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The Great Turning

31/7/2019

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I’ve been on retreat recently. Retreats are annual events for most religious men and women. It’s a Sabbath time away from diaries, e-mails, phone calls etc. It sounds idyllic for people harassed by the business of life and I always look forward to mine but it can be difficult at times.  With no distractions apart from time for prayer and reflection there’s no escape from inner tensions and contradictions.

My retreat this year was different from usual. In a way it was more like a workshop though plenty of time for prayer and reflection. Its focus was the environment and care of the earth. It was held at An Tearsach, an ecological centre in Wicklow run by a community of Dominican sisters with a working bio-dynamic farm, organic shop and large garden which, as well as vegetables, fruit trees and flowers, has a cosmic garden. The centre of this is a spiral, much like a labyrinth, but, unlike the  labyrinth, this one is walked  from the middle, representing that moment when the Big Bang started the whole process of life  through the eras of evolution out into the world of today. The retreat was led by a married couple, both third order Franciscans, who are the co-founders of Canticle Farm in Oakland, California and heavily involved in the work of Joanna Macy.

 I didn’t know about this connection when I signed up for the retreat but I’ve been a long- time fan of her work. I first came across her book ‘World as Lover, World as Self’ in the 1990s. It made a great impression on me at the time. What has remained with me throughout the years is her meditation that leads the reader to take an imaginary journey beginning with one’s parents back through the generations to the moment when the journey of Homo Sapiens begins and then reverse the journey to the moment of one’s birth. Ever since then I’ve been aware of how I contain within myself the whole process of evolution and have been called forth (to use a religious term) from the beginning of time to be given form at this particular point in history.

This retreat engaged us in a process set out by Joanna Macy in her book ‘Active Hope’ and through conversation, reflection, poetry and a series of exercises offered a way of looking at the world with its possibilities for destruction and new life. It sought to engage us in the Great Turning – Joanna’s name for the move towards a life-sustaining world. It faced us with the question,’ what is ours to do’ in responding to the crisis our world is facing today with climate change, the destruction of hundreds of species, the loss of the rainforest and the unsustainability of much of our way of life. Each day we were drawn into the spiral for connecting to the earth and embracing the Great Turning.

We started with Gratitude – ‘for what we had, for what we are and for the possibilities that lie within each of us for ‘new frontiers … for living the life that we would love, for not postponing our dreams any longer and doing what each one of us came here for’ – to paraphrase John O’Donohue. We then moved to Honouring Our Pain. There’s something rather lovely about honouring our pain, not just feeling it. To honour our pain is somehow to embrace it, to reverence and respect it for, to believers, God who is present in all things, is to be found as much in pain as well as joy.  On this day we reflected on how we coped with grief and loss, on our response to what is happening in the natural world. We listened to a litany of all those species that have become or are on the way to extinction. We built a cairn of mourning and remembered the words of Pope Francis in his encyclical on the environment Laudato Si “our goal is not to amass information or satisfy curiosity but rather to become painfully aware, to dare to turn what is happening in the world into our own personal suffering and thus discover what each of us can do about it”.  

The next step in the spiral of the Great Turning is Seeing with New Eyes. We were led to expand our sense of self, understand the reality of  interconnectedness and speak on behalf of another. And then we were at Going Forth, considering our response to what is ours to do and our intention in becoming part of this Great Turning.

The Great Turning is a hopeful and imaginative image for the movement towards a life-sustaining society.  For Joanna Macy there’s evidence that it’s already happening with concern for justice and peace, awareness of the cosmos as a living system and efforts of many to live in communion with the earth. There are many ways in which we can participate in it. I was particularly pleased to hear that Jem Bendell, Professor of Sustainability at the University of Cumbria has outlined reconciliation as one of the skills necessary for the future. For me this means that interreligious dialogue which fits very nicely into the spiral can be part of the Great Turning and make a contribution, not just to peace in the world but to its sustainability and well-being. 

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What's the point?

12/7/2019

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I’ve been asked if I’m interested in taking part in a research project being organised by the Woolf Institute which was set up in 1998 to improve relations between religion and society.  The project’s about evaluating the impact of interfaith dialogue and developing indicators that’ll measure the impact and success of dialogue at grassroots level. It’s important, especially for interfaith initiatives that get public or charitable funding. When I was working to set up Interfaith Scotland I was often asked if such dialogue would be a tiger without teeth, a mere talking shop that would make no difference to society, a minority sport that had little impact on the rest of the population. Interfaith dialogue has even been described as a kumbaya activity which conjures up a very gentle and rather hippy activity. One thing’s for sure – it’s a minority activity and the number of people involved are few within all faith communities, though there’s a definite growth in the number of interfaith groups.

 When I first got involved in interfaith there was one interfaith group in Scotland, the Glasgow Sharing of Faiths, now there are seventeen groups all over the country. In those early days people often asked why interfaith was important and what it was all about but this changed after 9/11 and the destruction of the Twin Towers in New York. People are now more interested in what happens within interfaith and glad to know what’s going on. The conflicts between faiths and the wars that, if not caused by faith, have a religious component to them show that dialogue and good relations between faiths is a positive step and according to some people even necessary for peace in our world. In some parts of the world, like Sri Lanka, interfaith groups have played a significant part in peace processes.

Many of us live in silos, knowing little of people beyond our own communities. Because of my own experience I’m amazed when someone tells me they know no-one from the Jewish community nor ever had a cup of coffee with a Muslim. This is so much part of my life. It’s this isolation that can lead to suspicion, misunderstandings, stereotyping and prejudice – and this can lead to hate speech and violent action.  I often think of  Pope Francis’ greeting to the Grand Imam of Al-Azhar University when they met after years of  tension between Al-Azhar and the Vatican: ‘ the meeting is in the messsage’- quite profound I think because any respectful, open and friendly contact between people who have been at odds with one another is a sign that conflict, competition, mistrust doesn’t have the final say and that relationships can change.   

Anything that helps overcome misunderstanding and prejudice that sets people against one another must be a good thing and have an impact on society in ways that may be small but no less important or significant for that. I’m encouraged by words attributed to Oscar Romero which suggests we are planting “seeds that one day will grow and water seeds already planted, knowing they hold future promise”. I find this hopeful because it tells me that what I do “may be incomplete, but it is a beginning, a step along the way”.  Most of the people I know who are truly engaged in interfaith do it with the intention of creating positive relationships across divides, widening their own perspective by entering into the world of another. They desire peace in their locality and in the world. I believe this is a positive energy which, because of the interdependence of the cosmos, will have a positive effect.   

All this is a matter of faith. I like to feel I am part of a movement, an evolutionary process for dialogue and wider relationships, working with others and contributing to the human family but is there any evidence of the good that I believe it does?  I used to put into my diary at the beginning of each year a quotation from TS Elliot “for us there is only the trying, the rest is not our business”. This freed me from the burden of tick box exercises and worrying about attainment targets.  But that’s not enough in this day and age, especially where public money is involved.

The Wolf Institute’s work therefore is important and it will be interesting to see what indicators they produce to measure the effectiveness of interfaith work. Growth would be one I think – in that more people are engaging across differences and not just religious differences for there’s also a dialogue with people of religious faith and those who say they have no faith – the nones as they are now known collectively. And there is a growing realisation in government of the contribution that all faith communities make to social cohesion and to the infrastructure of society in that most of them care for their young people and their old, care for the poor, are concerned about the environment, develop a sense of community. Social justice has a place in the teaching of most religions and is also part of interfaith relations. More and more people of different faiths are working together in common projects and have a desire to contribute together to our common home. All this is good and for me a sign of success but whether it would satisfy those looking for success indicators I’m not so sure. I look forward to seeing the results.

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A Saint for our Time

1/7/2019

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 One of the consistent things in interfaith work is the celebration of festivals. All religions celebrate them. They ground the community and remind them of their history, keeping alive the traditions that give a sense of identity and belonging. This past week my religious community has been celebrating – not a festival but an anniversary, the anniversary of the canonisation of our foundress, Julie Billiart. It’s an odd thing canonisation and I think the Catholic Church may be the only tradition that formally declares members of its community, whose lives are thought to have a message for the whole Church, a saint.

 It’s fifty years since Julie was declared a saint by Pope Paul VI and life has changed quite drastically since then. In 1969 the Catholic Church was experiencing a sense of renewal and optimism in the light of the Second Vatican Council. Vocations to the religious life and priesthood seemed plentiful and seminaries and convents were built to accommodate the influx. When I joined the Sisters of Notre Dame 21 women joined with me. It was as though the Church was on a roll.  Now fifty years later there’s some dispute about the legacy of the Vatican Council. Some people are remembering pre-Vatican II days with nostalgia and want to recapture some of that while others are impatient that the expected changes in the Church haven’t materialised as they hoped. Congregations within Churches have declined drastically – at least in Europe- and young people are not joining religious congregations as they did in the past.  And those of us who did stay are getting older. There’s not a sense of decline exactly but a questioning of the future and our lasting impact on those we have worked with over the years.

This question was party answered at the celebration of the canonisation of Julie which in Britain took place in Liverpool Cathedral. It was attended by pupils from the Secondary Schools in the country that had previously been run by Sisters of Notre Dame. Pupils came from Scotland and London as well as areas around Liverpool. I couldn’t be there but all the reports, photographs, videos show a celebration of light, joy, energy and life. 1500 young people with all the life and energy of youth were witnessing to the continuing effect of the work of Julie and the religious community she founded. It was a moment of pride but also one of gratitude for a legacy that has been handed on, is greater than any of us and will continue in the life and work of the staff and students in the schools touched by Julie’s life and spirit. We need not be afraid of the future. Even if we die out in this country there is a legacy that will live on and this gives us hope.

My contribution to the celebrations was to help write a novena – a nine day series of reflections on the life of Julie to help people reflect on her life and relevance today. It was surprising how many parallels there were between her time and ours. She was born in 1751 in Cuvilly and grew up in this quiet rural village where life was regulated by the seasons and the community close knit. No doubt the rumblings of revolution were in the air but whether they reached Cuvilly or not isn’t known. The year 1789 saw violence erupt with the storming of the Bastille and the overthrow of the French monarchy under the banner of Fraternity, Liberty, Equality. Heavy taxation and a failed harvest had meant many people living in dire poverty and resentment grew against the aristocracy and the clergy of the Established Catholic Church who enjoyed a wealth and privilege closed to the majority of the population. Julie was caught up in this social turmoil and political upheaval. She was hounded by the revolutionaries because of her commitment to her faith and to a Church that had been suppressed. She knew what it was to be a refugee and to move from place to place for her safety, eventually having to move from her homeland to Belgium – not because of the French Revolution but because Julie had formed a community around her, committed to responding to the needs of the times and prepared to go wherever it was needed. This was a different kind of religious life from the past when sisters stayed in their convents and were under the jurisdiction of a priest. It was too much of a novelty for some clergy. One priest in particular wanted to control this new community and restrict its work to the city of Amiens.   

So in 1807 the small congregation of Notre Dame found a home in Namur, Belgium. This was a different kind of society from that of France.  Belgium was the first country in continental Europe to experience the Industrial Revolution. With its multiple rivers Belgium was ideal as a highway for goods and transportation and contributed to a worldwide economic revolution that led to the creation of the modern world. This was accompanied by the growth of urbanisation with ensuing ills such overcrowding, poor sanitation, disease, low pay, terrible working conditions and child labour. Julie and her community responded to the situation, setting up schools and institutions for girls and women to give them the skills to help them earn a living.
And then there were the Napoleonic Wars………

The life and times of Julie Billiart were not too dissimilar to our own. They were full of turmoil, insecurity, violence, poverty. Today we live in an uncertain world and Julie's congregation continues to listen to the signs of the times and respond appropriately throughout the world. But for us in Britain we take special pride in all those schools and young people who try to live out her charism, her special gift which is to believe in the goodness of God, often in the face of evidence to the contrary. They are keeping alive her spirit and they give us hope.

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    I am  a Catholic nun, involved in interfaith relations for many decades.  For me this has been an exciting and sacred journey which I would like to share with others.

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