BBC Songs of Praise has been in Bedford to film a special Advent episode celebrating the work of Hope in Bedfordshire and the town’s Christian community.
Hosted by singer and presenter Laura Wright, the crew spent a whole day in Bedford capturing music, prayer and street outreach, all rooted in the town’s churches and community groups.
Hope in Bedfordshire
Hope in Bedfordshire, led by Pip and Stephen Elphick, is part of the wider Hope Together network, which encourages churches to work together in serving their local communities.
Locally, the group brings Christians from different denominations together for events such as the Good Friday witness in Harpur Square, a regular gazebo on Bedford Market, weekly prayer meetings on Castle Mound and celebration services across the year.
Stephen said: “Hope in Bedfordshire is an organisation that seeks to bring Christians together regardless of denomination.
“We organise various events such as the Good Friday witness in Harpur Square. We have a monthly gazebo on Bedford Market, a weekly prayer meeting on Castle Mound and celebration services from time to time.
“We are part of Hope Together, a national body, and also the National Day of Prayer and Worship which organises Shine Your Light. It was through them that the BBC got involved and they wanted to make a Songs of Praise round our story.
“They spent a day filming with us and it was great fun but quite tiring. They were thrilled at the response they received in Bedford and we await to see the programme.”
Singing in the town centre
During the visit, the Songs of Praise team filmed at Hope in Bedfordshire’s evangelistic gazebo, spoke to volunteers about hope, joy and unity, and recorded short conversations with people involved in the project.
Crews followed the team into the town centre, where they shared their message with shoppers and passers-by and sang together for the programme’s introduction.
Later in the day, filming moved to Castle Mound for prayers, before Laura Wright lit a candle at St Paul’s Church for the final prayer segment.
The episode will focus on Advent and the journey towards Christmas, using Bedford and its churches as the backdrop for that story.
Flash mob
One of the standout moments of the day was a community flash mob in the Harpur Centre, built around a new choral arrangement of Joy to the World.
Local musician and choir leader Natalie Christian-John was invited to arrange and music-direct the piece and to assemble a choir drawn from different churches in Bedford. She worked alongside guitarist Marc James and helped guide Laura Wright through the performance.
Natalie said Laura was “warm, grounded and exceptionally talented” and explained how carefully the team planned the performance so that Laura’s vocals would blend with the choir in the middle of the busy shopping centre.
She said: “I was invited to arrange and music-direct a choral version of Joy to the World for a community flash mob in the Harpur Centre.
“I was accompanied by Marc James on guitar, and I guided Laura during the performance, explaining where she would enter, where she needed to be positioned, and how we wanted her vocals to blend with the choir. She was incredible to work with.
“The whole experience was genuinely uplifting. Everyone involved was committed not only to celebrating the meaning of Christmas in a joyful way but also to bringing the community together.
“I’m especially grateful that the choir reflected the rich diversity of churches within our community.”
Community at Christmas
Those involved said the day was about far more than filming. It was a chance to put Bedford’s church communities and their everyday work on national television and to share a message of hope in the run-up to Christmas.
Natalie said it was “an absolute joy” to be involved and paid tribute to the BBC team and to the volunteers who gave their time.
She said: “The heart of it all is community. May love, peace and joy ring out this Christmas. We hope you enjoy the episode.”
Hope in Bedfordshire and their partners now wait to see the finished programme, which will bring Bedford’s music, prayer and street outreach to viewers across the UK as Advent unfolds.
For more information about Hope in Bedfordshire, visit hopebeds.org.
Songs of Praise, featuring their filming in Bedford, is due to be broadcast on Sunday, 14 December on BBC 1.
