"He is risen."
Three words said by an angel at the empty tomb,
proclaiming the joy and the hope of Easter Sunday.
And as Christians across the world
gather to worship on this holiest of days,
I've come to Cornwall
to join the community of Carn Brea, which is near to Redruth,
as they celebrate the resurrection of Jesus.
Happy Easter
and welcome to Songs Of Praise.
Coming up in today's programme,
we celebrate 50 years of
a remarkable Easter tradition...
This thought came to me,
and I'm sure it was a God thought,
and that thought became, "We should have a cross over the town."
..we uncover the extraordinary story
of a sacred painting
discovered buried behind stacks of wood in a barn...
Halfway through moving all the sheets,
I was passing them to my husband to move,
I just said, "Jesus!"
And he said, "Why? Are you OK? What's happened?",
and I said, "No, I've found Jesus!"
..and we have hymns that capture
the awe, the triumph and the deep joy
of the Easter story.
At the heart of the Christian faith
is the belief that three days after Jesus was crucified,
He rose again
and all death and darkness was defeated.
And so, with the help of congregations from across the UK,
we give thanks for the triumph of Easter.
Jesus Christ is risen today.
I'm in Cornwall, at the top of Carn Brea,
which is a rocky hill
that towers 828 feet
above the fields below
and the former mining towns of Camborne and Redruth.
For 10,000 years or so,
people have been roaming around
these weathered boulders and grassy paths.
But since 1976, at Easter,
members of the local community make their way up this hill
for a unique act of worship.
They raise a huge cross on the hill
to celebrate the resurrection of Christ.
And as this is the 50th anniversary of this happening,
I thought I'd come along and join in this year.
Each year, this challenging operation
begins with a journey by car and trailer
up a rugged and winding track.
Keep going! Keep going!
Stop!
Three, two, one, go!
And believe it or not, that's the easiest bit.
It's the responsibility of the Redruth Baptist Church Elders,
Andrew and Martin.
Stop! Stop!
What's that? Stage one accomplished.
Praise the Lord, absolutely, yeah.
What does it mean to you
to be organising this event every year?
It's very special.
To me, I see the cross as a signpost.
Jesus has opened the way through what He's done on the cross
for us to be reconciled to God
through repentance and faith.
So when you're actually looking at the cross
as a symbol, what are your thoughts?
Well, the first thought I have is it's empty, because Jesus rose,
but the second thing is,
He stretches out his arms like that
to welcome everyone by His grace and His love and His forgiveness.
So for me, that's the absolute bottom line
of the whole Christian faith,
that God loves the world so much that He gave His only begotten son,
whoever believes in Him will not perish,
but have everlasting life.
Well, there's not an everlasting time on this,
cos they're queuing up and waiting to go.
I hope you've both got a head for heights, have you?
No, I haven't, so I don't try and go up on the rock.
That's Martin's job, not mine.
PAM LAUGHS
Towering 20 feet high and stretching 10 feet across,
it requires many dedicated members of the Redruth Baptist Church
to guide the great cross
carefully to its resting place.
After 50 years, it's a slick,
organised operation,
though at the start, it was more
an act of faith than precision,
and it all began with one man's vision - Rodney Reed,
with the support of his community and his late wife, Ann.
The falls just down below there. Oh, lots of history.
It must be quite emotional for you, I would think...
Yes. ..being back here, 50 years after it started,
and you began it all, didn't you?
Yes, we didn't imagine that this would go on for so many years.
Ann and I had been married a couple of years,
and at that stage, she had a legacy,
and some of the legacy was money available for something like this.
So the idea of the cross,
it became a thought to me - I'm sure it was a God thought -
and that thought became, "We should have a cross over the town."
And then all the things that happened that followed that,
my wife Ann getting a legacy,
having the right person in the factory to make it,
having all the people who were needed to make it possible up here,
evidently, it was God.
And of course, you shared it all with your wife, Ann,
so quite poignant to be here 50 years on without her.
Yes, and my wife is in Heaven now because of her belief in Him,
and that is the message of Easter for me,
is that Jesus' death and resurrection
opens the door to Heaven for all those who will believe in Him.
So it's Easter Sunday,
and we need to burst into song. What shall we sing?
Sitting on this green hill, there's no better song than
There Is A Green Hill Far Away,
remembering what Jesus did for us on that first Good Friday
and now Easter Sunday. Resurrection Day.
Carried with care across the uneven ground,
it's a team effort to scramble over boulders
and weave through the brambles.
It's a moving sight,
and many have gathered to share in the moment.
Is everyone ready? Yep, let's go. Nice and slow.
Once there, it's winched carefully
into place and made secure.
And I'm rather proud to be holding
one of the ropes myself.
And there it is, the Carn Brea Cross,
standing triumphant,
from where it can be seen across
20 miles of Cornish countryside.
But the cross is empty.
It's Easter Sunday. He is risen, and the cross is lifted high.
Artistic depictions of Christ on the cross
are reverently displayed in countless cathedrals and churches
and homes all over the world,
but it's not every day
that you come across a painting of the crucifixion
in a barn.
That is exactly what happened to Sarah Worne,
after she and her husband bought a plot of land
40 miles from here in Lostwithiel, in Cornwall.
So, when we first came into the barn,
the table, that white table, was right in the middle,
with random bits of wood
all just piled along here, leaning against the table.
So our first thought was
to just move that stuff to the back of the barn.
Halfway through moving all the sheets back,
I was passing them to my husband to move,
and I just said, "Jesus!"
And he said, "Why? Are you OK? What's happened?",
and I said, "No, I've found Jesus!"
And that's how we found Him. He was there, in amongst the boards.
When I saw it, I could see
that it was an original painting.
It was on a panelled frame
that fascinated me,
so that gave it some age,
but I was really intrigued by the painting.
And here it is, now housed in
Sarah's local church,
St Bartholomew's.
It's here Sarah brought the painting
to be cared for by her friend,
the Reverend Sheila Bawden.
What I love in this painting
is the way Jesus' head is tilting.
His eyes are closed,
and He's just resting.
He's at peace,
because His earthly life is over.
That's what jumps out to me.
This is so different
from any other crucifixion painting.
Hi, Sheila! Hello.
He looks good up there. Yeah...
Sarah and Sheila have now become detectives,
determined to find out more about the artist, the painting,
and how it came to be in Sarah's barn.
Early on their journey,
members of Sheila's congregation found a signature
and what they thought might be
a date on the back of the painting.
"Teresa Fuller, 51-52."
That was discovered by one of our congregation members. Oh, really?
Yeah, when they were looking round the back.
We couldn't see that in the barn, it was too dark. No...
Following news reports,
local historians came forward with further information.
Teresa Fuller was born under another name.
So it says that she was born
Violet Edith Fuller,
in Gloucester...
Right. ..in 1900. Uh-huh.
She was Roman Catholic and did works
for Roman Catholic churches.
Oh, right! Several references
to exhibitions in London of Catholic art
mentioning Teresa Fuller.
So there is a reference
to a piece of work
named The Crucifixion.
Right, from Didcot.
"It's a bold and imaginative design."
That must be this painting... The one that you found
in your barn. ..because it's called The Crucifixion. Wow!
Tracing the painting's journey from London to Cornwall,
Sarah discovered that The Crucifixion had been bought
at a Greenwich auction house in the early 1990s.
The buyer put it onto the top of her Vauxhall Astra
and drove it down to Cornwall. Now, that,
I would have loved to see! Exactly! That massive great crucifixion
coming down the motorways. Yeah.
Sarah and Sheila are still keen to understand more
about the original home of the painting.
Their findings suggest the painting was likely first displayed
in a church in Didcot.
I've just recently got another lead...
Oh! ..that said that there was a church
that was demolished in the '70s,
but maybe the painting would have come from there.
Yeah, so we'll keep on the case, as they say.
Yes. Yeah. Keep on the case!
Well, just as the Carn Brae Cross stands like a beacon
shining out across the land
as a reminder of Christ's triumph of good over evil,
so our next hymn - which is sung for us by a renowned Cornish choir
just down the coast, in Penzance -
echoes that reminder of
the bright beam of God's mercy.
Well, now the cross is safely in place,
Martin and Andrew are on hand to welcome all the locals in
for a very popular, special service,
where they give thanks for the Carn Brae Cross
and for its celebration of Easter.
Welcome, friends, to our special 50th anniversary service,
praise the Lord, during which time, the cross has been erected
on this rocky hill of Carn Brae.
# O come to the Father
# Through Jesus the Son
# And give Him the glory
# Great things He hath done... #
Well, Adam, we thought we'd come a long way for this service today,
but how far have you come? So I've travelled all the way from Sydney.
Why? So...my dad was involved
when the cross was put up first,
and it's always been something
I've been part of, until I moved
to Australia 25 years ago.
Do you think this cross makes an impact on people's lives?
I think so, I think so.
I mean, it's a beautiful reminder of what God's done for us.
I think it's a great way for...the church has been able to sort of
show that love to the community here.
# Jesus suffered and died
# To pardon and sanctify me
# So I'll cherish the old rugged cross... #
Well, today, every day is Easter day for me,
because He set me free,
and I want to worship Him and thank Him for what he's done.
What does the cross mean, then? What does that symbolise for you?
The resurrection, that Jesus
died on the cross for my sins and your sins, everybody.
That is a symbol of forgiveness if we receive His offer.
Christ died for our sins, in accordance with the scriptures.
He was buried,
and He was raised on the third day,
in accordance with the scriptures.
Lindsay, not many people have brought their own cross today,
but you have - what's the story of this?
Well, I've been carrying it for...oh, I suppose getting on,
I don't know, 40 years, almost.
On the road, everywhere? On the road, in different countries.
I've carried it through about 26 different countries. Why?
Because I love Jesus,
and I want people to know the message of the cross.
People will come up to me, and they say,
"What is it? What is it? What are you carrying?" You know?
And I say, "Well, it's like a symbol of how much God loves you."
Every year, I come here - I only live down the road -
and look up at the cross as a symbol of hope.
And that's really what I am trying to get across to the youngsters,
that there really is hope in Jesus,
you know, there's a power in the cross.
It's an empty cross, He's risen, which says...you can be different,
you can be transformed by Jesus coming into your heart.
That's why I see it as hope,
transformation, the power to change,
the power to love, the power to be loved,
the power to give love - that's what Jesus brings.
# And give Him the glory
# Great things He hath done. #
Amen, God bless you all!
Well, the service is drawing to a close,
people are saying goodbye, and as they head home,
they will leave behind the Carn Brae Cross,
standing steadfast on the skyline for all to see.
And in that same spirit of commitment and witness,
our next song urges us to lift our voices
in praise of the Christ who died and is risen again.
Next week, I meet with the Archbishop of Wales,
Cherry Vann, to explore why
offering a welcome lies at the heart of Christianity.
We live out our faith by ministering to people
in the way that we would minister to Jesus.
And now a prayer from the people we've met today.
Dear Lord, thank you for your sacrifice,
the ultimate symbol of your love.
We ask that the light of your resurrection
will fill and renew our hearts
with hope, love and peace.
And we pray that the promise of new life in Jesus
might lead us to share the hope and love that we have
with everyone we meet.
Amen.
It has been just wonderful
to share the joy of Easter Day
not only with everyone here at Carn Brae,
but with you too, so we're going to finish
with a favourite triumphant Easter hymn,
set to the glorious music of Handel.
Everyone on Songs Of Praise wishes you every blessing this Easter,
and from me at the top of the world, bye now!