Good Friday Meditation

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Good Friday Meditation: The Story of the Tree

Religion & Ethics

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BBC Radio 4 - Good Friday Meditation: The Story of the Tree

Bishop Helen-Ann Hartley  reflects on the tree that bears and transforms human pain.

In this meditation for Good Friday, Bishop Helen-Ann Hartley reflects on the felling of a Sycamore and the potential of trees to bear witness to pain, strength and new life.

The felling of the sycamore tree in Northumberland  led to an outpouring of grief across the country. People  had gone to Sycamore Gap to mark key moments in their lives; births,  betrothals, bereavements.  It was important to the Bishop of Newcastle, the Rt Rev Helen-Ann Hartley  who  sometimes ran along the stretch of Hadrian's wall where the tree once stood.

The medieval poem "The Dream of the Rood" tells the  story of another tree, the tree that became the cross of Jesus.  The story of the crucifixion is told from the point of view of the cross,  a tree "cut down at the copse's end, moved from my root" and forced to bear the Saviour of the world. 

Last autumn also saw the launch of the “Storychair” in the crypt of Newcastle cathedral. It was created from  an oak which came down during Storm Arwen in 2021.  It was designed by local craftsman, Nick James, in collaboration with women from the Changing Lives charity which works with people involved in the criminal justice system. Dawn Harrison from Changing Lives tells Bishop Helen-Ann that the project has been life-changing. “The women have transformed their image from being female offenders on the outskirts of society to being welcome in Newcastle cathedral – they are not calling themselves offenders any more, full of guilt and shame, they are designers that are the proud owners of the story chair. “   

   In this meditation for Good Friday, Bishop Helen-Ann reflects on  the potential of trees to bear witness to pain, strength and new life.    Readings from the  Dream of the Rood  are  woven together with  music from the Northumbria community and the Northumbrian pipes  to offer an original and  compelling angle on an age-old story.

Producer: Rosie Dawson
Reader: Trevor Fox

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Good Friday Meditation: The Story of the Tree

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