Issue 8056

THE

INQUIRER £1 | Issue 8056 | 1 April 2023

Inside this issue…

Good Friday was about power Refugees deserve better IPCC issues ‘Final Warning’

www.inquirer.org.uk

The voice of British and Irish Unitarians and Free Christians

Resurrection/ Insurrection Jo James on participatory spirituality

THE

INQUIRER The Unitarian and Free Christian Paper Established in 1842, The Inquirer is the oldest nonconformist religious newspaper.

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www.unitarian.org.uk Page 2 | Issue 8056 – 1 April 2023

Inquiring Words…

Ready So the people took their dough before it was leavened, their kneading bowls wrapped in their cloaks upon their shoulders. — Exodus 12:34 You’ll need to travel light.

Take what you can carry: a book, a poem, a battered tin cup, your child strapped to your chest, clutching your necklace in one hot possessive fist.

So the dough isn’t ready. So your heart isn’t ready. You haven’t said goodbye to the places where you hid as a child, to the friends who aren’t interested in the journey, to the graves you’ve tended.

But if you wait until you feel fully ready you may never take the leap at all and Infinity is calling you forth out of this birth canal and into the future’s wide expanse.

Learn to improvise flat cakes without yeast.

Learn to read new alphabets.

Wear God like a cloak and stride forth with confidence.

You won’t know where you’re going but you have the words of our sages, the songs of our mothers, the inspiration wrapped in your kneading bowl. Trust that what you carry will sustain you and take the first step out the door.

Rabbi Rachel Barenblat Source: Velveteen Rabbi’s Haggadah for Pesach: https://velveteenrabbi.com/2015/02/03/velveteen-rabbishaggadah-for-pesach/ Seder plate photo by Noamfurer via Wikimedia Commons

Jo James writes that the resurrection offers much to Unitarians – if it’s possible to set doubt aside

Seeking a participatory spirituality The Unitarian Free Christian theologian David Doel wrote in The Man they Called the Christ: ‘…resurrection invites us to consider that personal transformation, awakening, is an authentic and ever present possibility…’

Doel quotes ancient gnostic scripture which teaches that resurrection is ‘the revealing of what truly exists … and a transition into newness’.

Now, setting aside the problems Unitarians recognise that we can that the concept of resurrection participate in the divine and sacred “We are no longer might provoke in us, which might, not as onlookers looking in from the admittedly, be easier said than outside nor as devotees gazing in driven by the done. But if we can set doubt adoration – but as ‘disciples’, that competitive spirit of aside we might be able to hear in is as practitioners of a discipline. ‘resurrection’ the same root word Maybe ‘practitioners’ is a better puritanism to say that as we hear in ‘insurrection’, and word: like practitioners of breathonly one way is holy, remember that, in the writings of work, say, breathing in and out St Paul where we first encounter the breath of the sacred, living or only our way is the term in Christian scripture, inheritors of the first breath of righteous.” resurrection is ‘anastasis’ – ‘standing creation (as Andrew Hill’s beautiful up beyond one’s self’. Resurrection hymn ‘Spirit Creeping Through is not only a transformation from This Place’, puts it. Sing Your Faith, our old self towards a higher Lindsey Press). aspiration, but also a sense that we might stand up and Journeying as a participant among others intentionally participate in a self greater than our own.

But practice of this discipline isn’t a quest to be ‘holier Spiritual, psychological and relational than thou’, no matter how pious our discipline, its aim is Originally of Todmorden but latterly minister of not that we become best at it. We are no longer driven Dukinfield Old Chapel, David Doel was one of our most by the competitive spirit of puritanism to say that beloved and respected ministers, he died quite recently only one way is holy, or only our way is righteous. Instead in 2018. He was a psychoanalyst as well as a minister and we know that to participate is to make way in common, to always believed that these two streams of his life were journey as one participant among others. Participation is a inter-linked. The spiritual and the psychological both simple fact of our being. participating in the relational.

In 2022 at Mill Hill Chapel in Leeds, we were hosts to The tradition within which Doel was able to minister an interfaith act of remembrance to honour victims of so effectively is rooted in participation. A theology of pandemic. A pilgrimage walk wound around the city and participation is the historical venture of Unitarian tradition concluded in our sanctuary. As I listened to holy songs and its contemporary wager. from the Muslim and Christian traditions; I was reminded Continued on page 4 > www.inquirer.org.uk | Page 3

“Now, as survivors of our pilgrimage through pandemic, having lived through distorted narratives of paranoia and rejected conspiracies of fear, our own inner realities begin to emerge from the darkness.”

Continued from page 3 >

that we no longer expect exclusivity of spiritual truth, but participate in the sacred each from our own cultural perspective: as a Unitarian Free Christian I may know the way of the sacred through Jesus, and consider myself a Christian, not because I think that only Jesus Christ was one and very God, but because His way took participation in the Divine to its highest expression.

Jesus’ example inspires us Jesus’ embodied example of living in God might inspire us to attempt to emulate that close relationship in our own lives. And perhaps some of us, by a diligent and disciplined practice of the presence of the Divine may become closer to our target – closer to our home might be a better way of thinking about it – or closer to the Kingdom. (By the way I make no claim to be perfect or even practiced in this discipline, me I’m useless at it. I try to pray but am easily distracted, I try to do good works but I’m pretty awful at it).

In thinking about Jesus, Unitarians used to set store by the phrase ‘different in degree not in kind’ and that’s what they were talking about; degree of closeness to the divine, and in our cultural tradition Jesus was considered to have become closest. He attained closest proximity to the divine. (A good example of this theological insight can be found in William Ellery Channing’s 1828 sermon ‘Likeness to God‘. See: https://tinyurl.com/ChanningLikeness).

‘We must have the seeds of the same excellence’ Channing says, in part: That the pure in heart can alone see and commune with the pure Divinity, was the sublime instruction of ancient sages as well as of inspired prophets. It is indeed the lesson of daily experience. To understand a great and good being, we must have the seeds of the same excellence. How quickly, by what an instinct, do accordant minds recognise one. another! No

attraction is so powerful as that which subsists between the truly wise and good; whilst the brightest excellence is lost on those who have nothing congenial in their own breasts. God becomes a real being to us, in proportion as. his own nature is unfolded within us. To a man who is growing in the likeness of God, faith begins even here to change into vision. He carries within himself a proof of a Deity, which can only be understood by experience.

That leaves plenty of space, it seems to me, to have high regard for other ways and other traditions, and other persons; each in their degree.

I’m speaking of, and working towards in my ministry – and hoping for in my life – a restoration of the individual to a living relationship with the inner (and outer) creative power. More than a social objective or political goal this is an embodied practice and lived sense, a participatory relationship within a greater whole, an orientation towards the ultimate.

A walk like living in a prayer Ultreia! as the pilgrims sing, as they climb – Ultreia!

‘Towards beyond!’

When I had the opportunity to do the Camino to Santiago de Compostela, the walk was like living in prayer. I was relieved of the duty to discipline by the everyday act of walking, and every step I took felt like prayer.

Every breath a further step on a way of prayer ‘towards beyond’ until I forgot completely that my journey had a destination – I was so mesmerised by the way.

Now, as survivors of our pilgrimage through pandemic, having lived through distorted narratives of paranoia and rejected conspiracies of fear, our own inner realities begin to emerge from the darkness, illuminated by the reflected light of crisis – and help us to discover that our griefs, our sorrows, and our losses make us what we are.

As superficialities fall away, our sorrows somehow become Continued on page 5 >

Page 4 | Issue 8056 – 1 April 2023

Loyal address offered to the king Unitarians were among faith and civic leaders who visited Buckingham Palace in March to offer a ‘loyal address’ to the new monarch, King Charles III, in a tradition filled with pageantry, symbolism and history. The Unitarian delegation was made up of the Rev Sue Woolley, president of the General Assembly of Unitarian and Free Christian Churches, the Rev Kate Dean, Rosslyn Hill Chapel, Hampstead, and the Rev Dr Rob Whiteman, honorary treasurer of the General Assembly.

Sue said, ‘It was interesting to meet the King after the ceremony – he circulated around the reception and spoke to everyone. Kate and I congratulated him on his decision to become “Defender of Faiths” and when we said that Unitarians were all about tolerance, he said, “We could all do with more of that”.’

The faith leaders presented an address, as a historic ‘privileged body’. The address congratulated the new monarch, opening with these words: ‘As representatives of the Free Churches, including the bodies of protestant dissenters enjoying the ancient and highly valued privilege of personal access to the Sovereign, we offer Your Majesty our loyal congratulations on Your Accession to the Throne.’

It also spoke of social needs at ‘this time of complex change and crises’ when ‘the need for spiritual support and

Shown above: The Revs Kate Dean (left) and Sue Woolley at Buckingham Palace

loving communities has not been greater’.

It concluded: We value the liberty we enjoy to worship according to our consciences to proclaim the Gospel, and the freedom expressed in our differences and diversity.

We share with others a vigilant concern for the tolerance, freedom and mutual care we have enjoyed in Great Britain represented by the privilege of address granted now through fourteen reigns.

Rob said, ‘The pageantry of the event was a wonderful spectacle – slick, seamless and impressive. The event was in the Palace Ballroom with a following reception in the Picture Gallery – recognisable spaces from the TV but more impressive in reality. However there was a subtle understatement despite the surroundings, presence of a Beefeater guard and many uniformed staff. Around 400 people attended, many of them wearing formal robes befitting their offices; many of them well-known faces.’

Participatory spirituality at Easter Continued from page 4 >

our true home, and it is our wounds, our griefs, our losses which become our ‘secret blessings’, our real powers, not super-powers, but our natural powers, and we have a responsibility to live into them, to live them well with grace and skill, to live them into being.

And this is the epiphany of the ancients, this is the meaning of the indwelling of God through humanity, this is the universal incarnation; that our human hurts, our sufferings and losses can be lived out with bravery not hostility, with tenderness instead of defensiveness, honesty instead of fragility.

It is our journey to choose And this will take great patience, great healing, and will take grace and humility too, and courage for sure, and failure along the journey no doubt.

But it is our journey to choose.

The resurrection is not a past event, but an awakening, now, to the presence of the Christ in our own soul. A standing up into participation in the Divine; for some a smooth ascension, for others a clumsy clamber.

But get up kid, onward pilgrim, towards beyond, into

the Kingdom, step by step we go – the resurrection is happening now!

The Man they Called the Christ is available from the Unitarian Christian Association. See: https://www. unitarianchristian.org.uk/publications Or contact Catherine Fozard, 20 Handforth Road, Wilmslow, Cheshire, SK9 2LU Cheques payable to: Unitarian Christian Association.

Enquiries: Tel: 01625 533110 Email: cathy@fozard.com

Jo James The Rev Jo James is minister at Mill Hill Chapel, Leeds, and is a member of the Executive Committee of the Unitarian General Assembly.

www.inquirer.org.uk | Page 5

Government policies have made refugees’ lives more difficult says Louise Baumberg

Stop dehumanising asylum seekers When I started fostering young people who arrive in the UK alone and claim asylum, I was thrown headfirst into the system – the world of age assessments, statements of evidence, asylum appeal tribunals, solicitors, barristers and all the emotional upheaval that brought. Back then, it took my first young man just over a year to receive his five years’ Leave to Remain, including an initial refusal and appeal. At the time it seemed like a long stressful process.

Over the last five years the system no crime) and an explosion in the has slowed considerably. And for underclass of people with no status adults who arrive, the situation is and no rights, living under the radar much worse as they are placed in in the UK. ‘initial’ accommodation – i.e. hotels It is unclear how much of the UK “In recent years the – and left there, or moved among public is in favour of the governhostile environment hotels without ever having a place ment’s plans. As hotels are open in where they can buy and prepare different areas, it is clear there are has become even more their own food, and choose their a significant number of people who hostile.” own toiletries. are very keen to support asylum It has been implied that hotel acseekers. However, there are others commodation is a luxury. But this who choose to demonstrate their is not the case. The catering is outopposition to the arrival of strangers sourced to companies that provide in their areas. Polling organisations pre-packed food that is heated up highlight that the language used in in microwaves and handed out in bags. Hotel facilities are questions about refugees can make a huge difference to often locked, and sometimes there is not even a dining the poll results. room to eat in. Basic supplies are provided but clothes and shoes are not budgeted for so residents rely on charities to Rhetoric is dehumanising As Gary Lineker pointed out, the language that has been provide these. It is an indignity to ask charities for underused to describe asylum seekers arriving in the UK is wear and to request hotel staff for toiletries and sanitary dehumanising. Referring to an ‘invasion’ – as the Home products. The hotel residents have little agency over even Secretary did – conjures up images of Vikings, Normans, the smallest things. Hotels are often in rural areas with or the Third Reich, despite the fact that those floating poor and expensive public transport. The stress and boretowards the Kent coast, awaiting rescue, are men, women dom unsurprisingly exacerbates mental-health issues. It is and children in flimsy inflatable boats with no weapons not uncommon for those seeking asylum to live in limbo or helmets. ‘Migrant’ has long been a word that has been awaiting an interview and decision for two or more years, used instead of ‘refugee’ or ‘asylum seeker’. It seems to unable to work or make a new life for themselves. be a neutral word, but it denies the reality that all of those In recent years the hostile environment has become even arriving on an irregular route claim asylum and that the more hostile, with legislation passed enabling the Home Home Office grants asylum to a large number of them.

Secretary to deport to Rwanda asylum seekers who arrive by irregular routes, before the merit of their asylum claims In addition, when we refer to people as ‘migrants’ or even ‘refugees’, we might find it easier to overlook the fact that can be considered in the UK. Legislation before Parliathey are human beings, first and foremost. When a dinment looks as if it will result in many more people being ghy sank on the Calais-Kent sea route in early 2022, the held for long periods in detention (having committed Page 6 | Issue 8056 – 1 April 2023

“Remember, above all, that refugee people are human beings, not saints or heroes and equally not a swarm or an invasion.”

Shown left: Beresford Hotel protest against refugees in Newquay in February, along with counter-demonstrators.

Shutterstock photo

headlines read ‘27 migrants dead in the channel’, not ‘27 people dead’. It is as if their foreignness and the journey they were on disqualifies them from being referred to as human beings.

In order to counter this dehumanising rhetoric, refugee organisations and refugee people themselves share personal stories of miraculous educational success, service to the community and gratitude to the British people. And, in opposition, the anti-refugee groups and media share stories of urination in parks, propositioning of local young women and any other examples of criminal or anti-social acts they can find (or invent).

Refugees benefit the country, but it’s not their job These narratives are based on two simple stories. The first is that refugees are all intelligent, grateful, hard-working, public-spirited people who have suffered appalling tragedies but are saved by making a new life in the UK. The second story is that most refugees are young men who have come to assault women and participate in criminal activities. The first story is strong – many refugees do indeed have a fearsome work ethic (when they are finally able to work) and have learned that a polite and grateful demeanour is what British people find likeable. However, the second story also has power – it is true that more young men than families arrive, and not all are law-abiding. Why would we expect them to be? There is crime amongst the general population, so why would the population of refugee people be different? But reducing the refugee experience to just one story, or indeed two, also strips away the humanity of refugee people. Every person, including every refugee person, is a unique individual with their own unique story, not a positive or negative stereotype.

Research for charities shows that if they tell the story of one person in need and ask for donations they will get many more contributions than if they highlight a whole group of people needing help. This is, of course, why sharing positive stories of refugees is successful in prompting support.

I believe that refugees arriving in the UK bring untold

benefits, but their qualification for refugee status in the UK is not and should not be based on their personal characteristics. A person gains refugee status if they would be in danger in their home country because of their race, religion, nationality, membership of a particular social group, or political opinion and the authorities in their home country wouldn’t be able to protect them from that danger (Refugee Convention 1951). We do not grant asylum to people because of their character, their educational achievements, or politeness. We should grant asylum to anyone who has met the criteria above, whether we feel that we could get along with them or not.

Refugee people should not have to share their tales of suffering, demonstrate their commitment to their community or show gratitude to achieve the status of ‘genuine’ refugees. They are a diverse group of individuals, all with their own unique experiences, abilities and opinions. Sometimes we may relate to them and feel that there is a lot we have in common; sometimes we may not. Sometimes we may approve of their choices and sometimes we may not. We should not be judging the worthiness of people based on their personal characteristics or lifestyle. As Unitarians we believe in the ‘Inherent worth and dignity of all people’ (Unitarian Universalist Association First Principle).

Please remember, above all, that refugee people are human beings, not saints or heroes and equally not a swarm or an invasion. We are all unique and flawed human beings just doing our best to stay safe and be kind in an imperfect world.

Louise Baumberg Louise Baumberg is a member of Godalming Unitarians and holds an MA in Refugee Care. She fosters unaccompanied asylum-seeking young people and volunteers with local charities. www.inquirer.org.uk | Page 7

Stephanie Bisby reminds GA attenders that, for some, the ‘busy-ness’ can be challenging

Welcoming all neurotypes Attending the Unitarian General Assembly Annual Meetings for the first time can be daunting. Even after many years, and as someone who loves the meetings’ richness, I still find them busy and noisy and confusing. At times it feels as if everyone knows everyone else and understands the most complex points of procedure in detail, while I’m struggling with whether to turn left or right when I get out of the lift!

In last year’s GAZette – the daily bulletin covering events – a first-timer pointed out that if it’s difficult for anyone to navigate such a large gathering for the first time (and it is, though in recent years this has been addressed, as far as it can be, with special receptions for first timers, and badge markings which let veteran attendees know whom to look out for) it can be especially difficult for neurodivergent people.

The term ‘neurodiversity’ was coined by Australian sociologist Judy Singer in 1998, and a recent definition by Nick Walker (See: https://tinyurl.com/N-divergence) calls it ‘the diversity of human minds, the infinite variation in neurocognitive functioning within our species.’ Neurodiversity has been prominent in the media recently, particularly through documentaries like Chris Packham’s ‘Our Autistic Minds’ and Christine McGuinness’ ‘Unmasking my Autism,’ but neurodiversity goes far beyond autism.

Neurodivergent people are diverse The charity Autism UK supports people who are not just autistic but also ADHD, ADD, Dyslexic, Dyspraxic, Dysphasic, Dysmorphic and Dyscalculic. The experiences of neurodivergent people are hugely varied, but broadly the way they think, feel, and process their experience of the world will be different to that of neurotypical people, meaning that the way they behave and communicate will also differ.

Because of this, there is a range of sometimes competing needs for event organisers to meet, and no one event will serve everyone, on every part of the spectrum, perfectly, but there are certain requirements which are very common, such as a need for clear communication, choices Page 8 | Issue 8056 – 1 April 2023

about when and how to engage with activities, and quiet spaces to avoid overstimulation.

It’s ironic that as spiritual people we often talk about the need for silence and reflection, yet many of us feel guilty if we don’t pack every moment of our day with activity. So if you’re attending the annual meetings, please consider this validation that using the swimming pool or taking a walk in the grounds can be just as good a use of time as attending a workshop or worship.

One more difference to embrace As Stephen Bedard remarks in his excellent article on neurodiversity in the church (https://tinyurl.com/ Church-neurodiversity), ‘My son thoroughly enjoys watching the online services of the church where I am a pastor. This is an important part of his routine. While my daughter sometimes watches the services over his shoulder, it is not really her preference. For my daughter, her religious activity is watching her favourite Veggie Tales episodes. And that is okay.’ As Unitarians we celebrate all kinds of difference, and this is just one more of which to be aware.

If you would like to contribute to a worship pack for Neurodiversity Pride (a day to ‘celebrate neurodivergent uniqueness and the value of neurodiversity in society,” according to its website https://neurodiversiteit.nl/ndpride-2023) on June 16th , you can mail links or material to reverendstephaniebisby@gmail.com. Or check the Worship Words website nearer the time for materials to help plan a service on the theme for your congregation.

The Rev Stephanie Bisby is minister with York and with Bradford Unitarians.

Robert Oulton reflects on the IPCC climate change report and encourages action

‘Final Warning’

Shown above: Melting iceberg photo by Aline Dassel via Pixabay

The IPCC ‘final report’ on climate changes says the world must act now to restrict global temperature rise to 1.5 degrees and prevent run-away global warming.

On 20 March the intergovernmental panel on climate change (IPCC) published the last part of its comprehensive review; eight years in the making; of our current knowledge about the climate crisis.

It leaves no room for denial that global warming will increase well above the 1.5 degree-level which experts agree is necessary to ensure our present human culture and its biosphere remain viable, unless urgent steps are taken to reduce global carbon emissions.

Already three billion people across the globe are vulnerable to the effects of climate change and perhaps half the world’s population subject to water shortages, as well as our planet experiencing ‘increasingly irreversible losses’ in vital ecosystems, according to the report.

The UN secretary general, António Guterres, said: ‘This report is a clarion call to massively fast-track climate efforts by every country and every sector and on every timeframe. Our world needs climate action on all fronts: everything, everywhere, all at once.’

But just like Pandora’s box, despite this alarming scenario, there is a small voice of hope in the report, and staying within the 1.5-degree tipping-point is still possible. The chair of the IPCC, Hoesung Lee, said: ‘This synthesis report underscores the urgency of taking more ambitious action and shows that, if we act now, we can still secure a liveable sustainable future for all.’

This means greenhouse gas emissions must be made to peak soon, and then energetically reduced year by year.

There is no realistic alternative to immediately abandoning all new exploration for fossil fuels and redirecting the huge direct and indirect subsidies fossil fuel companies receive, toward renewable energy development.

But this is no longer a pipe dream. Renewable energy, particularly solar and wind is now cheaper than car-

bon-based energy, and every year fossil fuels become more expensive and less efficient. Indeed, relying on fossil fuels risks a financial as well as a climate crisis, as the companies concerned and our financial institutions become increasingly exposed to this economic reality.

So, what can we do, as individuals and as a community concerned about the health of our planet and the need for an inclusive and just approach for all the world’s peoplenot just we favoured few in the wealthy countries looking to save our own skins and our privileged lifestyles?

Extinction Rebellion (XR) began as an organisation dedicated to being unabashedly attention-seeking hoping to break through what seemed, five years ago, to be a conspiracy of silence, misinformation, denial; and a patronising refusal of the powerful to even engage with the debate. One of their key demands was: ‘Tell the Truth’, and in spite of all the push-back, the truth is now well and truly out there, as this IPCC report shows- climate change denial is no longer really an option.

The IPCC’s report is clear, and, with many other environmental and social justice groups agreeing, our primary task now is to combine as a world community in sufficient numbers to demand government immediately start the process of drawing down on the fossil fuel era. There is literally no alternative and it must start now. To this end, XR have, for now, set aside actions involving civil disobedience, and are inviting everyone who wants to be involved in a sustainable and just future to join them at Westminster 21-24 April for a gathering called ‘The Big One’ (https://extinctionrebellion.uk/the-big-one/) to show our Continued on page 11 > www.inquirer.org.uk | Page 9

Beauty and humour in the everyday Biographies and autobiographies are a neverending source of interest and are good for Unitarian spotting. Picking up volume one of My Autobiography (1967) by Bertrand Russel, I recalled having been told that he had something of a family Unitarian connection.

Described as the greatest philosopher of the 20th century, he was actually born in 1872 into a radical Whig family. As a boy he suffered the loss of both parents and was brought up by his grandmother, a devout Presbyterian who became a Unitarian but remained a strict Victorian moralist.

Russell writes, ‘Her hope for me was that I should become a Unitarian minister.’ A hope unfulfilled. Mathematician, logician, philosophy teacher and writer, supporter of women’s suffrage, opponent of nuclear weapons and the Vietnam war, I don’t know if he ever attended Unitarian worship.

He had become a full-blown atheist as a young man.

One wonders what might have become of him had his grandmother’s wish been fulfilled. Minister of a congregation? Which one? Tutor or even Principal of one of our colleges? Editor of the Inquirer perhaps? My imagination soars. * * * As a young man he wrote in his diary: ‘We stand in want of a new Luther to renew and invigorate Christianity and to do what the Unitarians would do if only they had a really great man such as Luther to lead them. For religions grow old like trees unless reformed from time to time.

Christianity of the existing kind has had its day. We want a new form in accordance with science and yet helpful to a good life.’ Perhaps he didn’t look carefully enough at us. * * * I’m feeling envious of anyone who has managed to get a ticket for the Vermeer exhibition presently at the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam. I love his paintings and am glad to have a couple of prints at home. Observer art critic Laura Cumming’s review included these intriguing comments on one of his best loved pictures, The Little Street (1653).

The scene is unassuming – rinsed cobbles, whitewashed walls, a woman stitching in an open doorway as the Dutch gable facade ascends towards motionless clouds. Yet every visitor stands before it amazed. Perhaps the spell has something to do with the Advent calendar of open and yet to be opened windows, or the chain of absorbed and absorbing figures, or the abstract arrangement of frames and arches, or the brickwork that seems made of the very

FUNNY OLD WORLD

By John Midgley

thing itself? The eyes and mind, beguiled, search the image for answers. How can Johannes Vermeer’s painting be so infinitely more beautiful than the scene it depicts? * * * Scientific thinking regarding the environment has some intriguing aspects to it. I was very taken with an enthralling documentary, (There are several available to view) about the re-introduction of wolves to Yellowstone National Park in North America. Eliminated in the 1930s because of their unpopularity, the wolves’ absence gradually revealed its disastrous effect, as the elk population grew and overgrazed vast areas.

The return of predator wolves proved beneficial in numerous ways. I am wondering of any similarly dramatic stories will emerge about rewilding schemes here in the British Isles. Beavers and wild boar have already been brought back and there is talk of returning wolves, albeit in carefully fenced areas.

Not all returns are welcomed. Plans to return predator birds like the golden eagle and peregrine falcon that sheep farmers and others regard as enemies, bring vigorous responses. The RSPB frequently reports offences against all birds of prey including poisoning, shooting and trapping. It saddens me to learn that my home county of Yorkshire is among the worst areas for such offences.

So, what of re-wilding programmes? I learned recently that there is an overabundance of deer in Scotland. Could wolves help there? One nature-writer, Lee Schofield has written (Guardian, 11 March) rewilding is ‘exciting to some, alienating to others who feel that it leaves no place for humans in the landscape’.

Oh dear. Whose planet is this, anyway? * * * Are Yorkshire folk dour and miserable? To some, they have this reputation. The story goes of a comedian who appeared in a northern workingmen’s club and seemed to get a good reception. Afterwards he lingered near the bar, and asked one lone, dour-faced drinker what he thought of his act. ‘All right, I suppose,’ he said. ‘If you like laughing.’

Celebrating ahimsa Unitarians honour Mahatma Gandhi and Leo Tolstoy The 75th anniversary of the passing of Mahatma Gandhi on 30 January was fittingly commemorated by the inauguration of a new interfaith Red Cross fund, the Gandhi Tolstoy Peace Appeal, which honours the inspirational peace witness and humanitarian ideals of Mahatma Gandhi and Leo Tolstoy, both revered prophets of universal nonviolence and interreligious understanding.

In an address at an interfaith event organised by the Gandhi Foundation at Golders Green Unitarians the Rev Feargus O’Connor said the wisdom of Gandhi’s ethic of nonviolence, ahimsa, rooted in Indian spiritual wisdom and Hindu and Jain ethics, and Leo Tolstoy’s determined and courageous stand against the evil and what Martin Luther King called the ‘madness of war’ had been utterly vindicated by the disastrous course of the present murderous and destructive war raging in Ukraine.

Feargus urged people of goodwill of all faiths to listen to the urgent pleas for peace by the UN Secretary General, Pope Francis and the Dalai Lama as well as American and British Quakers and strive to do all they possibly could to put an immediate end to this war, which has already cost over 200,000 lives and many more shocking injuries. Vast environmental and economic damage has been inflicted and unbearable suffering caused. Many Ukrainian and Russian mothers mourn departed loved ones.

Feargus spoke of the ‘moral imperative to flood Ukraine not with lethal weapons but massive humanitarian, particularly medical, aid through the Red Cross and other charities to succour the victims of this tragic and futile war’.

He invoked the noble example and inspirational lives of Leo Tolstoy, Mahatma Gandhi, Martin Luther King, Thích Nhất Hạnh, Desmond Tutu, the Dalai Lama and other spiritual apostles of nonviolence.

Should not our understanding of the ‘interconnectedness of all living beings, the protection of our home planet and the moral imperative to strive for the common good make us heed and urgently act on the vital lessons which Gandhi, Tolstoy and these other prophets of nonviolence teach us?’

Among those participating in our Gandhi Foundation peace event were Bhikkhu Nagase, the Japanese Buddhist monk who, inspired by Nichidatsu Fuji, a venerable Japanese Buddhist friend of Gandhi and a long-time campaigner for world peace, founded the Battersea Peace Pagoda, and Sister Marutasan of the Milton Keynes Peace Pagoda. Both are welcome friends of and participants in our Golders Green Unitarians peace services.

Others who contributed were Dr Saara Majid, a Muslim Sufi singer, her choir, musicians playing Indian raga music, Riky Choudhuri, another Classical Indian musician, and Asha Buch, a Jain Gandhian, who delivered from India on

Shown above: Some of the participants in the Gandhi gathering at Golders Green.

Zoom a beautiful Jain prayer fully in the spirit of Mahatma Gandhi himself. Among those following the event on Zoom were several people living in India and the United States.

A voluntary collection was taken at this interfaith gathering, attended by Jains, Hindus, Buddhists, Muslims, Sikhs, Quakers and Unitarians, for the British Red Cross Ukraine Crisis Appeal and this constituted the inaugural appeal of our new British Red Cross fund honouring Gandhi and Tolstoy. £570 was raised and additional donations of £539 brought the total up to £1109.

Feargus laid rose petals by Gandhi’s statue on behalf of the Gandhi Foundation and our Unitarian Peace Fellowship in thanksgiving for a courageous peace witness which cost him his life: a fate shared by that other martyr for freedom, peace and reconciliation, Dr Martin Luther King, whom the life and teachings of Mahatma Gandhi so profoundly moved and inspired.

The Rev Michael Allured

Climate workshop at GA Continued from page 9 >

government it’s now time to act. Already, many organisations have committed to supporting this gathering and a full list can be seen by following the above link.

At the Unitarian General Assembly meetings, Ann Howell, social action officer, and Lizzie Kingston-Harrison, congregational connections lead will conduct a Climate Justice workshop. This will provide a space where Unitarians can bring their fears and hopes into a circle of mutual concern and support, and explore what our 2015 GA resolution on Climate Change: ‘Solutions lie in the informed, imaginative and courageous engagement of compassionate men, women and children around the world’; might mean for us now, in 2023.

I do hope some of you can be there.

Contact Lizzie Kingston-Harrison about the workshop at EKingston@unitarian.org.uk Robert Oulton is a member of Godalming Unitarians. www.inquirer.org.uk | Page 11

Standing up to power structures is what killed Jesus, and others writes Cliff Reed

Dying for the Kingdom

Shown above: Martin Luther King also died because he confronted power. Photo of his memorial by John Brighenti

Next Friday we commemorate the death of Jesus of Nazareth. It was a particularly brutal death, effected by a particularly brutal method of execution, and carried out by an utterly ruthless power – the Roman Empire. Jesus was not killed by the Jewish authorities. Even if they wanted him dead – as has been assumed for nearly 2000 years – they had neither the authority nor the capability to carry out such a high-profile execution.

Jesus may well have upset the temple-based Jewish hierarchy with his radical reinterpretation of their faith, his contempt for their claims to authority, and his condemnation of their corruption and hypocrisy, but none of that would have interested the Romans. What they executed him for was sedition against Rome, his preaching of a Kingdom that didn’t recognise Caesar as its head.

Jesus wasn’t claiming to be a king himself but that is what it probably looked like to Pilate, the Roman governor – and that was sufficient reason to impose a sentence of crucifixion. In Roman eyes, Jesus was a rebel against their emperor, an actual or potential focus of unrest and insurrection. He was killed for political rather than religious reasons, even though the kingdom that Jesus preached was and is a profoundly religious concept. Pilate’s indifference to Jewish religious ideas is accurately reflected in John’s gospel, even if his somewhat exaggerated efforts to free Jesus don’t ring very true. They have more to do with the later efforts of Gentile Christians to dissociate themselves from the Jews, especially after the Jewish Revolt of AD 66-70.

So was there a religious dimension to the crucifixion? Yes, there was. Jesus proclaimed the Kingdom of God in which the usual power structures – both political and religious – are subordinate to the obligations of love and of the merciful justice that is dependent on love. Power structures, be they political or religious, don’t like being regarded as subordinate to anything or anyone – especially those who they regard as being of no account because they are poor or ‘foreign’ or racially ‘inferior’ or ‘heretical’, or ‘deviant’, or whatever negative category they have been assigned to.

And those who question the bases on which those power structures rest, as Jesus did – at the most fundamental

level, the level that is most likely to upset and to offend the most people – are likely to be the targets of hatred and violence.

This week marks the 55th anniversary of the assassination of Martin Luther King – gunned down because he campaigned for the civil rights of America’s black population.

King was a Christian, with Jesus as his inspiration. King inspired others, some of whom shared a similar fate. This year we also mark the 58th anniversaries of three such martyrdoms – all associated with the civil rights marches in Selma, Alabama, in March of 1965.

The first to die was the Baptist deacon, Jimmie Lee Jackson; the second was the Unitarian Universalist minister, James Reeb; the third was Viola Gregg Liuzzo, a Unitarian Universalist laywoman from Chicago. When James Reeb was attacked, two of his UU ministerial colleagues were attacked with him, but survived. One of them, Orloff Miller, went back for the 50th anniversary commemoration in Selma in 2015. He described the event and called on Unitarian Universalists to face up to the unfinished task of resisting injustices both old and new, and concluded, ‘The spirit of Selma lives on.’ He died just three months later. On Good Friday, when we commemorate the death of Jesus at the hands of unjust and cruel forces, we remember too the many who, down the centuries, have suffered a similar fate because they stood for love and merciful justice. And, in doing so, they too have redeemed humanity. May we, in some way and however inadequately, dedicate ourselves to the Kingdom that Jesus and his true disciples taught, and be prepared to follow the same path as they did.

The Rev Cliff Reed is minister emeritus at Ipswich. www.inquirer.org.uk | Page 12