Issue 8060

THE

INQUIRER £1 | Issue 8060 | 27 May 2023

Inside this issue…

A Unitarian at a coronation Celebrating Julian’s cat It’s a Funny Old World

www.inquirer.org.uk

The voice of British and Irish Unitarians and Free Christians

Hopes for a humble king Cliff Reed traces the line of kings back to David and Solomon

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 8060 – 27 May 2023

Inquiring Words…

Love is my shepherd; I shall not want She bids me lie down in green pastures She leads me beside quiet waters.

She restores my soul She leads me in paths of righteousness for her name’s sake.

Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil for you are with me; your song and your touch they comfort me.

You prepare a table before me in the midst of my challenges: You anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows.

Surely goodness and love will follow me all the days of my life: and I shall dwell in the house of the Love forever.

A meditation by Maud Robinson adapted from Psalm 23.

Photo by Melisa via Pixabay

Cliff Reed writes for all of us outside the ‘Gates of Eden’

King follows a Unitarian example ‘There are no kings inside the Gates of Eden’ sang Bob Dylan back in 1967, at the height of that decade’s idealism and optimism. In an ideal world there would be no need for kings or rulers of any kind. People would cooperate, not compete; they would be ruled by wisdom and reason, live together in peace and love, and the divisions and prejudices of race and nation, religion and class would be no more. Eden is the best of all possible worlds, except that it is – in all probability – impossible.

The reality is the many and various monarchies. That is certainly attempts to establish a way for the case in Europe. In fact the people to live together in an ordered constitutional monarchies of Europe and, with any luck, tolerable society. are de facto republics according to “Only by the choice Without luck though, you are liable that dictionary definition, and that and will of the people to end up in the anarchy of a failed includes the United Kingdom. state, in a tin-pot dictatorship or can political power Masquerading republics in an all-powerful oppressive state be held and exercised So are there still any true with little time for democracy or monarchies, ‘monarchy’ meaning human rights. Ironically enough, legitimately. ” – going back to the word’s Greek in the modern world this has little roots – rule by one person? Well, to do with whether a country is a of course there are – most of monarchy or a republic. Indeed, them masquerading as republics. these terms are pretty much Examples that spring to mind are anachronisms today.

China, Russia, Iran, Belarus and others of similar ilk.

The dictionary definition of a republic begins, ‘a state Perhaps the most egregious example is North Korea, in which supreme power is held by the people or its which is not only a de facto monarchy, it is a de facto elected representatives.’ That is to say, democracy being hereditary monarchy. There are true republics, of course the only authentic way in which a ‘people or its elected – democratic states with elected presidents who have representatives’ can exercise their ‘supreme power’. limited powers and terms of office.

No longer ‘divine right’ But these have their problems too, as we have seen Although the definition adds that power may be held recently in France, Israel and the United States. Perhaps by an ‘elected or nominated president,’ the democratic the lesson is that even democratic systems, be they principle holds good. Only by the choice and will of genuine republics or constitutional monarchies, fall very far the people can political power be held and exercised short of that ideal world ‘inside the Gates of Eden’. But as legitimately. There was a time when kings ruled – or Winston Churchill famously observed, ‘democracy is the so they claimed – by ‘divine right’, appointed by God worst form of government except all those other forms and ruling by a devolved divine authority. That idea that have been tried from time to time.’ has disappeared completely in most if not all surviving But does any of this have religious or spiritual Continued on page 4 > www.inquirer.org.uk | Page 3

“The coronation oath taken by the King, included the pledge ‘to foster an environment in which people of all faiths and beliefs may live freely.’”

Shown left: King Charles III crowning.

Photo by the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office © Continued from page 3 >

significance? The coronation in Westminster Abbey certainly implied that our constitutional monarchy has a religious, indeed Christian, basis. And one welcome innovation was an acknowledgement that other faiths are part of our country’s body politic too. Thus the coronation oath taken by the King, included the pledge ‘to foster an environment in which people of all faiths and beliefs may live freely.’ And the ceremony also had the representatives of faiths other than Christianity making this affirmation to the King: ‘as neighbours in faith, we acknowledge the value of public service. We unite with people of all faiths and beliefs in thanksgiving and in service with you for the common good.’

King follows Unitarian example There can be no doubt that these elements were added to the more traditional material as the direct result of the King’s commitment to be, as he once put it, the ‘defender of faith’ rather than just ‘defender of the faith’, a term with a rather strange and contradictory history! We might even claim, if we were so inclined, that the King’s commitment to a liberal and inclusive Christianity follows a path pioneered by Unitarians! As far as I know, he has only once visited a Unitarian church.

But did the coronation service, magnificent though it was as a spectacle of pageantry and tradition, have any real connection to the figure of Jesus? Although there is a cult of ‘Christ the King’ I don’t see in the Jesus of the Gospels a man who aspired to kingship in the usual worldly sense.

He valued and exhibited humility and befriended the ‘wretched of the earth’, those despised and marginalised by the privileged and powerful in the religious, political and social establishment. Not that the Jewish nation and religion of which he was a member was without its traditions of monarchy. Indeed we were reminded of this

“I don’t see in the Jesus of the Gospels a man who aspired to kingship in the usual worldly sense. ” in the coronation, most forcibly – for me, at any rate – in Handel’s magnificent anthem, ‘Zadok the Priest’. This derives from the First Book of Kings, where we read that the dying King David ordered Zadok the priest and Nathan the prophet to anoint his son, Solomon, as the new King of Israel. And this was done, it is declared, with the full approval of Israel’s God. As one of Solomon’s key supporters, Benaiah, puts it, ‘As the Lord hath been with my lord the king, even so be he with Solomon, and make his throne greater than the throne of my lord king David’ (I Kings 1: 17).

Yahweh was enough for some David was Israel’s second king and arguably it’s greatest, but he had his moral flaws, which is why God wouldn’t let him build the Temple in Jerusalem, a task that was left to Solomon. Nevertheless, there were those who didn’t think that Israel should have a man, a human being that is, as its king at all, and that their God – Yahweh – was all the king they needed or should have. This explains the rather confused foundations of Israel’s monarchy. The story is told in the first book of Samuel. Up to that point Israel had been a loose tribal confederation with no central authority. Instead, when common action was needed – usually for military purposes – some charismatic figure, called a Judge, would emerge to lead them in united action. A time came when this system was failing and so – in an echo of Aesop’s story The Frogs Who Wished for a King – the ‘elders of Israel’ demanded of Samuel the prophet to, ‘make us a king to judge us like all the nations,’ Continued on page 6 >

Page 4 | Issue 8060 – 27 May 2023

Alan Ruston finds that the General Assembly president was among the guests at the 1937 coronation

A Unitarian at the coronation The recent Coronation of King Charles has been a significant event, not least because of the involvement of representatives of major world faiths in what is always a very Anglican service. This was probably at the King’s insistence. For he said, while Prince of Wales, that he wants to be Defender of Faith rather than Defender of the Faith.

But historically, perhaps as significant, maybe more cathartic for a few, was the offering of a prayer by the Roman Catholic Cardinal Archbishop of Westminster during the service, which some would see as the rolling back of the Reformation.

There have been previous Coronations when the nonconformist denominations and Jewish leaders were invited to be in the congregation. In May 1937 for King George VI’s Coronation, the then-GA President, was invited to attend. N Bishop Harman (1869-1945) had been in post for a few weeks and was an interesting figure to represent us. He was, among other things, one of the leading ophthalmologists of his time. Perhaps he is most remembered today for his famous female descendants. His daughter Elizabeth became the Countess of Longford, a famous biographer, with two of his granddaughters being Lady Antonia Fraser, also a biographer, and Harriet Harman, the Labour MP and former Cabinet minister. None were or are Unitarians. My profile of him and his family was published in the Transactions of The Unitarian Historical Society of April 2020.

Nathaniel (it’s doubtful he was ever called Nat) wrote enthusiastically in The Inquirer of 22 May 1937, about his experience of the day in Westminster Abbey: I got up at 4 o’clock and arrayed myself in full court dress as prescribed: a fine blue-black velvet suit of cutaway coat and knee-breeches, with sparkling cut-steel buttons, cream satin waistcoat, buckled shoes, cocked hat, and sword!... I arrived early; the wait by the Gate House was shivering cold. At the stroke of 6 the door opened and we were ushered into the Abbey and shown our places by Gold Staff officers.

From 6 to 10 o’clock we watched the arrivals; I was sitting in three rows of representatives of other churches, Quaker,

Baptist, Congregationalist, Methodist and Presbyterian. The parsons were garbed in Geneva gowns and bands. The laymen were in court dress, except for the Quaker who on account of his scruples was allowed to wear evening dress. I could not help chaffing him as to what George Fox would have made of his trousers! The Chief Rabbi was in a seven-cornered high hat, and archimandrite of the Greek Church was in a robe, stiff with gold and a mitre stiff with jewels.

The procession of the great and the good is then described, and the Royal Princes and Princesses with, ‘the two little daughters of the King coming first, and looking very happy’. The eldest of course became Queen Elizabeth II in 1952. It’s stated that for the first time in history, ministers other than the established church took part in the procession. His description of the service is very positive indeed, and was very much the same as we saw ourselves on TV. Bishop Harman adds that the space he had ‘was so narrow that sitting was painful, so we were all unfailingly glad when standing was in the order of service.’

He was ecstatic about the whole thing, ‘the service was stupendous, splendid, dramatic, dignified, and solemn in the highest degree.’

It being The Inquirer, always wanting to present a different view of events, includes a statement on the same page from George G Armstrong, himself a Unitarian General Assembly president. He had written to the BBC, protesting at the outrage of singing the second verse of the National Anthem which includes the line, ‘scattering our enemies’ during a later broadcast on Coronation night. He called its inclusion, ‘a disservice to the whole Empire’.

Alan Ruston is a Unitarian author and historian and a member of the Watford Fellowship. Inquirer front page (above) provided by Alan. www.inquirer.org.uk | Page 5

“We are told ‘they blew the trumpet; and all the people said, God save king Solomon’ (I Kings 1: 39), which may be is why we still sing ‘God save the King’” Shown left: Royals appear on the balcony at Buckingham Palace. Photo: Department of Culture Media and Sport ©

Continued from page 4 >

and to ‘go out before us and fight glory’ as Jesus himself said, ‘was not “We may remain our battles’. Neither Samuel nor arrayed’ as beautifully as ‘the lilies forever outside the Yahweh wanted to do this, and the of the field’ (Matthew 7: 28-29). elders were warned of the tyranny Quite why Solomon rode a mule Gates of Eden but and dictatorship that having a king and not a war-horse or a lofty the vision of what lies would mean. But the Israelites were camel is not explained, other than insistent and in the end Yahweh told that it had been David’s. But its within can still inspire Samuel, ‘Hearken unto their voice lowliness and the humility of the us, whatever our worldly and make them a king’. With this kingly rider is what Zechariah picks less than enthusiastic endorsement, up on and what Jesus seems to be status. ” a man named Saul was anointed saying by his own ride. It is an ideal

by Samuel as Israel’s first king. He of kingship more in tune with his was less than a resounding success, teachings: ‘I will cut off the chariot though, and on his death in battle he was succeeded by from Ephraim, and the horse from Jerusalem, and the David. battle bow shall be cut off: and he shall speak peace to the So began the story of the kings of Israel and of Judah, nations’ (Zechariah 9: 10). which ended disastrously in division, defeat, exile and It may be that Charles III, as a constitutional monarch, has subjection. But many Israelites, many Jews, longed for no power to make war or even to prevent it – today that a restored kingdom on the lines of David’s short-lived lies in the hands of others – but he has influence and I empire. The prophet Zechariah, living in exile during hope and believe that he will exercise that influence in line Israel’s eclipse, was one of these, as his pronouncements with the ideals of Zechariah’s humble king, speaking peace bear out. This meant that great expectations came to the nations and to the earth itself. Let us support him to rest on anyone who claimed, or appeared, to be a in doing so. We may remain forever outside the Gates of likely candidate for king. Some were more likely than Eden but the vision of what lies within can still inspire us, others, but – for many – Jesus fitted the bill. What did whatever our worldly status. he think? Who knows? But his entry into Jerusalem on Palm Sunday, ‘lowly, and riding upon an ass’, in apparent fulfilment of Zechariah’s prophecy (9:9-10), was proof enough for the excited Passover crowds.

Cliff Reed It was a clear reminder of what was said by the dying David about Solomon: ‘cause Solomon my son to ride The Rev Cliff Reed is minister upon my own mule’, which Zadok, Nathan and Benaiah emeritus at Ipswich Unitarians and an see is done. We are told ‘they blew the trumpet; and all author. the people said, God save king Solomon’ (I Kings 1: 39), which may be is why we still sing ‘God save the King’ today. But if Jesus made any claim to be a king it was a very different sort of king to Solomon, who, ‘in all his Page 6 | Issue 8060 – 27 May 2023

Between or beyond theism?

A statement of faith

By Frank Walker We believe the universe is a natural process immensely old, destined to continue into an unimaginable future.

We are products of that process, sustained by it, dependent upon it, as are all other living beings.

We hold life to be sacred, we reverence it and wish to affirm it, knowing however that it is far more than we can fully understand.

On earth all forms of life are interdependent, so we must support the well-being of the whole planetary process.

In us the universe becomes conscious and aware of itself. This may happen in other beings and in ways we do not yet understand.

The universe exists both outside us and within us. The outer and the inner are a unity: it is the same universe outside and within. Therefore, our dreams, hopes and aspirations are part of the universe.

In us there exists an inextinguishable desire to know, to understand, to find meaning. We may call it the search for truth, and we hold it to be sacred.

While we wish to affirm life and celebrate it by expressing our gratitude and appreciation, experience teaches us that this world and we ourselves are imperfect and full of suffering. Therefore penitence, justice and compassion are demanded of us.

We are prompted, encouraged and inspired towards justice and compassion by many human traditions with their teachings, stories and rituals.

The life and teachings of Jesus awaken a great humanitarian impulse of generosity and human helpfulness.

This is a central part of our tradition. We happily acknowledge that it is also found in the Buddha and in other teachers and saints.

We confess that we have a responsibility, as far as we are able, for the well-being of the whole, recognising that we are all bound up together in the bundle of life, in the community of living beings.

In life and death we trust ourselves to this process.

The Statement on the left is based on a 2009 article in the Journal of Liberal Religion by David Bumbaugh.

I have shortened and simplified his argument and included a reference to the contribution made by Jesus which I consider as a defining mark in our human tradition.

Not a creed, a compass Such a statement is not intended as a formal creed but as a compass by which to steer amidst the uncertainties of a chaotic world. It allows us to recognise that ultimately we are responsible for the larger sacred context out of which we have come, in terms of which we live, and to which we ultimately return.

This statement uses the naturalistic secular language of ordinary life. Language about God has fallen out of use in everyday life. It has become a specialised idiom for special occasions and purposes. It is not on that account to be despised or rejected but it is surely useful to try to express in the secular idiom of today some of the reality that traditional language has attempted to evoke. How far this can be done is a matter for debate. This is one such attempt. It tries to find a place between or beyond atheism and theism as traditionally understood. Behind its secular idiom may still be discerned ideas of God, nature, providence, worship, incarnation, divine unity in diversity, Christ, Spirit, the communion of saints, Church and so on.

Three essential questions Professor Bumbaugh says, ‘If we are to respond to the needs of the world from a liberal religious basis it is critical that we be able to address and answer three central questions: What do we believe? Whom do we serve? To whom or what are we responsible?’

Frank Walker The Rev Frank Walker is minister emeritus at Cambridge Memorial Unitarian Church.

Julio Torres asks if glory has a place in Unitarianism

Glorious, Glory, Gloria?

How can we use Glory in our spiritual journey as Unitarians? I have no clear recommendation. Only the question.

I am torn and persuaded in different directions. I cannot disassociate the use of glory in conquest – military victories, pillaging, and accumulation of wealth. But if we are to make use of Glory – we need to use it like the great 13th-century mystic Jalaluddin Rumi used it. He believed the path of glory is love. The Rev Kate Dean adapted the Catholic Gloria: ‘A Unitarian Gloria’ (available on Worship Words here: https://tinyurl.com/UnitarianGloria)

It is 100% one of the best spiritual was an attribute, something which readings not requiring belief in God: can be given in favour, i.e. ‘God, I We rejoice in the glory of the universe give you glory, please grant me a We live in the hope of peace on earth request, and something to bring For all people, even those who disjoy’. Solomon talks about the glories “Glory is tricky. It’s an agree with our views. of wisdom. In Acts of the Apostles, abstract word yet it’s We praise the giver of life when one is filled with the holy spirThe parent, the lover, the child, the it, one can see the glory of God. about beauty and ‘inner friend In I Chronicles in the Hebrew light’.”

Those who have nurtured us, worScriptures, King David said: shipped us, delighted and loved us Blessed are you oh Lord, God of our For who we all are.

Ancestor Israel, forever and ever. You You prophets, you mystics oh Lord bear the greatness, the power, You wisdom keepers and wisdom seekthe glory, the victory and the majesty, ers for all that is in the heavens and earth are yours is the kingWe honour you. dom, and you are exalted as head above all.

You bring to the world new inspiration That’s similar to what’s used in Christian worship today.

New ways of seeing and of living.

The Poverty and Justice Bible, published in 2009, is one You are deserving of our praise. of my favourite versions of the Bible. It highlights more For we are all holy people than 2000 verses that wake us up to issues of poverty and And this place is for us, sacred ground justice. They are highlighted when you flip through the And this time is to be honoured pages. It says this about Glory: As a moment to pause within ourselves Something seen, heard, or felt that shows a person or thing To seek that truth we hold to be of highest worth is important, wonderful or powerful. When God appeared to In the name of love, people his glory was often seen as a bright light, or as fire and May it be so. smoke. Jesus’ Glory was seen when he performed miracles, Glory is tricky. It’s an abstract word yet it’s about beauty when he was lifted up on the cross and when he was raised and ‘inner light’. It has three definitions in the Oxford dic- from death. tionary.

Jesus was crucified, a punishment used for the Roman-era Glory, in translation Hebrew, means brightness, splenequivalent of terrorists because his message of peace and dour, magnificence, majesty of appearance. It’s highlightlove went against the violent norm of quid-pro-quo – the ed 443 times in the translation of the Bible I use. It was culture of Empire. used to describe victory of God – and pillaging of property Rome had the Latin word ‘Gloria’ to describe military and to describe something which filled sacred spaces. It victories, their grand constructions and the beauty, of Page 8 | Issue 8060 – 27 May 2023

“If we are to reclaim glory, maybe we use it for justice as we build the beloved community of peace, abundance and equality (or equity).”

Shown left: A Holi celebration in India.

Photo by Murtaza Ali via Pixabay

art, roads, and buildings. Many were built by Rome’s first Emperor, Augustus who started a beautification program.

It’s estimated that, at its height, a quarter of the world’s population belonged to the Roman Empire. In the colosseum, with bread and circuses, emperors and leaders of Rome gloriously gave food to the masses. Of course if they didn’t, they would face rebellions. Because, like today, the wealthy few have more than half the wealth of the world, while millions have too little to live on. The circuses distracted the people with entertainment, perhaps offering a parallel to our time and TV, Netflix, etc. (Who am I kidding? I love movies and shows. But they do distract from the fight for justice.

Admittedly, I enjoy Star Wars and Star Trek, Marvel’s cinematic universe, all which use violence in some capacity so, perhaps I am a hypocrite in that sense.)

I have some conflict with Glory used in Christian spirituality, but also Hinduism with the holiday Holi. Don’t get me wrong; it’s a beautiful holiday. Holi is a springtime celebration of the glory and everlasting beauty of God. On the first night Holi is celebrated with a bonfire commemorating Holika’s burning to death while Vishnu saves Prahlad. Today, Hindus celebrate it by throwing colourful powders, colourful water. It’s an array of colours – some say it’s the glory of God’s beauty. But I have issues with a holiday that even metaphorically celebrates executing someone, which is also why I am not keen on Easter. But Holi is a lovely holiday.

Who doesn’t love a bonfire night and a water fight when all the colours of the rainbow are involved?

Ultimately these are all valid ways to embrace glory. Whilst I disagree with some of them, we Unitarians value freedom, the voice of each person, the freedom of belief. We have an unwritten ‘agree to disagree’ rule.

The only gateway I have to glory with full genuineness, is via the Islamic Sufi Mystic Rumi. The artist Rassouli has a lovely book to translate some of Rumi’s poetry interspersed with chapters featuring lessons from Rumi and other Islamic scholars. In one chapter, titled ‘The Path of Glory’, he said it was the mystic’s way of searching for the invisible god, rather than the god reflected in everything. He used metaphors such as, ‘be lost in the sea of love whilst singing and dancing’, to portray intuitive awareness. The divine intellect has freedom from human logic. Rumi, in a poem, says thoughts

are the cause of suffering and pain – analogous to apathy and boredom – they lead to disillusionment and cynicism.

Love is the way to finding the path of glory – everyone is united with everything in a chain; fear of the unexpected holds us back from the flow of love. Rumi says, ‘to reach for such awareness we go beyond in glorious madness’, Rassouli says, ‘Human intellect can only guide us, along the path of glory, to the doorway of God’s sanctuary. Once we take a step across the threshold, it is love that moves us to transcend the intellect and surrender to continue the journey.’

A powerful lesson for we Unitarians who can be known to over think – everything.

In the translation of the Qur’an I have, ‘Glory’ is used 33 times. It’s mostly used to say Glory be to God. Surah 97 (book or chapter), about a paragraph long, talks about the Night of Power – when the first revelation was sent down to Muhammad. It’s better than 1000 months – 83 years; in the night angels and the spirit – referring to angel Gabriel – descend again and again with every task. The Night of Power is also translated as Night of Glory which is Peace until the rising of the dawn. The night of first revelation, seeing God, hearing God. That’s glory.

Ultimately, I have no idea if God exists. For me God is nature, the creator, the thing which allows us to be empathetic, God is the ever-learning.

When thinking of glory as Unitarians, maybe it has no place – certainly in the militaristic sense. But if we are to reclaim it, maybe we use it for justice as we build the beloved community of peace, abundance and equality (or equity). This will counteract the evils the Rev Dr Martin Luther King Jr called out – poverty, racism, militarism, and so many discriminations which have all ultimately contributed to climate change. If we are to use glory, it should be to describe the beauty of the world we hope to see, the beauty of nature evident in the sunrise, the beauty of love of family, friends, partners, the glory of non-violence and peace, the glory of love in action in a serene lived existence.

I leave you with these questions: What do you think of glory? What feelings does it invoke, and does it have a place in your spirituality?

The Rev Julio Torres is visiting minister at Lewisham Unity. www.inquirer.org.uk | Page 9

Where have all the chimney pots gone?

It surprised me that a tradition dating back to 1928 was set aside without comment at the Unitarian General Assembly Meetings in April. Since the formation of the Assembly, the role of president has alternated between laypersons and ministers. The next two presidents will be laypersons. This is to imply no criticism of the appointments that have been made, simply puzzlement. No minister available? Our new president is Vince McCully, or more formally Councillor McCully who, alongside running an electronics business and serving as lay leader at Rivington Unitarian Meeting House, serves as a parish councillor in Rivington. I wonder how many Unitarian local councillors we have in the UK at present. Busy over the coronation period and wanting some memorabilia of this state occasion, Vince produced attractive bookmarks bearing a prayer that he had composed. A good number of local schoolchildren received one of these, and it is not unknown for him, as presently the longest-serving parish councillor, to nudge local events into our Meeting House.

The Rivington village fete recently included a music event there. * * * Our new vice-president, Geoffrey Levermore, will not be the first professor to be GA president. In 1948 professor FJM Stratton FRS (1881-1960), an astronomer with an international reputation, held the post. A lifelong Unitarian, he was a founder member of Cambridge Unitarian church. Professor Levermore is, however, the first president to have served on a panel awarded a Nobel Peace Prize. This was awarded jointly to the Intergovernmental Panel for Climate Change (IPCC) and to former US Vice President Al Gore. Professor Levermore was a UK-nominated Lead Author on the IPCC working group. It deals with mitigating the effects of climate change, a topic of growing interest, not to mention anxiety, all over the world. A convert to Unitarianism, he is a member of Styal Unitarian Chapel and active in the Manchester District, including lay preaching. * * * As emeritus professor of the built environment, he has a concern about air pollution. However, I wonder if he shares with me any sadness at the loss of chimneypots.

From my living-room window I look out over neighbourhood rooftops, and as houses are upgraded, one by one the chimneypots disappear. Some of these are handsome, characterful creations. I recall some on the parsonage at Altrincham being called ‘bishops’, as they bore a strong resemblance to robed clerics or giant chess pieces. Chimneypots are being eliminated everywhere or replaced by small, nondescript shiny metal ones. Perhaps that’s where the expression ‘tinpot’ comes from. View an estate

FUNNY OLD WORLD

By John Midgley

of newbuild houses and they are devoid of chimneypots, making them look like the ‘little boxes, made of tickytacky and they all look just the same’, of Unitarian Universalist singer-songwriter Malvina Reynolds (1900-1978).

I wonder about progress. * * * I have been trying to follow the discussions about artificial intelligence (AI). Not easy for me, as I have problems enough with natural intelligence. There is considerable anxiety about AI, with speculation as to what it might be able to do. Could it take over editorship of the Inquirer, for example? Could it produce a ‘Funny Old World’ column for me? If it did, would the editor be able to tell that it wasn’t really me that had written it? Could an AI program write a sermon? Some ministers might welcome that, others cry ‘Perish the thought!’ Could we go over entirely to Zoom worship services, created by AI, sent out automatically at the prescribed time on Sunday? No, I don’t like the thought of any of this.

In recent months I have had quite a lot of dealing with the medical profession. Artificial intelligence can, we are told, diagnose tumours. Amazing, but increasingly the consultations are taking place on the telephone. So far, the results seem to be all right, but I just don’t like the distanced nature of the conversations. I like to see ‘the whites of their eyes’, and I like the doctor to see mine, feel some sympathetic rapport. * * * Can AI ever be as intelligent, or foolish as human beings? The prospect of an AI that understands humour, for example, why we laugh at Ken Dodd or the Goons, or don’t laugh at either of them, seems impossible. Could AI generate its own genuinely funny material? For travel purposes, AI can read maps, and for amusement, play games, often faster and with more skill than humans. Maybe it can even explain Unitarianism to another robot. But can it tell me why I have a sentimental attachment to chimneypots?

Gwynn Pritchard: EC member Gwynn Pritchard 1946-2023 Gwynn Pritchard died suddenly at his home in Penarth on Sunday, 19 March at the age of 77 years. Gwynn was the son of Megan and the Rev Islwyn Pritchard and born in the village of Ffynnongroyw in the old Flintshire. His father and mother moved to Trebanos in the Swansea Valley when Gwynn was 3 years of age. His early childhood was spent there before the family moved to Chorley. When Islwyn and Megan moved to Ministries in Northern Ireland and to Hamstead, Gwynn entered Cambridge University to study English Literature. A close friend of university years, Peter Cole, spoke at his funeral.

On leaving University, Gwynn worked as a director and producer for the BBC, ITV and Channel 4. He and his wife Maralyn moved to Cardiff in 1978 where he became Head of Welsh Language Programmes for the BBC. Unfortunately, Maralyn died in 1994 at a young age, leaving Gwynn and three young children.

In 1998, Gwynn met Althea and they were married and lived happily in Penarth where Gwynn became a freelance producer for television programmes.

During this time, he became a member and chair of

Cardiff Unitarians and served on the Unitarian General Assembly Executive Committee until a diagnosis of Parkinson’s Disease led to his resignation, but he still led an active life to the end. He was keen to help people who were learning Welsh and met a group regularly to practice the language. He was also active in political circles in South Gwynn Pritchard Glamorgan.

A large gathering came to his funeral conducted by the Rev Eric Jones and three wonderful tributes were read by his children, Nia, Mathew and Dafydd. Frank Lincoln, a colleague from his BBC days, read a Welsh Poem in his memory.

Our sympathy is extended to his wife, Althea, his three children and grandchildren in their loss.

Eric Jones

June Teape: a joyful teacher June Teape 1928 - 2023 June Elaine Teape grew up as an only child in a happy Methodist family in the village of Calverton near Nottingham. All her life she delighted us with her enthusiastic Methodist-style singing. She received an excellent education at the Nottingham Girls High School and at a first-rate Teachers’ Training College in London, specialising in English, music and RE. Then she met an extraordinary, handsome young Irishman, a farmer’s son from County Cork, Nick Teape, who eventually became a student for the Unitarian ministry at Manchester College, Oxford. They were soon married, and June taught in secondary schools in London and later, when Nick became minister there, in Rotherham, moving soon to Ipswich and its historic Unitarian Meeting House, where she remained for the rest of her life, teaching at the Civic College.

June’s radiant joie de vivre was severely tested by tragic events. Her much-longed-for baby died in hospital soon after birth, an event which marked June for life. Soon after the happy adoption of her son Julian tragedy struck again when her husband Nick suddenly collapsed and died when they were busy restoring the big manor house, Walton Hall, that they had recently acquired.

June was left alone to bring up her son in this vast house. She survived by teaching and giving private music lessons. She also took on the care of her aged mother and astonishingly did a degree in English and music at the Open University. (She was already LRAM) How on

earth did she manage it? She triumphed and came close to achieving a First Class degree.

Nick Teape was an accomplished writer, and June produced a magnificent book, Gleanings, from a wide variety of his essays and reviews which she generously offered freely to all who were interested. To the end, despite all the savage blows that life threw at her, she maintained her irrepressible enthusiasm, her delightful joie de vivre, her constant encouragement of others. Dear June! So joyful, so full of fun and jollity, so enthusiastic, so intelligent, soi hard-working, so encouraging and full of sympathy and vitality, so loyal and loving! She is a portion of the loveliness which, once, she made more lovely, and we are all the better for knowing her and loving her.

Her funeral on May 10th at the Ipswich Unitarian Meeting House, which she did so much to restore and maintain, was conducted by her old friend, the Rev Frank Walker of Cambridge.

Frank Walker

Death notice

GARRARD – Tony Peacefully on 24th April 2023, aged 87 years. Much loved husband of the late Sheila, dearly loved father of Keith, Neil and Colin, and adored grandad of Eleanor, Annabel and Maisie. Funeral Service has taken place.

Enquiries to Edward Carter FD, Tel: 01235 528293. www.inquirer.org.uk | Page 11

Mother Julian’s cat A story for all ages by Kate Brady McKenna Bits of this story come from imagination. Bits of it come from wishing. Bits of it come from written-down history.

Once upon a time, there was, or there might have been, a cat. Let’s assume there was.

And by ‘once upon a time’, I mean 650 years ago.

We don’t know the name of the cat, and maybe the cat didn’t have a name. But we do know a couple of things about the cat. We know that it lived in Norwich, and we know that it lived with a woman who had chosen a very special and unusual way to live her life.

But just like we don’t know the name of the cat, we don’t really know the name of the woman. But, because she lived next to a church called St Julian’s, she became known as Lady Julian, or Mother Julian, or just Julian of Norwich.

And the way Julian had chosen to live her life was that she decided to live all on her own, in a very small room, and never ever go out. She wanted to spend her life praying, and supporting the people around her by her praying, and living very, very closely with God. She didn’t live without any contact with the world: the room she lived in had three windows: one looked into the church so she could join in the services, one looked into the street so she could get food and so that she could talk to people and give them advice, and the third looked out into a little garden.

But she had one problem.

Rats.

In those days, there were a lot of rats. And when you live in one room, you really don’t want to be pestered by rats.

So, Julian asked if she could have a cat. Just to keep the rats away. Just for practical reasons.

And so the cat moved in with her.

It would be incredibly cruel for the cat to have been expected to stay in the room all the time, but, being a cat, it could get out through the windows and play in the garden.

And for a while, that’s how things were. Julian prayed, and wrote, and spoke to people, and the cat caught rats and played in the garden and got made a fuss of by the people who came to talk to Julian.

But, it’s hard to live with a cat and not to form a friendship.

And before long, after a hard day playing in the garden the cat would come and prowl round Julian’s feet, and she’d find herself reaching down to stroke it, and scratch its chin, and eventually, before either of them noticed, the cat would be spending the evening curled up on Julian’s lap, and Julian would fall asleep stroking its head.

Do you remember I mentioned Julian would be writing?

Some of the things she wrote became very, very famous indeed. And some of them said things which no one had said before: things like how God might be like a woman, as well as being like a man. Things about how God loved everyone, completely and utterly. Things about how people were essentially good, even when they’d done terrible things.

Shown above: Julian and her cat appear on a window at Norwich Cathedral. Photo by A Mitchell via Wikimedia Commons

And there was one thing she wrote which became more famous than anything else. She wrote ‘all shall be well, and all shall be well, and all manner of thing shall be well.’

And I like to think that the cat, if it existed, helped her write that. Not actually to write it, because cats don’t, except in cartoons. But I like to think that sitting in the quietness of the evening, tired, and peaceful, and with the cat on her lap, Julian found herself stroking the cat, and, as she stroked, finding her mind telling her that all shall be well, and all shall be well, and all manner of thing shall be well.

This month marks 650 years since Julian of Norwich’s divine revelations.

The Rev Kate Brady McKenna is minister at Bury. www.inquirer.org.uk | Page 12