Issue 8084

THE

INQUIRER £3 | Issue 8084 | June 2024

Inside this issue…

Colleen’s wonderful 19-year legacy How to see the Divine in da Vinci Creating spaces for spiritual exploration and growth

www.inquirer.org.uk www.inquirer.org.uk

The voice of British and Irish Unitarians and Free Christians

Observations from a new Unitarian Answering the all-important question: what does it mean to be Unitarian?

THE

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

“To promote a free and inquiring religion through the worship of God and the celebration of life; the service of humanity and respect for all creation; and the upholding of the liberal Christian tradition.”

From the Object passed at the General Assembly of the Unitarian and Free Christian Churches 2001 The Inquirer The Inquirerisispublished publishedmonthly fortnightly

by The

by Inquirer The Inquirer Publishing Company Publishing (2004), Company Registered (2004), Registered Charity 1101039.

Charity 1101039.

Editor: M Colleen Burns MA Interim editor: Laura Cox Norwich 46A Newmarket Road,Autumn Cringleford, c/o 3 Edmunds Fold, 505281 Littleborough, OL15 9LS NR4 6UF T: 01603 T: 015955 E: 07891 inquirer@btinternet.com E: admin@inquirer.org.uk Proofreader: Sarah Reynolds Cover Cover:and pages 7, 9 & 14: photos from Pexels

A note from the editor Welcome to the June edition of The Inquirer.

It’s been an interesting period of change, both within our movement and particularly at The Inquirer, with the departure of our long-standing editor, the inimitable Colleen Burns, to pastures new.

Colleen has shepherded The Inquirer for nineteen years, collecting and collating articles to uplift and inform. She’s been instrumental in shaping the central content resource for UK Unitarians, guiding seasoned writers while nurturing new shoots. She’s a true champion of the Unitarian voice – without her, The Inquirer would not exist, and you would not be reading these words.

Colleen has taken on a new role as media ocer with a charity created to ght for the rights of indigenous peoples. It’s a bold and purposeful step, and one we know Colleen will take with grace, condence, and ability.

As Unitarians, we spend a lot of time looking back. This is important, and worthwhile – if we then use those foundations to drive forward a loving, meaningful, impactful message.

During Pride Month, this is even more important. We often speak about inclusion, diversity, and our radical roots. What can we do to turn our words into actions?

So, let’s celebrate the brave and the bold, including our wonderful outgoing editor. And let’s step forward with the same spring in our steps.

Laura Autumn Cox

Articles express the views of their writers.

Submissions are the welcome maywriters. be edited for Articles express views and of their content and length.

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Submission guidelines Have you got an uplifting, interesting, or important story to share? The Inquirer publishes articles that explore spirituality today, grounded in our Unitarian values of connection, acceptance, and compassion.

We’re keen to hear from a diverse range of voices, and encourage authors to write about the evolution of the movement in a fastchanging world.

Please email articles between 600 and 1,000 words to admin@ inquirer.org.uk. Attach your article as a Word document or Google Doc, or paste it into the body of the email.

Please include a suggested title, a high-resolution image of yourself, a short author bio (Rev. Individual Person, minister at Somewhere Unitarians), and ideally a photo to accompany the article.

For shorter pieces or news about upcoming events, please add ‘Letter’ to the subject line of your email. You do not need to send a photo to accompany letters, and letters can be published anonymously.

Verite Hunter explores the intention, the inspiration, and the mystery of choosing a new spiritual path

A leap of faith – observations from a new Unitarian What does it mean to be a Unitarian? It’s a question we’ve all been asked, and one that we’ve undoubtedly asked ourselves. Verite Hunter, a new attendee at Mill Hill Chapel, Leeds, oers a compelling answer grounded in her own personal truth.

When I was asked if I wanted to sum back home to the word ‘God’ from up what being a Unitarian means to my own understanding: the only me, I instantly jumped at the chance. source, the creator. Following this Yes! I thought. And then some source of creation and being close to words like unity, grace, honesty, and it means following my dreams, as well wholeness came to mind. I let that as the angels, animals, and mantras sink in for a day or two and nally that may have led me there.

“Without love, we are came to stillness.

To listen to the instruction manual This is what it really means to me: of God is one thing, but to have deep all really nothing.” to be between the quiet spaces and understanding and reection is the echo of my mind. It’s a place of another: to really hear the words mindful intention, of practice, and of between the spaces in the unwritten loving. To me, it means carving out language of love. And for all my the time to develop a relationship seeking, all my searching and scraping with my true self and then harvesting of the texts, it has only led me back that for the good of others in my to one thing: without love, we are all community and my environment. really nothing.

Being a Unitarian, to me, is a way of life that is guided and Mill Hill Chapel is, to me, unique in this understanding. As inspired by teachings and readings. These readings are a we sing into the melodic rhythms of soothing frequency, medicine for the mind and body, a manual and a blessing on we ultimately understand that we are creating and building how to live your life in the natural order of things, to live in something deeper than all the noise. full health: mind, body, and spirit.

To me, God is neither male nor female. In fact, I don’t believe We all get sick at some point, but most people don’t think God is human at all. I have always struggled to understand about spiritual sickness. In fact, some swoop around in the part of new-age spirituality that believes in tales of the spiritual circles for years, continuing to get sick, exchanging ancients and in coincidence, yet in the same sentence says energy in various releasing or healing modalities, never really everything happens for a reason. taking the time to fully cleanse themselves.

I was once one of those people, hanging on the tips of faith, Being a Unitarian has given me the opportunity to come wanting to release fully into the divine but never quite having Continued on page 4 > www.inquirer.org.uk | Page 3

Above: Mill Hill Chapel, Leeds.

Photo © Tim Green

Continued from page 3 >

the courage to do so. To me, faith is a place of mystery where we nd the courage to believe in what we cannot see and the strength to let go in that uncertainty. I believe that staying in the illusion of coincidence is pure torture for the soul, living a life devoid of meaning.

Faith, to me, is a decision to live with your whole heart. It’s a decision I made when feeling fear and uncertainty. I followed it with open curiosity, realising that living your life in faith requires believing without seeing and being deliberate. This is why I followed my dreams (quite literally) to Mill Hill Chapel: because I had faith.

That’s what I believe intuition is: a sudden immersion of the soul into the universal current of life, where all people and history are connected. Taking a leap of faith, for me, means praying – it means conversations and letters with the divine.

It means taking the dedication and commitment to hear those words of wisdom, living in acceptance and ow of all the good and all the bad. Having patience and consistency when meeting adversity. Ultimately, it means I am not in control and I hand it over. I learn to let go, one day at a time, again and again. Allowing forgiveness, compassion, and acceptance of myself and others.

Page 4 | Issue 8084 – 11 June 2024

“As we sing into the melodic rhythms of soothing frequency, we ultimately understand that we are creating and building something deeper than all the noise.”

Verite Hunter Verite Hunter is a new member of the congregation at Mill Hill Chapel in Leeds.

Rev. Stephanie Bisby pays tribute to the outgoing editor of The Inquirer

Thanks to Colleen Burns After 19 years at the helm, Colleen leaves behind a legacy of editorial excellence... and some very big shoes to ll.

When Colleen Burns joined The Inquirer as its editor 19 years ago, she brought with her the benet of an extensive education and background in journalism as she dived enthusiastically into British Unitarian life. Her professionalism and ability to form connections, not just at the Octagon Chapel but throughout the movement, have helped make The Inquirer the publication it is today.

John Midgley, former chair of The Inquirer board and current chair of the editorial board says, “I was happy to act as mentor for Colleen. It was an undemanding role, as she always seemed comfortably on top of the situation.

Occasionally she would ask for my thoughts on an article or a letter she had received, but then went on to make her own mind up about it! I always felt that The Inquirer was in safe hands. We have been fortunate to have her.”

Colleen is an exceptional wordsmith in her own right and has been unfailingly diplomatic in her dealings with contributors and subscribers. Her ethics and passion for justice have informed her approach to editing The Inquirer, particularly the excellent collaboration with the Hibbert Trust, which explored the Black Lives Matter movement, the ways in which present Unitarians are aected by the legacy of slavery, and the reparations we may seek to make.

Although Colleen will be much missed by The Inquirer’s board and readers, it is tting that she takes this passion for justice forward into her new role.

Diane Bennett, Chair of The Inquirer board, says, “As my colleagues have said, The Inquirer has beneted hugely from being able to take advantage of Colleen’s professionalism and engaging personality – the combination of which has seen the paper develop and new writers come on board. Colleen’s

experience has informed Board discussions. Whilst she will be very much missed, I wish her well for the future working in a role which is close to her heart.”

Following Colleen’s departure, we are very grateful to be joined by Laura Autumn Cox as interim editor as the magazine settles into its new monthly format, bringing with it new challenges and opportunities. Laura is honoured to step into the role during such an important transitional phase for the publication. She’s keen for readers to keep an open mind, and is excited for The Inquirer to move from strength to strength. Laura brings eight years of professional writing experience including as copywriter, editor, bid writer, and journalist.

“As a writer, I loved working with Colleen. I wish her all the best, and hope she won’t mind receiving the occasional email from me asking for advice,” says Laura. “Colleen was determined to cover the big issues of the day, and that’s something I’m keen to continue.”

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

www.inquirer.org.uk | Page 5

Rev. Jenny Miller discusses the delicate question of God’s gender, drawing on current discourse on gender theology and gender inclusion

The Mona Lisa, God, and gender identity Nat King Cole’s famous musical tribute to the Mona Lisa as the ‘lady with the mystic smile’ reects the mystery surrounding the most famous of painted faces, daubed by Leonardo da Vinci in the early sixteenth century.

Art historians have long debated the largely denied in post-Reformation androgynous dual nature of the two Protestant Christianity, focusing halves of the Mona Lisa. Although the solely on God the male Father, Mona Lisa is generally said to be the sparking much theological grappling “Mona Lisa’s androgyny face of Lisa Gherardini, a pregnant with the original feminine term silk merchant’s wife, some art critics ‘Sophia’ for the Holy Spirit as serves as an artistic reveal a hidden layer of possibility, understood in traditional Christianity, showing that each side of the face rather than in Unitarian theology allegory for spiritualis painted with diering layers of of unity. Sometimes, Sophia is philosophical teachings shadowing – if one looks separately at translated as Jesus. However, each side of the interestingly, Gnostics have seen of the Divine.” face and covers over the other, one Sophia as the syzygy (the female side looks distinctly counterpart) of Jesus. more masculine, with coarser features In the spirit of Interfaith breadth, than the softer feminine side. the American Indian tradition of the The painting remained in da Vinci’s Ancient Wisdom similarly expresses hands until his death, when it was bequeathed to Salai, his the Divine in both male and female terms. The dual nature is male companion and possible lover. Some suggest that the beautiful articulated by White Eagle: Mona Lisa shares striking physical similarities with Salai.

“As God is both Father and Mother, so there are creations of Others question whether Salai modelled for da Vinci while the Mother-Father, male and female; the two are one, and completing this picture amongst others, which would explain the two will come together eventually. But at the same time, the resemblance.

I am trying to convey to you that you must try to get away from that box with a label on it. Oh, but we do like labels! In Whatever the mysterious truth behind the enigmatic smile, the beginning, God created male and female, yes, but in that Mona Lisa’s androgyny serves as an artistic allegory for male and female is the opposite. There is both in the one. spiritual-philosophical teachings of the Divine, with both ‘male’ and ‘female’ natures emerging through various spiritual The two aspects are in the male, the two aspects are in the female, in the spiritual creation, in the whole being.” traditions through the ages. Hinduism’s Sanatana Dharma, meaning the Eternal Way, perhaps best preserves the dual This perennial truth of complementary male and female nature of Divinity, theologically expressed as a duality of energies echoes Taoist wisdom, where the black-and-white Divine consort, such as Shiva-Shakti, Vishnu-Lakshmi, circular Yin-Yang symbol illustrates yin-in-the-yang and Rama, and Sita. yang-in-the-yin.

In Roman Catholicism, Mary is venerated as the Mother The post-modern age heralds a more open-minded breadth of God, but sadly the feminine aspect of divinity was to the gender spectrum of divinity, both as a theological Page 6 | Issue 8084 – 11 June 2024

concept and also as the reality of androgynous Divine Light or Spirit manifesting in the hearts of all human beings, however they identify.

It may not have escaped your attention in the media that the question of gender identity is very current, especially for the younger generation, with increasing numbers of people reecting on their gender and pronouns (she, her, he, him, or they). Importantly, gender identity is not the same question as physical biology at birth. Many people include their choice of pronouns after their names as a mark of respectful inclusivity. In some Interfaith spiritual circles, especially those with spiritual beliefs in reincarnation and successive lives of the soul lived as both males and females in dierent incarnations, the terms ‘gender neutral’ or ‘non-binary’ reect a deeper level of identication with the genderless, non-binary or gender-neutral nature of our souls – beyond the physicality of our bodies in our current incarnation.

I nd it interesting that in a contemporary context, Chloe Specht reects theologically on the most appropriate pronouns for God, saying, in harmony with White Eagle’s teachings that “‘they’ is a beautiful pronoun for God.” Specht says that “God is neither a man nor a woman, and yet God has both masculine and feminine characteristics.

We need more expansive language to describe the truth and beauty of God.” The Anglican Church is certainly not ‘blended’ on LGBTQI+ issues and currently faces public divisions regarding samesex marriage, or even blessing same-sex marriages in church after a legally recognised ceremony. This is out of step with post-modern values and legalities. But gender theology is creating a signicant shift in some contemporary revisions of post-modern theological reections on God/divinity within

more traditional Christian theologies. Even the Anglican church is reecting upon its use of gender pronouns for God. Here, we can see how important it is that progressive theological thinking continues to help to move and shake various churches and bring them into harmony with modern values of universal love.

Heeding the previous wise advice on how much we humans like labels, I wonder whether, in the same way we are free to choose our own gender identity and choice of pronouns, so too are we free to choose the pronoun (or no pronoun at all) that we prefer to use for the Divine. In this way, Divine Being mirrors the ‘reection-image’ of every soul – male, female, and everything in between or beyond.

So, the mysterious androgyny of the Mona Lisa reects the perfect wholeness of the Divine Mystery of Being. Whatever your personal, sensitive views are on gender, I oer these theological thoughts for quiet reection, recognising the sensitivity of the full spectrum of issues around gender identity and its burgeoning relevance in today’s society.

Rev. Jenny Miller The Rev. Jenny Miller is an Interfaith minister and a friend of Godalming and Oxford Unitarians.

www.inquirer.org.uk | Page 7

Kieren Mardle-Moss wonders what connection really means for Unitarians in an increasingly digital age...

What is a connected Unitarian?

In an ever-connected world, what is a connected Unitarian? To break this down a bit, what does it mean to be Unitarian? How are we connected to each other as a Unitarian community – and to the world?

It might be helpful to rst be aware together as Unitarians is in the of what it means to be a Unitarian. knowledge that while we are searching This can mean many dierent for the truth, we can nd enough of it things to dierent people, but our to live by.

“We are connected movement has always been proud of We, in spite of our freedom from its freedom from theological tests. a creed, and in spite of our wide through the acceptance Our movement, in sympathy perhaps varieties of belief and practice, with the Quakers, could be seen of each other’s right to possess in our movement a as believing in the ‘Inner Light’ remarkable connection in the unity express our own point which directs the thinking of of spirit. We include those who a sincere person. strongly emphasise the needs of a of view.”

Within our movement, there are world religion that is more inclusive important freedoms. Firstly, each than the Christian tradition, and we congregation is free to order its own include those who emphasise our aairs. It is responsible to no higher roots in the Christian tradition. We structure for orders. Secondly, every have many varieties – those who minister is free to preach their own beliefs. This freedom love colour and ritual, and those who love plainness and may be moderated by the freedom of the congregation to simplicity in worship. But all our dierences are resolved in accept it. And thirdly, each person is free to hold their faith our common loyalty to in the spirit beyond. This makes for a healthy variety of the search for truth, beauty, and goodness, and if we viewpoints in our denomination. cannot always agree on how to express the truth, we always agree to dier.

Our dierences in opinion can be and should be without bitterness because we are connected through the Today, we are a liberal faith. We hold various ideas about acceptance of each other’s right to express our own point Jesus and dierent views about God – a rich mosaic of view. We are not a church in which every member of personal beliefs. Historically we have our roots in is expected to hold the same beliefs and use a single form Christianity, but over time we have broadened our of words to express that belief. Where we can connect connections within and outside our faith to expand our Page 8 | Issue 8084 – 11 June 2024

denitions of what being a Unitarian means. We embrace our radical historic roots and are connected as individuals, congregations and as a faith towards ideas of unity, the oneness of all life, universalism – of being together as one.

Our Unitarian Universalist Association family over in the US dedicate two of their Seven Principles to community and togetherness in an interconnected web, both of which can be considered connections. These are the Sixth Principle; the goal of world community with peace, liberty, and justice for all, and the Seventh Principle: respect for the interdependent web of all existence of which we are a part.

The Principles show that we are an interconnected web of beings immersed in personal freedom and respect. And this is why I want to explore connections further.

In terms of connections generally, thanks to modern technology I can speak to my brothers and sisters in the USA at the touch of a button. We are very thankful for the ability to make a phone call, text, video chat, Zoom meetings and the list goes on for the various ways we can make contact. This was made most evident to me during a recent young people’s event called Cloud-9 – a chance for young Unitarians to get together online. I am a Youth Leader within our movement and in pre-COVID times, the other youth leaders and I would go to the Nightingale Unitarian

Conference Centre at Great Hucklow in Derbyshire to host a range of sessions to support, encourage, and develop our young people. COVID got in the way of this, so we put our thinking caps on. We came up with an online space for young people with a theme of connections. Together, we examined why connections are important to us (they are good for us, and keep us active) and what we connect with (friends, nature, church, family, hobbies). But we also looked at how the pandemic tested our connections with others – missing people, and not being able to contact or interact as before. I for one, looking back, took seeing my friends and family for granted.

To show the importance of strong connections, young people took part in a creative task to make a bridge out of any material. The bridge was tested with books to see how strong it was – much like how our connections in real life have been tested. In reection, the young people said they would appreciate connections that little bit more.

This appreciation is something that I recently felt while watching A Beautiful Day in the Neighbourhood, a lm that tells the story of Fred Rogers, a US children’s television presenter who talked about real-world issues and the importance of connecting even when it seems hard. In one scene, Fred (played by Tom Hanks) uses the American Sign

Continued on page 10 > www.inquirer.org.uk | Page 9

“Surely then, where we nd ourselves now presents a unique opportunity for us as Unitarians to embrace the spiritually homeless, the religiously free, the forgotten, the downtrodden, and embrace love through connection with others – to develop and deepen our roots, expanding and evolving ever outwards.”

Continued from page 9 >

Language sign for friendship, which looks like a connected chain. It’s a simple but powerful reminder that pinpoints how we connect with others.

In the words of Cli Reed, former Unitarian General Assembly President and Secretary of the International Council of Unitarians and Universalists: “When we gather, we gather with our hearts open to each other, with minds open to the unfamiliar, with spirits open to the ow of life and love. We gather as friends and strangers, as newcomers and familiar faces, as people of dierent ages and unique stories – each of us alone, all of us together – many yet one.”

Surely then, where we nd ourselves now presents a unique opportunity for us as Unitarians to embrace the spiritually homeless, the religiously free, the forgotten, the downtrodden, and embrace love through connection with others – to develop and deepen our roots, expanding and evolving ever outwards.

Connections have a great capacity to help us smile brighter and stand taller with hearts full of love – whether that’s connecting with nature, animals, like-minded individuals, or through technology. Just as Nokia’s slogan goes, it’s all about Page 10 | Issue 8084 – 11 June 2024

‘connecting people’.

So, be mindful to reach out and oer connections where and when you can – you never know how alone someone may be. There are always opportunities to connect. And, above all, be kind.

Kieren Mardle-Moss Kieren Mardle-Moss is Treasurer of Coventry Unitarians and a current ministry student.

Rev. Feargus O’Connor looks back at the foundational work of Dr Albert Schweitzer

‘Reverence for Life’

Above: photo from Adobe Stock

Dr Albert Schweitzer was truly one of the most exemplary and inspirational humanitarians of modern times.

His foundational ethic, indeed his most original contribution to religious and ethical thought, was ‘Reverence for Life’ (Ehrfurcht vor dem Leben, in Schweitzer’s original German). This Universalist vision led him to reject merely anthropocentric ethics.

To Schweitzer, as to his contemporary, Mahatma Gandhi, all living beings are endowed with inherent moral worth and dignity. This should therefore awaken us to a sense of the interconnectedness of all sentient beings: a religious vision inspiring the Seventh Principle of the Unitarian Universalist Association: ‘respect for the interdependent web of existence of which we are a part’ and heeding ‘spiritual teachings of Earth-centred traditions which celebrate the sacred circle of life and instruct us to live in harmony with the rhythms of nature’.

It is signicant that towards the end of his life, Schweitzer, to the delight of his many American Unitarian admirers, became a member of the Unitarian Universalist Church of the Larger Fellowship. Schweitzer held that this ethic of Reverence for Life was in essence Jesus’s own great commandment of love. “When the abuse of animals is widespread,” Schweitzer wrote, “when the bellowing of thirsty animals in cattle cars is heard and ignored, when cruelty still prevails in many slaughterhouses, when animals are clumsily and painfully butchered in our kitchens, when callous people inict unimaginable torments upon animals and when some are exposed to the cruel games of children, all of us share in the guilt.”

Schweitzer believed that to the truly ethical person, all life is sacred. We must seize every occasion to feel the happiness of helping fellow living beings, ‘shielding them from suering and annihilation’. He looked forward with profound hope to that future time when ‘thoughtless injury to life’ would be discerned as wholly incompatible with true spiritual ethics.

How many outrages are coldly committed in scientic institutions where anaesthetics are so often omitted to save time and trouble? How many animals are made to suer agonising tortures just to demonstrate to students scientic truths which are perfectly well known?

It was therefore wholly appropriate that in 2015, when I successfully proposed a Unitarian General Assembly resolution encouraging humane medical research, I renamed,

on the occasion of the 50th anniversary of Schweitzer’s death, the Universal Kinship Appeal of the charity Animal Free Research UK the Gandhi Schweitzer Universal Kinship Appeal. Among the charity’s patrons are Joanna Lumley, Judi Dench and Brian May. We’ve raised £55,377 for life-saving humane medical research into breast and prostate cancer, diabetes and other diseases: thus helping save human and non-human lives.

Moreover, Schweitzer’s moral stand, in solidarity with Albert Einstein and Bertrand Russell, against the utter evil of nuclear warfare clearly reected his determination to apply his all-important ethic of Reverence for Life in a practical way to the modern world.

Today the danger of nuclear annihilation has never been more real and immediate. What worse blasphemy can there be than nuclear annihilation of all God’s creatures on Earth? We must seize every occasion to feel the happiness of helping fellow living beings – and is protecting them from suering and cruelty at our hands not a moral imperative?

“Any religion or philosophy,” Schweitzer asserted, “which is not based on a respect for life is not a true religion or philosophy… Until we extend the circle of our compassion to all living beings we ourselves shall not nd peace.”

May each of us embrace this true spiritual wisdom, this most inspiring of religious visions, and act on it with determination.

May we each lead by our example in the world.

Rev. Feargus O’Connor Rev. Feargus O’Connor is minister emeritus of Golders Green Unitarians, former Secretary of the World Congress of Faiths and founding Chair of the Animal Interfaith Alliance.

www.inquirer.org.uk | Page 11

Liz Slade reects on feedback given on the 2024 Unitarian Annual Meetings

What you told us about the 2024 Unitarian Annual Meetings The weeks following the Annual Meetings are always interesting for the General Assembly (GA) sta team: resting, regaining our energy, and reecting and learning.

At the Executive Committee pouncing on new people to give them workshop held during the Meetings, tasks! There was also a call to shed we held small group conversations constricting traditions in worship around the theme of ‘change’. We and collective activity. It was a “These reections feel asked how change – or the lack fruitful discussion, and the Executive of it – feels in congregations. My Committee and sta are reecting important in how we sense was that the uncomfortable on the full responses to inform how feelings towards change stem we support congregations. talk about Unitarian from a perceived lack of agency or Many thanks to those who lled community with the power; whether that’s because we in the feedback survey after the feel powerless and that change is Meetings. It’s always helpful to wider world.” being ‘done to us’, or because we hear how we did, and what we can feel daunted by the scale of change do better. The rst thing to say is needed. how glad I am that there is such a We then asked attendees to share consistent sense of welcome. This is what is energising and meaningful in in no small part down to the ministry their Unitarian experience. Answers included community, students and sta who meet, greet, and support people care, support, ritual, shared purpose, social action, music, through the event. and doing things together, as well as those more unique In response to the question on what participants loved about to the Unitarian ethos – freedom of thought and belief, the Meetings, far and away the top answer was around questioning, variety, candles of joy and concern, chalice connecting with Unitarians from across the country (and lighting, learning, exploring, authenticity, belonging, and beyond). This seemed to be more than just social, though old acceptance. These reections feel important in how we talk and new friendships played a part; the quality of connection about Unitarian community with the wider world; being clear also mattered. Worship featured highly – not just Rev. Ant on our strengths can help us communicate well.

Howe’s highly appreciated Anniversary Service, but also Lastly, we asked what we need to let go of – what takes the worship woven through the meetings, particularly the up energy without appropriate reward. The most common chance to sing together. Many people enjoyed the variety answer was ‘committees’, or, more specically, rigid, of speakers and workshops on oer. ineective, inecient, bureaucratic ways of working. There When it came to what excited people about the future of was a wish to stop relying on volunteers to complete tasks the movement, the most common theme was enthusiasm that are better done by paid professionals, and to avoid for the Innovation Challenge Scheme (where the GA will Page 12 | Issue 8084 – 11 June 2024

Above: Liz Slade, Rev. Rory Castle-Jones, and Rev. Ant Howe. Photo: UK Unitarian website

provide matched funding for investing in local leadership) and collaboration, innovation, and growth more generally.

Another theme was around alignment to the issues that matter, particularly climate change, with support for the Unitarians for Climate Justice group. Many people also voiced that they felt the optimism of a new era forming.

Looking at improvements, the most common theme was feeling rushed and busy, and wanting more space to connect informally. Some wished for the meetings to return to a four-day programme, while also acknowledging that the cost would likely become prohibitive. Some raised procedural matters, calling for a smoother, clearer process for debate, or even a completely dierent approach to decision-making.

On the venue, many wished for easier public transport links and smoother shuttle bus connections. People called for better accessibility, considering mobility, sensory needs, and a better Loop system. We are limited in our venue options; the Hilton Hotel in Birmingham that we’ve used in recent years has increased its prices signicantly, and despite our searches we haven’t found alternatives that t our budget and room requirements. It’s likely we’ll be back at Staverton next year, as we heard positive feedback about the hotel too.

I was glad that the most common answer in the nal ‘would you like to say anything else’ question was to express thanks and appreciation to the GA for the work that goes into creating and hosting the Meetings. I will echo those thanks here – to the sta, volunteers, and Executive Committee members, and to all those who come along and take part.

It’s a special few days, and like others, I felt a wave of something new beginning.

“Many people voiced that they felt the optimism of a new era forming.”

Liz Slade Liz Slade is the UK Unitarian Chief Executive.

www.inquirer.org.uk | Page 13

Unitarian architecture, Yorkshire olives, and a speedy spot Celebrating our architectural heritage As one of their former ministers I was pleased to be invited, along with my wife, to the 150th anniversary celebrations of the opening of Padiham Unitarians’ chapel building. However, it was a little confusing to read, in the stonework over the door, the date 1872. As the Chapel’s history unfolded during the celebration, this was claried.

Building the handsome Neo-Gothic chapel took time, as the cost had to be raised by the largely low-income local people. They also faced opposition from members of other denominations, so much so that the purchase of the land on which to build had to be done clandestinely. This all reinforced the erce loyalty of the Unitarians.

When the work was completed in 1874, they honoured the two men responsible for bringing Unitarianism to Padiham by depicting them in stained glass windows in the east end. I know of no other Unitarian founders honoured in that way. The Chapel also has a stained-glass version of Holman Hunt’s Light of the World. Again, this might be unique in Unitarian chapels. Certainly, the anniversary was a happy and positive occasion.

Unsure as to whether to call Padiham chapel’s architecture Gothic or Neo-Gothic, I consulted Wikipedia. Is there a dierence? There is, in that Gothic architecture emerged in the 12th century and was given the name as an insult! Italian artist Georgio Vasari described the style, with its tall spires, pointed arches and ying buttresses, ‘as barbaric as the Goths’! The name stuck, though the style declined in popularity. It was revived in the 19th century as Neo-Gothic, and we have a number of Neo-Gothic Unitarian chapels. They contrast strongly with the Meeting House styles of, for example, Ainsworth and many others.

So, at the event it was good to meet up with Steve and Shirley Horrocks of our congregation in Ainsworth, a few miles away. Steve has taken an interest in their lovely old chapel which dates from 1715. Prompted by my mention of the pictures of Padiham’s founding fathers, he told me he had discovered, on the Ainsworth chapel roof, the faces of eight men, carved into the base of the bell tower. The hair styles look to be 18th century, but who could they be? Searching through the archives he found that the list of the rst trustees has eight men’s names. It seems most likely that they are the ones depicted on the roof, but how to prove it? Is this another unique way of commemorating beloved forebears? We must await further research.

The Mount of Olives – in Yorkshire I was surprised to see olive trees for sale at our town centre store, the one that is still referred to as ‘used to be Page 14 | Issue 8084 – 11 June 2024

FUNNY OLD WORLD

By John Midgley

Woolworths’. I instinctively think of them growing in the sunshine of Mediterranean countries, inuenced, I suppose, by my reading of the Mount of Olives in the New Testament. The thought of anyone producing a harvest of them here in North Yorkshire takes some getting used to.

One day, perhaps, I shall see ‘Home Grown Yorkshire Olive Oil’ for sale in the supermarket. Should I delight in this novelty, or add it to the anxieties about global warming?

Unitarian spotters’ corner I don’t think many people know that Roger Bannister, the rst man in the world to run a mile in under four minutes, went to a Unitarian Sunday school. In the 1930s, Roger, then a little boy, attended Sunday school in Broadway Avenue in Bradford (aectionately known as the tin tabernacle). Alas, he did not grow up into the congregation.

Did he run away? No, he was sent to boarding school, then to Oxford University, where he was admitted aged only 16 years. Along with his medical studies he was a keen athlete and just 70 years ago, on a great day in May 1954, two colleagues agreed to be pacemakers for him as he attempted to run a mile in under four minutes, for the rst time. Someone lmed the successful attempt, and the lm has been viewed countless millions of times the world over. It can still be watched on Facebook.

A warm thank you At the Annual Meetings in April, my wife Celia and I were most honoured and delighted to be nominated as Honorary Members of the General Assembly of Unitarian and Free Christian Churches. Our thanks go to the Manchester District for nominating us, and to Ann Peart for the kind and generous proposal speech. Our thanks also for the applause and standing ovation, plus the enormous bouquets of owers, which were a joy to receive. Also, to the many who have sent messages of congratulation. It is nice to be appreciated. I can only add that I am relieved it was not This is Your Life, because then perhaps I would not have been made an Honorary Member!

Letters to the editor Responding to the crisis in Gaza

Voting is nigh

Rev. Feargus O’Connor

Victor Anderson, Brighton Unitarians

To the editor › Gaza is arguably the dening moral issue of our time. So how will our Unitarian responses be judged in the future?

The Unitarian Universalist Association has called on Unitarians worldwide to ‘open our hearts and be present to the depths of human suering’ in Gaza by taking decisive action now.

We can be inspired by UK Unitarian solidarity with the bold prophetic peace declaration, and also with humanitarian peace initiatives by the United Nations, International Red Cross, Save the Children and other leading charities and religious voices calling for an immediate ceasere and a just and enduring peace in Gaza.

We can take special pride in the initiative by Unitarian ministry students – encouraged

by London and South East Unitarians (LDPA), David and Hazel Warhurst, and the Northern Unitarian Association – to carry

out a collection at our Annual Meetings for the British Red Cross Israel and Occupied Palestinian Territory Appeal. Thanks to our volunteers, organised by Shana Parvin Begum and Adam Slate, a total of £758.45 was raised. The British Red Cross has asked me to pass on its warm thanks to The Inquirer for its exemplary coverage of its emergency appeals over the past 12 years, to all who donated, and to Shana Parvin Begum, James Chiriyankandath, Tom Frere-Jenkins, Tina Gandhi, Megan Jenkins, Rev. Arek Malecki, Kieren Mardle-Moss and Adam Slate for making this collection possible.

To the editor › The second half of the 2020s will be a crucial time for the climate emergency.

As we approach a general election which will elect a Parliament lasting probably until 2029, it is important to bear in mind that the climate question will eventually come to dominate everything else. Some of this will not be immediately obvious, such as the impact on the cost of living crisis of food price rises driven by climatic conditions increasingly producing severe droughts, oods, and res. Many dierent types of action are being taken by people responding to the climate emergency.

During elections this includes the political activity of holding candidates, representatives, and political parties to account. One clear and achievable aim would be to try to ensure there are no climate science deniers in the House of Commons. Anyone interested should look at https://www.mpwatch.org/.

Climate justice now!

Rob Oulton, co-founder, Unitarians for Climate Justice To the editor › There’s an election coming but British wildlife does not have the vote. That’s why, as the Royal Society for the Protection of Bird (RSPB) says, our birds and other wildlife need us to speak up for them. You can do this by joining a group of Unitarians at the ‘Restore Nature Now’ march in London on 22nd June. The gathering is entirely legal, safe, and family friendly. Its intention is to show decision-makers that the health and ourishing of nature is of major concern to people from every walk of life and political persuasion.

The UK is one of the most nature-depleted countries. Much of our wildlife continues to decline – 38 million birds have vanished from our skies in the last 50 years, 97% of our wildower meadows have been lost since the 1930s, and a quarter of all our mammals are at risk of extinction. This matters not just because we care about our fellow creatures, but because our connection to the landscape and its wildlife is entwined with our physical, psychological, and spiritual well-being. Unitarians deeply understand this. So, do please join us behind the Unitarians for Climate Justice banner at noon on 22nd June at Hyde Park Corner. Contact unitariansforclimate@gmail.com for more info.

Find out more at https://www.restorenaturenow.com.

Want to share your thoughts or observations? Write to the interim editor of The Inquirer, c/o 3 Edmunds Fold, Littleborough, OL15 9LS, or email to admin@ inquirer.org.uk. We’re especially keen to hear from diverse voices.

Vacancy for a new Minister

New Unity’s mission is to build a radically inclusive community dedicated to love and justice. We know that our members value a variety of aspects of New Unity: community, a spiritual ethos, our gatherings and wider groups and events, the opportunity for personal growth, the ethos of radical inclusion and much more.

We're based in Islington and Hackney in London.

We’re seeking an inclusive, curious and innovative Minister. Stipend, manse arrangements and other parts of the remuneration package are in line with the General Assembly’s recommendations. Visit newunity.org/minister-recruitment-2024 or email lisa.roskam@new-unity.org to find out more.

www.inquirer.org.uk | Page 15

How to create spaces for spiritual exploration and growth

Soul Deep Above: Rev. Michael Allured and Rev. Kate Dean

Rev. Maud Robinson, minister with Underbank Unitarians, Sheeld, reviews Soul Deep: Exploring Spirituality Together by Rev. Michael Allured and Rev. Kate Dean, launched during the 2024 Unitarian Annual Meetings.

Never before has it been more important to facilitate inclusive, accessible spaces for spiritual connection and growth. Soul Deep: Exploring Spirituality Together, written

by Rev. Michael Allured and Rev. Kate Dean, is a powerful resource for guiding thoughtful, rich group sessions.

Soul Deep oers all the material for an eight-week course of spiritual exploration for small groups (eight to twelve people is suggested as the ideal size). The course is designed to encourage personal reection and shared insights. The suggested structure and content for each of the eight two-hour sessions are laid out with great clarity, including detailed timings.

Part 1: Principles Part 1 suggests that the most benecial way to embark on this course is to follow the principles of an Engagement Group, which have been developed over 20 years of Unitarian Summer Schools, and similar groups in many settings. There is a succinct outline of ‘using the engagement group approach’ drawn from ‘Engagement Groups in a Nutshell’ by Rev. Jane Blackall. To get the most out of Soul Deep, the authors recommend that the group’s progress is facilitated. The facilitator plays a valuable leadership role in ‘holding’ the group and helping it to uphold engagement group principles.

Part 2: Structure Part 2 provides the structure and content for each of the eight sessions: 1. Finding purpose, meaning and identity; 2. Our need for connection; 3. Good, evil, suering and the nature of God/Good; 4. The cycle of life; 5. Spiritual baggage and barriers; 6. Pressures of everyday life; 7. Ways to deepen our soul connections; 8. Gathering and bringing in the harvest.

Part 3: Facilitation Part 3 provides excellent (detailed, but concise) Facilitator’s Guidelines – applicable both for those who have never facilitated a group, or for well-practiced facilitators. There are sections covering how to become a facilitator, structure sessions, engage in deep listening, handle challenging group dynamics, and all-important tips on in-person and online facilitation. And, to provide reassurance, there are checklists for each step of the way.

Page 16 | Issue 8084 – 11 June 2024

As a sometimes-nervous facilitator, I often fall into the bad habit of talking too much, and not giving enough space to ‘listen each of the participants into speech’. For those who have facilitated before, there are gentle reminders to help.

For example: “To model the practice of deep listening, you should resist the temptation to ll silences with your own contributions and opinions. By adopting a ‘less-is-more’ approach to facilitation, you are making the space.”

For those who have never facilitated a group, and might be hesitant at the prospect of taking on the task, the authors oer this encouragement: “As a facilitator, you are making a generous oer to serve the spiritual needs of your community. […] There is not one single way to full this role. For instance, if you are a natural introvert, the qualities of listening and thoughtfulness can be especially useful.”

Some (fun) homework…

Soul Deep oers thoughtful resources in the appendices section, including alternative readings, activities, and optional ‘homework’ for participants who want to explore the material more deeply. There are even samples of text for promotional materials, and follow-up invitations for those who express an interest in attending sessions.

Most of the contributors of the readings are contemporary Unitarians: ministers, members, and friends of congregations.

There are also suggestions for how, upon completing the course, a group may continue the journey as individuals or with a group, possibly calling forward a new facilitator.

I thoroughly recommend this book as a user-friendly, complete guide to providing, or taking part in, rich group engagement and spiritual exploration. Authors Kate and Michael will run two online facilitator training sessions to discuss some of the material in Part 3 and oer an opportunity for participants to discuss facilitation.

• Saturday 22 June, 2–3.30pm. Sign up at https://tinyurl.com/soul-deep-training-sat • Monday 24 June, 7–8.30pm. Sign up at https://tinyurl.com/soul-deep-training-mon Soul Deep: Exploring Spirituality Together is available for purchase from Unitarian HQ (www.unitarian.org.uk / 0207240 2384).