The Church's Role Post Covid; Gaza Ceasefire; G7 Choir

What should the role of churches of all denominations be as the country emerges from the Covid-19 pandemic? More than 5,500 people including non-church members, congregations and church leaders have provided their testimony on the human cost of the pandemic when places of worship were closed and unable to play their usual role as crisis centres and places of comfort. We hear how two people made a contribution to their communities and the leader of the research, Dr Dee Dyas from the University of York tells Edward that churches and other places of worship have a unique opportunity to play a key role in the nation's recovery.

As the Israeli-Palestinian ceasefire took hold on Friday, both Israel and Hamas declared victory. But continuing unrest at the Al-Aqsa mosque on Friday suggests that the underlying issues remain as unresolved as ever. We return to the region and hear from two Jerusalemites who have lived through these perilous past few days, Abeer Zayyed, a volunteer at the Al Aqsa mosque and Rabbi Ron Kronish, who also works in Jerusalem.

In June world leaders will gather in Cornwall for the G7 Summit. To mark the occasion, Truro Cathedral and local school choirs have released a song to send a message to them. Written by Sir Tim Rice and Peter Hobbs the lyrics ask the leaders to 'collaborate and take their responsibility seriously'. Now other singers from around the world can add their recordings to the performance. We hear from some of the Truro choristers and Esme Page, co-founder of the Sing2G7 initiative, explains how children can get involved.

You can listen to the song and find out more here: https://www.sing2g7.org/

Producers: David Cook Louise Clarke-Rowbotham

Editor: Tim Pemberton

Photo: © Mazur / cbcew.org.uk