My first hour guest on this week’s Sunday morning, Camila Batmanghelidjh, is a woman of colour and style, both in appearance and personality, both of which shine through, even on the radio. A charity campaigner and trained psychotherapist, she founded Kids Company, which offers practical, emotional and educational support to the most deprived and at risk children, in our society. Together with her personal choice of music, it’s a wonderful listen, and in fact Camila stays on, to join in a discussion in the second hour of the show about a project that’s currently gathering momentum in some of Scotland’s primary schools, teaching children about empathy.  Called Roots of Empathy, it involves bringing a parent and baby into the classroom to play their part in moving society forward towards being more caring and compassionate in the future.

Joining me on this week’s Sunday Morning programme, is a man whose life was completely turned around, thanks to a chance meeting with a ginger tom cat, he named Bob. James Bowen was a street-musician, struggling to cope with homelessness and former drug addiction – now his books charting his changed fortunes have become best-sellers, and there’s even talk of a film about it all.

In the second hour of the programme, I’ll be asking how we could radically change the future of Scotland – a subject covered in another book by writer Alf Young about a road journey both he and his son Ewan took, exploring inspirational community projects across Scotland.We’ll be celebrating a landmark anniversary for one broadcaster who’s 200th Thought for the Day can be heard this Wednesday on Radio Scotland, and finding out what keeps him keen.

Fifty years after the death of celebrated author C S Lewis – I’ll be finding out from biographer and fellow Oxford don, Dr Alister McGrath, why so many people still regard this former atheist as a Christian icon?
And well-known and much loved former broadcaster and priest – the late Father John Fitzsimmons is remembered as the outspoken priest who was a man of many parts…Plus another lovely listen, an excerpt from The Listening Project, all coming up in this weeks two hour show. Join me for all of that and some of my own favourite pieces of music to ease you into Sunday morning.

The mornings are getting brighter, and I feel we can finally draw a line under all that wintry weather especially after this week’s  much missed sunshine.  It’s also a great time to join you once again on Sunday Morning With, where in this week’s show, I’ll be talking to former television broadcaster and campaigner for young and old, Esther Rantzen  in the first hour of the programme, so I hope you can tune in for that.

After the 8 o’clock news, I’ll be talking to writer and journalist, Martin Palmer who’s appearing at Glasgow’s Aye Right Festival about his fears that we’re losing touch with our religious landscape.  He’ll also be sharing some of the stories behind Glasgow’s sacred sites.

Radical changes in the welfare benefits system are affecting millions of people in this country, but what happens when a Christian organization gets involved in another Government scheme and has to take the flak for it.

How do you re-assess your life when faced with the news that you may only have a limited amount of time left to live – we hear about an incredible woman’s List for Living, and how it’s formed the basis of her plans for her future.

We’ll also hear about the wave of modern church building in Scotland commissioned by the Catholic Church in the 1960’s.

My first hour guest on this week’s Sunday Morning with Cathy Macdonald, was the inspiration for one of the most well-known, and certainly, one of my favourite love songs – The First Time Ever I saw Your Face.  Forever associated with the purist form of folk music, legendary singer, Peggy Seeger, mixes it up on her latest album with techno beats and dance rhythms. She talks about that song, written by her then husband and professional partner, Ewen McColl and took me along the musical journey of her lifetime.

Celebrating its 70th anniversary this month how has Oxfam endured so long and what makes people so committed to it?  We hear about the history of the charity and talk to one of the front-line managers about the part it plays in the local as well as the wider community

Alessandro Brustenghi is a Franciscan tenor whose heavenly voice caught the ear of music executives making him the first ever friar to sign a major recording contract. He talks about the link between music and faith

The Pakistan schoolgirl targeted by Taliban gunmen wrote her blogs for the BBC’s Urdu service. We speak to the Editor about how she came to write her diaries for their website.

And as the wives of military servicemen maintain morale in the absence of their menfolk by forming choirs, we join rehearsals at one of the most recent additions to the network, in Edinburgh.  

All this and a  great mix of music to ease you into Sunday morning.  That’s Sunday Morning with me, Cathy Macdonald.  I hope you can join me.

This week on Sunday Morning with me, Cathy Macdonald, my guest in the first hour of the show is award-winning author and journalist, and former Moscow Bureau Chief of Staff for the Guardian newspaper - James Meek.

Now a full time writer, he talks about his life, his latest book - The Heart Broke In - a tale of morality in modern Britain, and how his experiences of other cultures taught him about the human condition.

In the second hour we explore why today's youth fail to engage with organised religion after a recent BBC survey on morality revealed they thought that looking after your family was more important than following a religion.

I'll be finding out how the increasing number of food banks have helped put churches back into the heart of communities.

Author and journalist Julie Davidson explains why Mrs Livingstone was just as tough as her famous missionary husband, David, although she has more or less been overlooked by history.

And as an international tour of sacred Buddha relics comes to Edinburgh, whose theme is to encourage inter-faith dialogue I'll be welcoming custodian, Siliana Bosa, who explains why they have such an impact on those who come into contact with them.

All this and the usual excellent selection of music, listen in between 7am-9pm this Sunday Morning With Cathy Macdonald.

Two years after the death of their daughter, Linda, (an aid worker) who was abducted in Eastern Afghanistan and subsequently died during a rescue attempt by US special forces; John and Lorna Norgrove explain how visiting Afghanistan, the places and people with whom Linda worked, and seeing the projects now funded by the 'Linda Norgrove Foundation' have helped them come to terms with their daughter's tragic death.

Archaeologists from the University of Glasgow have begun looking for traces of a Bishop's Palace in a Scottish Borders village - a discovery which may put Ancrum at the "very centre of medieval religion and politics". Archaeology officer Dr Chris Bowles explains how it's an "extraordinary site" and hopes the latest evaluation could underline its importance.

Last summer ex- teacher Susie Reid travelled to Brazil as a volunteer for a Christian charity called New Destiny. She spent two months working at the charity's outdoor centre in the south east of the country, near the city of Belo Horizonte, working with local youth leaders in the slums -or favelas - of the city, who bring groups of kids out to the centre for a weekend of outdoor activities and support. The experience made a great impression on Susie, and she's shared some of her memories with us.

As part of 'The Scottish Mental Health Arts And Film Festival' - theatre company Solar Bear are putting on a production: Inside, Outside, In our Stride. The production is for individuals experiencing long term metal health issues to express themselves within a workshop and then to take their production and perform it for the wider community. We'll be hearing from 'Tony', one of the participants in the group and Emma Hagen, psychodrama practitioner, who facilitates the group.

All this and a great mix of music to ease you into Sunday morning. That's Sunday Morning with me, Cathy Macdonald. I hope you can join me.