Sacred Space – Redefined

Christian buildings, even those of great architectural or historical merit are always meant to be somewhat ambiguous.  That ambiguity has been played out recently at St Pauls.

They are built to and for the glory of God but Christ redefined how glory can and should be seen in suffering humanity instead of religious buildings.  Their solidly speaks of God’s faithfulness but struggles to say that God’s people have no abiding home on earth but instead as its stewards such people are citizens of heaven.  The religious building reveals that it is not the church  - the people are the church.

Amongst other things important sacred buildings can further reveal our tendency to idolatry (turning objects into God), our capacity to seek stability when life is more precarious like a journey, our quest for glory and inspiration wherein the beauty of the ordinary or the broken can be missed or obscured, our need for order when chaos may be a more accurate reflection of life. They tell of objective truth but that may seem inaccessible or even disconnected from human subjectivity. They are places of both the powerful and the poor but one can easily cloud out the other.

That ambiguity is further heightened through their core business being worship which of itself can seem worthless, bearing no overt sense of productivity.  ‘Other worldly’ becomes a critique of such practice going on whilst the issues of the world are pressing.  But ‘other worldliness’ is actually critical to all worship if that means connection with the world of the divine which stands as ‘other’ to the known and seen world.

I recently was speaking with a designer who had helped to build a new Hindu Temple in Leicester who spoke of how the identification of a particularly auspicious day within the Hindu devotional  calendar became decisive in identifying the completion date for their building project. Excel spread sheets, quantity surveyor reports etc all had to be re-ordered in the light of worship.

The apparent pointlessness of worship reshapes the world by the bible being proclaimed and preached, praise offered in word, music and symbol, time reshaped by festivals, sacraments and stories of saints.  Through connection with divine space, we can imagine a world which has become more divine – that also means more just! 

So there is plenty of connection with the worship inside the cathedral and the protesters outside.  Both perhaps have a pointlessness as core to their purpose which reveals one space embodying a world made new. We’ve seen the ambiguities of cathedrals and sacred buildings but we’ve also seen what sacred space can offer everyone.

© Canon DAvid Monteith, Canon Chancellor

Reflections from Revd Canon Barry Naylor

Reflections from Revd Canon Barry Naylor

Week Commencing 30  September 2011

Last week Canon David Monteith reflected on Professor Coakley’s address at the Clergy Conference about the necessity of a close relationship with the poor, as we live the Christian life. She also emphasised the centrality of prayer and this is not just true for the priest, but for every Christian. She recommended Father Michael Hollings’, “Living Priesthood”, especially his chapter on being a “Person of Prayer.  This struck a chord with me, as Michael was a good friend and my Spiritual Director.

He wrote: “The priest is nobody, has no power, is empty, no matter how hard he (sic) works, if he is not given over to God in the Spirit – - – to allow God the first place in (his) mind, heart and strength – - – - It demands a firm discipline and determination against a constant assault from all around, and even from inside one-self, suggesting it is a waste of time”.

For each of us prayer, time spent with God, is vital. Prayer is not, primarily, about talking to God, telling him things. Listening to him in prayer, and as we read the Scriptures, is far more important. What is God saying to me, to the Church, to the world? We each need to develop a discipline about our prayer life, seeing it as the most essential time, around which all else happens; not just a few minutes slipped in amidst all the busyness of life. This is so, “come hell or high-water”, no matter what situations we find ourselves in.

Prayer is not escaping from the world but being open to God, so that we may become more fully immersed in, and vital to, the world around us and cooperate in his work of healing and redemption. Listening to God will both challenge and comfort us. We need to pray alone, to pray with others but pray we must, if we are to be God’s faithful co-workers and heirs of eternal life.

Hollings wrote of the priest: “Unless the leader, the inspirer, is given over to God in the depth, totality and reality of prayer he (sic) cannot hope to be the channel God will use for communicating His Word and His Spirit”. A priest is called, above all, to be a person of prayer and by her (or his) example to inspire others to live prayerful lives, appropriate to our many different contexts and situations.

 

© Revd Canon Barry Naylor

Spirit V Law by the Revd Canon David Jennings

SPIRIT v LAW

 

Canon David Jennings

Rector of Burbage with Aston Flamville

Canon Theologian, Leicester Cathedral

 

In his letter to the Church in Galatia, St Paul writes: ‘But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not subject to law’ (Galatians 5:18). Now, clearly St Paul was not referring to the law as determined by legislation within a democratic state, but rather the limitations of the Law of Moses in enabling righteous living. In many respects, as was evidenced by Jesus, the Law restricted the doing of good, and being led by the Spirit of God. However, there is a sense in which the law of the state can impede the doing of good and righteous living, and is thereby open to question and challenge.

 

The recent issue of the eviction of travellers from an illegal site at Dale Farm, Essex raises this precise issue. It is quite clear and well acknowledged that the portion of the site in dispute does not have planning permission, and its use is thereby illegal. There is no doubt that the due process of law in this respect was followed by Basildon Council and the right of appeal was followed. However, does that make the subsequent act of eviction right or even righteous? The facts of the use of the site and the lives of the residents raise significant questions. There is no dispute that the site is on designated green belt, although Basildon has given planning consent to developers in other parts of the district to build on green belt land; also, the previous use was that of a scrap yard and that the travellers have legal ownership of the site. It has been suggested that the council even tarmaced the site. One half of the site has the appropriate planning consent, and there has been settled occupancy throughout the disputed ten years.

 

There are a number of other clear issues. Firstly, the law should be obeyed and upheld. Secondly, that in any resolution of the dispute, only peaceful means should be employed by all, including the authorities. Thirdly, the health and welfare needs of those caught up in the dispute should be acknowledged and respected. Fourthly, the issue of children’s education should be addressed. Fifthly, although perhaps too late, other ways of resolving the issue should have been more proactively pursued. Finally, the needs of travellers and the preservation of their way of life should take precedence over any prejudicial response. The stupidity of the Dale Farm dispute is that it is likely to cost £18 million to remove the travellers, the local school is at risk of closure with children losing their right to education, and relations between other authorities and their traveller communities undermined. Could not retrospective planning permission have been given, as it is often in other situations, or is it just because some people do not like travellers? Responding to a question from one of the Pharisees about the greatest commandment in the Law, Jesus replied: ‘”Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.” That is the greatest, the first commandment. The second is like it: “Love your neighbour as yourself.” Everything in the law and the prophets hangs on these two commandments.’ (Matthew 22:37-40). Travellers are our neighbours whom we should love as ourselves.

 

© Revd Canon David Jennings

Peace and Justice

One of the, if not the most endearing obstacles to peace in the Middle East and beyond is the continuing conflict betweenIsraelandPalestine. Tragically, if not prophetically, this has a religious dimension as a historic and contemporary antagonism between Jew and Muslim. It could be suggested that a resolution of the conflict could resolve other flashpoints, distrust and hatred towards western nations, which often seem to focus upon the Israeli and Palestinian apparent intractable enmity. The charge of duplicity, disingenuity and hypocrisy is often well targeted. 

Ever since the Camp David Accord and the Oslo Agreement, the solution that has been agreed by many, but certainly not all within the Arab world, is that of two independent states with mutual recognition, agreed borders and guaranteed security. This solution has been highlighted recently with the Palestinian appeal to the United Nations for full statehood accreditation and recognition. The request, given the aforementioned agreements and the stated policy of western nations, including theUnited States, is not unreasonable. 

It is, therefore, ironic, if not perverse, that the United States is threatening to use its veto in the Security Council to block and thereby deny the Palestinians the full recognition of a state, with borders to be negotiated upon the pre-1967 position, whilst at the same time supporting movements for greater democracy and power to the people of other Arab states. The charge of duplicity, disingenuity and hypocrisy is joined with that of a lack of international integrity. 

Western nations are content to use the United Nations to seek approval, if not justification, for actions such as the war in Iraqand the use of force in Libya, but seem content to ignore other decisions as and when it suits. The nation of Israelwas formed by  United Nations Resolution 181, adopted on 29^th November, 1947, following the termination of the British Mandate for Palestine, and recommended the partition of Palestine into two states. Resolution 273 of 11^th May, 1949 admitted the state of Israel to membership of the United Nations, the exact request now being made by the Palestinians. Resolution 242 of 22^nd November, 1967, in the aftermath of the Six Day War, and sponsored byBritain, required the withdrawal of Israeli armed forces from the occupied territories, and the recognition of sovereign integrity, political independence and peace. Not an unreasonable request. Now theUnited States has blocked almost $200 million in aid forPalestine in what appears to be a punishment for seeking UN support for something which they themselves have supported for many years. The freezing of funds threatens such projects as food aid, healthcare and efforts to build a functioning state. It’s a funny world, and it is little wonder that the west is held in such low regard within the Arab world.

Canon David Jennings, Canon Theologian

The Poor by The Revd Canon David Monteith, Canon Chancellor

At the recent clergy conference, Professor Sarah Coakley spoke about three things which need to characterise a Christian life (especially that of the clergy but actually applicable to everyone).  She spoke about the priority of prayer, about the importance of place and about the church’s relationship with the poor.

I was very struck by her comment on the poor.  She said that if we find ourselves worrying a lot about how we can help or what we can do as Christian mission to or with those who are poor, then that means we are not actually spending enough time with the poor. 

The poor have a special place for Christians  - when Jesus inaugurates his ministry in the synagogue inNazareth(Luke 4), he says that he has come to bring good news to the poor. His ministry often focuses on those who are especially weak or excluded.  Mary is described as one who is poor and it is to her that good news is announced. 

At the moment the diocese is hosting Bishop Isaiah from Mount Kilimanjaro and Bishop Stanley from Kiteto in Tanzania.  Their particular experience and their stories bring the life of the poor close to us, setting our own economic difficulties in a global context.  One way to consider that global context is to note how many people are considered to be living in hunger across the world.  Last year this was estimated at 925 million (see www.worldhunger.org). 

Closer to home, there are certainly children in our city and county who experience poverty and hunger with more likely to emerge as the economy wanes and as the welfare net constricts. We see some of them coming every week to receive support at the Welcome Project. 

Cutting ourselves off from the poor is very serious – not only because people remain hungry and ignored (a scandal) but also because the incarnation, the coming of God to the world, is announced to the poor. As such it is the poor which continue to return the gospel to the church. We can have no Gospel without Jesus and we can have no Jesus without the Poor.

Canon David Monteith