On Sunday 13 September, the Revd John Bradbury, General Secretary of the URC, and Steve Tomkins, Editor of Reform and author of Journey to the Mayflower: God’s Outlaws and the Invention of Freedom will feature on Songs of Praise on BBC One at 1.15pm.
The episode will focus on the journey of the Mayflower, the English ship which took Puritans, known as the Pilgrims, from Europe to the New World, now known as the US, 400 years ago. A year after they landed, the colonists celebrated their first harvest with the indigenous people who had saved many of the pilgrims by teaching survival and food gathering skills. That celebration was the first Thanksgiving, which now takes place every year on the last Thursday of November in the USA and other countries.
Steve Tomkins’ book can be ordered from URC Online Store, price £14.00.