LivingSpirituality - Autumn 2015 newsletter · LivingSpirituality Autumn 2015 Newsletter 2. Lighting the Way – a global vigil A group of us from St James’s Piccadilly and LivingSpirituality

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Autumn 2015 Newsletter

1. Introduction2. Lighting the Way – a global vigil3. The Rising Tide - an art installation onthe Thames4. Wanderings in the Cosmic Garden – atalk given by Professor Lisa Isherwood5. Review of David Osborne’s book Lovefor the Future: A Journey6. Music at the Intersection: two bridge-building concerts in Jerusalem andNazareth by Heather-Jane Ozanne

7. A Cosmic View of Music by June Boyce-Tillman8. Men’s Spirituality at Holy Rood House,Thirsk – a personal view by Rick Butler9. The Creativity Day led by Linda Pearson10. Pilgrimage to Canterbury11. Pilgrim – A Poem

1. Introduction

In this newsletter we have richtheological and spiritual reflections in thesubstantial articles by Professors LisaIsherwood and June Boyce-Tillman.

We also focus on people’s responsesand actions in relation to some of thesignificant issues of the present time,which is what we mean when we talkabout being a “hub for engagedspirituality”.

The Thames in London has figured intwo recent imaginative events drawing

attention to the perils of climate changeand the inter-related problems of povertyand inequality. We report on theMillennium Bridge Vigil and on the RisingTide apocalyptic horses on the South Bankat Vauxhall.

LivingSpirituality held its annual jointevent in partnership with St James’sPiccadilly on 27 September, which waschaired by Rev Lucy Winkett.

Professor Lisa Isherwood gave a verystriking and challenging talk entitledWanderings in the Cosmic Garden, whichaddressed the theological and spiritual

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LivingSpirituality Autumn 2015 Newsletter

issues underlying the planetary problemsthat we face. We include the introductorysection of that talk here, and you can readthe complete talk through a link to a pdfon our website.

We publish a review of the book Lovefor the Future: A Journey by RevPrebendary David Osborne, brought outby Wild Goose, the Iona Communitypublishers. This book forms the basis for acourse which we plan to make availablethrough the LivingSpirituality website inthe future to help people to find theirpersonal focus in relation to the largescale of issues in today’s world. Moreabout that in our next newsletter.

LS Steering Group member Heather-Jane Ozanne does some very challengingpeace-building work in the Middle Eastthrough her charity, Spirit of Peace. Wereport on the recent bridge-buildingconcerts in Jerusalem and Nazareth.

At the Holy Rood House SummerSchool, which was on the theme of ACosmological and Ecological Approach toHealing, Rev Professor June Boyce Tillmangave an excellent talk. You can read theopening section of June’s talk on A CosmicView of Music in the newsletter or readthe full transcript as a pdf on our website.

Another interesting activity at HolyRood House is the Men’s Spiritualityworkshops which are a regular part of theprogramme.

Rick Butler has written about hisexperiences participating in these

workshops, and the impact they have hadon him. In our next newsletter we aim tohave a longer article explaining thebackground to the men’s spiritualitymovement in the UK, which is just asimportant in overcoming patriarchalunderstandings of the divine as the morewidespread feminist theology andwomen’s spirituality activities.

LivingSpirituality’s Art & SpiritualitySpecial Interest Group held its firstcreativity day in September. You can readhere about what emerged.

Our final report is on the recentpilgrimage day to Canterbury arranged byour Journeying Together Group.

In the near future we will be makingavailable guidelines for people who wantto set up groups similar to JourneyingTogether.

We are grateful to LS Steering Groupmember, Jenny Sandler, who has beenrunning a spiritual sharing group for a longperiod, and is drafting guidelines forpeople starting out on a similar venture.

With all good wishes,

Petra Griffiths

LivingSpirituality Coordinator

Details of the members of the LSSteering Group are atwww.livingspirit.org.uk/who-we-are/steering-group.

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2. Lighting the Way – a globalvigil

A group of us from St James’s Piccadillyand LivingSpirituality were among the2,000 people who waved lights for theGlobal Goals, at the Lighting the Way vigilon the Millennium Bridge in London on 24September, when the Pope was about toaddress the United Nations.

More than 100,000 people took to thestreets around the world, fromAfghanistan to Brussels, and Kampala toJohannesburg. On 25�� September a groupof supporters handed a photo from theLondon event to Downing Street. It will behung as a reminder to politicians of theirresponsibility to achieve the Global Goals.

Footage from around the world is alsopart of a film which has been shown toworld leaders at the UN.

You can watch the film here:www.youtu.be/PmNBJGwRKVc

Lighting the Way was organised byAction/2015, a coalition of over 2,020organisations around the world who arecommitted to fighting for a better future.The aim is to maximise pressure on worldleaders and ensure that 2015, when theMillennium Development Goals are beingnegotiated at the UN, is a year of actionand change on the interrelated themes ofclimate, poverty and inequality.

You can find out which organisations inthe UK are part of Action/2015 atwww.bond.org.uk/advocacy/action2015#the_uk_opportunity.

The group from St James’s Piccadilly andLivingSpirituality

The view from above the Millennium Bridge

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3. The Rising Tide - an artinstallation on the Thames

The Rising Tide is an art installation onthe river bed of the Thames in London,commissioned for the Totally ThamesFestival - www.totallythames.org/events/info/jason-decaires-taylor-rising-tide -held over the month of September.

The four horsemen of the apocalypse,close to Houses of Parliament, are a politicalcomment on impact of fossil fuels. Theywere placed slightly upriver from theHouses of Parliament, only visible at low

tide. As the tide came in, the horses andriders were submerged by it.

Created by underwater sculptor JasondeCaires Taylor, the piece is a statementabout climate change and the ignoranceof politicians. The horses have petroleumpumps instead of snouts. Jason deCairesTaylor told ITV News London that theexhibition is about asking questions aboutour dependence on fossil fuels.

The artist stressed he did not wantdictate what impression people takeaway, but hoped his work would raisesome critical questions: “Currently ouroceans are facing critical threats due tocarbon dioxide and so I wanted to askquestions about fossil fuels and how thisdependence can change…I want people tothink about how fragile humanity is whenfaced with the greater things such as theriver, and the oceans.... I want them[politicians and business people] to beaware of the critical timescale we have toaffect change.”

Born in 1974 to an English father andGuyanese mother, Taylor grew up inEurope and Asia.

His pioneering public art projects arenot only examples of successful marineconservation but works of art that seek toencourage environmental awareness,instigate social change and develop anappreciation of the breath-taking naturalbeauty of the underwater world.

One of the four sculptures

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4. Wanderings in the CosmicGarden – a talk given byProfessor Lisa Isherwood

Lisa Isherwood, the Professor ofFeminist and Liberation Theologies at theUniversity of Winchester, gave a talkentitled Wanderings in the Cosmic Gardenat an event organised jointly byLivingSpirituality and St James’s Piccadillyon 27 September 2015.

“The title of this talk refers to theCosmic Walk we have built at theUniversity of Winchester to place thework of Brian Swimme and Thomas Berryat the centre of research in the Institutefor Theological Partnerships and to extend

my own research in the area ofincarnational theology and embodiment.

I assume you are here because youaccept the premise that there are majorissues around the way we sit on the planetand the effects our very ways of livinghave had on the natural world. This talkwill not rehearse those arguments as Iassume that in one way or another you allagree that there is a problem.

Perhaps you go as far as MiriamMcGillis of Genesis Farm who says:

‘We are at a moment where there areno guarantees as to the Earth’s future. Itis a question of our own critical choices.And I think what we are deeply in need ofis a transforming vision....a vision thatopens the future to hope.’

So is that vision a Christian one? Cantraditional Christianity offer enoughalternate and visionary ways of thinking tomove us towards different ways of beingon the planet - after all some wouldsuggest that it is the Christianunderpinning to Western ways of thinkingand acting that has brought us to wherewe are today. The talk will explore someof the issues around the question ofChristianity’s visionary potential.

An incarnational religion must payattention to all that is incarnate, to thewhole of the created order and the veryfibres of the universe itself. Unfortunatelythis has not always been the way in whichChristianity has seen things, preferring toprioritise the experience of men



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[deliberate use of the word] above allelse.

The origins of this arrogance lie in theinterpretations of the Eden myth wherethe disembodied word of Godcommanded that the world be broughtinto being out of nothingness with ahierarchy of creation set in place endingwith humans [Gn1:27], man [Gn2:7] orwoman [Gn2:22]. As the crown ofcreation the humans are given the task ofsubduing [Hb, kabas=stamp down] anddominating [Hb, rada=trampling] theworld [Gn1:28] which is signalled by thepower of naming [Gn2:19]. While manappears to get on with the task womantakes a different path and communes withnature exploring all, even what has beenforbidden. In the patriarchal myth,women, nature, the wise serpent and theprocreative process itself are seen assuspect…..

To read the transcript of the wholetalk, go to: www.livingspirit.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/lisa_isherwood_wanderings.pdf.

Lisa Isherwood is Professor of Feministand Liberation Theologies at the Institutefor Theological Partnerships at theUniversity of Winchester. Her workexplores the nature of incarnation withina contemporary context and includes thebody, gender, sexuality and eco-theology.

5. Review by John Reader ofLove for the Future: A Journeyby David Osborne

In 1992 whilst still a rural parish priestin the Diocese of Lichfield, David Osbornetook time out of his formal ministry towalk from his home parish to Iona. Thisbook is the result of his reflections uponthat journey, which was spread over a 6week period, and took him throughCheshire, Manchester and parts ofLancashire, up via Scargill House and theBorders and on to his final destination.1992 was also the year of the Rioconference on the environment, andalthough the text has been written mainlyafter the event, the theme of ourresponsibility for creation featuressignificantly throughout the book.

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Like all good pilgrims, Osborne engageswith the context through which he passesand brilliantly brings to life not only theworld which he discovers as a result, butalso his own feelings en route. The fearwith such a project would be that oneloses interest towards the end and thenarrative becomes repetitive, following astimulating and rewarding start. Osbornehowever avoids this both through thequality of his writing and the depth of hisinsights.

Each chapter takes us along part of theroute, but then offers a series of resourcesfor further discussion: often the story of ahistorical figure who illustrates the themesuch as Benedict, Cuthbert or JohnNewton, followed by questions fordiscussion, some recommended biblicalreferences, possible actions one mighttake, and then finally some further booksto follow up.

As such this is a book to be used ratherthan just read, and could easily form thebasis for a parish study group. Havingheard David use the book for apresentation I was eager to obtain a copyand will consider using it for a Lent groupthis year. The themes which emerge - andthey do emerge rather than feelingartificially imposed, and that is a greatstrength of the book – include community;compassion; repentance; hope, wisdomand love.

To take just one chapter as an example(Chapter 10, Songs and Stories), David

paints a powerful picture of his trekthrough the Southern Highlands, thedangers and difficulties encountered, andthen closes with a helpful discussion ofhope: “Hope is a conviction that the pain,the grief, the struggle and the suffering ofthe world is taken into a greater realitywhere the wounds are not removed buthealed. Out of loss comes new possibility”(p.221).

As one might guess, this comes out ofpersonal experience of losing a child, sohas its own authenticity as a struggle tomake sense of the bereavements whichare part of everyday life, but is also highlyrelevant to the challenges currently beingfaced by those of us concerned aboutenvironmental matters.

The insights and theological reflectionsare introduced in such a way that it is easyto identify with them, and to see whatOsborne is getting at, even though onemight not always agree with him. Theother joy is that he is not dogmatic aboutany of this - he is not suggesting that weshould all go on such pilgrimages or followhis particular journey - so one feelsencouraged and accompanied on one’sown particular path rather than beingforced down someone else’s.

I would recommend this book heartilyas one of the best and most accessiblepieces of spiritual writing I haveencountered for a long while. Buy it,spend time with it, return to it and thenshare it with others.



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The review was written by Revd DrJohn Reader - Ironstone Benefice, Dioceseof Oxford, and William TempleFoundation. It was first published inCrucible, the Christian Journal of SocialEthics.

Love for the Future: A Journey byDavid Osborne. Wild Goose Publications2013; pp284; pbk, £10.99; download,£8.50. www.ionabooks.com

6. Music at the Intersection:Two bridge-building concerts inJerusalem and Nazareth byHeather-Jane Ozanne

"A Sufi, an Armenian and a Jew walkinto a Scottish Church.” To me this soundslike the beginning of a joke on a stand-upcomedy night but in fact it is theintroduction to a write up on the Music atthe Intersection concerts in the IsraeliNewspaper Ha’aretz!

It has me waiting for the punch line,but in this case if there is a punch-line it isthat in the midst of conflict, people whorepresent different groups in the conflictcan find common ground by sharing fromtheir rich musical traditions.

This is surely what happened inJerusalem and Nazareth late August thisyear at the concerts organised by the UKCharity Spirit of Peace (founded by amember of the LS team). These well-attended musical events brought togethersingers and musicians from different

communities and featured Armenian folksinger Hasmik Harutyunyan, in thiscentennial of the Armenian Genocide.

Other artistes included Abed AlsalemManasra and the Nazareth Sufi Ensemble,Jewish vocalists, Hanna Yaffe and DeborahShayovitz and Fr Fuad Dagher (an Anglicanpriest near Nazareth). They wereaccompanied by musical instrumentswhich included the Oud, Kanoon andDuduk as well as the guitar and varioushand drums.

We were honoured that these concertswere hosted by the Scottish Church inJerusalem and Christ Church, Nazareth -both of which were stunning settingswhich contributed to the magic of theevenings.

The process of bringing these concertsto birth demanded deep collaborationacross many communities and lands andthis in itself was a journey and lesson inbuilding networks for peace beyondcultural differences.

Hasmik Harutyunyan, singing atSt Andrews, Jerusalem

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This was not always an easy process,but this is part of the purpose and value ofsuch events; learning to work together inthe face of differences that cansometimes feel threatening.

The result was more than worth it -two beautiful concerts, which touchedmany hearts and relationshipsengendered which can lead to furthercollaboration on the road to greater peaceand human flourishing in an area of unrestand tension.

In the words of Rabbi JonathanSacks, "Hope is the faith that, togetherwe can make things better” and musichas great power to bring people togethereven in difficult circumstances asdemonstrated by these concerts.

N.B. More information about theconcerts and rational behind the concertscan be found here: www.indiegogo.com/

projects /music-at-the-intersection-concerts-for-peace. If anyone would liketo contribute retrospectively - or towardsfuture concerts - please do be in touch viawww.spiritofpeace.co.uk.

Similarly please do get in touch if youmay like to be involved in future similarconcerts in the UK or Middle East! Manythanks, Heather-Jane Ozanne and theSpirit of Peace team.

Heather-Jane Ozanne is founder-director of Spirit of Peace, and a memberof the LivingSpirituality Steering Group.

7. A Cosmic View of Music byJune Boyce-Tillman

Opening Song

CHORUS

Sing us our own song the song of the earth,The song of creation, the song of our birth,That exists in belonging to you and to me,To the stars and the mountains, the sky andthe sea.

1. Listen! You're hearing the song of theearth,They sing it who know of their value andworth,For they know they belong with the sea andthe sky,

To the moonshine at midnight, the cloudsfloating by.

CHORUS

Abed Alsalem Manasra and the SufiEnsemble, Christ Church, Nazareth

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2. It is not one song but patchworks of sound.That includes all the pitches that people havefoundThat includes the vibrations of earthquakesand beesOf the laughing fire's crackling andmurmuring bees.CHORUS

3. All blend together to make the earth song,Fragmented parts separated too long,True notes and rhythms and colours and beatMake sacred spaces where we all meet.CHORUS

From June Boyce-Tillman’sA Rainbow to Heaven

Framework

I start with this song as it representsmy attempt to restore the connectednessof music including its connection with theheavens. Throughout the history ofWestern music spirituality or the heavenlyand music have been associated – from

the ancient goddess traditions throughPlato and on through Hildegard of Bingen.It was seen, as the opening song suggests,as connecting human beings to oneanother, to God and spiritual or heavenlybeings and to the earth.

Inspiration was seen for the vastmajority of Western history to come fromsome heavenly source, whether it be theMuses, Angels or God. It was in the handsof the philosophers of the Enlightenmentthat the link between music and theheavenly became weakened and thesearch for the spiritual became anessentially human search located in theunconscious rather than one rooted in theessentially exterior spirituality of theheavens.

The spiritual became associatedwith notions of self-actualisation and self-fulfilment in Maslow’s hierarchy of humanneeds in which he included the aesthetic –the need for beauty, order, andsymmetry. As Western culture edgedtowards an aggressive individualism, asense of finding some place in a largerwhole – the cosmos – became a priority inthe human search. But this was now to besought by exploring the heavensmaterially rather than with the imaginalmind.

This process of objectifying the cosmosassociated with the advance of sciencehad not happened in the same way inEastern cultures; and it was on thesecultures that the New Age and some areas

June Boyce-Tillman



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of rock and jazz traditions drew, in orderto offer the desired sense of relationality.This included a more holistic view of themind/body/spirit relationship, withtranscendence approached throughphysical practices such as chanting ordancing.

This paper will look at the heavenlythrough the lens of the spiritual. It will usea phenomenography of the musicalexperience to examine differentdimensions of the musical experience. Itwill draw largely on western classicaltraditions which will base them largelywithin a frame of Christianity. To read thefull article with references, go to:www.livingspirit.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/june_boyce_tillman_talk.pdf.

Rev June Boyce-Tillman MBE isProfessor of Applied Music, University ofWinchester, Artistic Convenor of theWinchester Centre for the Arts asWellbeing and Extraordinary Professor ofNorth West University, South Africa.

8. Men’s Spirituality at HolyRood House, Thirsk - Apersonal view by Rick Butler

This is a personal view of spiritualityand the recent men’s spirituality weekendat Holy Rood House. Whilst the content ofwhat was shared remains confidential, thecase for enhancing men’s spirituality isnot. This article is about my own viewsand subjective experiencing of spirituality.

Consequently I ask you, dear reader, notto take my words as being representativeof the views or interests of anyone else orany organisation.

On that October day three years agowhen I first visited, I was fully aware ofcrossing the physical threshold at the doorof Holy Rood House. What becameincreasingly apparent shortly afterwardswas the heartfelt knowledge that I hadalso crossed a spiritual threshold, assistingme on my journey towards my ownsubjective spiritual homecoming.

As men and boys we are often isolated,vulnerable, living with fear and insecurity.Despite this most of us go on in life,summoning up the courage to climb ourown mountain. In times past and in othercultures men and boys were lionised forthis and provision made for them in themen’s tent to become initiated and guidedalong the spiritual path that led to adeeper sense of relatedness, selfawareness and fulfilment in theirmanhood as a husband, father, son,brother, carer, warrior, lover, healer,

Holy Rood House

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teacher, hunter, protector of the weak,builder, farmer, guardian of nature and abeing in relationship with the Divine.

In the contemporary, popular cultureof Western society, where I perceive thatmen are often ridiculed, patronized ordemonised, we seldom have access to amen’s tent and often find ourselves drivenfurther into a sense of isolation.

The jokey, blokey aspect of the maleworld is no substitute and of no real help,except in maintaining denial of theyearning for expression of that spiritualaspect of our being.

The annual Men’s Weekend at HolyRood House is an opportunity to enter themen’s tent and to engage in a spiritualjourney supported by brotherhood. Thejokey, blokey world is dumped in theporch.

Within the House there is a warm,good humoured welcome to a deeper,more authentic way of being a man.Within this brotherhood one is valued,prized for one’s contribution to thecollective wisdom, empathised with,listened to and truly heard.

With sensitive leadership fromStephen Wright, together with thepresence of Stanley Baxter and BrotherJohn the weekend gives crucial supportand encouragement for those of us whoare/wish to become more spirituallyaware.

The sense of connectedness throughgreater spiritual awareness is the antidote

to the isolation experienced by so manymodern men. Treading that well wornpath towards greater spiritual awarenessengages us with our brotherhood from allcultures who, throughout all the ageshave journeyed towards greater wellbeingin their manhood.

Rick Butler is a non-resident memberof the community at Holy Rood House,where he works part time as an AssociateCounsellor, as well as having his ownprivate practice as a BACP RegisteredCounsellor.

9. The Creativity Day led byLinda Pearson

This was the first event put on by our Art& Spirituality Group, and was held inSelby, North Yorkshire, on 19 September.It was led by Linda Pearson, coordinator ofLivingSpirituality’s Art & SpiritualitySpecial Interest Group.

An image created during the workshop



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Participants write:

“Thank you so much for the Art andSpirituality Day last Saturday. I didn’t knowwhat to expect, as I have never doneanything like that before and hoped it wouldbe relaxing and interesting. It exceeded allmy expectations – it felt like I had beengiven permission to play and express myselfat the same time. I hadn’t realised how longit had been since I had done either and I feltquite emotional when l started! I found thewhole day a real joy which has stayed withme. It felt like the first small step on ajourney of discovery about myself; l wouldcertainly like to do another.”

“The Art and Spirituality day was led in arelaxed and fun way by Linda Pearson. Ifelt a freedom to explore and express myselfthrough the different activities. Lindaguided us through with just the right balanceof structure and flexibility. I am alreadylooking forward to the next one!”

Another event is being planned at thesame venue to take place in February 2016.

10. Pilgrimage toCanterbury

Our Journeying Together Groupwent on a pilgrimage (by train) toCanterbury in September, visiting theCathedral and other sacred sites. Thiswas organised by David Carter, (on theright of the photograph, along with twoof our group members, Joan and John).

David’s preparations, commentariesand structuring in of silent periods ineach location meant that the day feltlike a pilgrimage rather than a touristvisit. We look forward to further days ofthis sort which add variety and richnessto our monthly meetings.



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11. Pilgrim – A PoemWe close this newsletter with a poem byArchbishop Helder Camara, liberation theo-logian and Catholic Archbishop of Olindaand Recife in Brazil, 1964-85.

PilgrimWhen your shiplong moored in harbour gives you theillusionof being a house;

When your ship begins toput down rootsin the stagnant water by the quay

PUT OUT TO SEA!Save your boat’s journeying soul,and your own pilgrim soul,cost what it may.


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LivingSpirituality - Autumn 2015 newsletter · LivingSpirituality Autumn 2015 Newsletter 2. Lighting the Way – a global vigil A group of us from St James’s Piccadilly and LivingSpirituality