Movement-153
Create successful ePaper yourself
Turn your PDF publications into a flip-book with our unique Google optimized e-Paper software.
MOVEMENTPRODUCED BY<br />
the magazine for christian students Issue <strong>153</strong>. Summer 2016<br />
the ARTS issue<br />
Hagiography<br />
Michael Dimitris Lekakis<br />
discusses Orthodox Icon painting.<br />
Peterson Toscano Interview<br />
Peterson talks to <strong>Movement</strong> about<br />
drama, comedy and climate change.
SCM is seeking to employ a<br />
new development worker<br />
in Manchester to engage<br />
a generation of university<br />
students with inclusive student<br />
communities and local churches<br />
in the North West of England.<br />
The appeal is being match funded, which<br />
means all donations will be doubled and<br />
ensure even more students are welcomed<br />
into communities that are open, diverse<br />
and committed to justice. Please consider<br />
making an online donation today to<br />
support this work.<br />
Thank you for your support.<br />
contents<br />
Make a donation at www.movement.org.uk/northwest
Pages 2-7 Editorial • COMING UP<br />
• NEWS • international • GROUPS<br />
issue <strong>153</strong><br />
8-9 faith in action<br />
10-11 Interview<br />
With With Peterson Toscano<br />
12-13 the theology of fantasy<br />
By Taylor Driggers<br />
14-15 Hagiography<br />
By Michael Dimitris Lekakis<br />
16-17 The Bard & the bible<br />
By Ellie Wilde<br />
18-19 three perspectives<br />
on music in worship<br />
With Feylyn Lewis, Mark Russ & Sarah Derbyshire<br />
20 Faith & Art<br />
Ruth Naylor<br />
21 Groovement<br />
12-13<br />
10-11<br />
16-17<br />
14-15
Welcome to this issue of <strong>Movement</strong>, which takes a look at the arts.<br />
For many of us, exams (sorry for mentioning the E word!) are just<br />
about beginning to rear their heads at us, and I think that using our<br />
own creativity can be a really relaxing way to spend time between<br />
revision sessions. We might choose a colouring book, playing an<br />
instrument, or appreciating others’ work; through listening to music,<br />
going to an art gallery or reading a book. Prayer is also a good way<br />
for expressing our inner artist: SCM has often been made up of creative types, and<br />
those of us who would consider ourselves ‘artistically challenged’ have discovered<br />
a different kind of creativity through the ways we explore faith.<br />
We are really excited to have an interview with Peterson Toscano; who is a<br />
playwright and actor. He talks about the intersection of faith and sexuality<br />
through plays and workshops, and how he uses the platform that the dramatic<br />
arts gives him in order to talk about his experiences of gay conversion therapy and<br />
get his audiences thinking in a different way.<br />
Another way in which Christians experience art is through icons, and Michael<br />
Lekakis takes us through the Orthodox Church’s use of these and the process<br />
of hagiography. In addition, we have packed this issue with a piece from Taylor<br />
Driggers about fantasy literature and desert spirituality, and a feature on the use<br />
of music in different worship traditions.<br />
As if that wasn’t enough, we are also very pleased to bring the return of the<br />
crossword. I for one am very much<br />
looking forward to having a good go<br />
at this while sat with a cup of tea!<br />
Clare Wilkins<br />
I really hope you all enjoy this<br />
issue. For those of you with exams,<br />
coursework deadlines, vivas, job<br />
interviews and all the things that<br />
come with this time of year – all the<br />
best with these, and I hope that this<br />
issue of <strong>Movement</strong> will<br />
be just what you need<br />
to help you chill out.<br />
the sidebar<br />
SCM office:<br />
Grays Court<br />
3 Nursery Road, Edgbaston<br />
Birmingham B15 3JX<br />
Tel: 0121 426 4918<br />
scm@movement.org.uk<br />
www.movement.org.uk<br />
Advertising<br />
scm@movement.org.uk<br />
Tel: 0121 426 4918<br />
<strong>Movement</strong> is published by the<br />
Student Christian <strong>Movement</strong><br />
(SCM) and is distributed free to<br />
all members, supporters, local<br />
groups, Link Churches and affiliated<br />
chaplaincies.<br />
SCM is a student-led movement<br />
seeking to bring together students<br />
of all denominations to explore the<br />
Christian faith in an open-minded<br />
and non-judgemental environment.<br />
SCM staff:<br />
National Coordinator: Hilary Topp,<br />
Finance and Projects Officer:<br />
Lisa Murphy, Groups Worker:<br />
Lizzie Gawen, Fundraising and<br />
Communications Officer: Ellis<br />
Tsang, Faith in Action Project<br />
Worker: Ruth Wilde, Administration<br />
Assistant: Ruth Naylor<br />
Editorial Team:<br />
Debbie White and Lisa Murphy.<br />
The views expressed in <strong>Movement</strong><br />
magazine are those of the particular<br />
authors and should not be taken<br />
to be the policy of the Student<br />
Christian <strong>Movement</strong>. Acceptance of<br />
advertisements does not constitute<br />
an endorsement by the Student<br />
Christian <strong>Movement</strong>.<br />
ISSN 0306-980X<br />
Charity number 1125640<br />
© 2016 Student Christian<br />
<strong>Movement</strong><br />
Designed by<br />
penguinboy.net &<br />
morsebrowndesign.co.uk<br />
Do you have problems reading <strong>Movement</strong>? If you find it hard<br />
to read the printed version of <strong>Movement</strong>, we can send it to<br />
you in digital form. Contact editor@movement.org.uk
coming up<br />
<strong>Movement</strong> 2016:<br />
Stories of Faith<br />
10–12 JUNE 2016<br />
WOKINGHAM<br />
Group Leaders’<br />
Training<br />
8-9 SEPT 2016, BIRMINGHAM<br />
Are you part of your group committee<br />
for the next academic year? Want to<br />
learn more about making your group the<br />
best it can be? There are two free places<br />
per group, so look out for the booking<br />
form in your mailing and return it to<br />
the office as soon as possible!<br />
For more information about the<br />
training, visit<br />
www.movement.org.uk/events<br />
Join us in the beautiful Berkshire countryside for our mini-festival!<br />
We’ve got an amazing line up, and more speakers and workshops<br />
are being confirmed each week.<br />
Our speakers include Professor David Ford, Padraig O’Tuama,<br />
Revd Rose Hudson-Wilkin, Selina Stone, Richard Goode, Jake<br />
Mahal, Jessica Dalton and Graham Maule from<br />
the Wild Goose Resource Group.<br />
There will be workshops from Christian<br />
Aid, CAFOD, Church Action on Poverty<br />
and The Esther Collective, as well as live<br />
music from Clutching at Straws and<br />
Mary Anna.<br />
SCM FRIENDS Gathering:<br />
Wokingham 11 June<br />
Effective<br />
Student Work<br />
Training<br />
8-9 SEPT 2016, BIRMINGHAM<br />
Do you have a Chaplaincy Assistant<br />
or Student Worker joining you this<br />
year? Interested in chaplaincy<br />
work, or have a heart for student<br />
ministry? SCM’s Effective<br />
Student Work training is a twoday<br />
interactive and intense course<br />
that covers everything you need to<br />
know about student work. To find<br />
out more and book your place visit<br />
www.movement.org.uk/events<br />
Come along to meet other SCM Friends and join with students to hear from our speakers at <strong>Movement</strong> 2016: Stories of Faith.<br />
Children welcome! For more details, visit www.movement.org.uk/stories-of-faith<br />
Like us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter for all the latest updates!<br />
facebook.com/StudentChristian<strong>Movement</strong><br />
@SCM_Britain<br />
<strong>Movement</strong> – Issue <strong>153</strong> Page 3
EWS<br />
New partnership<br />
between SCM and<br />
Greenbelt Festival<br />
SCM is pleased to announce it will become an associate of the Greenbelt<br />
festival. The partnership aims to get more students involved in the festival<br />
this year and provide more student-friendly spaces and content that directly<br />
address issues that students and young adults are passionate about.<br />
‘SCM are really excited to be partnering with Greenbelt,’ said Hilary Topp,<br />
SCM’s National Coordinator. ‘As well as giving a voice to students at the<br />
festival, we want to make sure students find a bit of the Greenbelt spirit near<br />
them all year round, in every city and on every campus.’<br />
‘We’re excited to work together with a grassroots student body that so<br />
closely resonates with our theology, vision and values,’ said Paul Northup,<br />
Greenbelt’s Creative Director. ‘Our hope is that this new relationship helps<br />
strengthen our reach into student communities up and down the country.’<br />
Further details of SCM’s activities at Greenbelt this year will be announced<br />
in due course – keep updated with all the news by following us on Twitter<br />
(@SCM_Britain) or Facebook (StudentChristian<strong>Movement</strong>), or checking<br />
online at www.movement.org.uk<br />
Mourning the<br />
loss of Revd<br />
Dr Andrew<br />
Morton,<br />
former SCM<br />
Scottish<br />
Secretary<br />
SCM is saddened to learn of the death of<br />
Revd Dr Andrew Morton, a former staff<br />
member in the 1950s. Dr Morton, who<br />
died aged 87 on 7 January 2016, joined the<br />
movement in 1953 as Scottish Secretary and<br />
was appointed chaplain at the University of<br />
Edinburgh in 1964.<br />
During the 1950s, SCM had a national<br />
staff team of around 30 secretaries, working<br />
in different regions within universities,<br />
colleges and schools. Dr Morton was one of a<br />
number of ‘travelling secretaries’, who moved<br />
within the region to support and coordinate<br />
grassroots student mission work that included<br />
organising an annual conference in Scotland.<br />
Revd Jim Wilkie, President of SCM<br />
Aberdeen at the time, met Dr Morton at the<br />
Scottish Council in 1953. He said, ‘Andrew<br />
was a highly articulate, theologically well<br />
trained leader who was especially good in<br />
small groups of students such as those we<br />
enjoyed in SCM. All his life he was totally<br />
committed to persuading Christians from all<br />
denominations to modernise their theology<br />
together, and to relate it to social and political<br />
issues. We miss him.’<br />
SCM Friend William Farquhar, who joined<br />
SCM Aberdeen in 1954 and met Dr Morton<br />
during his involvement in the group, said,<br />
‘He was a fine man and throughout a great<br />
supporter of SCM.’<br />
A service for Dr Morton was held at St Giles’<br />
Cathedral in Edinburgh on Thursday 14<br />
January.<br />
Page 4 <strong>Movement</strong> – Issue <strong>153</strong>
NEWS<br />
Students<br />
and SCM<br />
members<br />
join Stop<br />
Trident Rally<br />
<strong>Movement</strong> Issue <strong>153</strong> SUMMER 2016<br />
Hundreds of students, including<br />
SCM members, joined peaceful<br />
demonstrations in London on Saturday<br />
27 February, calling on the British<br />
government to scrap the renewal of the<br />
Trident nuclear programme.<br />
Before the march, Christians joined<br />
members of different faiths at an<br />
interfaith service at Hinde Street<br />
Methodist church at 11am. Christians<br />
and Buddhist monks were among the<br />
hundreds of people who packed the<br />
church to hear readings and reflections<br />
on the issues of peace and nuclear<br />
disarmament.<br />
Emma Temple, an SCM member who<br />
attended the event, led the litany at the<br />
interfaith service. She said, ‘I was so<br />
encouraged to see thousands of people<br />
coming together at the Stop Trident<br />
march. It gave me hope that people feel<br />
so strongly about the devastating effects<br />
renewing Trident will have for so many<br />
reasons.’<br />
SCM and Taizé<br />
gathering: a weekend<br />
of learning, reflection<br />
and action<br />
What does it mean to be courageous<br />
and merciful? This was one of<br />
many questions at the heart of<br />
SCM’s gathering in London on 4<br />
– 5 March, in partnership with the<br />
Taizé community and Oasis Church<br />
Waterloo.<br />
More than one hundred people<br />
gathered on Friday evening for a<br />
Taizé service that included Lenten<br />
Prayer around the Cross. Participants<br />
came from different walks of life,<br />
including students and young people,<br />
parents and children, musicians,<br />
churchgoers, and volunteers from<br />
the Taizé community in France.<br />
Around 25 students and young<br />
people met together on Saturday<br />
to hear from Revd Steve Chalke,<br />
founder of Oasis UK, and Brother<br />
Paolo from the Taizé community.<br />
Participants joined volunteers from<br />
Harvest for Hope, a local charity,<br />
to load an articulated lorry with<br />
food and resources that will travel to<br />
Greece and be distributed to refugees<br />
fleeing conflict in the Middle East.<br />
Debbie White, a PhD student who<br />
came to the event, said: ‘I really<br />
enjoyed coming together with<br />
other students from across the UK<br />
in London for the Taizé event.<br />
Throughout the weekend, I felt a<br />
strong sense of being surrounded by<br />
a loving, Christ-centred community<br />
as we shared worship, fellowship<br />
and time together. I took part in so<br />
many discussions about what makes<br />
something a good community and it<br />
was great to see that borne out not<br />
just in our words but in our practice<br />
as well.’<br />
<strong>Movement</strong> – Issue <strong>153</strong> Page 5
International<br />
Student Sunday 2016: SCM Colombia<br />
On 20 February, SCM Colombia celebrated the<br />
Universal Day of Prayer for Students (UDPS),<br />
joining with hundreds of other students and<br />
Christians around the world. The movement in<br />
Colombia is one of the newest affiliated SCMs in<br />
the World Student Christian Federation (WSCF),<br />
created last year at the 35th General Assembly of<br />
the WSCF. It has two branches – one in Bogota<br />
and one in Barranquilla.<br />
We asked Diana Cruz, a member of the movement,<br />
to tell us a bit more about how SCM Colombia<br />
celebrated Student Sunday.<br />
‘Student Sunday was a very important event for<br />
the SCM in Bogota because it was our first official<br />
activity as an SCM. It was celebrated in a small<br />
service on 20 February 2016. Around 15 people<br />
participated and around half of them were college<br />
or school students. We had a photo gallery on the<br />
theme ‘student struggles’ around the world, with a<br />
special emphasis on the struggles in Latin America.<br />
WSCF Europe Staff and Officers’ Meeting<br />
On 2 March I was lucky enough to be able to fly out<br />
to Oslo for four nights in order to attend this year’s<br />
WSCF Europe Staff and Officers’ Meeting.<br />
On the first evening we spent time getting to know<br />
one another, and had a time of meditation and worship,<br />
led by Lutheran minister-to-be Are from Sweden, who<br />
also invited contributions from other participants. I<br />
found this a very helpful space for contemplation and<br />
quiet in the midst of a very busy schedule.<br />
Thursday consisted of educational sessions led by senior<br />
employees from the Communications department at<br />
the World Council of Churches (WCC). We learnt<br />
about how we can use media, and especially social<br />
People who entered the church could see the photos<br />
and spend some time in reflection.<br />
During the service we set up a few stations that used<br />
different symbols and forms of prayer. For example,<br />
we used a mirror in the station about students<br />
around the world to recognise that students share<br />
similar experiences and struggles. To talk about<br />
popular education, we showed participants how to<br />
make an origami crane, symbolising that education<br />
also comes about when we make something.<br />
Even though it was a small group it was a very<br />
meaningful moment to pray for students in our<br />
country, continent and around the world, and we<br />
are glad we could be part of it.’<br />
Student Sunday was also celebrated here in Britain,<br />
with prayers and services being led at All Hallows’<br />
church in Leeds, Holy Innocents Fallowfield<br />
in Manchester, West Park URC, and SCM<br />
Cambridge, among many others. Thank you to all<br />
who participated this year!<br />
media, to our advantage in our SCMs. On Friday,<br />
we had more input from Marianne, the Director of<br />
Communications at the WCC. Francois, an expert<br />
in third sector volunteer management, led us on the<br />
final day. I felt we came away from the sessions with a<br />
better understanding of how to enable and work with<br />
volunteers, and also how to chair meetings successfully.<br />
Overall, it was a very helpful three days. I learnt new<br />
things, networked and enjoyed the food which Gabi<br />
from Slovakia kindly cooked for us. I would highly<br />
recommend WSCF events to all students and staff in<br />
SCM Britain!<br />
Ruth Wilde<br />
Page 6 <strong>Movement</strong> – Issue <strong>153</strong>
GROUPS<br />
<strong>Movement</strong> Issue <strong>153</strong> SUMMER 2016<br />
Cambridge Methodist Society<br />
This term has seen some subtle changes to Cambridge<br />
MethSoc. We have been sharing several Friday evenings with<br />
the other local SCM group following the recent re-start of<br />
SCM Cambridge. It has been great getting to know everyone,<br />
and sharing our social evenings shares the work of hosting<br />
while also getting more of us together – a win-win situation!<br />
Our weekly Bible study has looked at topics including the<br />
cultural context in the parables of Jesus and the concept of<br />
God’s omniscience as described by C. S. Lewis. Next term we<br />
will be looking at the Pilgrim’s Progress by John Bunyan.<br />
On the Universal Day of Prayer for Students one of our<br />
members Sarah led the evening service at our local church,<br />
with the help of many of the SCM resources. It was a thought<br />
provoking day, as well as a time of strong fellowship for<br />
students young and old.<br />
The future of the Methodist Society in Cambridge at the<br />
moment is uncertain. The national trend of decline permeates<br />
even to our generation it seems, but we are praying that our<br />
small university community can be inspiring and uplifting to<br />
as many as possible and may spring into new growth.<br />
William Collins<br />
SCM Manchester<br />
This term has been an interesting and thought provoking one<br />
in Manchester as we have had the opportunity to explore our<br />
faith and learn more about social justice issues.<br />
This term we held Eat, Pray, Act evenings where we ate<br />
together and learnt about different social justice issues,<br />
discussing how we might act on them. The issues we focused<br />
on this term included tax dodging and the effects of the palm<br />
oil industry, as we considered how our shopping habits affect<br />
the animals and people in Indonesia and Malaysia.<br />
In February we welcomed Symon Hill as our guest speaker,<br />
talking about his new book The Upside-Down Bible. We were<br />
challenged to look anew at some of the most well-known<br />
bible stories which led to some really interesting discussions.<br />
In March we learnt more about the theology of St Francis as we<br />
welcomed the Franciscans of the First and Third orders to speak<br />
to us about what Francis had to say about the environment.<br />
Overall, this term has been really interesting and we look<br />
forward to what the new term will bring.<br />
Sally Foxall<br />
SCM Leeds<br />
This has been exciting year for SCM Leeds! We<br />
started up again in September after not running<br />
last year, and the group has been really successful.<br />
We’ve been running Taizé services every other<br />
week, which have been great opportunities to<br />
relax and enjoy quieter worship. We’ve also had<br />
excellent workshops from SCM’s Ruth Wilde on<br />
theological reflection, and Matt Carmichael on his<br />
book with Alastair McIntosh, ‘Spiritual Activism’.<br />
This term we have held an interfaith prayer<br />
workshop, took part in activities for Christian<br />
Aid week, and attended the Stop Trident march<br />
in London. We’re also planning a trip to Taizé in<br />
the summer. Please pray that the group will keep<br />
going strong, and that more and more students<br />
will find us. Emma Temple<br />
Birmingham Methodist Society<br />
This term has been quite a packed one for MethSoc! We have<br />
been continuing to hold our weekly meeting with an increased<br />
membership, mixing social action, spending time socialising<br />
and worship. We have had curry nights, joint meetings with<br />
the University Atheist, Secularist and Humanist Society<br />
and we also hosted the Real Junk Food Project. Outside of<br />
our weekly meetings we have continued to run our Food<br />
Exchange Scheme, collecting left over food from campus on a<br />
Friday afternoon and passing it onto the homeless. We’ve also<br />
started a Sunday night Bible Study and have been increasing<br />
our work with CathSoc and AngSoc, holding a joint wine and<br />
cheese night and a board games night, which were a great<br />
success. We are looking forward to the summer term and<br />
everything it has in store!<br />
Rachel Allison<br />
<strong>Movement</strong> – Issue <strong>153</strong> Page 7
<strong>Movement</strong> Issue <strong>153</strong> summer 2016<br />
Refugee<br />
Campaign<br />
Day of<br />
Action<br />
MARK<br />
Going into the event, I was under the<br />
impression that I had a moral duty<br />
to make a difference, to act, in some way or another. I<br />
was also under the impression that I could not make<br />
a meaningful difference on my own. ‘I’ would have to<br />
change into ‘we’ in order for any progress to made. I<br />
may have a moral duty to act in the face of a refugee<br />
crisis, but it is our collective effort, our togetherness,<br />
which will bring about lasting change.<br />
Many issues were raised at the event, which makes it<br />
difficult to single out one specific issue to focus on.<br />
However, my current status as a university student<br />
means I am inclined to write about the issue of<br />
education. Being in higher education and having<br />
gone through a very good comprehensive secondary<br />
school, I know that I am fortunate to be in the<br />
situation I am in. However, I am also adamant that<br />
this shouldn’t be a privilege, but a right.<br />
Many times throughout the day, the problem of<br />
ignorance and media bias (if the conscious spreading<br />
of lies can be counted as bias) was raised. A lack of<br />
information and a warped perception of the refugee<br />
crisis have led to poisonous attitudes in our society;<br />
attitudes based on fear and hate. It is vital that,<br />
On 13th February, students from SCMs in Leeds, Birmingham<br />
and Worcester came together at St Chad’s Sanctuary in<br />
Birmingham to learn about the issues facing refugees. We<br />
heard stories from refugees themselves, learnt about what<br />
we can do, and reflected on what our faith has to say about<br />
how we should treat people who are seeking asylum.<br />
Sarah Derbyshire from Leeds SCM and Mark Birkett from<br />
Birmingham Methodist Society reflect on the experience.<br />
through education, we provide informed ideas and<br />
represent genuine circumstances. A very simple truth<br />
is that these refugees are humans, and vulnerable<br />
humans who need help. The choice we have is very<br />
simple: we either help them or ignore them.<br />
As a student in higher education I am fully aware<br />
of the benefits of attending university, and the<br />
influence universities have on society. The University<br />
of Edinburgh recently announced that it will be<br />
providing fully funded scholarships and a ‘significant<br />
reduction’ in costs to asylum seeking students. This is<br />
a powerful and progressive action that will hopefully<br />
influence more universities to take positive action in<br />
the current situation.<br />
Finally, I think that it is important to highlight the role<br />
that Christianity has in shaping my own views and the<br />
views of many Christians around the world. I believe<br />
Jesus is explicit in how we should treat those who need<br />
and ask for our help. ‘For I was hungry and you gave<br />
me something to eat; I was thirsty and you gave me<br />
something to drink; I was a stranger and you invited<br />
me in.’ (Matthew 25:35). Jesus didn’t exclude people<br />
from his message of hope, and neither should we.<br />
Page 8 <strong>Movement</strong> – Issue <strong>153</strong>
<strong>Movement</strong> Issue <strong>153</strong> summer 2016<br />
Sarah<br />
The past decade has been described<br />
as one of the most quickly<br />
advancing of all times, and some say that no other<br />
decade in history has seen such rapid development<br />
in the fields of science, medicine and technology. It<br />
seems things are going from strength to strength,<br />
but in the excitement of learning and researching<br />
new areas, have we forgotten to look after the most<br />
important things on earth: each other?<br />
In the gospel of Matthew we see Jesus travelling to<br />
new places teaching and proclaiming his message<br />
to all people. When Jesus is told that his mother<br />
and sister are outside, he replies ‘whoever does<br />
the will of my father in heaven is my brother and<br />
sister and mother’ (Matthew 12:50). Here, it is my<br />
understanding that Jesus is making a simple but<br />
crucially important point – we are all brothers and<br />
sisters in Christ. We are all made in the image and<br />
likeness of God. We are all equal and we should be<br />
treated as such.<br />
The SCM Refugee Campaign Day began with a tour<br />
of St Chad’s Sanctuary, a place where refugees and<br />
asylum seekers can go to get food, clothes and personal<br />
welfare products. Walking through rooms filled with<br />
blankets, cleaning products and other basic living<br />
essentials we soon realised just how important it is for<br />
people to continue to donate items, how important St<br />
Chad’s and other similar projects really are, and how<br />
little the government and housing agencies are doing<br />
to help refugees and asylum seekers.<br />
We heard from Shari Brown at the charity Restore.<br />
Her talk started with a quiz, in which we learnt that in<br />
2014 there were 59.5 million refugees and internally<br />
displaced people in the world. We also learnt that<br />
less than 2% of the world’s refugee population came<br />
to Britain to seek asylum, making up only 0.23%<br />
of our population in 2013. I found these figures<br />
shocking, not only because of the enormous number<br />
of refugees, but because we could clearly see the<br />
extent to which the media exaggerates the number<br />
of asylum seekers who are really coming to Britain.<br />
Throughout the day we were extremely lucky and<br />
privileged to be joined by two people who had fled<br />
from their own countries and came to England as<br />
refugees. Listening to their stories, we learnt of the<br />
continuous struggles refugees face due to the hostile<br />
asylum system, the difficulties of leaving everything<br />
behind, including their careers and families, and how<br />
hard it is to pick up and continue life in a completely<br />
new country.<br />
Despite all of these problems and difficulties, one<br />
sentence stood out to me; a sentence repeated and<br />
emphasised by both refugees: no matter which part<br />
of England they go to, no matter what community<br />
they enter, and despite all of the negativity from<br />
the government and media, people are friendly,<br />
welcoming and willing to help.<br />
We ended the day with a theological reflection<br />
activity, and it became increasingly clear to me that<br />
people want to help, want their voices to be heard on<br />
issues such as the refugee crisis, and, despite the lack<br />
of urgency shown by the government, people want<br />
to get active in making change happen, until the day<br />
when refugees and asylum seekers are treated with<br />
the equality they want, need and deserve.<br />
<strong>Movement</strong> – Issue <strong>153</strong> Page 9
<strong>Movement</strong> Issue <strong>153</strong> summer 2016<br />
Peterson Toscano<br />
INTERVIEW<br />
Peterson Toscano is a theatrical performance activist using comedy and<br />
storytelling to address social justice concerns. Through his one-person<br />
comedies and lively lectures, he has delighted audiences throughout North<br />
America, Europe, and Africa as he humorously explores the serious topics of<br />
LGBTQ issues, sexism, racism, violence, gender, and climate change. He lives in<br />
Pennsylvania with his husband Glen, and blogs at www.petersontoscano.com<br />
Why do you think that the dramatic arts are<br />
a good way to pass on messages of faith and<br />
inclusion? What makes this medium effective?<br />
What is lovely about theatre and storytelling is that it helps<br />
the listener to get outside of their head. Good theatre moves<br />
the audience to feel about an issue and to not simply think<br />
about it. It can create empathy, and reveals when we are in<br />
collusion with oppressors. Also, we listen to stories with<br />
a different part of the brain, one that is not as critical and<br />
judgmental as when we listen to a lecture. We let our guard<br />
down and hear messages we often filter out or reject. In that<br />
way theatre can be a subversive art. I see the parables of<br />
Jesus working in this way, opening up the mind to a greater<br />
understanding, leading to critical thinking and deeper feeling.<br />
Many of your performances employ humour<br />
and comedy to make serious points about<br />
LGBTQ+ inclusion, gender, climate change and<br />
other issues close to your heart. How does<br />
humour help you tackle these and other issues?<br />
Humour relaxes the body and the brain. When we<br />
experience fear and shame, we physically tense up. This<br />
tension happens in the brain too – neural pathways close<br />
making it harder to reason and retrieve information.<br />
This is why when we begin to panic, it’s easy to forget<br />
simple instructions. Comedy helps to loosen us up. This<br />
is especially important when talking about hot topics like<br />
sexuality, faith, gender, climate change, and justice.<br />
You speak courageously and openly about your<br />
experiences of conversion therapy and being<br />
queer in evangelical environments. What would<br />
be the main message you would want people to<br />
take away from hearing you talk about these<br />
topics?<br />
Page 10 <strong>Movement</strong> – Issue <strong>153</strong>
The main message I get back to over and over is that we<br />
need to be concerned about people, not politics. Much of the<br />
suffering I experienced in churches and ex-gay ministries was<br />
from people who truly believed they were doing the right<br />
thing, but they did it in an environment that insisted only<br />
heterosexual unions were blessed by God, and anything<br />
other was less than and needed to be destroyed. This in turn<br />
dehumanised lesbians and gays and bisexuals and transgender<br />
people. The political belief that it was wrong to be LGBTQ<br />
caused good people to act cruelly in the name of God.<br />
You are active in climate change activism and<br />
awareness – what role does your faith play in<br />
your work on this?<br />
I am curious about climate change as a<br />
pastoral care issue. Think of the emotional<br />
and spiritual needs of a people on a planet<br />
that is changing so rapidly. Consider the<br />
risks we face and the existential crisis of<br />
living in a world that seems ready to eject us.<br />
There are of course moral issues to consider<br />
too. I see climate change as a human rights<br />
issue that calls on people of faith respond<br />
with all the tools at our disposal.<br />
You grew up in evangelical<br />
environments and are now an<br />
active Quaker – what differences<br />
do you see between these<br />
traditions and what is the most valuable thing<br />
you can take from each?<br />
In the evangelical Church I was reminded over and over<br />
about how nothing particularly good lived inside of me. I had<br />
to be wary of the old man, my flesh, and the devil. My heart<br />
was deceitful above all things. Therefore, I needed to distrust<br />
myself and instead look outward – to God, as God was<br />
presented in the Bible as interpreted by the ministers. Perhaps<br />
because of my own insecurities and self-doubts I distrusted<br />
myself too much and trusted the ministers too much. This<br />
perspective though kept me locked up in the closet unwilling<br />
to raise any questions and terrified to come out.<br />
My experience among Quakers has been radically different,<br />
but actually not all that different from the teachings of Jesus<br />
that I overlooked for years. Quakers stress that each of us<br />
has the Light inside of us – that of God in us. Or as Jesus<br />
teaches in the Gospel, we have the Holy Spirit to guide us,<br />
the Kingdom of God inside of us. As St. Peter instructs, we<br />
have a treasure inside a clay vessel. My spiritual focus is now<br />
more inward, that the inner teacher Jesus instructs that inside<br />
us. Discernment, therefore, has become an important part of<br />
‘Gratitude happens<br />
when some kindness<br />
exceeds expectations,<br />
when it is undeserved.<br />
Gratitude is a sort of<br />
laughter of the heart<br />
that comes about<br />
after some surprising<br />
kindness’<br />
<strong>Movement</strong> Issue <strong>153</strong> summer 2016<br />
my spiritual life, and fortunately I have Friends to help make<br />
sure I don’t come up with too many wacky notions.<br />
My time in the evangelical Church was not all bad. It<br />
was there I learned the Bible and studied it. While some<br />
Quakers know and read the Bible, the rich history of Biblical<br />
storytelling comes from my time in the evangelical Church.<br />
As a Quaker, you come from a rich tradition of<br />
spiritual activism and non-violence. How does<br />
this influence your work?<br />
I do comedy, and many people know comedy can be mean and<br />
mocking and dehumanising. In fact, that is the easiest type of<br />
humour and is in great demand. How better to bring low an<br />
opponent than to make fun of them. But<br />
this is not an option for me. Perhaps it is in<br />
part because of my temperament, but also<br />
because I worship in a peace church that<br />
actively seeks to be non-violent. Through<br />
the Quaker Advices and Queries, I am<br />
encouraged to see the humanity even<br />
in my opponent, which is very different<br />
than just being polite to an enemy. But<br />
this has challenged me to seek out new<br />
places for humour and storytelling.<br />
Who inspires you?<br />
My husband, Glen Retief, inspires me<br />
because of his discipline as an artist who<br />
is willing to explore trauma. He published<br />
a memoir a few years ago, The Jack Bank – A Memoir of a<br />
South African Childhood. It is about growing up white and<br />
gay during Apartheid South Africa. The book is a meditation<br />
of violence, including the extreme bullying he experienced<br />
in a government boarding school. His fearlessness to look<br />
at suffering on an individual and a national scale moved and<br />
inspired me. Now he is working on a novel about South<br />
African history. His commitment to the artistic process,<br />
the daily slog of writing along with the willingness to write<br />
whole chapters over from scratch serves as a challenging and<br />
encouraging model for me with my own art.<br />
If you could give one piece of advice to students,<br />
what would you say?<br />
Cultivate gratitude. As the New York Times Columnist David<br />
Brooks wrote: ‘Gratitude happens when some kindness exceeds<br />
expectations, when it is undeserved. Gratitude is a sort of laughter<br />
of the heart that comes about after some surprising kindness.’ 1<br />
This is just a small part of our interview with Peterson.<br />
Go online to read the whole thing, including more on<br />
comedy and climate change, and what Peterson is up to next –<br />
www.movement.org.uk/blog<br />
1 www.nytimes.com/2015/07/28/opinion/david-brooks-the-structure-of-gratitude.html<br />
<strong>Movement</strong> – Issue <strong>153</strong> Page 11
<strong>Movement</strong> Issue <strong>153</strong> summer 2016<br />
Beyond the Walls of the World<br />
The Theology of Fantasy<br />
Recently a friend and I were talking about how surprised we both were that fantasy<br />
literature and theology aren’t discussed together more often. While it’s true that as PhD<br />
students both specialising in theology and fantasy we’re a little bit biased, I definitely<br />
think it’s odd that whenever I try to describe my research, even to other academics, I’m<br />
often met with raised eyebrows.<br />
It’s no secret that some of the most popular fantasy texts of the past century have been<br />
written by devout Christians. The works of C.S. Lewis, J.R.R. Tolkien, Madeleine L’Engle,<br />
and J.K. Rowling (to name just a few) have not only captured the imaginations of millions,<br />
but have sparked discussions on deeply spiritual themes in mainstream pop culture.<br />
While it is encouraging to hear people outside of Christian circles discuss sacrifice, belief,<br />
doubt, and radical acceptance and take these themes seriously, a question that’s not<br />
so often asked is, why fantasy? What is it about strange fairy-worlds (‘secondary worlds,’<br />
as Tolkien called them) and parallel societies that attracts authors<br />
and readers of faith?<br />
Could it be that fantasy is somehow inherently<br />
theological? Taylor Driggers<br />
Fantasy as recovery<br />
I’m fascinated by the desert fathers and mothers of early<br />
Christianity. Shortly after Constantine converted the<br />
Roman Empire to Christianity, these devotees led simple<br />
lives in monastic communities on the fringes of society as<br />
an act of protest against the new church of the empire.<br />
Every year during Lent, in reflection of Jesus’s forty days<br />
in the wilderness, the brothers and sisters would venture<br />
out into the desert alone, often experiencing mystical<br />
encounters.<br />
Even today, their reflections on these journeys read<br />
as strikingly subversive; the encounters they describe<br />
see them wrestling with more than just spiritual<br />
demons. Whenever someone comes face-to-face with<br />
a supernatural being, their entire understanding of the<br />
world, its social-spiritual order, and where they stand in it<br />
is also completely upended, turned inside-out. What was<br />
traditionally seen as dark and unclean is revealed to be a
<strong>Movement</strong> Issue <strong>153</strong> summer 2016<br />
trace of the divine, and what appears pure and spotless<br />
is revealed to be harmful and exclusionary.<br />
I think as readers, and especially readers of faith, our<br />
experience of fantasy literature can be very similar.<br />
Tolkien called this process – in which journeying into<br />
an alien world reveals divine, but uncomfortable truths<br />
about ourselves and the ‘reality’ we take for granted –<br />
‘recovery’: the ‘regaining of a clear view.’ His novel The<br />
Lord of the Rings dramatizes this beautifully; the simple<br />
hobbit Frodo trusts a frightening-looking stranger<br />
because, in his words, a servant of the enemy ‘would –<br />
well, seem fairer and feel fouler.’ As those familiar with<br />
the story will know, he is more than proven right.<br />
This theme of recovery crops up even in less overtly<br />
religious fantasies. Neil Gaiman’s Neverwhere and<br />
Angela Carter’s Nights at the Circus both revolve<br />
around underground collectives of people who have<br />
been rejected by society because of their strangeness,<br />
and in both novels, these communities offer profound<br />
challenges to the main character’s worldview. As<br />
Christians, we can understand these stories as reflections<br />
of the incarnation: divine truth revealing itself in the<br />
least likely of places. By embracing what is strange and<br />
‘other,’ fantasy reminds us that our faith is in something<br />
outside of ourselves, something that rarely fits into the<br />
safe and tidy categories we try to construct for it.<br />
Fantasy and creation<br />
Tolkien called the worlds of fantasy ‘secondary worlds’<br />
because he felt that the human artistic impulse mirrored<br />
God’s own role as creator. As inheritors of the divine<br />
image, we also must create, even though we largely have<br />
to borrow from and rearrange elements of the world we<br />
live in. Tolkien called this act ‘sub-creation,’ and it goes<br />
much deeper than just making something new out of<br />
existing elements. Instead, Tolkien saw sub-creation as<br />
a relational act, born out of a desire ‘to hold communion<br />
with other living things.’<br />
As a result, his own fantasy and many other fantasies<br />
concern themselves with the stewardship of creation.<br />
In The Lord of the Rings nature seems almost<br />
indistinguishable from myth itself; on entering the<br />
forest of Lothlórien, for example, Sam comments, ‘I feel<br />
as if I was inside a song.’ Later, the passage in which the<br />
forests of Isengard rise up against the wizard Saruman’s<br />
industrial military state has been interpreted both as an<br />
ecological parable and as a metaphor for the mythic and<br />
religious reclaiming a mechanised, violent modernity.<br />
Similar spiritual-ecological themes are found in the<br />
fantasy of Ursula K. Le Guin. The wizards in her<br />
Earthsea series have to practice humility and sensitivity<br />
in relation to their environment, carefully weighing the<br />
consequences of their actions. Her experimental novel<br />
Always Coming Home imagines a future society living<br />
simply with reverence toward the earth, allowing for<br />
greater sustainability. Just as the creation narratives in<br />
Genesis foreground the interrelatedness of creation, so<br />
the sub-creative impulse of fantasy can highlight our<br />
duty to look after creation.<br />
Fantasy, eucatastrophe, and<br />
the Christian story<br />
I want to conclude with what I think is one of the<br />
most profound parallels between fantasy literature<br />
and religious faith. Tolkien and many of his colleagues<br />
believed that at the core of any good fantasy story<br />
was the theme of radical, unlooked-for redemption,<br />
‘a sudden and miraculous grace’ that Tolkien called<br />
‘eucatastrophe.’ It was this that led C.S. Lewis to call the<br />
Christian narrative ‘myth become fact,’ and for Tolkien<br />
as well eucatastrophe suggested ‘a fleeting glimpse of<br />
[…] Joy beyond the walls of the world.’<br />
This, ultimately, is why I feel fantasy is at its core<br />
profoundly theological. In broadening and<br />
challenging our understanding of the divine, in<br />
showing us alternative ways we might live<br />
alongside creation and each other, fantasy<br />
points us towards the hope against all<br />
hope that constitutes the Christian<br />
message. By reading, creating, and<br />
experiencing mythic stories, we<br />
can learn to see our own dayto-day<br />
existence<br />
as small parts<br />
in a story that<br />
God is telling –<br />
one that is far<br />
from over.
<strong>Movement</strong> Issue <strong>153</strong> summer 2016<br />
Hagiography Orthodox Icon Painting<br />
The art of religious icons in the Orthodox Church is called<br />
hagiography as it depicts saints and religious scenes.<br />
During the 19th and 20th centuries, the religious icon<br />
paintings of Byzantium were considered primitive and<br />
unrefined compared to western Renaissance painting.<br />
It is only in the last few decades that art historians<br />
are realising the true worth of icons and the thinking<br />
behind them. The saying, ‘a picture paints a thousand<br />
words’ directly applies to hagiography. From the early<br />
days of Byzantium, icons have played an important role<br />
in church life. The wall paintings in an orthodox church<br />
are not purely decorative – they are there to assist the<br />
faithful to leap up from the mortal world to the kingdom<br />
of God during the holy liturgy. Many churches and<br />
chapels built during the height of the Byzantine Empire<br />
are still in use today. If you were to walk into one of<br />
these temples you would find a sea of colour and gold<br />
on every surface. You would be surrounded by a heavy<br />
aroma of incense and the glow of candle light reflecting<br />
off the golden halos and decorations that cover the<br />
walls. The impressive wealth of art from floor to ceiling<br />
cannot possibly go unnoticed.<br />
In the Western church, the depictions of biblical scenes<br />
became naturalistic, realistic and contemporary. In the<br />
traditions of orthodox icon painting, things are quite<br />
different. The style of icons and the depictions of holy<br />
persons follows a strict set of rules and guidelines that<br />
have been in existence for almost two thousand years.<br />
Byzantine art has a spiritual element to it. The icon<br />
painter strips away the human elements of the person<br />
being depicted, presenting him or her as an unblemished<br />
role model with pure spirit. According to the great 20th<br />
century icon painter Fotis Kontoglou, Byzantine icon<br />
painting ‘isn’t naturalistic, because its purpose isn’t just<br />
to portray the natural, but also the supernatural’. Apart<br />
from the minor changes in equipment, the techniques of<br />
Byzantine icon painting have gone unchanged.<br />
In today’s hectic world, hagiography still offers a<br />
taste of a nostalgic lifestyle. When I began studying<br />
as an apprentice to a Greek icon painter, I started to<br />
understand what icons actually mean, and the amount<br />
of love and effort that goes into creating them. Icon<br />
painters won’t sit in front of a canvas and wait for<br />
inspiration to create something. Traditionally they fast,<br />
Page 14 <strong>Movement</strong> – Issue <strong>153</strong>
<strong>Movement</strong> Issue <strong>153</strong> summer 2016<br />
pray, and embark on the spiritual journey of creating an<br />
icon. In the early days of icon painting, the works would<br />
go unsigned as a mark of respect to God. In the last few<br />
centuries the painter will sign the painting with ‘hand of’,<br />
and their name and year. This is done to show that God<br />
guides the hagiographer’s hand to create the icon just<br />
as he guided the evangelist Luke, the first icon painter.<br />
The process on which the painter embarks is just as<br />
unique as the materials used. The materials used in<br />
hagiography are the catalysts which enable the painting<br />
to reach a divine quality; they come from nature and<br />
have to be prepared with respect and care. The most<br />
natural material used is wood. Wood tends to warp<br />
and flex over time, therefore the application of gesso,<br />
which is a combination of white chalk and hide glue, is<br />
necessary before painting. This creates a buffer between<br />
the wood and the pigments in the paint. If paint was<br />
applied straight onto the wood, a few hundred years<br />
later the paint would probably have cracked under the<br />
stress of the warping. From a symbolic and theological<br />
perspective, the colour of gesso enhances the divinity<br />
of icons, as white is the colour of purity. By adding gold,<br />
the painting takes on a spiritual quality that allows the<br />
viewer to get closer to heaven.<br />
Once the wooden panel is prepared the design gets<br />
drawn out, traditionally in charcoal. If the hagiographer<br />
were painting onto a wall, they would trace the design<br />
onto a specially prepared piece of cloth called an<br />
‘anthivolo’, and use this to transfer the design. This<br />
would have been done by using a technique called<br />
pouncing, which involved using a sharp tool to make<br />
a series of tiny holes along the outline of the drawing.<br />
Wall paintings are done in fresco technique, which<br />
involves painting quickly directly onto wet plaster, as<br />
the painting must be finished before the plaster is dry.<br />
With the design laid out, the icon is then gilded using<br />
a process called water gilding. Traditionally, the painter<br />
would take red clay from Armenia and mix it with water<br />
and hide glue before applying it to the icon in layers. The<br />
gold would then be applied to the surface with alcohol.<br />
When dry, the gold is burnished with a tool made of<br />
agate. Although this method is very costly and laborious,<br />
it gives the icon a beautiful shine and ensures the gold<br />
is resilient to scrapes and surface damage. Nowadays,<br />
the method for gilding is much simpler. A varnish is<br />
coated onto the gesso and then a glue, known as size, is<br />
laid onto the surface and allowed to activate. After the<br />
gold is applied the surface is dusted and varnished. This<br />
method is known as oil gilding.<br />
Once the gold has been laid out, the hagiographer<br />
prepares to paint by preparing the medium. According<br />
to the Byzantine traditions, the pigments in the paint<br />
were bound with a mixture of egg yolk and vinegar. This<br />
type of paint is known as ‘egg tempera’ and is a very<br />
strong medium that doesn’t discolour over time and<br />
after a few years becomes water resistant. However,<br />
this means that it cannot be used on a flexible surface,<br />
and it is attractive to flies! Egg tempera is relatively easy<br />
to make as the ingredients can be taken from nature<br />
with little refinement required. It dries quickly, which<br />
means that the painter doesn’t have enough time to<br />
make the image too sensual.<br />
Due to this process, Icon painting has survived hundreds<br />
of years. The fact that some of the techniques used by<br />
icon painters today are older than the Roman Empire<br />
itself is mind blowing. John of Damascus claimed that,<br />
‘an icon looks like the original, but it is also different<br />
from it’. The divine is invisible, but the human idea of<br />
divine can be visible and tangible, which is why icons are<br />
still created today. The beauty of an icon is more than<br />
just the painting itself, rather it is the combination of<br />
techniques, effort and a way of thought that has lasted<br />
for centuries. Byzantine icon painting harnesses art<br />
and fuses it with faith. This beautiful combination has<br />
survived for hundreds of years, and will continue to be<br />
practiced as long as there is someone to appreciate it.<br />
MICHAEL DIMITRIS LEKAKIS IS A HAGIOGRAPHER<br />
BASED IN GLASGOW.<br />
Images © Michael Dimitris Lekakis.<br />
<strong>Movement</strong> – Issue <strong>153</strong> Page 15
The Bard<br />
& the Bible
<strong>Movement</strong> Issue <strong>153</strong> summer 2016<br />
SCM member Ellie Wilde explores what we can gain from reading the<br />
bible in the way that we read the works of Shakespeare.<br />
A<br />
s an English Literature graduate, I have always<br />
read the Bible and Shakespeare’s works in a<br />
similar way. My degree has taught me to look<br />
deeper at written texts; peeling away the layers behind<br />
the printed words comes naturally. At the simplest level,<br />
the Bible and Shakespeare are both written texts: or more<br />
accurately, collections of works, which come together as<br />
one exceptional whole. Both have shaped and enriched<br />
the English language and culture and both are national<br />
treasures of our country. As Robert McCrum observed<br />
in The Guardian: ‘Shakespeare and the Good Book have<br />
been informally linked as supreme expressions of the<br />
English language.’1 Any level of analysis, especially with<br />
words this precious, must be faithful to the spirit of the<br />
text. This includes the intentions of the author and the<br />
context in which it was written. So, how can we read the<br />
Bible and Shakespeare’s works in the same way? How can<br />
we search for the essential meaning behind these words,<br />
after so many years?<br />
Shakespeare’s England would seem a strange country to<br />
us. Not just the sights, sounds and smells of 16th century<br />
London, but the way the people understood the nature<br />
of life itself. Kings were divinely appointed, and man sat<br />
between angel and animal in a strict hierarchy. Reading<br />
was a privilege of the rich, and Shakespeare was very lucky<br />
to have the right social status to be taught how to read and<br />
write. The ordinary Elizabethan received their education,<br />
moral instruction and entertainment through stories,<br />
songs, plays and sermons. They were highly attuned to the<br />
sound, shape and rhythm of words. This is why much of<br />
Shakespeare’s genius is lost in translation. We read from a<br />
page rather than speaking on a stage. We don’t pronounce<br />
words the same way, or know the same in-jokes and<br />
cultural references that he grew up with.<br />
So, if we are to read the Bible in the same way, what we<br />
must really try to do is hear it. Certain parts of the Bible<br />
are meant to be read out loud, or set to music. The Psalms<br />
are one obvious example – there are even instructions for<br />
which instrument to use included in the text. The Song<br />
of Solomon compares to some of Shakespeare’s most<br />
beautiful sonnets, and even perhaps inspired them. There<br />
is a theory that Genesis was originally a Hebrew poem.<br />
When translated we lose the rhythm of the words – and<br />
perhaps, some of the meaning. Indeed, the Torah is sung in<br />
the Jewish tradition, using special melodies to accentuate<br />
the original sense of the words. Jesus used stories and<br />
speeches regularly in his ministry, often ‘performing’<br />
before a crowd, trying to communicate religious and<br />
moral truths. Many stories in the Bible can be seen as<br />
allegories or myths, and many arose from an oral history.<br />
Some stories would have gone through countless retellings<br />
before being written down; they were told in community<br />
and committed to memory.<br />
Each actor in an Elizabethan play only had their own<br />
part of the script: it told them their cue to speak, their<br />
lines, and nothing else. In the same way, the writers of<br />
the Biblical texts couldn’t possibly have seen or predicted<br />
their part in the whole text we now call the Bible. They<br />
couldn’t have imagined the impact their words would have<br />
on generations of believers. Paul was writing to specific<br />
churches; David wrote prayers and songs for worship; the<br />
Gospels document one remarkable man’s life. Keeping<br />
this in mind, it becomes almost impossible to read the<br />
Bible as one consistent whole. Many Christians believe<br />
that, like Shakespeare’s plays, there was a guiding hand<br />
bringing all these separate parts together – that God in<br />
some way orchestrated the Bible as a whole. Even if we<br />
believe this to be true, we must also recognise that each<br />
book of the Bible came from a different context.<br />
There have been years of speculation over the identity<br />
of Shakespeare. We’ve formed theories about his social<br />
status, his literacy and even his sexuality. Much has also<br />
been speculated about the character of God. Reading the<br />
Bible, we could be said to be searching for the identity of<br />
God, the ultimate inspiration. As a whole, the Bible shows<br />
us overarching themes and clues, a breadcrumb trail to<br />
follow. To follow this trail, we should first acknowledge<br />
that we only have one tiny piece of the puzzle. We live in<br />
the modern world, with its own moral code, structures and<br />
cultures. We bring this with us to any text, seeing through<br />
the filter of our own worldview. Just as we will never truly<br />
understand Shakespeare’s worldview, we are far removed<br />
from the Biblical writers’ daily lives.<br />
To really connect with the spirit of Shakespeare’s works,<br />
English Literature students are encouraged to go back in<br />
time, to study the context in which Shakespeare wrote.<br />
They read aloud, listen, perform and engage with the<br />
texts in an authentic a way as possible. Only then can<br />
they truly grasp his meaning and intentions. If we are to<br />
find the spirit of the Biblical texts, to truly connect with<br />
their message for us as Christians, perhaps we should do<br />
the same thing. Perhaps we can go back in time, to the<br />
original language and context – and discover a whole new<br />
dimension to the Bible we know and love.<br />
1. Robert McCrum,‘What I learned from the word of the Bard, by Rowan Williams’ 28th Dec 2014, The Observer: bit.ly/shakespeare-bible<br />
<strong>Movement</strong> – Issue <strong>153</strong> Page 17
<strong>Movement</strong> Issue <strong>153</strong> summer 2016<br />
Three perspectives on…<br />
Music in Worship<br />
PENTECOSTAL<br />
I hail from the southern state of Tennessee in the United States of America. I grew up as an active member in the Church<br />
of God in Christ, a Pentecostal denomination started in 1907. Today, the Church of God in Christ is the United States’<br />
largest predominately African American denomination. I come from a long line of Church of God in Christ pastors,<br />
preachers, and missionaries — five generations, in fact. As a child I would help lead the Friday night worship service in<br />
my great uncle’s church, beating a tambourine and singing off-key.<br />
In true ‘black church’ tradition, the music played during our worship services utilises gospel and congregational<br />
hymns. A choir is a main feature of the worship service and leads the church into an atmosphere of praise. Expressive<br />
demonstrations of emotion are welcomed and encouraged, and you will likely see church attendees raise their hands<br />
in the air, clap, and sing loudly. The music is meant to be inspiring and uplifting, offering a promise of eternal hope to<br />
those who trust in God to deliver them from their earthly troubles. In reflecting upon the history of African-Americans<br />
in the United States, the encouraging themes found in the music of the black church are both intentional and purposeful.<br />
African-Americans have endured slavery and the Jim Crow era; the fight for equality continued through the Civil Rights<br />
QUAKER<br />
After pacifism and the man on the Quaker Oats packet, the next most common association with the Religious Society of<br />
Friends is probably that we worship in silence. If you visit a Quaker Meeting House in Britain you won’t find hymn books<br />
readily available. What is music’s place in a tradition where silence is a core component of worship?<br />
From the beginnings of the Quaker movement in 17th century England, music was viewed with suspicion. Instrumental<br />
music was avoided, as time spent striving for excellence on a musical instrument could be better spent on something<br />
else. Solomon Eccles, a music teacher when he became a Quaker in the 1660s, burned and crushed his violins with an<br />
incredulous crowd looking on because he saw ‘a difference between the harps of God and the harps of men’. George<br />
Fox, an early Quaker leader, wrote that music ‘burdened the pure life, and stirred people’s minds to vanity.’ Singing was<br />
more acceptable, as long as songs arousing inappropriate emotions were avoided. Singing had a place within Quaker<br />
worship, but only when prompted by the Holy Spirit and never from a book.<br />
Attitudes in Britain softened in the 20th century, with the formation of the Quaker performing arts group ‘The Leaveners’<br />
in the 1970s, and music is no longer seen as a vain distraction. Music and song will often be found at Quaker gatherings<br />
CATHOLIC<br />
To me, the Catholic Church is unique in that no matter which church you go to, in any city or in any country, every<br />
Catholic mass that is said on that day will have exactly the same structure; the same readings, creeds, prayers and<br />
actions in exactly the same part of the mass. The only thing that differs is the music, the hymns and songs that are used<br />
and whether certain prayers are said or sung.<br />
I think this is why music has such an important role in my Christian identity. Music is the one thing that gives each church<br />
its uniqueness, and is the one thing that all denominations seem to have in common.<br />
When I tell people I’m Catholic, the first thing they usually ask is if the services are as long, boring and structured as<br />
they’re said to be. And although the Catholic Church is known for keeping its structure and tradition, to me, mass doesn’t<br />
feel like this at all – it’s a place of love, joy and freedom.<br />
Page 18 <strong>Movement</strong> – Issue <strong>153</strong>
<strong>Movement</strong> Issue <strong>153</strong> summer 2016<br />
<strong>Movement</strong> of the 1960s and in many ways, the fight continues today. Throughout this history,<br />
the church has played a monumental role in the lives of African-Americans, providing<br />
refuge and sanctuary from the cruel injustices of the outside world. It was during the Sunday<br />
morning church service that African-Americans received a re-filling of faith and motivation<br />
to endure the week ahead. All parts of the service were directed towards this goal, from the<br />
uplifting praise songs to the fiery, passionate words of the sermon. With this understanding<br />
of the church’s connection to activism, it is undoubtedly fitting that Dr. Martin Luther King<br />
Jr. delivered his final sermon, ‘I’ve Been to the Mountaintop’ at Mason Temple, the Church<br />
of God in Christ church headquarters in Memphis, Tennessee, the day before he was<br />
assassinated. In acknowledging the historical significance of the black church and specifically<br />
the Church of God in Christ, I remain proud that the music powerfully sung every Sunday<br />
embodies the spirit of resilience, hope, and a commitment to justice. FEYLYN LEWIS<br />
and several Quaker songbooks have been published. The suspicion of ‘prepared ministry’<br />
(planning what you’re going to say in worship beforehand) persists. In my experience, sung<br />
‘ministry’ in worship is rare, and is always spontaneous and from memory. The worldwide<br />
picture is somewhat different, with ‘Programmed’ and ‘Evangelical’ Quakers (who form the<br />
majority of Quakers in the world) having a rich tradition of hymn singing.<br />
I would love to see British Quakers embrace music more readily in our worship, and that<br />
means finding more opportunities to sing together. Simple, repetitive chants (such as those<br />
from Taizé), beginning or ending as the Spirit moves, fit well with Quaker practice. As in<br />
jazz improvisation, we can only play around with material we already know. The richer our<br />
musical vocabulary, the more readily we’ll be able to use song to express the workings of the<br />
Spirit in our worship. To quote a song much loved by Quakers, ‘since love is Lord of heav’n and<br />
earth, how can I keep from singing?’ MARK RUSS<br />
For me, singing is an expression of joy. In my local church, mass seems to be incorporated<br />
around the singing rather than singing being incorporated into the mass. With singing at least<br />
three hymns and most of the prayers, and having a church choir, I can definitely say it’s music<br />
that brings my church together in unity.<br />
Whenever I come out of any kind of worship where there has been a lot of music or singing,<br />
I’m always reminded of the time when, walking out of Church in Taizé, France, one of the<br />
visiting nuns whispered in my ear ‘those who sing pray twice’. I later found out that this was<br />
an ancient proverb, and I think it sums up perfectly just how important and special music in<br />
the church really is. SARAH DERBYSHIRE<br />
<strong>Movement</strong> – Issue <strong>153</strong> Page 19
<strong>Movement</strong> Issue <strong>153</strong> summer 2016<br />
Faith and Art<br />
The secular is seen as lesser in value and not as worthy of our<br />
There is a tendency amongst<br />
Christians to separate life – our<br />
work, our hobbies, our relationships<br />
– into that of either secular or sacred.<br />
in the home, doing their jobs well to the best of their ability and<br />
attention or energy, whilst the sacred is set above everything demonstrating the love of God to those they are in contact with<br />
else and elevated to a position of importance. This mind-set is on a day-to-day basis.<br />
no less prominent in the Arts, with many Christians believing<br />
My faith informs my art as much as it informs every other<br />
that unless the subject matter is overtly Christian, the object<br />
aspect of my life and it is important for me to actively remember<br />
or work is of inherently less value or even in some cases<br />
this as I create – to invite God in to what I am making and ask<br />
potentially dangerous as it reflects ‘worldly’ values or beliefs.<br />
Him to inspire me, encourage me, and lead me in the right<br />
As both a Christian and a self-employed Fine Artist I find this<br />
direction. I strive to use the gifts that I believe God has given<br />
way of thinking extremely unhelpful. I don’t view my career as<br />
me in order to create ‘Good Art’ that will fulfil the calling I<br />
an artist as something fundamentally separate from my faith;<br />
have been given, serve and love others well, and, first and<br />
rather I see the two as intrinsically connected. I believe that<br />
foremost bring glory to the original Creator. Francis Schaeffer<br />
the gospel permeates every aspect of my life as a Christian,<br />
put it best when he said, ‘A Christian should use these arts<br />
and what I do in the studio is just as important to God as what<br />
to the glory of God—not just as tracts, but as things of beauty<br />
I do in a Church meeting on a Sunday; He is as much involved<br />
to the praise of God’. Whether indirectly or otherwise, I hope<br />
in my painting process as my Bible reading. I believe that it is<br />
that to some degree my paintings invite people in to consider<br />
hugely important to have Christians working out their faith in<br />
both creation and its Creator more deeply. I want my paintings<br />
all areas of life, be that in cafés or in parliament, in schools or<br />
to communicate something of the truth of God, and the true<br />
hope, joy, and freedom that can be found in Christ.<br />
We have been made in God’s image, and thus we are inherently<br />
creative beings (though this may be truer of some than others!)<br />
Through the act of painting I am mirroring on a small scale<br />
what God initiated at the very beginning of time. I paint as an<br />
overflow of God’s creative Spirit within me, and in response to<br />
the world around me which is full to the brim with inspiration.<br />
Having studied and lived in Cornwall for the last five years my<br />
art, and indeed my faith, have been inspired by the stunning<br />
coastlines and vistas of this beautiful county with its unique<br />
and enchanting light. I hope that my work demonstrates<br />
something of the beauty of the world we live in, and the joy<br />
that can be found therein.<br />
As a Christian I also recognise God’s presence and hand at<br />
work throughout all of life, and as such the work I produce<br />
is born out of this conviction. Artists often create work that<br />
is an expression of the deepest part of themselves – for me<br />
this deepest part is my identity as a Christian and so in some<br />
ways, regardless of the subject matter of my paintings or the<br />
message I may want to communicate, the work is emerging<br />
out of this renewed life and personhood that I have in Christ,<br />
making it inherently Christian in what I believe to be the truest<br />
sense of the word.<br />
Ruth Naylor is a self-employed Fine Artist and, as of February 2016, a part-time Administration Assistant at SCM.<br />
She studied Fine Art at Falmouth University in Cornwall and now lives and works in Birmingham. You can find her<br />
work at ruthnaylor.co.uk<br />
Page 20 <strong>Movement</strong> – Issue <strong>153</strong>
groovement<br />
Across<br />
6. Back for improvement - same again (7)<br />
<strong>Movement</strong> Issue <strong>153</strong> summer 2016<br />
7. This conducts a stream away (7)<br />
9,15. Somehow, amazingly arty tiger gets 7 of 12 10 (5,9-4)<br />
10. Plan on losing first of two earrings with band (9)<br />
11 . Weirdly bloated, I replaced energy with something<br />
like an iPad (7)<br />
13 . See 24<br />
15 . See 9<br />
19 . Fresh secondary burns (6)<br />
20 . Permitted marshmallow edible in part (7)<br />
23 . A great egg scrambled whole (9)<br />
24,13. Dubious tonal merits of 9, 15’s predecessor (5,6)<br />
26 . Zero tax on charged particle gets a rousing reception (7)<br />
27 . Keys that jingle when 11 overs bowled (7)<br />
Down<br />
1. Beats up in fight (4)<br />
2. Japanese Emperor crazy about Indian King Oscar (6)<br />
3. Taping band around electric cable (9)<br />
4. Our elephant sounds apposite (8)<br />
5. Reservists show disappointment in Wales reversing<br />
acts of parliament (7,3)<br />
6. Distant return section of route to merge (6)<br />
7. False ridicule (4)<br />
8. Arouse knowledge under central section of seawall (6)<br />
12 . Bring ham, I’m cooking in the city (10)<br />
14 . Tactical tiger acts strangely (9)<br />
16 . An old blimp follows musical LED (8)<br />
17 . Zero tax rises in business - you could write a book,<br />
this size, on it! (6)<br />
18 . Youthful beauty makes fuss over flipping<br />
transgression (6)<br />
21 . Reading class (6)<br />
22 . Deserve to hear noisy extract (4)<br />
25 . Principal aroma ingeniously concealed (4)<br />
Crossword problems?<br />
Don’t know where to start? Try<br />
solving-cryptics.com or the<br />
Guardian ‘Cryptic crosswords<br />
for beginners’ blog.<br />
This CartoonChurch.com cartoon by<br />
Dave Walker originally appeared in the<br />
Church Times.
<strong>Movement</strong> Issue <strong>153</strong> spring 2016<br />
acts of the imagination<br />
Great deals<br />
for 18– 25s<br />
Details online<br />
Music NaHKo & MediciNe for tHe PeoPle kitty, daisy & lewis Hot 8 Brass BaNd<br />
Hope & social, a BaNd aNyoNe caN JoiN aKala Mike peters Pat tHoMas &<br />
KwasHiBu area BaNd BetH rowley listeNer ella & tHe Blisters sHe MaKes war<br />
sea & air taNKus tHe HeNge regiMe NgawaNg loduP lewis & leigH ecHo towN<br />
Performing Arts al seed, oog pif paf, plaNetary saM HalMaracK & tHe<br />
MiseraBlites craft tHeatre, daNte’s iNferNo VaMos tHeatre walKaBout Jack<br />
deaN, graNdad & tHe MacHiNe actors for HuMaN rigHts, asyluM MoNologues<br />
Half MooN tHeatre, fairytales goNe Bad tHird aNgel, 600 PeoPle<br />
Literature leMN sissay Harry Baker KHulud KHaMis aNtHoNy wilsoN<br />
JaN carsoN Breis Val BlooM fraNcis spufford fr. BegNiNo BeltraN<br />
reBecca de saiNtoNge Paul cooKsoN MicHael raMsey prize<br />
Ideas Nadia Bolz-weBer Bill MckiBBeN elaiNe storKey satisH kuMar<br />
elizaBetH oldfield Mark oakley catrioNa roBertsoN Broderick greer<br />
Magaret HeBBletHwaite Mark yacoNelli Jude waNga JoHN swiNtoN eVe<br />
Poole Mark russell Meg warNer arcHBisHop of caNterBury JustiN welBy<br />
Plus coMedy witH Josie loNg youtH, cHildreN & faMily prograMMe worsHiP<br />
worksHops Visual arts MoBile plaNetariuM giaNt iNflataBles cliMBiNg<br />
wall caMPfire grade 1 listed parklaNd & MucH More yet to Be aNNouNced<br />
greenbelt.org.uk<br />
a festival of arts, faith & justice<br />
Page 22 <strong>Movement</strong> – Issue <strong>153</strong>