Outward Looking

AMDG

 

 Ivan Lewis MP 

 

We had a great evening at the chaplaincy on Friday Night – as the Faith and Politics series of evenings came to a climax.  With 4 guests, 2 current MP’s, a former MP and a prominent Catholic Journalist.  What was very striking was how positive the energy was, and it is important to remember how much we can achieve when we are looking outwards rather than inwards.  It is an unhealthy community that splits into factions and rows and gossips about ‘internal matters’ whether dogma or politics. A dynamic attractive community is one that puts its faith into action, helping and engaging with civil society.  First up on Friday was Ivan Lewis MP, who talked about his Jewish identity and upbringing, and his passionate defence of faith schools. Currently the Shadow Secretary for International Development, we had moved his talk forward as he left us to go straight to the airport to fly to Burma and meet Aung San Suu Kyi.

 

Talking about Faith and Politics from a liberal Jewish perspective it was interesting to hear him talk about the need for integration not assimilation – with an implicit critique to ‘assertive secularism’.  He argued that a good faith school gives you a strong identity which allows integration.  Compare this to Dawkin’s absurd claim that faith schools are a form of child abuse.  It resonated with me when Mr Lewis said that the lack of a sense of identity was a big problem with young people.  Interestingly this is something I have been pondering recently – especially a phenomenon I see more and more as the Digital Age allows people  to experiment with multiple identities.  Although there is a sort-of freedom in this, ultimately the lack of a deep-rooted identity, especially the experimenting with conflicting identities which on line anonymity allows, often leads to bullying and abuse – and also a vulnerability to being buffeted by the shrill winds of consumerism and ‘lifestyle agendas’.

 

The other MP – Paul Goggins, in contrast shared about how his identity had been shaped at Manchester University - particularly through experiences are working with disabled children through L’arche.  This ethos of service was rooted in his faith – and I am delighted he mentioned this as we were invited at yesterdays evenings mass to get involved with the Manchester L’arche community that is opening.  My next post will be about the other two guests on a memorable night!

 

Politics, Spirit of Service & The Common Good

AMDG

Jim Murphy at Manchester Universities Catholic Chaplaincy

In Britain it is the Political Parties conference season.  The Labour party is just finishing its conference here in Manchester.  I was very struck with the Scottish MP Jim Murphy who took an hour out of his busy schedule yesterday to talk to the students here at the Catholic Chaplaincy. Currently the shadow defence minister, and heavily involved in the Labour Party policy review, it was great to have him opening our ‘Faith and Politics’ season.  The stock of politicians at the moment in the UK is quite low, especially after the expenses scandal a few years ago, when widespread corruption and greed was exposed. Having sat in on a Fringe event earlier on in the week, it is very clear that net-working and self-promotion seems to be rife at these conferences.  Sometimes the self promotion seems stronger that the desire to serve for the common good, and this is probably why the public attitude to politicians has become, sadly, so jaded.

When Jim Murphy arrived it was clear he had lost his voice.  It was a real strain to hear him speak.  He had had two breakfasts that morning.  He refused any money for the taxi fare – and spoke gently but with passion about how faith and politics can be complementary.  I was quite struck by him – he didn’t need to come and talk to 35 students in the Catholic Chaplaincy, I’m sure it has done nothing for his political profile, there were probably more prestigious and more high-profile events he could have attended.  But he was faithful to his booking, even though his voice was giving out.  We were able to give him some throat lozenges as a thankyou gift, ‘I’ll have to declare these’ he said grinning.  I was fortunate to be able to tell him afterwards, that he had done a great thing,  as these students – some aspiring politicians , many Catholic, others not, had been really encouraged by him coming, and speaking openly about the tensions of faith and religion.  He is a role model for them.  He looked genuinely taken aback when I said that.  If only we had more politicians like him.

 

Alex Ferguson and Cardinal Raymond Burke

AMDG

Now that a fairly hectic Welcome Week ( which I believe is the preferred term to Freshers Week!)  is drawing to a close, I feel that I am beginning to get my feet under the desk here in Manchester.  I have been hugely impressed by the students involved in the chaplaincy – their commitment, their talents, the passion they show when they talk about the community here. I keep on pinching myself about the great potential there is here.  One story that has amused me already was about a talk that my predecessor, Fr Ian Kelly, had organised. American Cardinal Raymond Burke came  to talk about the New Evangelisation.  400 attended, so the chaplaincy had to book the Whitworth Hall at the university to accommodate a big crowd. The caretaker whilst setting out extra chairs for the arriving guests, surprised at the numbers,  said to one of the students ‘Is this guy the Pope?’. It turned out that Alex Ferguson (United Manager), had been awarded an honorary doctorate the week before and they didn’t need the extra chairs. Well its a good sign that Cardinal Burke can draw a bigger crowd than Fergie!

Already the ‘Faith and Politics’ group has an impressive line up of speakers organised, with Shadow Defence Minister Jim Murphy coming in two weeks (Oct 3)  to talk about his Catholic faith.  A week later we will have Andy Burnham and Jeremy Lefroy coming.  Burnham has been a real key player in the Hillsborough campaign, so even though he is an Evertonian he will be made very welcome!  A friend was at wedding with his family recently and said how impressive it was to see them leave early the next morning to drive back across the country so they could get to mass as their local parish.  Later in November we are hoping to have Paul Goggins, Ivan Lewis, Lord Alton, John Battle and Christopher Lamb, all on the same night!  And then Faith and Politics will finish November with none other than the controversial George Galloway on the role of Faith in politics.   And that’s just Semester One!  So well done to Matthew and Eamon for organising that –  now we are trying to get speakers organised for the faith and Science group – any ideas or contacts let me know!

Producing at the Fringe

 

Today we welcome a guest post from a producer at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival. Cole Matson is a PhD student in Theology & Theatre at the University of St Andrews, and the Director of the Edinburgh Fringe Chaplaincy Project. He is also producing The World Over now through Sat 25 August, 22:25 at theSpace on North Bridge (V36): Tickets available here.

It’s been a hectic month here at the Edinburgh Fringe, with about 3,000 shows putting on about 40,000 performances over a 3.5-week period. My production, The World Over, about a man who believes himself to be the lost prince of a mythical kingdom called Gildoray, which everyone tells him doesn’t exist, is just one of many options from which Fringe audience members can choose. Thankfully, we’ve had well-above-average audiences (the average audience at the Fringe apparently being about 4 people), and have (almost always!) had more people in the audience than onstage. Audience feedback has been excellent, with an average of 4 stars from audience members, and at least one person saying it was the best show she’s seen at the Fringe. Of course, audiences can always be better, and it’s very tough to do a show with plenty of broad physical comedy when a relatively small audience in a mostly-empty theatre doesn’t feel free to laugh out loud. It’s easy to count laughs, or audience members, or ticket sales, and use those easily-quantifiable figures as a measure of one’s success. If one does so, performing at the Fringe can be very demoralising.

However, one deep connection can be more powerful, and more valuable, than many shallow connections. For example, I’m doing The World Over because when I saw its world premiere in New York 10 years ago, I sat in my seat and wept for 30 minutes after the final scene. I had to hug the lead actor and the playwright very tightly to express to them what their play had meant to me. The night I saw The World Over remains my most powerful experience in the theatre, and I wanted to share that experience with others. Thankfully, a director I met at St Andrews, who is a fellow student, also loved the play when he read it, and we performed it to acclaim last December at the university, before taking it to the Fringe. While no one has broken down weeping (yet), many audience members have told us that they were moved by the show, and ended up discussing it with their friends later that night, or the next day. It’s amazing to me how my one experience with this show has led to exponential growth in the number of other people who have now heard its story and been touched by it. And who knows how many other people this story of faith, innocence, heroism, and a lost prince whose kingdom is not of this world might touch by our audience members’ sharing of it.

To my mind, if we can touch one person with Goodness, Truth and Beauty through the sharing of the story of The World Over in the theatre, we have succeeded as storytellers. In addition, I have been pleased to hear from Fr Tim of another success story at this year’s Fringe. A few of us who are Christian performers at the Fringe have put together the Edinburgh Fringe Chaplaincy Project. Our mission is to support Fringe participants in the practice of their faith, by:

1) providing information on Edinburgh places of worship, including times of services, as well as Fringe outreach events
2) connecting participants for times of prayer and fellowship
3) serving as mentors and partners for Fringe participants of faith who need support
4) forming relationships with places of worship and other religious groups

While we were not able this year to do much more than create a website, begin to list worship times at local churches, and set up a Twitter account to receive prayer requests, Fr Tim did graciously offer his services as chaplain, and allowed us to list his contact information on our website so that Fringe participants who needed a listening ear could contact him. The padre let me know yesterday that Fringe performers have indeed been contacting him for a chat (as I’ve done more than once myself!). If I had been counting website hits or Twitter followers as the criterion of success, I could very easily have been discouraged, and considered the launch of the Chaplaincy Project this year a failure. However, knowing that it has served its purpose by connecting even one performer in need with a chaplain who could share with them God’s compassion and love, I thank God for its success. God uses even our feeble beginnings to accomplish powerful acts of love, and I am constantly staggered by His generosity.

 

 

The Power of Modern Saints

AMDG

Blessed Miguel Pro SJ, one of the first martyrs to be caught on celluloid

It is often said that John Paul II canonized more saints that many previous popes put together.  Some have been critical of this, muttering about the lowering of standards, or cynical about the funds needed to set up a quick process for ‘a cause’ to be investigated.  Saint-making is easier, they claim,  for rich and powerful groups and religious orders who wish their founder or member to be elevated to the altars.  I feel that this criticism is often misguided, churlish and a little mean-spirited.  The desire of John Paul II to make saints that we could relate to in the modern world, that would make holiness an accessible and realistic goal was far-sighted and big-hearted. We all need inspiring role models to spur us on, especially in an age of dubious celebrity and a media that promotes a self destructive narcissism. It is great to be able to show youngsters powerful pictures of Blessed Miguel Pro SJ, being executed by Mexican authorities.  The picture, taken in the age of celluloid says this is not a legend, it is real, it is relevant, we can have a faith like his.

Todays saint Maximilian Kolbe in Auschwitz

Today’s memorial of St Maximilian Kolbe belongs to the same category.  Kolbe, the Franciscan, who offered to substitute his life for a condemned man’s in Auschwitz, is a modern saint, a martyr of the Nazi’s.  After a prisoner had escaped, 10 men were chosen to be put to death as revenge, when one of them pleaded that he was a family man, Fr or ‘Pate’ Kolbe offered to take his place, much to the amazement of the German Officer.  ’Are you crazy’ he said – the ten men were locked up without food and water, as hostages to be released if the  I have discovered not only photo’s of Maximilian Kolbe (right), but also an interview with an Auchwitz survivor who was an eyewitness to Kolbe’s death.  Now living in Sweden, 88 year old Tadeusz Raznikiewicz  was recorded and translated by a fellow parishioner in Upsalla.  It lasts about twenty minutes and is absolutely absorbing listening. You can listen to it  by clicking on this link – Kolbe eyewitness interview –  the interview starts about 18mins into podcast. through the website ‘The Saint Cast’.

‘Saint Cast’  is produced by a remarkable man in America, Dr Paul Camarata.  He is a brain surgeon and a marathon runner, and somehow he finds time in between these activities  to make these podcasts about Saints. Although the ‘American’ style of the podcast is quite different to European ears – I love listening to these podcasts, in fact through ITunes you can download all the previous episodes.

 

Modern day DaVinci

AMDG

UK’s Da Vinci

The Edinburgh Book Festival is getting underway up here  and I am rubbing my hands with anticipation!  Of the many authors who will be discussing (and promoting) their books one that caught my eye is Thomas Heatherwick. He is an inspirational designer who has been called a modern day Leonardo da Vinci, an incredible platitude from no other than Sir Terence Conrad, one of the UK’s leading designers.  Heatherwick’s book ‘Making’ reveals the incredible span of his work, from a new shape for double decker buses to  his amazing dandelion Cathedral ‘ UK pavilion at Shanghai Expo.   Heatherwick was also commissioned by Fr Christopher Jamison, the then abbot of Worth Abbey,  to help ‘refurbish’ their abbey Church (right).  According to Heatherwick, ‘the original auditorium space of the Abbey has a tangible spiritual feel to it; a difficult thing to achieve with modern materials without the obvious historical and religious architectural references. Natural stone and neutral colouring make the space light and airy.’  The new furniture he designed  includes pews for 700, choir stalls, monastery seats, desks and confession rooms, all of which were fabricated from the solid hardwood. Heatherwick, who is internationally acclaimed in the field of design, has now emerged into wider British consciousness through his work on the amazing Olympic Cauldron, unveiled to universal admiration at the Opening Ceremony.

Olympic Pentecost?

The idea of the Cauldron was that each country brought in a copper kettle as they paraded in – those individual flames rose together to produce the big Olympic flame. At the end of the games each country will take back their cauldrons with them. It is a beautiful symbol of unity and hope.  Considering the countries take part include including Syria, Zimbabwe, Egypt, Nigeria etc this is a powerful symbol.   The writer behind the Olympic Ceremony, Frank Cottrell Boyce, has written a beautiful reflection on seeing the Cauldron lit for the first time on the Thinking Faith website. Boyce, a Catholic, describes seeing the cauldron lit for the first time in a rehearsal.  The ceremony’s main designer, leaned over to him and whispered, ‘There you go, Frankie, Pentecost!’.  When creative geniuses like Heatherwick and Boyce come together they can produce something transcendental and truly inspiring.  Lets pray that the universal hope of Pentecost may return in all the athletes hearts to their own countries.

Frank Cotteral Boyce’s article on the opening ceremony is here – Thinking Faith 

Thomas Heatherwicks description of the new Benedictine Church at Worth is here - http://www.dezeen.com/2011/11/05/worth-abbey-by-heatherwick-studio/

Irresistible

 

AMDG

Sometimes being snowed-in may save your life

 Today we remember St Jean Vianney – the famous ‘Cure of Ars’.  I was  researching a bit about him yesterday and found a fascinating story.  Born into revolutionary France, when the faith was outlawed, Vianney as a young boy would travel miles to mass with his family to remote farmhouses.  The windows would be covered in cloth, to hide the shine of candlelight. Impressed by the courage of the priests who were risking their lives and the guillotine to celebrate mass, the seeds of a vocation were planted.  Incredibly as a young man, Vianney was press-ganged into Napoleons army to fight the Spanish.  On a forced march to the Spanish border he managed to slip away and was stranded in the mountain village of Les Noes.  The deep snows of a winter stranded him and kept him safe from the zealous gendarmes who were searching for deserters.  During the the long winter he set up a rudimentary school for the children.  He was ordained and his holiness led to the radical spiritual transformation of the community of Ars and its surroundings.  His fame spread far and wide, and soon over 20,000 people a year would travel to Ars on a pilgrimage, and to make their confessions to him, and these was the days before Easy Jet!  In the summer he could spend up to 16hrs in the confessional.

No wonder he is the patron saint of Parish Priests.  What is striking about his story is  the growth of his vocation in the most hostile circumstances, with so many obstacles put up against him.  Echoed perfectly in today’s readings of the Prophet Jeremiah being delivered from execution, and the Gospel of John the Baptist beheading by King Herod. Kings, Emperors, Revolutions – no matter how powerful  they seem, Gods will, sometimes working imperceptibly, will always find a way.   The most powerful force in the world – even greater that the  Higgs Boson or the magnificent  Jessica Ennis.  With an open heart the will of God is irresistible. 

Related articles

• Thousands visit St. John Vianney’s heart in England (catholicnewsagency.com)

 

The Biggest Arts Festival in the World

 

AMDG

Having returned to Edinburgh from beautiful Arisaig it is impossible not to notice all the posters that have popped up all over the place.  They announce the imminent arrival of the Edinburgh International Arts Festival and its 23 associated festivals.  There are book festivals, jazz festivals, politics festival, contemporary art festivals, street performance, internet festivals and interestingly a festival of spirituality and peace.  The Fringe festival (mainly comedians, but also theatre, poetry etc) is the biggest of its kind in the world. Last year the Fringe over three weeks held 2,500 international shows from 60 nations in 258 venues and sold nearly 2 million tickets. It is interesting to observe that stand up comedy has become hugely popular in the UK over the last 10 years.  The top names, are now like rock-stars and play to stadium sized crowds and regularly engage in very lucrative tours. Some of the comedy, dressed up as satire is fairly nasty, mocking and angry and does little to inspire and much to generate cynicism.  However it is interesting to note that the big stars, the most popular seem to have a more gentle approach, often more observational and self-deprecating. 

I am particularly looking forward to the Book Festival and the interestingly named ‘Festival of Spirituality and Peace’. In its twelfth year, the base for the religious festival is an Episcopalian Church, St Johns on Princes Street although there are over 400 activities across 21 venues. With speakers, conversations, performances, film, food, exhibitions, family activities, workshops, art, culture and more ‘FOSP’ is now looking forward to its twelfth year. According to their website the organisers aim is ‘ to encourage community by exploring diversity.   FoSP provides a platform for people to explore their own spirituality by engaging with other people’s, to promote peace.’  The programme is eclectic varying from a Soweto based dance troupe, Poetry in a Persian Tent, sessions on Ethical Banking, Jewish storytelling and Asian & Arabic fusion dance.  I am booking tickets for some discussion events, including one with the title of ‘Where are the Organisational Healers?’ and another intriguingly entitled ‘Churches own 8% of the planet’.  It is a fascinating time to be in Edinburgh – so I will share my experiences on this blog.

 

Tom Cruise and Reversion

AMDG

Now I am not turning this into a celebrity tittle-tattle blog but  I have to admit to having carefully read some of the reporting about Tom Cruise’s divorce, particularly the insights into Scientology and how it operates.  What has struck me is that Katie Holmes, like Cruise’s previous wife Nicole Kidman, has decided to return to her Catholic faith after leaving Cruise and the clutches of Scientology.  In fact very few people know that Cruise himself was brought up a Catholic, and his faith was sufficiently serious enough that he tried out a religious vocation with the Franciscans in Cincinnati.  Both Kidman and Holmes are technically called ‘reverts’ – they have left the faith and converted to another and then come back again. Katie Holmes has registered with the Jesuit parish of Francis Xavier in New York (click here).  It is interesting to note that the tipping point for Holmes seems to have been that she didn’t want their child to be brought up within the cult-like confines of Scientology.  The dynamic of children bringing their parents back to the faith is something that we priests see quite a lot.  Of course it is easy to be cynical about the bulge in baptisms before the deadline for applications to Catholic Schools, but God is patient and infinitely generous and I have witnessed many purifications of intent.

Religious retention rates vary enormously through different faiths, churches and cults and sects. The impressive Pew Research Institute recently published these findings (right) about US religious retention rates – at the top of the list are the Hindu’s with 84% raised in that faith remaining Hindu.  The highest Christian group were Greek Orthodox (73%) and then Catholic (68%).  It was recently reported that the biggest religious group in the US are Catholics, and the second biggest group are lapsed Catholics! At the bottom of the pile are Atheists where only 30% brought up in an atheist household remained atheist.  For me this is not a surprise considering children often rebel, some of the most religious Catholic 20-somethings I’ve encountered have parents who were strongly atheist.  It may also ve because there is more hostility to atheism in the US than in Europe and other places. There are many factors why people convert and revert. For newer waves of immigrants – Hindus and Muslims for example – religious affiliation is the main part of their cultural identity and so the culture pressures on them to retain their religious traditions, if not beliefs, are high. The same is true for Hispanic Catholics, but less so for many Protestant groupings and sects that lack an the institutional depth.

I wonder if you can get odds with Paddy Power on Tom Cruise eventually reverting?

Is God Silent?

AMDG

Wow – I have just finished reading Shusaku Endo‘s historical novel Silence.  I know that the story will stay with me for a long time. Powerful and haunting. I strongly recommend it as a good Lenten read.

Its main theme is the silence of God in the face of the terrible suffering of Japanese Christians in the face of a brutal persecution by their own government. However perhaps this is misleading. Without wishing to spoil the book,  if you read it carefully it seems that God is not silent – the main character having a few mystical experiences in which God’s presence, encouragement and love have a deep effect on him. So silent or not – maybe the question should be : Do we have the ears to be able to listen and recognise the divine – or are we’ God-deaf?’   In this way it reminds me of another excellent book I read a long time ago – Touching the Void by Joe Simpson.

Cover of Touching the Void

Like Silence this is also a true story, about a famous British Mountain Climber. Climbing with a friend in a remote part of the Andes - Simpson broke his leg – a almost fatal development in such a remote and harsh place. Needing to descend quickly with bad weather closing in and daylight fading  Simpson’s friend inadvertently lowered him off a cliff.  He could not see or hear Simpson; he could only feel that Simpson had all his weight on the rope. Simpson could not climb up the rope, and his friend could not pull him back up. It looked like they would both die so his friend had an excruciating ethical dilemma –  in the end he has to cut the rope in order to save his own life whilst almost certainly sending his friend to his death.  Simpson plummeted down the cliff and into a deep crevasse but amazingly survived – and having been given up for dead – he crawled back to base camp to arrive just as his friend was burning his clothes and getting ready to depart.

What intrigued me most about this book was that first night that Simpson spent on the ledge in the crevasse.  Staring death in the face Simpson said he touched the void that night – God seemed silent or indifferent and this experience became the basis of his atheism. It might seem to be incredibly presumptuous to disagree with this interpretation. Of course – Only Simpson was there on that terrible night. But by writing a book about it I think he allows us to share his experience in an intense and intimate way.  In his absorbing account of the subsequent events, it is clear that there are two voices in his head.  One telling him to give up – lie down – and let exhaustion and sleep takeover. But there is another voice that keeps urging him on – telling him to get up. maybe that was the voice of God – whether acknowledged or not. Voices of consolation and desolation, voices of death and life.

Both books are rated as classics - Silence in Japanese literature, Touching the Void in Mountain Literature.  A word of caution for Martin Scorsese who is working on a film version of Silence.  I think the book Touching the Void  is much better that the subsequent film was.

…… Of course Scorsese reads this blog!!