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Sunday Worship: A Question of Conscience

29/05/2016

A Question of Conscience

BBC Radio 4 - Sunday Worship, A Question of Conscience

The Rev Andrew Martlew traces the story of the Richmond Sixteen.

Former army chaplain, the Rev Andrew Martlew traces the lives of the Richmond Sixteen, a group of men who refused to take up arms during World War I.

On the 29th May, 1916, the Revd Andrew Martlew's second cousin, Alfred, was marched from his tiny cell in Richmond Castle in North Yorkshire and sent to France to be shot.

To mark the centenary of the Richmond Sixteen, a group of men who refused to take up arms during World War I, Andrew, a former army chaplain himself, leads worship reflecting on the idea of conscience with hymns including: Lead Kindly Light and I Vow to thee my Country and music from Karl Jenkins' "The Armed Man" alongside prayers and Bible readings: Joel 3:9-11 and Matthew 5:38-45.

Andrew, traces the story of these men and the convictions that drove them to defy both Church and state and the cruel treatment they endured as a result. He explores key locations around Yorkshire and is given exclusive access to the cells in Richmond Castle where they were imprisoned. He also reflects on his own military experience and the decisions he made as an army chaplain. 

With interviews from both pacifists and military personnel, he considers how we are guided by our conscience today and how we can reach very different conclusions when faced with the most testing moral decisions. 

Producer: Katharine Longworth

MUSIC

I vow to thee my country 
Wallingford Parish Church

Nearer my God to Thee 
Bryn Terfel

Kyrie from The Armed Man 
Karl Jenkins

Sanctus from The Armed Man 
Karl Jenkins

Lead kindly light 
Wells Cathedral Choir

The Lord's Prayer 
The Cambridge Singers

Agnus Dei from The Armed Man 
Karl Jenkins

O valiant hearts 
Choir of St Martin-in-the-Fields 

Benedictus from The Armed Man 
Karl Jenkins

For the Fallen 
Edward Elgar.

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