In this episode of Songs of Praise, Sean Fletcher visits the Chapel in the Fields, a Methodist retreat in Cheshire, where craft and carpentry are used to foster faith and friendship. The Rev Kevin Johnson, the project’s leader, runs carpentry workshops to help those struggling with loneliness and depression.
Sean joins a workshop, crafting wooden keepsakes for a local primary school, and chats with one of the volunteers, who shares how the chapel has been a source of comfort and strength during a difficult time of bereavement.
The episode also revisits inspiring Christian creativity, including a conversation with stained-glass artist Thomas Denny and a look back at Sean’s previous exploration of kintsugi, the Japanese art of repairing broken pottery.
Songs of Praise: Christianity and Creativity airs on Sunday, 25 August 2024, at 1:15 pm on BBC One.
