Issue 8051

THE

INQUIRER £1 | Issue 8051 | 21 January 2023

Inside this issue…

Apply the Golden Rule to all Create a social contract Letters to the Editor

www.inquirer.org.uk

The voice of British and Irish Unitarians and Free Christians

It takes inspiration and courage Kate Dean writes of the struggle to create

THE

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www.unitarian.org.uk Page 2 | Issue 8051 – 21 January 2023

Shown above: Auschwitz train photo by MaximilienM via Wikimedia

Inquiring Words…

Loving God, we come to you with heavy hearts, remembering the 6 million Jewish souls murdered during the Holocaust.

In the horrors of that history, when so many groups were targeted because of their identity, and in genocides which followed, we recognise destructive prejudices that drive people apart.

Forgive us when we give space to fear, negativity and hatred of others, simply because they are different from us.

In the light of God, we see everyone as equally precious manifestations of the Divine, and can know the courage to face the darkness.

Through our prayers and actions, help us to stand together with those who are suffering, so that light may banish all darkness, love will prevail over hate and good will triumph over evil.

Amen Written to mark Holocaust Memorial Day in 2020, by Chief Rabbi Ephraim Mirvis, Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby and Senior Imam Qari Asim for people of any faith. Holocaust Memorial Day is marked on 27 January.

Kate Dean writes of the courage it takes to be creative

Dream it, begin it When I was a little girl, I was told that I was quite good at drawing and I was pretty proud of myself. When I was 7 or 8, I asked my mother to draw me a picture of a horse. And I can see her now – she just moved her pencil across the page and there was a horse. I couldn’t believe it. And, I also realised that maybe I wasn’t as good at drawing as I thought. There’s no way I could have done that. I was so disheartened and disappointed.

But we had a talk, and she explained In his interpretation of Rumi’s poem how she’d gone to art school and ‘The Silk Worm’ Daniel Ladinsky “We often only see she’d had many more years to wrote: ‘I can spin skies; I can be practice – long before I was born. woven into love that can bring the finished product, I can imagine – had it not been for warmth to people’. Creativity is polished to perfection, that chat – I might have put away about magicking something into my pencils, given up and never existence that was not there before. and don’t realise the drawn again.

We can all be spinners of skies and layers of experiment And I remember going to an weavers of love. exhibition of art a few years ago. and backtracking that It was by the Victorian painter Wounded creativity occurred to get there.”

Alma Tadema. His paintings are But it takes courage to be creative – exquisitely precise, often luscious especially if you have been wounded depictions of scenes from the by childhood comments. In my work classical world. But in the last room with creative groups or ‘recovering of the exhibition was a final incomplete painting – the creatives’, I’ve heard so many stories of cruel teachers last he was working on when he died. And I have to say, it telling some poor child that they can’t sing, or they’ll was pretty rubbish. There were a few wonky brush strokes never be good at drawing or something else. One young sketching out the basic structure of the painting. It made man did lots of drawing, sculpting and painting until school me realise that we often only see the finished product, exams when his parents told him to stop and concentrate polished to perfection, and don’t realise the layers of on his studies. When he came back to it in his late 20s, he experiment and backtracking that occurred to get there. expected to be just as proficient with sculpting as he was with other skills in his adult life. Yet he described sitting Starting again – somehow staring at a lump of clay, not knowing where to start.

Even after decades of perfecting his craft, Tadema still We need courage and we need to encourage each other had to face another blank canvas and start again somehow. when we encounter these kinds of obstacles to living a It reminded me of something my mother used to say: truly enriching life.

‘Fools and children shouldn’t see things before they are A few years ago, I read about the four stages of creativity, finished’. I think it’s from an old northern proverb: ‘Fools or problem-solving, attributed to social reformer and and bairns should never see half-done work’ founder of the London School of Economics, Graham Continued on page 4 > www.inquirer.org.uk | Page 3

“And after all the ruminating and mulling over, almost out of nowhere comes the inspiration.”

Shown left: Pixabay photo by Shepherd Chabata

Continued from page 3 >

Wallas. I have been intrigued by the concept ever since: Preparation, Incubation, Inspiration and Verification.

Preparation is about researching the problem, gathering the right information.

Incubation is a wonderful word; it gives you permission to mull things over, to mulch down your ideas. I do a lot of this. I thought it was plain old procrastination – but now I understand it as a recognised psychological stage of the creative process! I can feel overwhelmed by all the possibilities and I have to close my eyes to prevent myself from being bombarded by any more information or stimulus.

Not procrastinating; forming words In Ladinsky’s interpretation of Meister Eckhart’s poem ‘Expands His Being’, he says: ‘Enough talk for the night.

He is labouring in me; I need to be silent for a while, worlds are forming in my heart.’

And after all the ruminating and mulling over, almost out of nowhere comes the inspiration. I feel giddy when I am struck by what I think is a great idea – be it a song, a sketch or a possible solution to someone else’s problem. It can feel like ‘worlds are forming in my heart’. Appreciating art, listening to music, walking through woodlands can all be religious experiences. But I regard the act of creation as a religious or spiritual experience as well. Knowing that you have created something that wasn’t there a few minutes ago, for me, is evidence that something greater than myself is at work.

The final stage is verification, where we get to test out whether our design or solution actually works.

When I worked as a toy designer, one of my tasks was play-testing – taking the designs of other colleagues into a school to try them out with the children. Other designers hated doing this. Perhaps they feared that their good

idea would be rejected. But without trying things out and testing, we can’t ever know if we’ve done a good job. In the process of verification, we need to have the courage to be vulnerable. To lay open our tender ideas to the scrutiny of others takes great courage.

I recently heard an interview with the acclaimed set designer Es Devlin. Her bold designs push the limits of what is capable, technically – for example, pouring rain onto a stage which is surrounded by electrical equipment.

It takes courage to follow your creative instincts when all around you say it can’t be done.

With the advance of technology, it is easier than ever to create music as well as design – whether you have had years of training or not. I think people often cherish the music of their youth, and may dismiss whatever the current trend is as ‘useless noise’ which I do not mean to do. But despite technological breakthroughs, there is no substitute for passion.

I bought Peter Gabriel’s 1986 album ‘So’ when I was just starting secondary school and I remember school friends thinking Peter Gabriel was a bit naff. Having watched a documentary about the making of ‘So’, I now fully appreciate the effort that was put in to make it such a special album. It’s fascinating to learn of the attention to detail, how the band worked to get just the right mix of sounds for each song. Ingenuity is in evidence in many different ways and it took courage to keep going despite the inevitable challenges.

Don’t Give Up – the nappy-aided song The song ‘Don’t Give Up’, a duet between Peter Gabriel and Kate Bush, was inspired by photos of depressionera America. It has a haunting bass riff and American bass player Tony Levin explained how he achieved it: ‘I was looking around for some dampening material, foam Continued on page 5 >

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“Knowing that you have created something that wasn’t there a few minutes ago, for me, is evidence that something greater than myself is at work.”

Continued from page 4 >

rubber or something,’ he said, ‘and I had my 2-month old daughter with me and my bass case was full of diapers. I put one under the bass strings which dampened the heck out of them and later Peter dubbed it the “Super Wonder Nappy Bass sound”.’

And as one artist inspires another, American poet Anne Sexton inspired Peter Gabriel’s song ‘Mercy Street’. He spoke about building the feel for the song using different instrumentation and production techniques so that the sound reflected the world Sexton had created through her poetry. Sexton wrote a poem called ‘42 Mercy Street’ and Gabriel’s song is a story about Sexton as she exists in her poetic world. I think the opening lyrics from Gabriel’s song fit with this idea of creativity and courage: Looking down on empty streets, all she can see are the dreams all made solid are the dreams all made real all of the buildings, all of those cars were once just a dream in somebody’s head.

Success without the silver spoon The rap music artist and producer Jay-Z is one of the most powerful men in the music industry with a net worth of over $1 billion dollars. (He’s also famous for being the husband of singer Beyoncé Knowles.) But, as you can imagine, Jay-Z wasn’t born with a silver spoon in his mouth. He grew up in Brooklyn and got involved in drug dealing at the age of 13. He never thought that his situation was unusual, because anyone who became successful never returned to his housing estate to share their wisdom. He says: ‘If anyone made it, you never knew it. That’s why I’ve always said that if I became successful, I’d come back here, grab somebody, and show him how it can be done.’ Jay-Z started rapping and developed his entrepreneurial skills by selling records on street corners out of the back of his car boot. He gained a following and, disenchanted with the small-time record label, he set up his own record company eventually launching a range of clothing and buying a stake in a popular basketball team.

As a savvy businessman, he is clearly money-driven, but this shows how he channelled his talents, creativity and ingenuity in a different direction to his peers in order to achieve great success.

For me, I feel the connection between creativity and spirituality when I am in the middle of the design process, but most strongly afterwards. I draw something or write something and put it away for a while. When I come back (especially if it turns out to be quite good) I don’t even recognise my own work. It is as if some other hand is at work through me. Meister Eckhart says, ‘Every act reveals God and expands His Being.’ And at that fizzing and mind-expanding heat of the process, I feel the ‘worlds are forming in my heart.’

Work on something you really believe in What worlds are forming in your heart? Whether they are dreams of great achievements or tiny acts of kindness, they are all up for grabs, yours for the taking. You just have to take the first small step and, as you may have experienced before, once you begin to work on something you really believe in, wonderful things start happening.

People come into your life to help you, or you suddenly find just the right tool for the job, the right word, the right piece of music.

I am reminded of words attributed to Goethe: ‘Whatever you can do or dream you can, begin it. Boldness has genius, power and magic in it!’

Kate Dean The Rev Kate Dean is minister at Roslyn Hill Unitarian Chapel, Hampstead.

www.inquirer.org.uk | Page 5

On retiring from Golders Green Unitarians, Feargus O’Connor sets out his dearly held beliefs

All creation deserves the Golden Rule My first-ever service at Golders Green Unitarians in 2001 was devoted to Dr Albert Schweitzer and his inspiring religious ethic of Reverence for Life and reflected on the interconnected web of nature and all living beings. It is therefore fitting that my valedictory service should be in the spirit of Schweitzer and those other prophetic voices, including that of the Dalai Lama, witnessing for universal compassion and global peace. Never has that all-important message been more relevant and that ethic been more sorely needed.

Like the Dalai Lama, I am convinced that to meet the challenges of our times and our individual lives we must develop a more intense sense of universal responsibility.

This is surely the key to our human survival and provides the best foundation for world peace, the equitable use of natural resources and, in a spirit of concern for future generations, the proper care of our environment.

If we passionately believe this should we not consider as absolutely vital to our religious and moral vision the Unitarian Universalist Association Principle of ‘respect for the interdependent web of all existence of which we are a part’ and see humankind as part of the universal cycle of life and an integral part of our natural environment?

In living our liberal, free, religious values should we not advocate and practise them in all we do and say? This involves a recognition that we human beings and all sentient creatures who can, like us, feel joy and pain share that most precious of all gifts: life itself. If this is true we must develop a global ethic which integrates our ethical and religious convictions with our individual and collective lifestyles. Should we not always practise what we preach and live those values?

At the 1993 Assembly of the Parliament of the World’s Religions, supported by the World Congress of Faiths and others committed to interreligious global solidarity, we witnessed the declaration of a global ethic. Those who gathered at the Parliament affirmed their belief in what they called four ‘irrevocable directives’: Commitment to a culture of non-violence and respect for life.

Commitment to a culture of solidarity and a just economic order.

Commitment to a culture of tolerance and a life of truthfulPage 6 | Issue 8051 – 21 January 2023

ness.

Commitment to a culture of equal rights and partnership between women and men.

This global ethic was not intended as a substitute for the specific teachings of particular religions. As Hans Kung stressed, it was primarily concerned with agreeing on a minimal basic consensus relating to; binding values, irrevocable standards and moral attitudes which can be affirmed by all religions despite their dogmatic differences and can also be supported by non-believers’.

Such fundamental rights and duties are enshrined in the UN Universal Declaration of Human Rights. The Universal Declaration is indeed the embodiment of the Golden Rule in international law, which is why we Unitarians should strongly support the work and witness of the Red Cross, Amnesty International and other human rights and global justice organisations worldwide. The Golden Rule should guide us not only in our own personal lives, as liberal-minded and liberal-hearted spiritual seekers, but also by our actions in the political sphere – striving for a better, more just and peaceful world for ourselves and all those who come after us.

This socially committed Unitarian ideal is a vision towards which we strive. Should we not feel impelled, through political and social action, to express our passionate humanitarian concern for global justice and universal peace? We must be ever conscious of that interdependent web which indeed unites all creation. In its light we see the compelling need to embrace a truly Universalist religion which, in those hallowed words of Theodore Parker, ‘goes everywhere; its temple, all space; its shrine, the good heart; its creed, all truth; its ritual, works of love; its profession of

faith, divine living’.

The implications of this Universalist religion are therefore clear: should we not, in the tradition of the great Jewish sage Maimonides, look for the truth from every source of wisdom open to enquiring minds? Like Quakers, Jains and Buddhists, should we not put reverence for all life or what Indian sages call ‘ahimsa’ at the heart of our thoughts and strivings? But if we do indeed believe that all lives are precious why do we stop short at cherishing only those of our own species on this small planet in the vast immensity of space?

The Unitarian writer Anna Laetitia Barbauld wrote, ‘The well-taught philosophic mind to all compassion gives, casts round the world an equal eye and feels for all that lives.’

Knowing the theory of Evolution is based on sound scientific evidence, we must surely agree with Bernard Shaw that ‘this sense of kinship of all life is all that is needed to make evolution not only a conceivable theory, but an inspiring one’? For as Mahatma Gandhi affirmed, ‘It ill becomes us to invoke God the compassionate if we in turn will not practise elementary compassion towards our fellow creatures.’ We must therefore agree with Albert Schweitzer that we need to cultivate ‘boundless ethics’ embracing all sentient and suffering fellow creatures.

As the venerable Buddha himself said, ‘When we have pity on all living creatures, then only are we truly noble’. For in that sage’s words: The thought manifests as the word.

The word manifests as the deed.

The deed develops into habit.

Habit hardens into character.

So watch the thought and its ways with care.

Let it spring from love born out of concern for all beings.

In the same spirit Dr Jane Goodall, the environmentalist and champion of the welfare of chimpanzees and other primates, declared, ‘We are moving towards the ultimate destiny of our species: a state of compassion and love.’

Albert Schweitzer fittingly wrote of those springs of true compassion and benevolence: Until we extend the circle of our compassion to all living things, we shall not ourselves find peace. It is our sympathy with all creatures that first makes us truly human…We feel a compulsion to give to [every sentient fellow creature] the same reverence for life that we give to our own. To preserve life, to promote life, to raise to its highest value life which is capable of development [is the highest ideal] and evil to destroy life, to injure life, to repress life which is capable of development. This is the absolute principle of the moral…

A thought echoed by the Irish 19th-century freethinker and historian William Edward Hartpole Lecky, who observed: At one time the benevolent affections embrace merely the family; soon the circle expanding includes a class, then a

nation, then a coalition of nations, then all humanity; and finally its influence is felt in the dealing of [humankind] with the animal world.

What has inspired my own ministry is a feeling, held since my teenage years, and experience of the suffering occasioned by the Vietnam War and the political disaster in Biafra. Since then, I have felt a sense of connection with the poor of the Third World and a moral obligation to help save many millions of endangered lives, human and animal alike. Not being a very practical person and not having any medical or specialist skills to offer, I’ve done the most useful thing I believe I can do: help raise awareness and money for life-saving medical and international aid charities.

I have become a passionate supporter of and fundraiser for humanitarian organisations such as Save the Children, UNICEF, Oxfam and in recent years Animal Free Research UK and British Red Cross emergency appeals. If, as a result of our donations, one life is saved how precious that is.

For me, humanitarianism is an essential part of my religion, a core value of my Unitarian faith. If we truly believe in the ‘inherent worth and dignity’ not only of all human beings but all sentient and suffering fellow beings on this planet, must we not consider every life to be infinitely precious and strive to do all we can to save those lives?

Should we in our beloved Unitarian communities come together to live those noble ideals and values so that, as Gandhi himself hoped, we ourselves may become, ‘the change we wish to see in the world’?

The former Secretary General of the United Nations Dag Hammarskjold wrote in his spiritual autobiography Markings: ‘In our age the road to holiness necessarily passes through the world of action’. Does not a truly engaged spirituality spring from benevolence, wisdom, empathy and compassion in action?

May we never cease to be aware of that interconnectedness of all living beings. May we act in every way we can to help realise that most noble ideal and ethic embodied in the Golden Rule which alone can inspire, indeed impel, us to build that ideal commonwealth on Earth which must be the true land of our heart’s desire.

Feargus O’Connor The Rev Feargus O’Connor recently retired as minister with Golders Green Unitarians.

He is a member of the Unitarian Peace Fellowship committee.

www.inquirer.org.uk | Page 7

Regrets, we’ve all had a few During the Christmas season I found myself engaged in several conversations around guilt and shame. While the two emotions appear similar – and can be equally powerful in affecting our lives – they are different. Each comes from a different aspect of our humanity. Guilt can spur us into action; it is a product of a healthy conscience. A person who claims never to feel guilt is either deluding themselves or is potentially sociopathic. Shame is different.

The wonderful Brené Brown, research professor and author, puts it this way: ‘Guilt is just as powerful, but its influence is positive, while shame is destructive. Shame erodes our courage and fuels disengagement.’ Guilt can compel a person to put right what was wrong, to heal a past hurt or a broken relationship. Yet the desire to avoid the perceived humiliation of shame may prevent a person from making the first move towards healing. Yes, guilt and shame are both powerful emotions; one can be harnessed positively, whilst the other is only ever negative and destructive.

Coming to peace with regrets A friend recently shared some regrets about their life.

We discussed what could be done, and I shared some experiences of my own. In recent months I have finally come to peace with some guilt and regret. It has lifted a great weight from my psyche, something family members commented on over Christmas. It seems I have once again been liberated from some shame, thank God. I know that most of the guilt and regret, the source of shame in my life, stems from a lack of courage to do what was mine to do, and to live my life as authentically as I could. I feel less shame about this, though, as it proves how fully human I am. There is no shame in that.

‘My Way’ by Frank Sinatra is perhaps the most played song at funerals, with its famous line: ‘Regrets, I’ve had a few; but then again too few to mention’, or perhaps the famous Edith Piaf line: ‘Je ne regrette rien’. No regret. A more modern version would be Robbie Williams’ song ‘No Regrets’.

Are the songs really true though? Can any of us truly say we have no regrets? I cannot. Regret is an interesting word, originally it was a kind of lament, from the Old French word ‘regreter’, meaning, ‘one who bewails the dead’, which comes from a Germanic root meaning ‘to greet’. As Mark Nepo has said of regret ‘We always face these two phases of regret: to bewail what is dead and gone, and, if we can move through that grief, to greet the chance to do things differently as we move on.’ Regret can inspire us to change, so long as it is not fuelled by shame.

Nepo, spiritual writer and philosopher, notes something Page 8 | Issue 8051 – 21 January 2023

FROM NOTHING TO EVERYTHING

By Danny Crosby

of real value, a lesson from grief. Yes, regret is a lament for what has gone, what has died. But if we greet it fully – with love – we can learn from the past and do things differently in the future. The response too can be both of life and of death. This is an essential choice in life. We do not choose what happens to us, but we can choose how we respond to what happens to us. It is the one ultimate freedom that is open to all of us. To quote Viktor Frankl: ‘Everything can be taken from a man but one thing: the last of human freedoms – to choose one’s attitude in any given set of circumstances, to choose one’s own way.’

So, our response to regret is ours. We can either choose life or death. We can close in and shut down or we can create with love.

There are two wonderful examples of this in the New Testament: both in the Easter narrative, following Jesus’s betrayal. Luke 22:60-62 depicts Peter regretting his betrayal of Jesus. He weeps bitterly for his fear-based denial. And yet how did he respond? Well, it was on Peter that the early Christian Church was built. For Peter, hope was once again born.

Matthew 27:3-5 depicts a very different response to regret – that of Judas Iscariot. This is much closer to the original meaning of regret, which meant to bewail the dead. His response was to take his life. Both Peter and Judas can be seen as examples of how we can respond to regrets with either guilt or shame. We are all much the same.

Putting right what we can Regret has its place. We need to feel it and to respond in life-giving and affirming ways rather than shame-based or life-denying ones.

We all have regrets. It is delusional to say we should never have them. In fact, a person who never feels regret or guilt has something missing in their humanity. Regrets, fuelled by shame, can gnaw away at our souls. But if we are wise, regrets can be powerful teachers. We need not be paralysed by shame, lamenting the past. Let us instead move through the grief of regret, be powered by appropriate feelings of guilt, and put right that which is in our power. It will bring healing to our own lives and to those with whom we share our lives.

Paul Wheeler outlines a plan for a social guarantee

A vision for citizens’ rights

Shown above: Decent housing is a component of the social contract. can be successful. Goldsmith Street in Norwich, a new social housing project, won the Stirling Prize for Architecture in 2019.

Photo by Evelyn Simak

Too many people are unable to meet their essential needs. Before Covid-19 hit, three in ten people were already living in a household that did not earn enough to reach what the public thinks is a socially acceptable minimum standard of living. As we look to establish a vision for a post pandemic future, it is time to think about a new social guarantee that enshrines every citizen’s right to life’s essentials. That vision must also address the reality of climate change in a socially just way that does not exacerbate inequality. This article is based on the ideas set out

by Daniel Button and Anna Coote in a paper published by the New Economics Foundation in September 2021.

This social guarantee would have three pillars: a living wage, a living income, and more and better universal services.

A living wage – this would be the figure established annually by the Living Wage Foundation (the Government’s National Living Wage remains below this), combined with improved job and working hours security.

A living income – a major overhaul of the social security system so that it is calibrated against need and supports people into work. Ensuring everyone has an income sufficient to have a decent quality of life whether in or out of work.

Universal services – a significant expansion of services to which everyone is entitled, to include childcare, social care and housing.

The authors see universal services being underpinned by the following elements: • Collective responsibility for ensuring that shared needs are met, exercised through democratically elected governments.

• Access according to need instead of ability to pay.

• Power devolved to the lowest appropriate level.

• Services delivered by a range of organisations with different models of ownership and control.

• Decent pay and conditions for workers.

• Equal partnerships between people who use services and those who work in them.

They recognise that funding more and better services is not high on the political agenda; indeed, it is severely threatened by likely attempts to reduce government debt by cutting public spending. Yet surely any so-called ‘levelling up’ ought to include an expansion of universal services such that everyone can meet their basic needs, participate in society and flourish.

A socially-just green economy needs to focus not just

on reforming and reducing the fossil fuel industry and other carbon-intensive sectors but on expanding labourintensive and already low carbon social infrastructure, such as social care, childcare and education.

To illustrate the potential of universal basic services to drive sustainability and social justice, Button and Coote use the example of housing. They state that, whilst housing is widely acknowledged as one of life’s essentials, the UK’s current housing system fails to meet many people’s needs; observing that those who cannot afford to buy a home often face a lack of security and crippling rents due to insufficient social housing, and that good-quality housing for all is not being achieved by relying almost exclusively on the market. Therefore, more and better social housing is key to a guarantee of everyone having a secure, affordable, decent home.

Expanding social house building could also help reduce greenhouse gas emissions if government directly delivered or regulated the construction of social housing such that these new homes were zero-carbon.

They point out that while zero-carbon homes cost around 1.4% more to build than standard homes they have energy bills 80% lower than the UK average and cite the example of Germany, where for every euro of public funds spent on energy-efficient construction, four euros go back to the public purse through taxes and reduced welfare spending.

To improve living standards, generate new jobs and support a just transition to a low carbon economy, we should be thinking about universal services as part of a new social guarantee that enshrines every person’s right to life’s essentials.

Paul Wheeler is a member of the Penal and Social Affairs Panel and of Unitarian Meeting, Bristol. www.inquirer.org.uk | Page 9

Letters to the Editor Do more to defend civil rights Rosemary Ruston Watford

To the Editor> The Inquirer of 13 November included an article by Sue Woolley, the Unitarian General Assembly president. She wrote about the Unitarian toast: ‘To civil and religious liberty for all, the world over’.

It should not be just a once a year pronouncement. She writes that we have religious liberty; for her, civil liberty is another matter.

Sue says civil liberties are under attack around the world, and gives an example – the US Supreme Court overturned the 1973 precedent Roe v Wade, removing women’s right to an abortion. And here in the UK we have two examples – the Pub-

lic Order Bill which started its second reading in Parliament on 1 November, and the Policing, Crime Sentencing and Courts Act, which became legal only a few months ago.

The Public Order Bill is even more draconian. Amnesty International says: ‘If passed, it would have a chilling effect on our ability to stand up to those in power. It contains a raft of new protest-related offences, expands police powers and introduces “protest banning orders”…

These provisions and many others would dissuade people from exercising their right to protest and freedom of assembly, and could well crimi-

Stand up for climate in April Marianne Beale Writing on behalf of Plymouth Unitarians

To the Editor ›In April 2023 a huge and peaceful action is planned to take place in London to demand that our government acts more decisively to protect all future life on earth from the climate and ecological crisis we are facing.

We are sure many Unitarians from around the country will want to take part. Our suggestion is that we have a visible presence together, such as having a banner as we have often done at Pride events.

Currently the only two faith groups that have really stood out in climate actions are the Quakers and the Buddhists, though others may well be there less prominently. Members of these two faiths have marched and protested, they have sat in roads and held quiet spaces for regeneration in stressful actions.

In history, Unitarians have played a prominent role in many social justice movements, for instance in the anti-slavery movement and more recently in the campaign for same-sex marriage.

Is it time for us to stand up and be counted again?

nalise them. The Right to Protest is under attack.

Surely, Unitarians and Free Christians, with our proud reputation of protecting/fighting for civil liberty, should be joining with those who are briefing/campaigning against the Bill.

There is a coalition which has been set up to oppose it, and I’m sure, other religious organisations must be considering this too.

We should all be concerned; as individuals, the least we can do is to write to our MPs. As a denomination, we should do more.

Not so light-hearted Sheila Cousins Caerfyrddin To the Editor› I assume that John Allerton was trying to be light-hearted in his comments about ‘the ‘I’m not religious but I am spiritual...’ school of thought in his 13 November Inquirer article. However, to me it came across as disrespectful and dismissive. He says, ‘Being spiritual means I put a pink crystal in each corner or my living room to harness the energy of the cosmos.’ Well, a bit of a sweeping and unfair statement.

Fortunately I turned the page and read Celia Cartwright’s article ‘Ministers and Light’ which, by contrast, talks about being open to various interpretations of spirituality, to perhaps learning from others and urges us not to stand before the light, blocking access to others.

OPINION

By Cathie Masztalerz Many Unitarians experienced the residential and social opportunities offered to us by the Unitarian Young People’s League (UYPL), Fellowship of Youth (FOY), International Religious Fellowship (IRF) and other groups. Many of us went on to take our children to the new National Youth Programme at Great Hucklow for Junior Weekends, Inter Weekends, Senior Weekends, Young Unitarian Conference (YUC) weeks, BUYAN and many other spin-offs.

They enjoyed the experience of residential youth work, making life-long friendships – learning about and developing their life-skills and understanding of the world.

Many of us would now like our grandchildren to have that same experience.

Of course, the world has changed since then and the internet has created more opportunities for young people to connect. But talking to each other on Zoom, though valuable, should not be a substitute for meeting one another in person and being together as friends with different life experiences but with common values and beliefs. I believe there is room for both types of youth work.

What happens now?

In November 2019 (before Covid) the Junior Weekend planned for March 2020 was cancelled. This action was taken without consultation with the Unitarian movement and without any explanation. No notice was given and there was no formal announcement. When people tried to book for March 2020 it became evident that there would be no more Junior Weekends run by the GA. Many Unitarians were aggrieved by this decision and the way it was carried out. A motion raised for the 2020 GA meetings called upon the EC to reinstate Junior Weekends pending thorough consultations but could not be debated because the meetings were cancelled due to the pandemic. Meanwhile the Inter and Senior Weekends were cancelled owing to Covid and have not been reinstated. So there is now nothing left of the residential National Youth Programme.

At the 2021 GA Annual Meetings, a new resolution was passed which mandated the Executive Committee to reinstate Junior Weekends during the following year. It was then claimed that this was not a mandate because resolutions passed at the meetings are only recommendations to the General Assembly’s Executive Committee (EC).

I would argue, however, that the spirit of the resolution was very clear. Why is it that resolutions are only recommendations? They have been democratically proposed,

Do more than ‘evolve’ the youth programme seconded and passed so why does the EC have the ability to choose which of the resolutions are acted upon?

It has also been argued that, in fact, ‘the motion was not carried because 53 people voted ‘for’, 27 ‘against’ and 31 abstentions. Therefore, adding the ‘against’ votes and the ‘abstentions’, 58 people did not vote for the motion, so there was no mandate.’ I am shocked at this interpretation of democracy.

Invest in young people In the event, it was Unitarian College, not the EC, who took up the challenge and held a very successful new, rejuvenated Junior Weekend in October 2022, and another one is planned for March.

It is my belief that Youth Work should take many forms including residential work. It is in residential settings that children and young people make lasting, meaningful connections and friendships which, in many cases, last a lifetime. Many Unitarians who are now movers and shakers in the movement can testify to this.

The problem is, of course, that youth work costs money – like any other discipline which works with young people – education is expensive. How are we going to fund more Junior weekends and what happens to those children who reach the age of 11 and can no longer attend – what opportunities can we offer them? How can we fund them?

I have now heard that, (apart from a few trust funds ringfenced for young people which are invested – around £17,000 – cannot be accessed apart from the interest of around £350 annually, in total, which has to be bid for) There is no money in the budget for youth. Clearly, youth work is not a priority.

It seems the mantra from the EC is ‘Let’s see what evolves’. As a retired headteacher who has worked with children and young people for 35 years, I can tell you that, if schools had the same mantra, they would be very strange places indeed and lacking in balanced learning opportunities for children. These should also be the opportunities that we offer our children and young people in residential youth work.

• Where does this leave us?

• Do I actually belong to a movement which does not prioritise young people?

• Do we not believe that young people should play a big part in our future?

• Are we happy that youth are not a priority?

• Are we happy with ‘Let’s see what evolves’?

Cathie Masztalerz is a Unitarian living in Manchester. www.inquirer.org.uk | Page 11

Sally snaked around Gellionnen

By Gwennan Evans Gellionnen Chapel’s Youth Group #Blessed undertook a rather unique project, which brought joy to our local community last summer. As a group, we decided to paint a large rock as a snake’s head and then we appealed to nearby residents, groups, and schools to create and add to her body.

We placed her head on the mountain, close to the chapel, and initiated the project during our annual #Blessed Sunday Service. We asked the congregation to draw on a rock collected from the local river to help start Sally’s body off. The rocks were adorned in positive words, bright colours, and drawings – a fantastic start on Sally. After the service, #Blessed carried the rocks to Sally’s head, and we began to form her body. We had nearly 20 rocks from that morning, and she already looked amazing!

We then posted on local Facebook groups and appealed to the local primary school saying Sally needed help in forming the rest of her body. We encouraged people within our local areas to draw or paint on a rock with the aim of giving Sally the longest body possible, and to create an amazing piece of art. Then, every Sunday as we passed her grassy patch on route to Chapel, her body was growing, becoming longer and longer! The local children would come and count the rocks, rearranging them and play with the formation to make her body curvier.

After the summer holiday, we are proud to say that Sally

reached a total of 70 stones. She truly was a magnificent sight up on Gellionnen mountain.

Her body still rests on her patch of grass, but Sally’s head was stolen towards the end of the project. #Blessed don’t mind too much and have decided to take it as a compliment. Someone must have liked her beautiful head so much they wanted to take her home.

We were surprised by how cost-efficient and effective this project was. Sally continuously brought a smile to all our faces within the Youth Group, and we are certain that she brought joy to those within the Neath Port Talbot and Swansea counties. Perhaps the success of Sally can inspire you, your congregations, your communities, your towns to set up sister snakes across the UK! What a wonderful sight that would be.

Gwennan Evans, pictured above with Sally, is a member of #Blessed Youth Group, Gellionnen Chapel, Wales.

2nd-4th JUNE 2023 The Friars Aylesford F E S T I VA L O F U N I TA R I A N S IN THE SOUTH EAST

Building Paradise

London District’s annual festival is back! All are welcome at this first ‘in-person’ FUSE weekend for 3 years!

• Theme and Guest Speakers • Workshops • Creativity and Music • Meditation and Prayer • Nature Walks

Theme Speaker

Stephen Lingwood

Author of “Seeking Paradise”

For booking and further details please visit

www.LDPAunitarians.org/fuse2023

www.inquirer.org.uk | Page 12