This week I ask if you would please take the time to read of our appeal to help Ukrainian orphans. To reach our target of £1000.00 we need another 15 people to donate £8.00 (£10.00 with gift aid) Thank you very much.
“Out of the depths” we at Mustard Seed Songs have indeed cried for the Ukrainian people and we are now delighted to be able to provide some practical help. Our friend and associate Tatiana Gumenyuk was forced by missiles and bombs to flee Ukraine; bravely leading a convoy of children and adults to safety. Tatiana is now coordinating emergency support for deeply traumatized child refugees in countries bordering Ukraine. She is providing specialist compassionate care and counselling, together with essentials such as clothing, toiletries, food and basic medication.
We at Mustard Seed Songs promise that all donations will go directly to Tatiana enabling her to continue this life-saving work. There will be no administration costs whatsoever.
The two videos feature Evieanna Mullane singing “Out of the Depths” an extract from Mustard Seeds forthcoming musical “Theophilus- The Musical” http://theophilusthemusical.com/
Bathe Me In Your Light featuring Lucy Stimpson-Maynard from the album I Look Up To The Heavens recorded and produced by John Hodgkinson
Of course, there are justified concerns about the World Cup being held in Qatar, but today’s blog focuses on a young and successful professional footballer who seems to be portraying a different image to that often associated with his peers. The following is taken from an article written by Emma Fowler, who is the assistant editor for Premier Christianity.
At Euro 2020, the then-19-year-old Bukayo Saka became the youngest Englishman to ever start a match at the semi-final stage or later of a major tournament. Now 21, he has already put two goals past Iran in England’s opening World Cup match. But as he faces up to the pressure of this, his first world cup, what part will his faith play in helping him navigate his ever-growing fame and the pressures that come with it?
Saka grew up in West London and was raised in a Christian home. He still lives with his parents and brother, and says his family regularly pray for his success. He attended The Edward Betham Church of England Primary School, which has a strong Christian ethos.
In 2020, as part of a Year Five topic ‘Do fame and Christian faith go together?’ Saka wrote to pupils at his old school about the role that faith has played in his life. He said: “I grew up in a Christian family who believe strongly in God. This always made me curious to get to know God more and I have done so by reading my Bible a lot and going to church a lot over the years. My faith is constantly being exercised when I’m put in different situations or I play in big football matches such as my England debut. “I hold onto God’s promises such as the scripture ‘Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours’. So before every game I ask God to help me play well, help my team and try to score a goal or assist a goal and he answers my prayers so this is why I point to the sky to thank him.”
Speaking to Premier Christianity, head teacher Caroline Chamberlain told us that Saka was a “polite, modest and impressive young man” who was conscientious at school and has not been changed by fame. She said that pupils at the school were inspired by Saka’s words because he “has shown that a strong faith is powerful in helping you to achieve in whatever field you work in.”
Saka is one of the new generation of English football stars, praised for their decency, work ethic and talent. Like teammates Marcus Rashford and Raheem Stirling – he has a faith in God that seems to have a positive impact both on and off the pitch. And people are noticing. An article for the Evening Standard comments on the new social consciousness of the young team, many of whom are Christians.
It is something that Chamberlain says is one of the many benefits of a faith-based education. It “gives children far more than just a moral grounding,” she says, providing “pupils with the inspiration, rooted in the biblical truth that all people and all living things are valued by God, to challenge injustice wherever they see it – be it environmental, racial or any form of inequality.” With Christian footballers such as Marcus Rashford more likely to be found making headlines for campaigning on food poverty than brawling in bars, she may be onto something.
The school motto at Edward Betham is 1 Corinthians 13:13: “Faith, hope, and love; these three things will last forever, and the greatest of these is love.” The school says it aims to put “God’s love at the heart of all we do… Rooted in Christian hope, pupils grow academically and, in their faith, equipped to live full and happy lives and care for the people and the world around them.”
Chamberlain adds that Saka once said he hoped he would continue to make her and the children of Edward Betham School proud. The message she has for her ex-student is clear: “You certainly do – your achievements are amazing. Keep giving it your all!”
Father Help Me Acknowledge You featuring Lucy Stimpson-Maynard from the album I Look Up To The Heavens recorded and produced by John Hodgkinson
The last five blogs have focused on my complaint to the BBC concerning a Celebrity Master Chef episode in which Adam Pearson uttered “Jesus of Nazareth.” As I felt this unacceptable, I complained to the BBC and have been sharing the correspondence that resulted. Last week contained a letter sent by the BBC’s Executive Complaints Unit (ECU). The final part of this saga was for me to write to Ofcom with a summary of my complaint. Their reply is below:
Please do not send email to this address as it is an unattended mailbox. You can find out how to contact us on the Ofcom website.
Thank you for contacting Ofcom.
Your views are important to us as they help us to ensure that TV channels, radio stations, and on demand services follow our codes and rules.
What happens next
If you’ve already complained to the BBC
Ofcom will not normally write back to you with the outcome of its considerations.
However, please be assured that if your complaint does raise a potential issue, we will start an investigation. Whether or not we believe an investigation is required, your comments and feedback will be considered, and all our decisions are published in our fortnightly Broadcast and On Demand Bulletin. This includes the latest decisions about the complaints we’ve received.
If you haven’t complained to the BBC first
Other than in exceptional circumstances, Ofcom can only consider your complaint if you’ve already complained to the BBC first. You can do this via their website.
For information about how Ofcom assesses complaints and conducts investigations about BBC programmes, please see our website.
Please see below a summary of your complaint:
Title:
Mr
Forename:
Kenneth
Surname:
Shearsmith
Programme title:
Celebrity Master Chef
Date you watched, heard, downloaded or streamed programme:
30/08/2022
Time of broadcast (24 hour clock):
21:00
BBC Channel/ station/ website/ app on which the programme was seen or heard:
BBC One
Subject:
Inappropriate use of “Jesus of Nazareth” being used as an expletive in a cookery programme
Description of original complaint:
The original complaint BBC process only allowed me to state my concern that Mr Adam Pearson said “Jesus of Nazareth” on Celebrity Masterchef. A fuller explanation of my concern is given below in reply to their initial response
Dear Mr Salt
Thank you for responding to my complaint so promptly.
This is the first time I have lodged a complaint with the BBC, or ITV for that matter – I simply felt a genuine mistake had been made and expected you to accept that there had been an error. I was, therefore disappointed to have instead received what you consider to be justification for retaining Mr Pearson’s “Jesus of Nazareth” expletive.
So, the editing team felt that retaining the expletive was justified because it “reflects the world as it is and you protect freedom of expression.” I am of the strong opinion that in the context of a family cookery programme Mr Pearson’s expletive does not “reflect the world as it is.” Furthermore, Mr Pearson’s freedom to express displeasure with his cooking in a manner of his choice, should have been limited to words that were not defamatory to anyone- in this case Jesus.
I am confident that despite the BBC’s policy “to protect freedom of expression” an expletive referring to Muhammad, the Prophet of Islam, would have been immediately removed. Yes, it could be argued that an expletive of this nature would not “reflect the world as it is” as the dire consequences, cite Salman Rushdie, would make such an action most unlikely. However, I put it to you that the BBC policy is applied when it suits the purposes of the BBC; possibly on the occasion in question because it was considered to “make good TV.” The BBC has, therefore created an “unlevel playing field” in which it can be deemed acceptable to profane Christianity, but not other faiths.
I would welcome your response and trust that my comments will be forwarded to Senior members of the ‘Celebrity MasterChef’ team for their consideration.
Reason for dissatisfaction with the outcome of the BBC’s final response:
This was the third and final reply from the BBC’s Complaints Director, Mr Jeremy Hayes.
Thank you for your email about an edition of Celebrity Masterchef in which a
contributor exclaimed “Jesus of Nazareth”. You say this offended against your Christian
beliefs. The measure according to the BBC’s Editorial Guidelines on Harm and Offence
for judging a complaint such as yours is whether the content in question breached
“generally accepted standards1”.
Ofcom, the BBC’s regulator, has recently published research on public attitudes
towards offensive language on TV and Radio. It notes that “’God’ and ‘Jesus Christ’ were
seen as acceptable on TV and radio by the majority of those taking part in a survey both
before and after the watershed at nine o’clock when this programme was broadcast.
I accept that you found this offensive, but I think, even so, this programme did not
exceed generally accepted standards. Accordingly I am not upholding your complaint.
There’s no provision for further appeal against this decision within the BBC. However,
you can contact the broadcasting regulator, Ofcom, if you believe your complaint has
identified a breach of the Ofcom Code though of course it would be for Ofcom itself to
decide whether to consider your complaint
AS he cites Ofcom as part of the reason why my complaint is not being upheld, I have contacted you. The BBC complaint process did not allow me to continue so I wish to put to you the final point I hoped to make to the BBC which I believe should lead to a change of policy,
As part of your justification, you state that “God’ and ‘Jesus Christ’ are commonly used in place of more offensive swear words. This clearly demonstrates that your policy categorises “Jesus Christ” as a replacement swear word. Furthermore, by endorsing its misuse in a “cookery programme” you exacerbate its misuse in everyday speech.
The exact words used by Mr Pearson were, in fact Jesus of Nazareth.
In her Christmas Broadcast of 2008, Queen Elizabeth 11 demonstrated how these words should be used appropriately as an expression of respect
“I hope like me you will be encouraged by the example of Jesus of Nazareth who, often in great adversity, managed to live an unselfish and sacrificial life.”
Mr Pearson, however, used the term “Jesus of Nazareth” inappropriately as an expression of disrespect. Uttering these words in such a manner is most definitely not part of everyday speech and I was especially shocked and offended to hear them on “Celebrity Master Chef.” May I please ask in which BBC programmes have these words previously been used in a similar cursory manner?
I would welcome the comments of Mr James Purnell, the BBC’s Head of Religious Affairs Programming on the points I make here and in my previous letter.
BBC Reference Number:
CAS-7274119
Date you submitted your complaint to the BBC:
02/09/2022
So there we have it – the final act of the saga – I do not know what Ofcom will actually do, but at least I feel that I have done my bit to ensure that the Lord’s name is not taken in vain – at least not in a family tv cookery programme!
Living it Up featuring the Mustard Seed Soul Band from the album Heart and Soul recorded and produced by Ross Gill
The last four blogs have focused on my complaint to the BBC concerning a Celebrity Master Chef episode in which Adam Pearson uttered “Jesus of Nazareth.” As I felt this unacceptable, I complained to the BBC and have been sharing the correspondence that resulted. Last week contained a letter I sent to the final stage of the BBC complaints procedure -the BBC’s Executive Complaints Unit (ECU). Below I share their reply.
British Broadcasting Corporation Broadcast Centre, BC2 B4, 201 Wood Lane, London, W12 7TP
Telephone: 020 8743 8000 Email: ecu@bbc.co.uk
Executive Complaints Unit
Mr Ken Shearsmith
Via email
Ref: CAS-7274119
27 September 2022
Dear Mr Shearsmith
Celebrity Masterchef, BBC One, 30 August 2022
Thank you for your email about an edition of Celebrity Masterchef in which a
contributor exclaimed “Jesus of Nazareth”. You say this offended against your Christian
beliefs. The measure according to the BBC’s Editorial Guidelines on Harm and Offence
for judging a complaint such as yours is whether the content in question breached
“generally accepted standards1”.
Ofcom, the BBC’s regulator, has recently published research on public attitudes
towards offensive language on TV and Radio. It notes that “’God’ and ‘Jesus Christ’ were
seen as acceptable on TV and radio by the majority of those taking part in a survey both
before and after the watershed at nine o’clock when this programme was broadcast.
I accept that you found this offensive, but I think, even so, this programme did not
exceed generally accepted standards. Accordingly, I am not upholding your complaint.
There’s no provision for further appeal against this decision within the BBC. However,
you can contact the broadcasting regulator, Ofcom, if you believe your complaint has
identified a breach of the Ofcom Code though of course it would be for Ofcom itself to
decide whether to consider your complaint.
Information about lodging a complaint with Ofcom can be found here.
Yours sincerely
Jeremy Hayes
Complaints Director
Needless to say, I did write to Ofcom and will let you know their response next week in the last instalment of this saga.
Let Us All Stand Up featuring Lucy Stimpson-Maynard from the album I Look Up To The Heavens recorded and produced by John Hodgkinson
The last three blogs have focused on my complaint to the BBC concerning a Celebrity Master Chef episode in which Adam Pearson uttered “Jesus of Nazareth.” As I felt this unacceptable, I complained to the BBC and have been sharing the correspondence that resulted. Last week contained a letter from the BBC explaining that stage 1 of their complaints process was now complete and that the next stage was to write to the BBC’s Executive Complaints Unit (ECU). I did this with a copy of my letter below:
Thank you for your response and your apology for offending me, however my feelings are not the issue; my complaint is directed at BBC policy which caused Mr Pearson’s “Jesus of Nazareth” expletive to be retained and not deleted from the “Celebrity Master Chef” broadcast of August 30th.
As part of your justification, you state that “God’ and ‘Jesus Christ’ are commonly used in place of more offensive swear words. This clearly demonstrates that your policy categorises “Jesus Christ” as a replacement swear word. Furthermore, by endorsing its misuse in a “cookery programme” you exacerbate its misuse in everyday speech.
The exact words used by Mr Pearson were, in fact “Jesus of Nazareth.”
In her Christmas Broadcast of 2008, Queen Elizabeth 11 demonstrated how these words should be used appropriately as an expression of respect
“I hope like me you will be encouraged by the example of Jesus of Nazareth who, often in great adversity, managed to live an unselfish and sacrificial life.”
Mr Pearson, however, used “Jesus of Nazareth” inappropriately as an expression of disrespect. Uttering these words in such a manner is most definitely not part of everyday speech and I was especially shocked and offended to hear them on “Celebrity Master Chef.” May I please ask in which BBC programmes have these words previously been used in a similar cursory manner?
I would welcome the comments of Mr James Purnell, the BBC’s Head of Religious Affairs Programming on the points I make here and in my previous letter.
Thank you
Yours sincerely
Next week I will share the reply
I Will Tell featuring Lucy Stimpson-Maynard from the album “I Look Up To The Heavens” recorded and produced by John Hodgkinson
So the last two blogs have focused on my complaint to the BBC concerning a Celebrity Master Chef episode in which Adam Pearson uttered “Jesus of Nazareth.” As I felt this unacceptable, I complained to the BBC and have been sharing the correspondence that resulted. Last week featured my reply to their initial response and this week here is their second letter to me.
Dear Mr Shearsmith,
Thank you for contacting us again. We understand you feel strongly about this.
As we previously mentioned, when looking at language that has the potential to cause offence we consider a number of factors including the nature of the programme, the time of broadcast, audience expectations for the programme, and the way in which the words are used. Programme makers are guided in this area by the BBC’s Editorial Guidelines and research carried out by Ofcom who have considered this matter at some length. They concluded that words such as ‘God’ and ‘Jesus Christ’ are commonly used in place of more offensive swear words and viewers tended to regard them as ‘not offensive’ or ‘mild’ and felt their use was acceptable on TV or radio at any time. As you note ‘Muhammad’ is simply not used in the same way in everyday speech.
That said, we understand you do not approve of this language and we’re sorry for any offence or upset this caused you. We appreciate that views will differ on the use of such language but we hope we have been able to show that we do give careful consideration to the use of all language that has the potential to offend. We have again shared your views with senior members of the programme team and thanks again for taking the time to contact us. Should you wish to pursue your complaint further there are details below on how you can do this.
Kind regards
BBC Complaints
This concludes Stage 1 of our complaints process. That means we can’t correspond with you further here. If you remain unhappy, you can now contact the BBC’s Executive Complaints Unit (ECU). The ECU is Stage 2 of the BBC’s complaints process. You’ll need to explain why you think there’s a potential breach of standards, or if the issue is significant and should still be investigated. Please do so within 20 working days of this reply.
Higher and Higher (Jackson, Miner,Smith) featuring the Mustard Seed Soul Band from the album “His Story” recorded and produced by Ross Gill
Last blog I explained that on 30th August I began to view an episode of Celebrity MasterChef in which Adam Pearson was taking part. I have every admiration for him, but when he was unhappy with his cooking (he was eliminated in the first round) he uttered “Jesus of Nazareth.” I was shocked and switched the TV off. I later made an initial complaint to the BBC and last week shared their reply which I thought unacceptable.
Below is my response.
Dear Mr Salt
Thank you for responding to my complaint so promptly.
This is the first time I have lodged a complaint with the BBC, or ITV for that matter – I simply felt a genuine mistake had been made and expected you to accept that there had been an error. I was, therefore disappointed to have instead received what you consider to be justification for retaining Mr Pearson’s “Jesus of Nazareth” expletive.
So, the editing team felt that retaining the expletive was justified because it “reflects the world as it is and you protect freedom of expression.” I am of the strong opinion that in the context of a family cookery programme Mr Pearson’s expletive does not “reflect the world as it is.” Furthermore, Mr Pearson’s freedom to express displeasure with his cooking in a manner of his choice, should have been limited to words that were not defamatory to anyone- in this case Jesus.
I am confident that despite the BBC’s policy “to protect freedom of expression” an expletive referring to Muhammad, the Prophet of Islam, would have been immediately removed. Yes, it could be argued that an expletive of this nature would not “reflect the world as it is” as the dire consequences, cite Salman Rushdie, would make such an action most unlikely. However, I put it to you that the BBC policy is applied when it suits the purposes of the BBC; possibly on the occasion in question because it was considered to “make good TV.” The BBC has, therefore created an “unlevel playing field” in which it can be deemed acceptable to profane Christianity, but not other faiths.
I would welcome your response and trust that my comments will be forwarded to Senior members of the ‘Celebrity MasterChef’ team for their consideration.
Many thanks
Kind regards
Ken Shearsmith
I’m A Believer (Diamond) featuring the Mustard Seed Soul Band from the album “His Story” recorded and produced by Ross Gill
Adam Pearson is 37 years old and is a British actor, presenter and campaigner He who has been involved in outreach programmes to prevent bullying associated with deformities.
Wikipedia states that after he hit his head at the age of five, the resultant bump persisted instead of healing. He was diagnosed with neurofibromatosis type I, which causes non-cancerous tumours to grow on nerve tissue.
Mr Pearson has been a victim of bullying throughout his life.
On 30th August I began to view an episode of Celebrity MasterChef in which Mr Pearson was taking part. I have every admiration for him, but when he was unhappy with his cooking (he was eliminated in the first round) he uttered “Jesus of Nazareth.” To be honest I was shocked and thought “that’s not right” and switched the TV off.
Later I noticed on social media that Mr Pearson had apologised, but not for his inappropriate use of “Jesus of Nazareth” but for his poor cooking! I felt I could not let this go and so for the first time in my life decided to complain to the BBC. The first part of the process did not allow me to go into much detail but below is the response I received.
Dear Mr Shearsmith,
Thank you for contacting us regarding BBC One’s ‘Celebrity MasterChef’ broadcast on 30 August.
We note your concerns about certain language used by Adam Pearson.
There is certainly never any intention to upset or offend our audience, and we take a great amount of care with the programmes we broadcast. However programmes often aim to reflect the world as it is and we protect freedom of expression. If there is a proposal to feature language that has the potential to cause offence it is always carefully considered and its use must be editorially justified. Programme makers are guided in this area by the BBC’s Editorial Guidelines, and by research carried out by Ofcom who have considered this matter at some length.
If there is a proposal to include any language that has the potential to cause offence it is always carefully considered and it must fit the programme and its context. When doing so we consider a number of factors, including the nature of the programme, the time of broadcast, audience expectations for the programme, and the way in which the words are used.
We also abide by what Ofcom describes as ‘generally accepted standards’, which evolve over time and are informed by relevant research, such as the Ofcom research referred to above. Broadcasters of course need to consider how language broadcast may cause offence with different audiences, but are also entitled to reflect language that is used commonly in society.
We appreciate that views will differ on the use of such language, but we hope we have been able to show that we do give careful consideration to the use of all language that has the potential to offend.
We do value your feedback about this. Senior members of the ‘Celebrity MasterChef’ team have been made aware of your comments and we’ve included your points in our overnight report. These reports are among the most widely read sources of feedback at the BBC, and helps inform future editorial judgements.
Thank you again for taking the time to contact us.
“Uplifted” featuring the Mustard Seed Soul Band from the album “His Story” recorded and produced by Ross Gill
Before the death of Queen Elizabeth II I had been sharing thoughts on joy and happiness quoting extracts from “The Word for Today.”
In Mustard Seeds’ “work in progress,” “Theophilus- The Musical” there is the following interaction between Theophilus and Luke in which joy and happiness are an important element.
Theophilus: spoken
But that is one of the things I struggle with – how can a God of love allow all the sickness and suffering that is in the world?
Luke: recitative
My dear friend there is so much we will never understand,
My dear friend there is so much that’s beyond man,
For as the heavens are higher than the earth,
So, God’s ways are higher than our own,
God is so much bigger than we all are,
We should accept this and trust Him in all things,
And I do promise you God is always good even when life is so often bad,
And remember the joy that Jesus brings is not the same as happiness,
For happiness depends on life’s circumstances which can change just like the wind,
But joy is far deeper and comes when its God on whom we depend.
In this, the final part of my tribute to Queen Elizabeth II I share with you The Archbishop of Canterbury’s Sermon for The State Funeral of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II
“Come Holy Spirit, fill us with the balm of your healing love. Amen.
The pattern for many leaders is to be exalted in life and forgotten after death. The pattern for all who serve God – famous or obscure, respected or ignored – is that death is the door to glory.
Her Late Majesty famously declared on a 21st birthday broadcast that her whole life would be dedicated to serving the Nation and Commonwealth.
Rarely has such a promise been so well kept! Few leaders receive the outpouring of love that we have seen.
Jesus – who in our reading does not tell his disciples how to follow, but who to follow – said: “I am the way, the truth and the life”. Her Late Majesty’s example was not set through her position or her ambition, but through whom she followed. I know His Majesty shares the same faith and hope in Jesus Christ as his mother; the same sense of service and duty.
In 1953 the Queen began her Coronation with silent prayer, just there at the High Altar. Her allegiance to God was given before any person gave allegiance to her. Her service to so many people in this nation, the Commonwealth and the world, had its foundation in her following Christ – God himself – who said that he “came not to be served but to serve and to give his life as a ransom for many.” 1
People of loving service are rare in any walk of life. Leaders of loving service are still rarer. But in all cases those who serve will be loved and remembered when those who cling to power and privileges are long forgotten.
The grief of this day – felt not only by the late Queen’s family but all round the nation, Commonwealth and the world – arises from her abundant life and loving service, now gone from us.
She was joyful, present to so many, touching a multitude of lives.
We pray especially for all her family, grieving as every family at a funeral – including so many families round the world who have themselves lost someone recently – but in this family’s case doing so in the brightest spotlight.
May God heal their sorrow, may the gap left in their lives be marked with memories of joy and life.
Her Late Majesty’s broadcast during Covid lockdown ended with: “We will meet again”, words of hope from a song of Vera Lynn. Christian hope means certain expectation of something not yet seen.
Christ rose from the dead and offers life to all, abundant life now and life with God in eternity.
As the Christmas carol says “where meek souls will receive him, still the dear Christ enters in.” 2
We will all face the merciful judgement of God: we can all share the Queen’s hope which in life and death inspired her servant leadership.
Service in life, hope in death. All who follow the Queen’s example, and inspiration of trust and faith in God, can with her say: “We will meet again.”
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