Celebrating 100 years of religious broadcasting on the Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ
On Sunday 6 January, 1924, at 6.15pm, the Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ broadcast the first live church service anywhere in the world.
It was led by the Rev. Dick Sheppard. Listeners described it as "spell-binding", "thrilling" and "an intellectual treat".
The history of religious broadcasting on the Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ will be marked at Radio 4’s Ascension Day service from St Martin-in-the-Fields – the home of that first broadcast.
The Rev. Dick Sheppard started the broadcast…
"In the second Sunday of each month, to be allowed to say prayers and sing hymns and to talk religion in the presence of any of you who are willing to listen, we count it a great happiness as well as a grave responsibility. It comes to us here not because we are more capable than other churches but because St Martin-in-the-Fields…is known at least by name, by many people. Tonight we begin then the happy, difficult task of attempting to make contact with the great unseen people, which no man can number.”
However, not everyone was happy. Some saw it as a "travesty on Christian worship", and "harmful to true religion". The Vicar of St Stephen’s Norbury protested, "It is you – a clergyman – who has set on foot a practice of having a kind of entertainment (for it can be called nothing else) during the time of Evening Service." It had also been a struggle to find an obliging venue.
When Lord Reith turned to cathedrals for permission to broadcast their services, they were resistant. St Paul’s didn’t want “sensational methods” brought into worship. And the Dean of Westminster famously went one stage further, as Donald Soper, one of the religious broadcasters in the 1920s, explains...
“Well, he wouldn't have broadcasting because he felt that it was somehow a scandalous matter, that the gospel should be exposed to the hearing of fellows drinking their pots of beer with their hats on in public houses; well that was scandalous.”
While some church leaders saw this new invention of radio as an opportunity to reach millions of people, most mainstream churches were opposed; they were very suspicious. Eric Fenn, Assistant Director of Religion 1939-46, tells the story of this uneasy relationship...
“The churches were terrified that the Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ would pinch their people – that they would put on broadcast services at the same time as their own services, and people would stay and not come to church. This was, I think, an alarm. They need not have felt that... But they felt it acutely and this was only very slowly broken down. It wasn’t at all easy.”
As far back as 1895, churches were pioneering use of the Electrophone, a kind of "cable radio" service that relayed from London theatres and music halls. Electrophones had to be disguised as tables, lights and even bibles so as not to cause upset. In many ways the churches were right to be mindful of the power of this new medium. Who would decide what counted as the right sort of religion to be broadcast on the radio?
In 1922, John Reith arrived in London looking for work. He heard a sermon on Ezekiel 22:30 ("I sought a man among them who should stand in the gap… but I found none.") He felt a call. Soon he’d become General Manager of the Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ. Two significant lunches followed: with the Archbishop of Canterbury at Lambeth Palace and with the Rev. Dick Sheppard at Simpson’s-in-the-Strand. Respected for its compassionate outreach and war work, St Martin’s was chosen for the first broadcast. Sheppard was an innovator, fearless in the face of reactionary judgements, energetic to embrace the possibilities of new technology. He felt vindicated when 8000 prayer requests were received in the course of the following week.
"We count it a great happiness..."
The Rev. Dick Sheppard introduces religious broadcasting from St Martin-in-the-Fields.
In January 1928, the Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ broadcast a 15-minute weekday daily service. It wasn’t an initiative by the Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ, but came about because of a persistent campaign by a listener, Miss Kathleen Cordeux. She was passionately concerned both for the maintenance of a Christian Britain but also for the sick and housebound. She thought their spiritual needs could be met by a daily religious service that would cater for private meditation. The Daily Service became hugely popular. It has continued to this day, now on its new home of 4 Extra. And Choral Evensong on Radio 3 is the longest running outside broadcast: it started in 1926.
By the 1930s the churches had mostly accepted the idea of religion on air. A Religious Broadcasting Department was created, with Rev Frederick Iremonger as its first Director of Religion. By 1951 one third of the adult population of the United Kingdom were listening to the broadcasts. Broadcasting a live service for Ascension Day also dates back to the late '20s and by 1942 was a yearly occurrence on the Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ Service, moving to Radio 4 in the 1970s.
Written by the Rev. Dr Sam Wells, current vicar of St Martin-in-the-Fields, and Miriam Williamson, Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ Producer.
Listen live to this year’s "A Celebration of Ascension Day" on Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ Radio 4 at 8pm, Thursday 9th May.
