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Religion & Ethics

A look at the ethical and religious issues of the week

Sunday: Archbishop Desmond Tutu's life and legacy, It's a Wonderful Life, Volunteering

Archbishop Desmond Tutu's life and legacy, It's a Wonderful Life, Volunteering

BBC Radio 4 - Sunday, Archbishop Desmond Tutu's life and legacy, It's a Wonderful Life, Volunteering

William Crawley  looks at the ethical and religious issues of the week.

Following the death of Archbishop Desmond Tutu, Bishop David Walker remembers the life and legacy of the Nobel Peace Prize laureate who helped end apartheid in South Africa. 

Actor and activist Michael Sheen tells William about the transformative encounters that led him to give away a large chunk of his earnings and turn himself into a social enterprise - a not-for-profit actor. 

Champion baker David Atherton shares his recipe for Florentines and talks candidly about growing up gay in a conservative evangelical Church. He tells William how  winning the Great British Bake Off connected him to others struggling to reconcile their sexuality with their strict Christian upbringing. 

As the Christmas film classic It's A Wonderful Life turns 75, we hear about its religious meaning and how it's taken on the power of a modern-day myth. 

And we meet the faith groups plugging gaps in local services by providing an army of volunteers - from stewards at vaccination centres to cooks at homeless shelters and shelf-stackers at food banks. Volunteers tell us what motivates them to help their local community. And, with government finances under more pressure than ever,  we find out how the relationship between faith groups and the state is changing.  

Producers: Louise Clarke-Rowbotham and Carmel Lonergan
Editor: Helen Grady

Christmas Florentines

Ingredients
• 1 egg white (approx. 40g)
• 50g icing sugar
• ½ tsp vanilla extract
• ½ tsp mixed spice
• Zest of an orange
• 100g flaked almonds
• 30g dried fruit and seeds (your choice)

Method
1. Preheat oven 160C.
2. Line a baking tray with a silicone mat, or greaseproof paper (and rub in 1 tsp of vegetable oil).
3. Mix the egg white, icing sugar, vanilla, spice and orange zest until smooth.
4. Mix through the almonds and your dried fruit/seeds.
5. Put a 10cm biscuit cutter onto your tray and add a spoon of the mixture. Press this around and remove the cutter so you’re left with a perfect disc. Continue until you’ve used up your mixture.
6. Bake for 12-14mins until golden brown then allow to cool before lifting gently.
7. You can add melted dark chocolate as a decoration if you wish.

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Archbishop Desmond Tutu's life and legacy, It's a Wonderful Life, Volunteering

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