Awe and Wonder at Jodrell Bank

AWE AND WONDER AT JODRELL BANK WEB SCRIPT

MUSIC: PULSAR by Hannah Peel

Performed by The BBC Philharmonic Orchestra

POEM: Picture this. by Naomi Brehm

Steph Bevan:

That poem was written and performed by Naomi Brehm with Pulsar, a new piece by Hannah Peel performed by the BBC Philharmonic Orchestra, which featured in a recent Archive on 4 marking the 80th year of Jodrell Bank.

My name is Steph Bevan and I am a physicist, musician and Trustee of Christians in Science. Today I am delighted to be at Jodrell Bank Observatory, directly under the Lovell telescope on this blustery morning in November, where for the last 80 years physicists have been discovering, exploring and trying to find answers about our Universe. In today’s programme we are going to be celebrating the first director of Jodrell Bank, Physicist Sir Bernard Lovell and also finding out how physics can be a fantastic tool to celebrate the Awe and Wonder of God’s Universe.

MUSIC: For the beauty of the earth (Lucerna Laudoniae)

The Diocese of Manchester Choral Scholars

Recorded at St Peter’s Church, Swettenham

Prayer

Lord, Inspire us this morning to explore your masterpiece and to celebrate its mysteries; the planets, constellations and different galaxies, the wonders of the world in which we live, and the hearts and minds of all who share it.

Through Christ our Lord,

Amen

Steph Bevan:

Besides the Lovell Telescope are two smaller whispering dishes, demonstrating with sound was the Lovell Telescope is doing with radio signals. I’m actually speaking in to one of them right now.

Bernard Lovell was a great communicator of science and the role it plays in understanding the origins of the universe. Here he is speaking in the Reith Lectures.

ACHIVE: Sir Bernard Lovell – BBC Reith Lectures

Music: And I saw eternity (Lucy Walker)

The Diocese of Manchester Choral Scholars

Recorded at Jodrell Bank

Interview with Prof Teresa Anderson MBE

MUSIC: O quam gloriosum (Victoria)

The Diocese of Manchester Choral Scholars

Recorded at Jodrell Bank

Steph Bevan:

I’ll be honest, I did not like Physics at school but I reluctantly took it to support my study of Mathematics and Music. It was only when we began learning about how sound works in physics that I saw how it could compliment my love of music.

I was lucky enough to be able to study Physics and Music together at university. It is interesting to me that Sir Bernard Lovell also seemed to have this love of both Physics and Music.

In more recent years, I have become more aware of the part physics plays in my Christian faith. The abundance of what we can see in the sky and the ability we have to comprehend it. I’ve always imagined God cheering us on as we discover new things, excited for when we find out the next part.

I’m not alone in celebrating how we can bring seemingly very different subject areas together. Recently, I have been working closely with an organisation called the God and the Big Bang project (note the AND THE) who visit schools all over the UK, encouraging young people to discover, discuss and debate the relationship of Science and Faith. The team of scientists celebrate the crossover of many different subject areas (science, faith, history, music) and how we can use them together to answer some of our big questions about life.

To highlight the ideas of the young people and also show how we can use lots of different tools to understand our world, the God and the Big Bang team worked with Andy Silver from PopUK, to write songs about the BIG questions we all can have. Here is one of those songs ‘The wonder of it all’.

MUSIC: The wonder of it all (Andy Silver)

PopUK

Steph Bevan:

I’m in the exhibition space at the First Light Pavilion. My favourite is an exhibit called Looking at the heavens. It’s something people have done for millennia. Our reading today is from the book of Psalms - and then we will hear from my friend Revd Professor David Wilkinson.

Reading: Psalm 19:1-6 - NIV

The heavens declare the glory of God;

the skies proclaim the work of his hands.

Day after day they pour forth speech;

night after night they reveal knowledge.

They have no speech, they use no words;

no sound is heard from them.

Yet their voice goes out into all the earth,

 their words to the ends of the world.

In the heavens God has pitched a tent for the sun.

It is like a bridegroom coming out of his chamber,

like a champion rejoicing to run his course.

It rises at one end of the heavens

and makes its circuit to the other;

nothing is deprived of its warmth.

SERMON: REVD PROFESSOR DAVID WILKINSON

MUSIC: Morning Star (Arvo Pärt)

The Diocese of Manchester Choral Scholars

Recorded at Jodrell Bank

Interview with Ian Pickford, organist at St Peter’s Church, Swettenham

Prayers

(Recorded at St Peter’s Church, Swettenham)

The psalmist wrote, “When I consider your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars, which you have set in place, what is man that you are mindful of him, the son of man that you care for him?”

We thank you God for your infinite wisdom, the unfathomable depth of your knowledge, and your boundless creativity. You created things into being that had never existed before. Your knowledge knows no end.

We pray for the men and women of science who are also men and women of faith. We know that scientists discover, you reveal, and all are blessed. We ask, Lord, that you would give them wisdom, discernment, and a fortified faith that allows them to remain in awe of the things you have created.

that the work of scientists be rooted in an ethic that values life and the betterment of humanity.

Lord, let those you gifted with a curious mind, a steady hand, and an unwavering faith be strengthened by you. Let them remember that “Our help is in the name of the Lord, the maker of heaven and earth

The Lord’s Prayer

MUSIC: O gloriosissimi lux (Hildegard von Bingen)

The Diocese of Manchester Choral Scholars

Recorded at St Peter’s Church, Swettenham

Steph Bevan:

When I first arrived at Jodrell Bank, its silhouette on the landscape, scale and presence gave off the same stature as a cathedral. Built with a purpose, to inspire, to find answers, to know more about our place in the universe. It reminds me of Psalm 111:2 - great are the works of the Lord, they are pondered by all who delight in them.

For me, physics and music have both been amazing tools to nurture and enhance my Christian faith. Individually, we will all have our own interests and our own unique questions about our purpose. I encourage you to keep exploring, questioning and seeking answers.

We close with How great Thou art, recorded here at Saint Peters Swettenham by the diocese of Manchester choral scholars.

Hymn: How great Thou art

The Diocese of Manchester Choral Scholars

Recorded at St Peter’s Church, Swettenham