton. Aylen describes the cathedral’s north porch, the sanctuary’s architecture, and how the space is presented as saturated with the residue of centuries of worship. The episode emphasizes the intersection of material and spiritual perspectives through the setting.