Issue 8065

THE

INQUIRER £1 | Issue 8065 | 5-19 August 2023

Inside this issue…

Faith in Words A ‘blessing’ of journeymen Unitarian Renewal Group renewed

www.inquirer.org.uk

The voice of British and Irish Unitarians and Free Christians

Remembering the Rev Margaret Barr On the 50th anniversary of her death, Cliff Reed and John Hewerdine tell the story of this extraordinary Unitarian

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 8065 – 5-19 August 2023

Inquiring Words…

In an interview with The New York Times, Greta Gerwig, writer and director of the film Barbie, reflected on her Unitarian Universalist faith and how it impacted the movie.

‘The idea of a loving God who’s a mother, a grandmother – who looks at you and says, “Honey, you’re doing OK” – is something I feel like I need and I wanted to give to other people.”

Honouring Margaret Barr

Howard Hague and John Hewerdine, with the assistance of other volunteers, have put together a worship resource and information pack about the life and work of the Rev Margaret Barr. It is available on the GA website at: https://tinyurl.com/MargaretBarr

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Cliff Reed remembers Margaret Barr, Unitarian minister and educator who worked in the Khasi Hills of India

No coward soul Born in 1899 in Wharfedale, Yorkshire, the Rev Annie Margaret Barr was raised a Methodist but in time questioned some of that denomination’s key teachings. As she later wrote, ‘How could the loving Father-God taught by Jesus require the horrible cruelty of the Cross before he could forgive sinful men?’ She also questioned the exclusivity of Christian doctrine: had Jesus not taught that all people are children of God? Had not ‘history showed so many great and good souls before the time of Jesus?’

While a student at Cambridge years of comfortable middle-class University, Margaret discovered security and seclusion.’ But the fu“Margaret had another way to be religious at the ture of Margaret’s ministry did not Cambridge Unitarian church, and lie in Yorkshire, or even in Britain. developed an interest heard the preaching of its minister, Margaret had developed an interest in Indian religion, in the the Rev Cyril Flower. As she rein Indian religion, in the Indian incalled: ‘Most wonderful … was the dependence movement, and in the Indian independence discovery that central to the teachteachings and principles of Mohanmovement, and in ing of the Unitarian Church was the das K Gandhi, who became known conviction … that the place to find as ‘Mahatma’, or ‘Great Soul’. She the teachings … of God was not in anything external … also became acquainted with the Mohandas K Gandhi.” but in the hidden depths of my own story of Hajom Kissor Singh, foundbeing.’ er of the independent Unitarian In relation to this she found parmovement in the remote Khasi and ticular meaning in a poem by felJaintia Hills of North-East India. low-Yorkshirewoman, Emily Brontë, which Margaret calls Hajom Kissor Singh had been converted to Christianity ‘Last Lines’ but better known today by its opening line, from the native Khasi religion by Presbyterian missionar‘No coward soul is mine’. It was to prove most appropriate ies active in that area, but he came to reject their Calvinist for Margaret as well as Emily, especially the lines: doctrines and – quite independently – became Unitar‘O God within my breast, ian in his beliefs. Only then did he discover that there Almighty ever-present Deity, were Unitarians elsewhere in the world. The movement Life that in me hast rest he started in 1888 with a handful of people had, by the As I Undying Life, have power in thee.’

1920s, grown into a lively community of churches – the Now a Unitarian, Margaret continued her studies at Man- Unitarian Union of North-East India – in the towns and chester College, Oxford, preparing for the Unitarian min- villages of what was then part of Assam and is now the istry. From 1927 to 1933 she ministered at the Unitarian state of Meghalaya.

Church of Our Father in Rotherham. She later wrote of Margaret felt called to India and, without much help or that time: ‘Six years as minister of a church in an industrial encouragement, travelled there in 1933. Initially, she town during a period of depression have given me some became a teacher at a girls’ high school in Kolkata (then knowledge of life that I should never have gained in 60 called Calcutta) where, amongst other things, she taught Continued on page 6 > www.inquirer.org.uk | Page 3

John Hewerdine writes of the year he spent in the Khasi Hills with the Rev Margaret ‘Granny’ Barr

Chapattis, Scrabble and a rusty pump The Rev Annie Margaret Barr was known in Khasi as: Kong Barr, Mei Margaret or just Granny.

I first met her at a British Unitarian General Assembly (GA) in the early 1960s. She attended the GA meetings and usually ensured that her occasional visits to the UK coincided with these. It was an opportunity for her to talk to the Unitarian Women’s League, who supported her financially, through the India Fund.

Margaret used these visits to bring should find a village, away from a us up to date on ‘the family’, her city, and make her home, living her dozen-or-so children who were eifaith. The British Unitarian wom“Through Margaret, I ther orphans or whose parents were en were delighted and decided to unable to look after them. Whilst support her. Due to their loyalty, in was already tuning into I was there for the year 1968 two supporting Margaret Barr over so the values of Gandhiji young girls were brought into the many years, I am happy that I am fold with very sketchy histories. In also now considered to be an honand enjoying a new those days there were no docuorary Unitarian Women’s League spectrum of religious ments for any of the children who member. shared Margaret’s home. Some of In 1966 I decided I would visit Kong values.” them did not even have a recorded Barr at her home in India. As a date of birth. photographer, working for a ManHer first ministry after college chester textile company, I was keen was in Rotherham where she was to travel and had taken the job, the minister from 1927-33 but, at that stage in her life, hoping to see West Africa, where most of our fabrics were Margaret was becoming certain that she would follow her marketed. I also wanted to get out of the darkroom where sister Mary to India. Mary was a Methodist missionary I spent much of my time. I knew about Margaret Barr in another hill area there. Margaret was interested in the and wrote to her. It took about six weeks for my airmail to work of Mahatma Gandhi and his philosophy of peaceful arrive and as long for her reply to get back. ‘You would be resistance and she hoped to meet him. In about 1930, the welcome to come and live here for a while in our guestUnitarian General Assembly were looking for someone to house, as my odd-job man’, wrote Margaret. go to India and extend the hand of friendship to an indigI met Margaret at a Unitarian Universalist convention in enous group of Unitarians in Assam. Margaret expressed New Delhi in January 1967. I had decided to make the interest but the assembly was not prepared to take the journey from Manchester by road. Yes, it was quite a responsibility of sending a lone woman to such a geodifficult route – through 14 countries and taking over six graphically remote location. months. My vehicle was very tired, and approaching the Margaret responded by taking a teaching job at the Gopal end of its life, before I set off. (It had only cost me £35.)

Girls School in Calcutta (now Kolkata) and visited the Trips like mine did not attract sponsors in the 1960s, so it Unitarians in the Khasi Hills whenever she was able. She was all on a shoestring. If only I had fitted new tyres bewas well received by the local people and quickly learned fore setting off!

Khasi. She also spent time at an Ashram in Northern India Margaret was staying with American Unitarian Universalwhere she met Mahatma Gandhi. He suggested that she ists in Delhi and I was living in an ex-Bradford town amPage 4 | Issue 8065 – 5-19 August 2023

“I was also learning from a wonderful person … under extreme conditions, with neighbours and friends who gained so much strength from each other’s spirituality.”

Shown left: John Hewerdine and some students on Margaret Barr’s porch in India, 1968.

bulance when I finally rolled up to meet Margaret there.

We were about to cross India together in my ‘old Bus’. My Gandhian adventure was about to commence, and before we left Delhi I was introduced to several of Margaret’s Indian friends and was soon to experience many of their homes, ashrams, temples, mosques and gurdwaras (including visiting Rabindranath Tagore’s home and the Taj Mahal with Margaret). We also visited the Ghats at Varanasi, the Bay of Bengal and the delta of majestic rivers, the Ganga and Brahmaputra. That trip, with Kong Barr, exceeded my expectations and also tested my cooking skills.

Through Margaret, I was already tuning into the values of Gandhiji and enjoying a new spectrum of religious values. I was also learning from a wonderful person who was to later impress me with her ‘life of faith’, under extreme conditions, with neighbours and friends who gained so much strength from each other’s spirituality, with so many different sources of spiritual inspiration.

Gandhi’s advice to Margaret had been, ‘Stay out of jail and live your religion’. The first of these was actually, for Margaret, more challenging than the latter. This was because the Indian government was clamping down on foreign missionaries and not re-admitting them after trips home to visit family and friends. Margaret was frustrated at being pigeonholed with the people who denigrated the indigenous religions. She could not be more different from them. Bedtime in the orphanage was the time for older children to choose a reading from a booklet (compiled

by Margaret) of scriptures from different faith sources, including the Hindu scholar who founded the Unitarian Church in Meghalaya. Hajom Kissor Singh had been opposed to the overwhelming conversion to Christianity at the expense of Hinduism and other indigenous religions.

Margaret, too, loved the wealth of established Indian faiths alongside Christianity.

As soon as Margaret had her own home in Meghalaya, she became deeply involved in education and the impact of this was immeasurable. She had the support of excellent local teachers who welcomed her input and named many schools in her memory. She soon had one built beside her own home in Mawsynjri. Graduates of her school have

gone on to be teachers, head-teachers, and, I heard this year that a close Khasi friend (a former child in Margaret’s school) finally became the principal of the North East India Hills University in Shillong.

My year in the Khasi Hills started in January 1968 when I arrived with Margaret from Delhi. My time in Meghalaya with ‘Granny’, was transformative and I served my time, living in the Kharang Orphanage Guest House and enjoying breakfast chapattis, made by her extended family, the night before. By the time I was out of bed, they would be doing Granny’s well organised, ‘cascade teaching’. This involved the older children consolidating their learning by teaching younger students what they had recently grasped, from their excellent teacher and guru from the UK. As, ‘odd-job-man’, my duties included repairing anything from tables and chairs, in the school, to fixing the broken handrail on the footbridge down to ‘the Nan’, a pond constructed for the breeding of fish – where Margaret would take her daily swim. After walking, which Margaret always enjoyed, swimming was her next-favourite form of exercise. Margaret did this every day, when she had time, and would often walk the 16 miles to Shillong, usually staying the night, with Unitarian friends there.

My main project was the acquisition of a ram-pump.

It uses no fuel – just water pressure – and was rusting away in a government warehouse. We purchased suitable steel tubing, and I engineered a small reservoir, as well as making a number of threaded connectors and joints, and installed it by a nearby freshwater spring below Margaret’s home. This saved the children their most physically demanding daily chore of carrying water up to the house in the dry season.

Perhaps more valuable than any of these tasks though, was when I participated in regular games of Scrabble with Granny. This took place by the light of an old Aladdin paraffin lamp, most evenings after the last of the children had gone to bed.

John Hewerdine is a Unitarian photographer and a member of the Chorley congregation. www.inquirer.org.uk | Page 5

Margaret Barr: No coward soul Continued from page 3 >

religious education. Her students it was at this time that Margaret were drawn from diverse faith backbegan what was to be the greatest grounds and, in response, Margaret friendship that she had in the Khasi developed a radical new curricuHills. lum. As she wrote, ‘Working out a This friendship was with a young “One former student scheme by which children of many woman named Ellen Giri, who also recalled that Margaret faiths could be taught together “to became her great ally in educational respect religions other than their work. Margaret wrote movingly of ‘was a good person’ and own” proved fascinating.’ These Ellen that she was ‘the most comadded, ‘but very strict.’” words expressed an aim set out by pletely kindred spirit that I have Gandhi. As a result of this work ever found among the Khasis. Our Margaret wrote a little book called friendship was due to the fact that The Great Unity, which was pubshe had independently arrived … at lished in 1937. many of the conclusions that I had Probably the most momentous reached independently at the same encounter that Margaret Barr had in these early days in age; and, of course, to the mutual affection and trust that India was a meeting with Gandhi himself. deepened steadily as the years passed’. Ellen died unexpectedly some 20 years after they had become friends and colleagues. Margaret later wrote of this: ‘The sudden Gandhi said, ‘keep out of gaol’ death of Ellen Giri …was and has remained the most shatShe later recalled her first rather ‘clumsy attempt at an tering blow that fate has ever dealt me, not only personalIndian greeting,’ but wrote how ‘it was forestalled by his ly but also to my hopes and dreams for the future of what stretching out a long brown arm to shake hands.’ With a I was trying to do at Kharang.’ flash of his ‘mischievous toothless smile,’ he advised Margaret to ‘keep out of gaol’ and not to get ‘mixed up in politics’ while in India but rather to, ‘Find some constructive Non-sectarian education and medical care combined work to do’. And he confirmed that what he meant by this Teaching in Shillong and Jowai, where she established new was ‘village work’. schools and served as headmistress, occupied the rest of Even during her Rotherham days Margaret had, as she put the 1930s and the early 1940s, but Margaret’s plan was it, ‘been studying the Indian National Movement and dofor a rural centre where non-sectarian education, medical ing what I could from platform and pulpit to help educate care and social work would be combined and where she British public opinion to the cause of Indian freedom’, but could also base her religious work as a Unitarian minister.

Gandhi saw the political struggle as being for Indians. He She recalled: ‘We had already chosen the village of Khapointed Margaret in a different, though allied, direction. rang, about sixteen miles from Shillong, from which all the And that had to do with the other call that Margaret felt: Unitarian churches were fairly accessible.’ She also trained that of the Unitarians of North-East India. She wrote of as a midwife – and found it necessary to recruit more of the twin call to ‘village work such as Gandhi would apthe same because of the great need for midwifery in the prove’ and that ‘of Hajom Kissor Singh to feed his lambs villages. This service became and has remained one of the and develop his religious work in the villages of the Khasi Kharang Rural Centre’s most important activities. The Hills,’ concluding that ‘surely it should be possible to com- last of the midwives who Margaret recruited herself, Kyek bine these two’. And, of course, that is what she did.

Mukhim, retired in 2017, aged 80!

She first visited the Unitarian churches in the Khasi Hills Although she enjoyed the support of Unitarians in Britain, in 1934, concluding that this was where her life’s work particularly the Women’s League, Margaret sometimes lay. In succeeding years, having gone to live there, she got found herself accused of neglecting the church work for to know the Hills and their Unitarian churches, usually which she had initially gone to India. She strenuously retravelling on foot from village to village. She also taught in jected that accusation. She wrote: ‘All through my years Shillong, the principal town of the area, starting a school in Shillong I was a schoolteacher all the week and attended at the Unitarian church there and training teachers. And church on Sunday, preaching and visiting the sick … and Page 6 | Issue 8065 – 5-19 August 2023

“Margaret’s plan was for a rural centre where non-sectarian education, medical care and social work would be combined and where she could also base her religious work as a Unitarian minister.”

Shown left: Students participate in ‘cascade learning’ at Margaret’s house, as John Hewerdine looks on.

doing a tour of the outlying churches. Since coming to Kharang I have done exactly the same.’

Of the religious nature of her work she wrote: ‘Never has my work been missionary work’. This was a point she often and forcefully made. She was appalled by the nature of much missionary activity as conducted by other churches in India. She saw the ‘major aim’ of her church work as being to ‘make the Khasi Unitarians worthy of the name they bear’ by encouraging the development of ‘better educated and more enlightened leaders’. And also, ‘in the name of Unitarianism,’ to ‘do a piece of wide and much-needed social work.’

A bridge-builder She saw her role as a Unitarian in this way: ‘My aim was to be what Leonard Mason’ – a leading Unitarian minister at the time – ‘describes as a ‘Bridge-Builder’.’ She made clear that, ‘as a Unitarian and a believer in the essential unity of all true religion at its deepest levels, missionary work was not for me, nor was asking for Unitarian support for anything of the kind.’

When interviewed in 2018 some of her former students at Kharang were asked what it was like to be taught by Margaret Barr. One said, ‘It was fun … Her teaching was very easy to understand. There was something about her – deep down in my heart I admired her, so anything Kong* Barr said or did affected and inspired me. It was so special to me.’ (‘Kong’ is a Khasi word meaning ‘elder sister’ but it is used more generally as a term of respect.)

Another said of her teaching methods, ‘I felt I could use my common sense very nicely.’ One former student recalled that Margaret ‘was a good person’ and added, ‘but very strict.’ Others also commented on ‘her sense of discipline’ and all agreed that this and Margaret’s insistence on ‘punctuality were key to the whole educational experience.’ And as one said, ‘We knew she cared about us … she treated us the same. She gave praise if we did something well that was hard.’

Margaret avoided ‘the usual rote learning’ that was then customary in Indian schools and instead used methods which stimulated the children’s interest and initiative. One feature of her educational method was to train older students to teach younger ones in subjects other than those which she reserved for herself, such as maths and English.

In this way Margaret was said to be preparing these ‘pupil-teachers’ for ‘government exams’ and ‘further education and careers.’

Children kept their own religious beliefs When it came to religion, the children – who were not all Unitarians – were free to attend any church they wanted.

‘We could have our own beliefs,’ one recalled. On Sunday evenings Margaret held services for everyone in which the children led worship ‘according to their religions.’ She would also read to them before bedtime from a collection – drawn from the world’s religions – that she had written in Khasi. This was something of which those former students had fond memories. There were fun and games too.

As one recalled, ‘I remember the times when she used to collect us on Saturday evenings to enjoy dancing and singing.’

Margaret delighted in children. As she wrote herself: ‘always there have been children – children to play and dance and sing with and to read stories to in the long winter evenings, some orphaned, some handicapped, all poor; children I have loved and to whom I have given a start in life. And how can life be lonely or even solitary where there are children around.’

She wrote of her life in the Khasi Hills: ‘Solitary I have always been in a sense; lonely never. I chose to live here and here only was the place where I could obey the two-fold call I had heard in my youth and do the work I had been sent into the world to do.’ And of that work she wrote: ‘My original motive was to help the Khasi Unitarians to help themselves and contribute to the raising of the condition of their whole people.’ She saw this as integral to Continued on page 8 > www.inquirer.org.uk | Page 7

“‘It is this central faith in the indwelling Spirit of God that was sown for me so long ago in the Cambridge Unitarian Church that has sustained me through the 50 years that have elapsed since then.’”

Continued from page 7 >

Unitarianism, commenting: ‘Unitarianism cannot stand aloof from social problems in such a backward area as this.’

And it was in the villages, she wrote, that ‘the needs are greatest, both within the churches and in the wider village community.’ She asked, ‘What can I preach or teach to a congregation or Sunday School class in which a majority are illiterate, and what spiritual comfort can I give to the many who need medical attention, if I do not try to make the illiterate literate and the sick healthy?’

Let-downs, illness and old age So that was the work to which Margaret Barr dedicated her life from 1933. It certainly wasn’t easy! She suffered many disappointments and setbacks. She faced opposition and criticism. She was let down by people on whom she should have been able to rely. She suffered illness and eventually old age, failing eyesight and terminal cancer.

But she was, in the words of her favourite poem, ‘No coward soul,’ finding spiritual strength in her faith, her vocation and in the Khasi Hills and their people.

‘And in the background, always,’ she wrote, ‘and the foreground during wakeful midnight hours, thoughts to nourish the deeper life of the spirit.’ And of those ‘midnight hours’ she continued: ‘During the monsoon months the nights are disturbed by the thunder of torrential rain on corrugated iron roofs, and if the rain stops for a time, there is still the roar of flood waters coursing down the drains and the harsh croaking of frogs in the ponds. But for most of the rest of the year, unless a strong wind is blowing … the nights are almost completely soundless.’

Faith grew from Cambridge Unitarian church Except, that is, for the people. She wrote: ‘And sometimes … on bright moonlight nights … a party of villagers returning home from a service, wedding, or archery contest, will pass along the path near our house singing tunefully or playing the little homemade bamboo flutes that the boys Page 8 | Issue 8065 – 5-19 August 2023

Shown left: A child at the Annie Margaret Barr Children’s Village in Mawsynjri, near Kharang, India, in 2008.

Photo by John Hewerdine

… use to pass the long hours spent on the hills, watching the cattle … This is a sound I love, wistful and haunting.’

And in summing up her faith and her life, Margaret wrote this in her final year: ‘It is this central faith in the indwelling Spirit of God that was sown for me so long ago in the Cambridge Unitarian Church that has sustained me through the 50 years that have elapsed since then and that grows increasingly precious with every year that passes. It is here at Kharang in the midst of all this wild loveliness that it has flowered and fruited.’

For Margaret Barr’s long years of service in the Khasi Hills, service to a people – and a Unitarian community – of whom we would probably have known far less but for her, our thanks are due at this 50th anniversary of her death on 11 August. And, as the Khasi people say in blessing, ‘Khublei’. *** Sources: Margaret Barr, ‘A Dream Come True: The Story of Kharang’, Lindsey Press, 1974.

Margaret Barr, ‘The History of the Kharang Rural Centre’, 1953 (b/w the above).

Barb Clagett, ‘Interviews with former Annie Margaret Barr students in the Kharang area of the Khasi Hills, NE India September 2018’. East Shore Unitarian Church, Bellevue WA, December 2018.

Cliff Reed The Rev Cliff Reed is a Unitarian writer and poet. He is minister emeritus with Ipswich Unitarians.

A blessing of journeymen I was returning home with Molly, my pup, one morning. As I passed the market I noticed two ‘eccentrically’ dressed women in black hats talking with a couple of people. I wondered who they were. Later I was in the schoolroom preparing it for the ‘Living the Questions’ group that evening. There was a knock. Molly started barking. I opened the door and discovered the two women I had passed at the market. They introduced themselves as Jade (pronounced Jada) and Eva, telling me that they were ‘journeymen’ and were looking for somewhere to shelter, to sleep for the night. They had been sleeping outside for several days as they were travelling around the country. They both had staffs and some baggage which they carried. They left the gear in the schoolroom which I told them would be free from 9pm as we had a discussion group which they could join if they wished.

They explained to me what a ‘Journey Man’ was. The Journeyman tradition dates back to the Middle Ages. When an apprentice had finished their apprenticeship with their master they were to go out on their wander, their waltz, their journey. They were to travel around, working and learning from other masters before returning home better skilled. They were called journeymen as they travelled day by day. Journey coming from the French word Journier which meant your daily task or daily travel. They went out into the world living day by day on their journey, living on their daily bread. They were to travel for at least three years and one day. They could not return to be freemen of their trade until they had done so. The tradition continued until the post-war years. The Nazis were opposed to it and it almost died off during the war years. Following the reunification of Germany the tradition has revived. Journeymen today are not only men. Jada is a woman and Eva identifies as non-binary.

I bumped into them both later in the day, on a walk with Molly. I sat and talked with them a while and found out more about them. They came and joined us for ‘Living the Questions’. We did not explore the subject we had planned, instead we let Jade and Eva tell us about themselves and their experiences as Journeymen.

It was an incredible evening as they talked about their experiences on the journey. They must travel by hitching a ride and need to find some place to sleep each night.

They are meant to work and learn their trades from other masters. Jade is a carpenter and Eva a leather craftsperson. Of course this is no longer allowed in the UK as they are European Union citizens. They explained their clothing – jackets and waistcoats – and why it is designed as it is, along with the staffs they carry. They talked about how vital it is that they learn patience and understanding and not

FROM FROM NOTHING NOTHING TO EVERYTHING TO EVERYTHING

By

By Danny Danny Crosby Crosby

to get down even if they had to wait hours for a lift. They talked about how the journey was helping them develop as people and to understand others. What struck me was how they could not be shy; they had to be courageous.

How they had to be humble in asking for help and how they were offering to others an opportunity to be generous. They were like living angels to me, as they seemed to bring out the generosity in people. They brought out so much joy in me and in those present. I cannot tell you how much the whole experience moved me. I asked them what had brought them to knock at my door. They said that they were talking with a couple of people at the market and they had said that they should try the minister at the Unitarian chapel, as you would find a friendly welcome there. I could have cried. This touched my heart deeply. I am obviously doing something right in the community.

I could tell you so much more about these two incredible people who blessed us with their presence. They were heading towards the Lake District and then Edinburgh before travelling down the Yorkshire coast and to York before heading south. They slept the night in the school room and I said I would leave them to go when they felt ready in the morning. I am sure they will bless many more people on their journey. Neither would be returning home for a couple of years, but I know that when they do they will have so much treasure to share.

The encounter brought to my mind Hebrews chapter 13 v 2 ‘Do not neglect to show hospitality to strangers, for by doing that some have entertained angels without knowing it. Who is showing hospitality to these strangers in our very midst?’ This seems to me exactly what occurred that day. Jade and Eva were both offering and receiving hospitality wherever they go and they are blessing and bringing out blessings everywhere. I felt like we had entertained angels that evening.

Showing hospitality and caring for the vulnerable in society is a key aspect of the Abrahamic traditions – and virtually every other world religion. Hospitality is an essential spiritual practice. It begins with an open heart and a generosity of spirit. It’s about recognising the good in life and Continued on page 10 > www.inquirer.org.uk | Page 9

Faith in Words A new hymn Heretic Rabbi One of Us At the name of Jesus We dissenters bow, Heretic Rabbi that he was, We’re his family now.

Two commandments he taught us, Love God and yourselves.

Freedom, Reason, Tolerance Spread the message now.

We’re all in this together, Cannot doubt the path.

Bright is the horizon, see, God’s Earth is in our hands.

Light the flame of freedom, Pray for peace each day.

With each other’s trust and strength, We cannot lose our way.

Peter Sampson (Sung to the tune of King’s Weston

By R Vaughan Williams)

A blessing of journeymen Continued from page 9 >

in people, especially those in need. It’s about recognising ourselves in those very same people. It’s about being open and welcoming to all, wherever they have been, wherever they are going and wherever they find themselves now.

This ancient hospitality seems to be at the very core of the Journeyman tradition and something that is sadly dying out in our modern age. Hospitality to me seems to be the whole concept of ‘Kin-dom of Love’, right here, right now.

Sadly, our age is characterised by distrust. There is a fear of the strange and the stranger. The visit of the ‘Journeymen’ reminded me how important hospitality to strangers is. In so doing, we offer true spiritual love and we liberate ourselves from the bondages of selfishness and self-centredness. It sets us free. Jade and Eva seemed so free as they offered the folk they met the opportunity to be generous. They reminded me of the following by Joan Chittister: ‘Hospitality is the way we come out of ourselves. It is the first step toward dismantling the barriers of the world.

Hospitality is the way we turn a prejudiced world around, one heart at a time.’ In listening to Jade and Eva’s adventures they seem the absolute incarnation of this amongst us. We were entertaining angels that day and they blessed the town of Altrincham. They certainly blessed me.

Jade and Eva I wish you well on your adventure. I am sure you will bless so many on your way.

Page 10 | Issue 8065 – 5-19 August 2023

Shown above: Some traditionally dressed German journeymen, travelling in Ireland.

Public Domain photo vis Wikimedia Commons.

A lesson ripples outward Hildegarde von Bingen’s words quoted in the 22 July Inquirer prompted Roderick Ramage to contribute this piece which considers a ‘stone at the bottom of a pond’.

Perspective I An unseen hand sent a stone through the air. How he came, what force propelled him, he neither knew nor understood; but he saw where he was destined. A fresh pool of mountain water, green shoots secured in its sandy bed. Distant mountains and trees nearby reflected in a surface broken only by the lingering ripples of a recent pebble: and as he neared he saw his own reflection, a dot expanding momentarily before it disappeared as the water received him. Cool and calming. He had felt no impact, looked behind him to see the great ripple, which should move in widening circles to break on the banks. He saw nothing. No, he saw everything as he saw it before, distant mountains and trees nearby, but refracted now, no longer reflected, through a clear unbroken surface; then, unseen, he sank.

Perspective II An unseen hand sent a stone through the air. How he came, what force propelled him, he neither knew nor understood; but he saw where he was destined. A fresh pool of mountain water, green shoots secured in its sandy bed. Distant mountains and trees nearby reflected in a surface broken only by the lingering ripples of a recent pebble: and as he neared he saw his own reflection, a dot expanding momentarily before it disappeared as the water embraced him of a rush. Wild and tumultuous. The impact shook him, stemmed his fall before he shattered the surface, throwing water into the air and sending out a great ripple in widening circles to break on the banks. There in a narrow inlet it spilled up, dislodged a small pebble, a barrier, and the flow of water turned to a flood and flowed down to the sea. He looked up to see the distant mountains and trees nearby, which should be refracted now through a clear unbroken surface, as before he had seen them reflected. He saw nothing. No, he saw a turbulent surface dropping closer to him and past him, then basked comfortable, warm in the sun’s rays.

Perspective III The crystal pool reflected distant mountains and trees nearby. A mere pebble stopped the channel and sand gathering round it made a temporary dam. He resisted the temptation to play with water: two scoops with his hands, or three, would unblock the channel and let the steam return to its normal flow. Test chaos instead. Let nature

do the work - with a little encouragement. He chose a stone, felt its weight, aimed and set the process in motion.

The stone landed on the pool in a spurt of water, sent out a ripple, the ripple surged round the pebble at the outlet, swept away the supporting sand. The pebble too was swept away. Now the water found its force, opened the channel again and let the stream flow down to the sea on its destined course.

Perspective IV The crystal pool reflected distant mountains and trees nearby. A mere pebble stopped the channel and sand gathering round it made a temporary dam. He resisted the temptation to play with water: two scoops with his hands or three would unblock the channel and let the stream return to its normal flow. Test chaos instead. Let nature do the work – with a little encouragement. He chose a stone, felt its weight, aimed and set the process in motion.

The stone landed on the pool and disappeared without a trace, absorbed by the unbroken surface of the water; and no ripple broke the reflection of distant mountains and trees nearby. Now he believed in magic; and the enchanted pool kept her secret.

Perspective V The crystal pool reflected distant mountains and trees nearby. A mere pebble stopped the channel and sand gathering round it made a temporary dam. She allowed it to stay and would choose her own time to flow down to the sea. By a stroke of his hand could a wanton man, self-deceived that he knew nature, disturb her balance, which she would restore, where he could not foresee.

She observed the trajectory of a stone thrown at her.

By the gross laws of nature it would shatter her surface, throwing water into the air and sending out a great ripple in widening circles to break on her banks, sweep away the supporting sand, the pebble too, and send her flowing before her time. By subtle laws not revealed by nature the crystal pool might yet choose her own time. Her surface engulfed the stone without trace. Man, throwing hand outstretched, waited. He saw only distant mountains and trees nearby, reflected in the pool’s surface, recognised enchantment, stood still, then, unseen, he left. She might allow another hand or time to free the channel, liberate her to flow on her destined course; but man, understanding nothing, would claim achievement.

Roderick Ramage is a former member of King Edward Street Chapel, Macclesfield

www.inquirer.org.uk | Page 11

The Nightingale Centre – Job Vacancy CENTRE MANAGER Are you looking for your next new challenge?

Do you want to help create a ‘Centre of Excellence in a venue with a difference’?

This management role is absolutely central to improving our Guest offering, attracting new Guests and adapting to their changing needs.

Having implemented several very exciting developments at the Centre, we continue to build on our successes and are therefore delighted to be in a position to recruit a new Manager for our 4-star hostel accommodation in the heart of the Peak District.

Title: Reporting to: Salary: Hours:

Centre Manager The Management Committee/Trustee Board £40,000 37 ½ hours per week

Purpose of Post •

To manage the day-to-day operation of the Centre to ensure excellent Guest experiences.

•

To establish a ‘no blame’ culture amongst the staff and excellent, supportive team working.

•

To work closely with the Board to understand the strategic priorities and how these can be achieved.

Background The Centre is a Charity with close connections to The General Assembly of Unitarian & Free Christian Churches. The members of the Management Committee/Trustee Board are responsible for ensuring that the Centre is run responsibly and in accordance with its Charitable objects. The members are all volunteers with relevant skills and experience.

There are four staff teams: • Office where the Centre Manager will normally be based • Housekeeping led by the Head Housekeeper • Catering led by the Head Chef • Gardening team reporting to the Centre Manager We aim to establish excellent, collaborative working as one team focused on delivering high quality experiences for our Guests and a warm, supportive working environment for our staff.

If you think you have the skills, knowledge and experience needed for this post, please email Marion Baker at marion.baker@tiscali.co.uk and ask for an application pack.

This will include: • Background Information • Application Form • Job Description • Person Specification Deadline for Applications: 18:00 hours on Thursday 31st August 2023 Candidates who are shortlisted will be informed by Monday 4th September 2023 by email.

Interview dates:

Wednesday 6th September 2023 and Thursday 7th September 2023 (Please keep both dates free in the event that you are shortlisted)

Start date:

Subject to the availability of the successful candidate.

We hope to hear from you soon.

Page 12 | Issue 8065 – 5-19 August 2023

Louise Reeve writes of a renewed Unitarian Renewal Group

Making welcome

The Unitarian Renewal Group (URG) is committed to championing welcoming and inclusive worship and practice within the Unitarian and Free Christian movement. The URG aims to focus on the vital and living aspects of our faith, hosting Zoom and in person events each year, to stimulate and encourage conversation and collaboration. We envision a future where our congregations and communities actively engage in meaningful and spiritually hospitable relationships with one another and the wider world.

The next event is planned for 18 November at Upper Chapel, Sheffield, arrivals from 10am for 10.30 and finishing at 3pm. This will continue a discussion about welcome, as the next stage of honouring our legacy and building the future. For more information, contact Christina Smith: smith.christina@yahoo.com

Earlier this year, Unitarians from across the UK attended the Unitarian Renewal Group online workshop, ‘Welcoming the Stranger’, a session intended to provoke thought and discussion about how our different congregations might welcome those new to Unitarianism, and why we might want to do this. Ably led by the Rev Stephanie Bisby and Christina Smith, and inspired by ideas from the 2020 ‘Art of Hosting’ course at the Woodbrooke Quaker centre, we began with a chalice lighting and hymn, then began to explore.

The purpose of the session was to consider possible answers to the question ‘Can we build a future without knowing what is worth preserving from our present?’

The organisers explained that they wanted us to explore together the question of what, if anything, of our underpinning ethos has endured over time and is worth preserving beyond our weekly services, District Meetings and annual GA meetings – although one might add that our many society meetings, weekends, gatherings and publications should also be on that list!

Separate purpose from ‘product’ We began by thinking about the ice companies in New York in the 1920s and 1930s that made a fine profit by selling ice to fill the cool boxes of New Yorkers – until the domestic refrigerator was invented. As Christina observed ‘the ice companies responded to this by streamlining their industry and becoming more efficient …as we all know, eventually, the ice companies went out of business, because they thought that their why was to supply ice, when in fact, it was to keep food cool’.

Following this, we moved into small groups to spend 1015 minutes discussing why it is important to welcome the stranger. We all agreed, ‘because they might one day want to be on the committee or the tea rota’ was not a good enough reason! Reasons put forward included ‘because that is what we are here for – providing a spiritual community’, ‘because new people bring in new ideas and new perspectives’ and ‘because Jesus asked his followers to do this’. There was no expectation to participate if

people would rather stay out of these discussions, but I believe that everyone did take part.

All agreed it was a useful discussion, focussing us on what our communities are really here for. Many commented that this workshop in itself was a potential new way of welcoming strangers. We now have tools and skills for online meetings which we did not have pre-pandemic.

Following another story from Christina about training with the youth programme, our second workshop considered ‘What does your community do well and what could it do even better?’ This was a welcome question, as it’s hard not to feel sometimes that our movement is far better at being negative about ourselves that we are at recognising our strengths. Participants mentioned singing, interesting services, social action, providing a welcoming space for local community groups, and discussions over tea and coffee after the services as different things they did well.

Doing better Many felt that ‘things they could do even better’ were often the same things they did well, but that they needed to make more of them and get the word out in their local community about what they could offer. Overall, it was an uplifting and positive workshop, and we look forward to seeing the learning from it shared more widely in future.

Many thanks to the organisers!

Louise Reeve is a member of Newcastle Unitarians. www.inquirer.org.uk | Page 13

Faith in Words Under the Sea-Wind Let us have the presence To stand at the edge of the sea To sense the ebb and flow of the tides.

To see the endless running of the eels.

Let us have the sense To feel the breath of a mist Moving over a great saltmarsh.

Let us have the sense To watch the flight of shore birds That have swept up and down the continents For untold thousands of years Let us have the sense Of what has been And the imagination Of what is to be.

Based on Under the Sea Wind

by Rachel Carson

In the New Beginning The Spirit of God Had moved from the face of the earth An earth polluted by Man, An earth ravaged by nuclear war A humanity destroyed by hate.

Ever Increasing Circles Walk around the frozen lake Companionless.

Then stop To etch your name On the hard-blue ice.

Walk around the frozen lake.

Then stop To watch the sun Melt your name away.

Now you are the Nameless One Whose selfish past has melted Whose Search for your selfless self.

There is no destination.

You find your new self In the journey. future craving has vanished.

But two survivors Hand in hand Arose from the rubble.

Walk around the thawing lake.

Egoless. Search for your selfless self.

And God blessed them; Saying be fruitful and multiply,

There is no destination.

You find your new self In the journey.

Eschew all weapons of destruction Cleanse the earth of poison And sow love in the heart Of each future generation.

Bert Clough Member, Oxford Unitarians

And when this is done, Return the earth to me.

For it will be my Heaven And your Heaven also.

A Reflection after the Summer Solstice As light tips again towards darkness, As the sunlight shines through leaves and ripples on water, As the world around us blossoms with all the colours of the rainbow, May we celebrate the differences between us, and may we do all we can To ensure that everyone has equal opportunities to bloom.

May we work for, and fight for, a fair division of resources And the chance to learn and grow and love and live without discrimination.

May this tipping point of the seasons also be a tipping point In the march towards justice and equity and love.

May we support our friends in their parallel quests for freedom, And may all be our friends who share in the quest.

Amen.

Benediction

(Inspired by Kacey Musgraves’ ‘Butterflies’)

May we lift each other up When the world tries to hold us down, May we work to untangle the strings Which hold some back while others soar, And may we not rest until everyone knows What it feels like to fly.

Stephanie Bisby Minister, York Unitarians and Scarborough Unitarians Pixabay photo by MabelAmber

Prayer for the Planet God of the sky and the sea and all that flies and swims, God of the sun and the moon and the light by day and by night, God of the land and its forests and waters and all that live and walk in it, one family We come in praise and thankfulness that we have life and have it abundantly and we come too in penitence for all that we have wasted, for all that we have polluted, for our greed, our carelessness and ignorance.

Forgive us these, our trespasses, our lack of caring and of sharing.

Help us to see and to believe that we can yet make clean the air and the waters, and fertile the land, give voice to the voiceless and power to the powerless, that all may share in the harvest.

Open our arms to welcome the stranger, our mouths to taste others’ fruits, our ears to hear the music in alien tongues.

Inspire us this day with hope and vision Of a fairer, fresher, safer world for all – and the will, and the courage, to make it so.

Amen Celia Midgley

Prayer composed for a service at Manchester College Old Students Association celebrating Cherishing the Earth – Nourishing the Spirit, edited by Maria Curtis, Pub. Lindsey Press.

Photo by EvgeniT via Pixabay