Movement 117

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the magazine of the student christian movement I issue tt7 | summ er 2OO4
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dreams of a better world:
conference report
John Vincent on discipleship
Rosemary Radford Ruether
on theolo$y as vision
alt worship ideas
Christian communities
plus..,
mary hunt interview... billy braS$... anita roddick column.,.

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Greenbel.t04
27-30 August
*
THE INNOCENCE MISSION_ DENYS BAPTISTE'S
DELIRIOUS?_
LET FREEDOM RING-
ROB NEWMAN_
JEFFREY JOHN-
JOHN KEANE'S THE PLUMB_
INCO}WENIENCE OF HETORY_ COLOURSCAPE_
ROWAN WILLIAMS- THE VIOLET BURNING-
q cr{liSiil"iiaio 6t}
Cheltenham Racecourse
www.greenbelt.org.uk
020 737 4 27 60
NATURALTHEATRE CO_
GRACE DAVIE-
ROBERT BECKFORD_
THE F-WORD FORGIVENESS
PROJECT_
SINGALONGA JOSEPH-
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movement":,"J:':;;:f:#f"i:,,::iis{:::;x:;"'
Editor: Liam Purcell
editor@ movement.org. u k
Next copy date: 9 July 2OO4
Editorial group: David Anderson, Neil Elliot,
Matthew Gardner, Rebecca Hawthorne, Helen
Mackay, Elinor Mensingh, Marie Pattison, Kate
Powell, Tim Cobbett, Liam Purcell
SCM staff= Co-ordinator Elinor Mensingh; Links
Worker Marie Pattison; Office Administrator
Rebecca Hawthorne
SGM office:.University of Birmingham, Weoley
Park Road, Selly Oak, Birmingham 829 6LL
t= (Ot2L) 47! 2404
t= (OL2L) 4L4 56Lg mark faxes 'FAO SCM'
scm@movement.org.uk
www.movement.org.uk
movement rc the termly ma$azine of the
Student Christian Movement, distributed free
Printed by: Henry Ling Limited, Dorchester
lndividual membership of SCM (includes
movement) costs 915 per year (f,,10 if unwaged).
Subscription to movernent only costs f,,10 per year,
or L7 for students.
Discfaimer: The views expressed in movement
are those of the particular author and should not
be taken to be the policy of the Student Christian
Movement.
rssN 0306-980x
Charity number 241'896
o 2004 scM
Do you have problems readin$
movement?
lf you have visual or readin$ difficulties which
make it hard for you to read the printed version
of movement, we will be happy to send it to you
in digital form, suitable for magnification or use
with reading programs. Just contact the editor at
editor@movement.or$. uk

editorial
vrbion or
--
reality?
Dreaming of a better world must be accompanied by action for change.
'We want to see more than a just society. We
want to know our neighbours and feel part of
our communities.'
'How can we be a just society if we are unjust
to other societies?'
'We have a vision of a community of diverse
people open to all humanity and all ideas,
that fosters support and understanding to
help people grow and use their talents to
enlarge this spirit of love and empathy.'
'A church that speaks out seriously and consistently
against injustice, so it is respected as a
conscience of society.'
These are just a few of the visions for a better
world which were put fonrvard by SCMers at the
end of our annual conference this year, on the
theme of 'Just Visions?'. lt was an inspiring
event with a real sense of community and, of
course, vision. You can read a repoft on page
5, and find out more at www.movement.org.
ulVannualconference
We're picking up on the same theme in our
special feature this issue. Christianity has always
put forward visions and dreams of a just society,
a new way of living. But are these just visions, or
can we make them a reality? And how do they
relate to our urbanised, atomised society?
So we have John Vincent, director of the
Urban Theolos/ Unit, exploring what it means
editorial 3
newsfile 4
on campus 6
campaigns 7
diary 8
small ritual steve collrns 9
interuiew: mary hunt lram purcell 7O
take it.personally anita roddick !3
moyement feature:
fust visions?
find your passion!
find your project! john vincent 74
theologr as vision
radford ruether 75
td for ip riley 76
to be a disciple of Christ and how we can live
out the gospel. For many Christians, this has
involved making their visions real by building
new forms of community - so we also have an
overuiew of many of these experimental ways of
living, with contact details and further reading
available to inspire you.
Emerging church and alt worship groups offer
some of the most exciting and challenging
visions for Christianity today. Adrian Riley has
provided some liturry ideas with an 'alt' flavour,
which we hope SCM groups can build on
to explore their own visions of community
and justice. And finally, ecofeminist Rosemary
Radford Ruether has some challenging ideas
about how theolo$/ itself can be an act of
visualising a better world.
I gained a strong sense of the power of the
visions built by theology when I saw Mary Hunt
speak at last year's WSCF conference. I hope
you'll share some of the inspiration I felt when
you read my interview with her.
Finally, we're delighted to feature the first
instalment of a new column by Anita Roddick.
Anita should need no introduction; founder
of The Body Shop and a tireless campaigner
for social justice, she'll be exploring how our
personal and communal spirituality can drive us
to fight for social justice. I
ties and binds jim cotter 2O
room tOL tim cobbeft 2L
inclusiveness and the search
for truth jonathan ctatworthy 22
celebrity theologian stuart powell 23
worldview: india raj bharath patta 24
atfantis and me wood ingham 25
media section
must i paint you a picture?
(billy bragg) tiam purcett 26
resource list 27
spirited away (hayao miyazaki)
david anderson 28
pop culture review gordon lynch 29
sickened $ulie gegory) xate powett 3O
serpent 31
F$*'l
Christianity
has always
put forward
visions and
dreams of a
just society,
a new way
of living. But
are these just
visions, or can
we make them
a reality?
Liam Purcell
Editor of moverneDf
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movement l3

news
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News from SCM in Britain and beyond.
SCM €roup profiles
Each issue, we profile university groups that are affiliated to
SCM, so you can find out more and get involved with your local
group.
Glas$ow Unr-vers ity SCM
Glasgow's SCM has a mixed membership of students and
former students, Episcopalians and Church of Scotland
members - quite a mix of a group.
This year there have been many memorable speakers, including a
minister from the Unitarian Church (who was also a druid - we need
to get him back to talk about thatl) We learned about a Glasgowbased
homelessness organisation, the Lod$ing House Mission, and
our eyes were opened to the severity of the homelessness problems
Glasgow faces. One of our members talked about a summer project
she'd been involved in promoting HIV and AIDS awareness in
South Africa. An RE lecturer got us talking about questions young
people have about religion and how people of older generations
would answer their questions. A Glasgow minister talked about his
plans for a 'People for Peace' project, getting inter-faith dialogue
going to find out how people of different faiths feel about war and
compromise, The speaker that made us think the most was from the
Church of Scotland, talking about the prejudices within the churches,
and discussing not only how evangelical groups view liberals, but
how people with more liberal views might be prejudiced against
evangelicals; someone summed it up as 'liberals accept everyone
apart from those who don't accept them.'
We had a shoft retreat to Millport on the lsle of Cumbrae, and
stayed at the Cathedral of the lsles. We had a great weekend enjoying
fellowship, relaxation and walking and cycling around the island' Our
theme was getting to know each other through spirituality tests.
We also had fun doing a Radio 4-style Deseft Island Discs (and
playing Jungle Bunglel) I
Glasgow University SCM
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York Christian
Focus
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We have 30-35 at our weekly meetings.
Christian Focus is an ecumenical
society, welcoming anyone from any or
no religious tradition. We aim to explore
Christianity in an open, challengin€l and
above all friendly environment and in a
variety of ways.
Last term we had speakers talking about
'mission', decision-making, Christianity and
science, and relationships.
We support 'Friends of Antara UK'. Antara
is a mental health hospital in lndia - we have
raised money for them and some people write
to patients there. We've just had our first
social action day, where members helped tidy
and decorate a charity shop. lndividuals also
volunteer at local charities such as homeless
shelters. Our wonderful social action reps
produce a weekly newsletter detailing what is
happening on campus and beyond.
Our website is at www-users.York.
ac.ulV-socs161. lt's yellow and green and
much much fun.
We aim to be open and friendly to our growing membership - this
includes a weekend away in the autumn term where people can get
to know each other. This time we had a windy weekend in Whitby.
We also focus on prayer and Bible study outside meetings - we
have recently started up a lunchtime Bible study group, and we have
I
a prayer meeting before the main meeting each week and try to co-
ordinate members who want to form prayer triplets.
Another concern is Christian unity - we have good links
with the other Christian societies on campus as individuals
and as a society through the Christian Leaders' Meeting (a
group of society leaders and chaplains which meets to share, pray
and plan joint events). I
York Christian Focus

news
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SCJ{ Annual Conference, 5-7 Hanch 2AA4, The Hollowfond Centre, Castleton, Peak District
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I have been meaning to go to Annual
Conference for the past few years, and so
when I found out it was going to be held
just thirty minutes down the road from my
home in Sheffield I had no excuse not to
attend!
I arrived in time for tea on Friday night and I
soon found that I recognised a few people from
my days in MethSoc at Durham. After meeting
in small groups and an introduction to the
theme Just Visions?, we had a short meditative
seruice of evening prayer and then headed to
the bar for socialising and a quiz.
0n Saturday morning we discussed what our
visions were of 'community'. Each of us had to
think of six communities to which we belonged
and then we pooled them together, seeing where
our communities overlapped with each others'.
The highlight of the weekend for me came
later on Saturday morning when lnderjit Bhogal
from the Urban TheoloS/ Unit in Sheffield came
to speak to us. He gave us two words to describe
his vision for Christianity: hospitality, where the
Lord's table is at the centre of the church; and
incarnation, meaning'God is with us'.
Accordingto lnderjit, Jesus onlygave one liturgical
instruction - to have some food and remember
him. We were all given a handful of lentils to hold
as he spoke to us about the real weapons of mass
destruction - hunger and poverty.
ln the afternoon we had the opportunity to
attend workshops on our visions of worship,
community and society. I went to the workshop
led by Niall Cooper, the national co-ordinator of
Church Action on Poverty who encouraged us
to examine our visions of society. One in five
people are no longer able to get credit and so
rely on door-to-door loan companies for cash
loans with extortionate interest rates, plunging
them further into debt. ln this workshop we
discussed what sort of society allows this to
Keynote speaker
lnderjit Bhogal was
inspirational.
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Visiting a local beauty
spot.
There were workshops
on art, alternative
worship and combating
poverty.
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happen and what our visions are of a society
built on freedom and justice for all. I certainly
went away from this session with a strong
passion to change things.
On Saturday evening we were treated to an
experience of alternative worship led by Steve
Collins. With a background of music and images
on video screens we worshipped God creatively
as we drew our ideas of the promised land and
decorated cakes with words of hope and repentance.
During worship on Sunday we wrote out our
visions for a just society and linked them together
in a paper chain of prayer. But as we had
reflected in our small groups earlier, were our just
visions only visions or could they be more than
that - could they be put into action?
lf we had any doubts about what to do with
our visions on leaving conference, one of the
small groups set us this challenge:
'Go backto Birmingham;go backto Newcastle;
go back to Wanruick; go back to our universities
and workplaces, knowing that somehow this
world can and will be changed. Let us not wait
here complaining any morel'
After conference ended I drove the short
distance back to Sheffield with my car full of
new friends and a desire to get more involved
- in SCM, in action on poverty, in doing my bit
to change the world. What a fantastic weekend.
Hope to see you all there next year! I
Rosemary Sharpe
SCM individual membel
See www.movement.org.uUannualconference
for more on the conference, including photos,
group visions, a worship outline and the full text
of lnderjit Bhogal's talk.
movement l5

on campus
efI carrtpui
News from the university world.
introducins GHESS
Student representation in Scotland is at
one of its most critical stages. MSPs have
had the common sense, lacking in their
Westminster counterparts, to reject topup
fees. Whatever the problems that may
face Scottish higher education as a result
of the Bill being passed at Westminster,
we should at least be grateful that we will
not end up with a two-tier system, based
on ability to pay and privilege as opposed
to academic ability, as will be the case
south of the border.
One organisation that has been working hard
in trying to persuade Scottish MPs of the
detrimental effect of top-up fees on Scottish
unrversities is the Coalition of Higher Education
Students in Scotland (CHESS). CHESS
represents the Students' Associations of the
universities of Dundee, Edinburgh, Glasgow,
Strathclyde, St Andrews and the Open University
in Scotland. With the exception of Strathclyde,
our members are not affiliated to the National
Union of Students, Scotland. We seek in no
way to rival, or to be in competition with, NUS
Scotland. lndeed many of our aims and policies
are very similar. CHESS exists because those
Associations that have chosen, for whatever
reasons, not to affiliate to NUS also have a
right to effective national representation. The
above universities represent over 70,000 hi$her
education students, that is 50% of the total
students at university in Scotland.
Despite the efforts that have been made
we have, until the next reading of the Higher
Education Bill, lost the battle to defeat New
Labour's intent to introduce a market element
into education. CHESS has played a significant
part in lobbying the Scottish Parliament to
guarantee that top-up fees will play no part in
our future, and we continue to play a significant
role in reminding MSPs that Scotland needs
to respond to the Higher Education Bill. ln
order not to be competitively disadvantaged,
Ministers in the Scottish Executive need to
find another way of giving Scottish institutions
comparable funding. The most in-depth
t chess
www.chesson line.org. uk
CHESS has
lobbied the
Scottish
Parliament
to guarantee
that top-up
fees will play
no part in our
future.
examination to date of the potential effects of
top-up fees on Scottish higher education has
been conducted by the Holyrood's Enterprise
and Culture Committee. The inquiry, entitled
'Scottish Solutions', concluded that Scottish
higher education had to receive additional
funding from the Executive in order for it not
be disadvantaged. CHESS played a full part in
the inquiry, and we were generally pleased with
its conclusions. For what is a relatively new
organisation we have reason to be pleased with
the progress that we are making, and the type
of representation that we are providing for our
members. I
,,.",0"".H'l'"F#"o"l
Edinburgh University Students' Association
students and lecturers
brinS hisher education to
a'standstiil'
The NUS report that
further and higher
education campuses
across the UK were
bought to a standstill on
25 FebruarV, €ls over 2
million students and tens of thousands of lecturers stood
shoulder to shoulder in protests at plans to introduce
variable top-up fees.
Action took place at over 200 institutions, sending a clear
message to the government that plans to force a market into higher
education would not be welcomed by universities, staff, students
and the general public. ln protests across the UK, students joined
the lecturers' union, the Association of University Teachers (AUT), on
picket lines to voice their opposition to variable fees.
NUS President Mandy Telford said: 'Today's action sends a clear
message to the government that students and lecturers are united
in their belief that variable top-up fees neither raise the necessary
cash to plug the unrversity funding gap, nor do they attract increased
numbers of students from poorer backgrounds.' I
6lmovement
llJ

campaigns
ceLn
lJeLgLt S
Faith and social justice cannot be separated.
Come to the seaside - take the call for
trade justice to Brighton this September!
Our aim is to put trade justice in the news
in a way that has never been done before by
inviting thousands of campaigners to Brighton
on Sunday 26 September 2OO4 - the opening
day of the Labour party conference.
This is a crucial opportunity to build momentum
for trade justice in the run-up to 2005, when the
UK will host the G8 summit of industrialised
countries and hold the presidency of the EU
(from July to December 2005). The UK will be
in a unique and powerful position to take action
for trade justice.
The day in Brighton will include international
speakers and celebrities, and a host of other
activities, including a church service for inspiration
and reflection. Make sure the date is in your
diary now.
It will also be your chance to take part in the
launch of the Trade Justice Movement's major
new campaign action Vote for Trade Justice.
From this summer we will be asking you to
collect as may votes as possible - in your groups
and chaplaincies, on campus, in churches
- wherever! ln Brighton we will be asking celebrities,
public figures and MPs to cast their votes.
Nor does the campaigning stop there! We
need to keep collecting votes throughout the
rest of 2OO4 and 2005 to create a huge tide
of pressure for trade justice, and from 10 to 16
April 2005 we will be joining millions of others
around the world in the Week of Action for Trade
Justice. Look out for more news in the coming
months. I
SCM is affiliated to the Trade Justice Movement.
SCM is affiliated to the
Stop the War coalition.
L
t2
campaisn update
by the sea
what you can do now
. Wear the badge to show your support. Wear it
on your coat, wear it on your bag, wear it to the
shops, wear it to lectures, order lots and use
them as drawing pins. However you wear yours,
get people asking questions about trade justice.
You can order them at www.tradejusticemovement.org.uk
. Write to Hilary Benn, Secretary of State for lnternational Development,
drawing attention to issues of fair trade and trade justice.
Details can be found at www.christianaid.org.uk
. Help SPEAK to make their big dress, a unique and creative
petition. The dress is being made from thousands of squares of
material, each one painted, written on or sewn with expressions of
people's concerns and hopes for trade justice. See www.speak.org.
uk
. Clean up your computer. CAFOD are calling on IBM to adopt
and implement a code of conduct for workers' rights. Watch their
animation ATale of Two Cities, read the full report and send an e-
card to IBM at www.cafod.org.uk
. E-mail your MP and tell them how you feel and what you'd like to
see done about trade justice. You can find details for your MP at
www.locata.co.ulVcommons. People and Planet have a very clever
gadget at http ://peoplea nd planet. org/tradej ustice to e- mai I you r M P
about the collapse of WTO talks at Cancun in September 2003. lt's
all done for you. You just type in your postcode and it finds your
MP... you add your details to a ready-written e-mail... click... and
and off it goes... Of course, you could also rewrite the text to send
an e-mail about trade justice in general.
. lf you're at Hampton Court flower show this year (6-11 July 2004),
make sure you check out Christian Aid's trade justice garden.
The garden will illustrate how farmers need fairer trade rules so that
they can sell more food and secure a better future.
On 2O March, a demonstration took place in central London to mark the anniversary
of the attack on lraq and to call for an end to occupation and war. The Stop
the War coalition estimate that 100,000 people attended.
Black balloons were released for those who have died in the war, and there was a minute's
silence for the thousands of dead lraqis, the troops who have died and the casualties of the
Madrid bombings.
Stop the War are now initiating a campaign to persuade the ICC Prosecutor at the Hague to
begin an investigation of war crimes committed against lraq and its people. I
movementlT

diary
Involved in runnin€, your
{roup or chaplaincy?
ThinkinS, of settin€ up
a sroup?
Want some trainin!, and
a chance to share ideas?
Gome to our
A
really $ood oqqortunity
to get together with peoPle
from different universities to share
experiences and learn from
each other.
RelaxinS
weekend - very
valuable.
A great deal of tdeas
about startin{, a $roup and
encouragement from
others
Training
EveDt
workshops... resources... discussions.
worship... sharing ideas...
L- ,
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. , \-' and the Catholic Student Trust
, S, 10-12 septem ber 2oo4
Houghton, Cambridgeshire
i||ffir /$
For fufther details, contact Marie:
,$ovrn* \-/ links@movement.org.uk I Ot21 47t 2404
Ghoose from workshops on:
settin$ up a g,roup... leadin(, a discussion...
how to run a Bible study... relatin{, to others on
campus... freshers week... plannin$ events...
pu bl i city... websites... cam pai Sni n {,...worshi p...
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8-14 May
Christian Socialist Movement's week on lona
The CSM assesses progress on establishing a moral
agenda for Labour.
L22t full board (1110 student or low income).
O2O 7 233 3736 paul@christiansocialist.org.uk
$-15 May
Christian Aid Week
A week of fund-raising, prayer and action. Free worship
resources and publicity matelials available.
www. ch ristian-a id.org. u k
t2 May in London; 20 May in Bradford
Urban Voices: Exploring Ghurch in the City
An event exploring the importance of marginal stories in
shaping the future of the church in the city.
125 (including lunch)
0208 239 5527 communityinfo@shaftesburysoc.org.uk
www.shaft esburysoc.org. u k
23-31 May
Celebrating the Environment
SPCK, Liverpool Cathedral and the Liverpool diocese
invite you to explore what we can do to improve our
environment in a week-long progfamme of events.
www. I iverpoolcathedral.org. u ly'centenary
7-13 June
Window on the world
A conference run jointly by WSCF-Europe (www.wscfeurope.org)
and WSCF-Latin America.
lf you would like to represent the British scM at this event,
please fill in the form at www.movement.orguly'diary
12-18 June
Simply Divine
The Lesbian and Gay Christian Movement's week on lona.
www.lgcm.org.uk
13-16 July
The God Experience - who has it and why?
High Leigh Conference Centre, Hoddesden, Herts
A conference to explore the significance and uses of
mystic experience. Run by the Modem Churchpeople's
Union and the Alister Hardy Society.
www.modchurchunion.org
L*24 tuly
Civil Society and Non-Governmental Activities
Waldsieversdorf, Germany
An international ecumenical student meeting of the
German SCM in co-operation with WSCF.
lf you would like to represent the British SCM at this
event, please fill in the form at wrarw.movement.org.
uly'diary
6-13 August
Talitha Cum: Arising to Life in Abundance
Chiang Mai, Thailand
General Assembly of the World Student Christian
Federation (www.servi ngthetruth.org) - seeki ng to
articulate our Christian faith as SCM members striving
towards saving life on earth and serving the earthly
community as a whole.
lf you would like to represent the British SCM at this
event, please fill in the form at www.movement.org.
uty'diary
10-12 September
SGM Training Event 2004
Houghton, Cambridgeshire
See details above.
26 September
Ballot on the beach
See details on page 7
8lmovement
tl

small ritual
small ritual I steve collins
Through the wormhole
ln my last column I touched on the matter of
local versus network - how most churches
work (at least officially) as if church depended
on where you live rather than who you know.
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'the church' I
In the localised model, above, the word
'church' usually means an organisational unit
operating in a particular locality - whether
formalised as a parish or just understood as
a catchment area. lf a church has subgroups
(such as homegroups and committees), these
are themselves localised within the catchment
area ofthe parent church. Both subgroups and
parent churches link to others outside the area
through the institutions and agencies - up,
across and down rather than sideways through
individual or direct group-to-group contact.
This is a potent source of misunderstanding
towards emergent church groups. ln the
localised model it isnt expected that a subgroup
should link directly to other subgroups in other
organisations or places. So, for example, an
alternative worship group attached to a parish
church looks, from a localised perspective,
like a sort of renegade homegroup. They dont
fit in, they dont join in, they seem few and
isolated. Some of them arent even members
of our church. What gives them the right to
critique it or do their own worship? The network
connections of the group are invisible to nonmembers,
or not understood as important
by people whose working model of church is
localised. Some of the fears about alt worship
groups being 'shadowy' or 'unaccountable'
come ftom this partial visibility. lt looks like
disconnection if you cant see the reconnections.
Outsiders can't 'see in', especially if they
dont come to the seruices.
But ftom inside the group, it's the localised
church that seems isolated, because it doesn't
network outside itrs area or give and take
resources ftom the network. lt doesn't join in the
$obal conversation and only talks to itself. From
inside, the netwoked group is a space which
opens into many other spaces. The people are
not few but many, but they are not all in one
place. lt's a bit like a TARDIS - inside its big, but
from the outside it looks small and closed up.
J
Science fiction series such as Deep Space
Nrne and Farscape use the concept of the
'wormhole' - a distortion of space and time
which allows you to get from A to B across the
universe without having to pass through all the
space and time in between. lt's a useful plot
device for introducing unexpected visitors from
distant places. My alt worship group Grace
often feels as if it's near the entrance to a
wormhole (though it's probably just a Tube). We
get unexpected arrivals from anyvrrhere. Few are
immediately local, many come from considerable
distances, even from across the planet.
But not, as yet, from across the galary. As far
as we know. lt's network church in action, and
completely bewildering to the localised church
who dont quite see why people would travel to
something'small' and'marginal'.
ln his book A Churchless Faith, Alan
Jamieson found that most people who left
churches retained their faith and even grew
in it, in spite of, or even because of, their
lack of conventional belonging. A lot of those
who 'leave' churches are not leaving The
Church (that is, the Body of Christ), but are
leaving the local for the network. They are
moving into a wider circle of connectedness,
retaining some at least of their existing
connections - including, often, links back
into the churches they have 'left'.
o-
This is what it looks
like to those in the
localised church
paradigm. The person
_..o
that leaves is 'outside',
alone, 'lost', in the
trackless waste.
This is the view for those in the network
church paradigm. The trackless waste is full
of wider connections, including back into
the localised churches. These appear as
concentrations or nodes that are not as selfsufficient
as they imagine. They are not the
only places 'church' happens. I
t{'
*t
I
I I
I
The localised
church doesn't
network
outside its
area or give
and take
resources
from the
network. lt
doesn't join
in the global
conversation
and only talks
to itself.
What do you
think?
Steve will be
available on the
SCM discussion
forum during
May and June,
to respond
to readers'
thoughts on
this column
and explore the
ideas further.
Log on to www.
movement.
org.ukfforum
and join the
debate!
worship group in EalinEl,
west London, He ha6
written extenslvely about
altelnatlve worshlp and
was ono of the desigin
t6am for the l-abyrinth
www.labyrinth.org,uk. He
alternativervoFhip.orE
www.amallfire.orEl, and
wrvw.smalhitual.orEl
movement l9

interuiew
dis ciples hip of ectruafs
How can we live together with differences?
Mary E Hunt is a
feminist theologian
who is co-founder
and co-director of the
Women's Alliance for
Theolos/, Ethics and
Ritual (WATER) in Silver
Spring, Maryland, USA.
A Roman Catholic
active in the womenchurch
movement, she
lectures and writes on
theologr and ethics
with particular attention
to liberation issues.
Clearly we
need new
models of
church. And
not just one
new model.
We're not
proposing
'the countermodel'.
10lmovement
I met with Mary Hunt in Paris last November, where she was a keynote speaker at the
World Student Christian Federation's conference 'Black and White: stripping religion
and culture of dualistic thinking'. She spoke powerfully about the limitations of our
traditional modes of thought, and the need to find ways forward without being trapped
into conflict and confrontation. I spoke to her about the future for Christianity and the
movements she's involved in.
Gould you talk about the women-church
movement and your involvement in it?
The women-church movement as such grew
out of a deep disillusionment on the part of
women, especially American Catholic women,
with the patriarchal or 'kyriarchal' nature of the
church -that is, the structures of lordship that
are given, especially in the Catholic church.
It became clear that those were not going
to change, that women were not going to be
ordained.
We decided that, rather than knocking on
the door of the church and asking for a place,
or reforming it, or tweaking it a little, we would
instead put our energies and our creativity and
our talents and our money into forming small
base communities like those in Latin America,
and worship in house-church style. And really
not put ourselves and our energies into the
institution as such. There was no illusion there
that we would be reforming it from within
- rather that we were creating something new
that would function as a counter-example.
So I've been a part of that for more than
twenty years. The groups have grown all over
the world, certainly in parts of Latin America, in
Switzerland and Germany; there's a group called
Women Church in Korea, which is more of a
Methodist-run project.
This movement, this understanding of women
as church, is not just for women, but it comes
from the work of Elisabeth Schussler Fiorenza,
who understood - and these would be my words,
not hers - that ecc/esia or church was, in the
words of one male writer, a 'regularly convoked
assembly of free male citizens'. Only when you
add women to those who are part of the ecc/esia
linguistically, as you add women to church
-
- can you conceive of what Schussler Fiorenza
called discipleship of equals. So it becomes
an important and necessary component of the
development of a full Christian community.
ln the American context, we've had three
gathering conferences that have begun to talk
about the concept of women-church, the work of
women-church and the power of women-church.
And now we have a group called Women-Church
Convergence, which is the coming together of
about thirty-five feminist groups rooted in the
Catholic tradition. We sometimes euphemistically
refer to them as 'the best and the brightest of
the bad girls' - groups like WATER, Catholics for
a Free Choice, the Grail movement, the Sisters
of Charity of the Blessed Virgin Mary. There's
a number of groups that belong - interestingly
enough, both women who are in religious congregation
and women who aren't.
At the moment, anticipating the death of the
pope as I think is commonly done, the question for
everyone is, 'Who will be the new pope?' But the
question for us is, 'Why elect a new pope?' Why not
take this opportunity to think about new models of
organising church, new models of authority, new
structures of power? So we have an open conclave
on our website, raising the questions, talking
about what power looks like, trying to transform
the current authoritarian model of the papacy to
one that would be a discipleship of equals. We're
under no great illusion that we're going to stop the
cardinals' conclave from happening, but given the
fact that none of us are going to have to spend
our time being there, we thought we would spend
our time more creatively, opening a worldwide fully
accessible discussion and thereby modelling what
a democratic globalised church might look like.
So you think we need new models of
church?
Clearly we need new models of church. And
not just one new model - that's the other thing.
We're not proposing'the counter-model'. We're
simply suggesting that there are lots of ways to
operate, and that if there are going to be lots
of different local manifestations, the challenge
is to do what a centralised authority has done
in the past - namely to educate, communicate
and connect. So our sense is that in order to
educate, you can use mass media for getting
the word out; in order to communicate, people
can in fact use resources like the internet; and
we have to think about new ways to connect in
a globalised world, not just to make connections
so that we're in touch but to begin to equalise
the power-sharing. That's really the main issue
in the Catholic church at the moment. >

Christians have traditionally used the image
of the 'kingdom of God' to describe their
vision for building community. What is your
vision for community?
Schussler Fiorenza has a different understanding
of the kingdom. She talks about a kind of egalitarian
paft ici patory justice-seeki ng. My own u nderstand i ng
would be to see a kind of eco-friendly co-operative
way of socialising the resources of the world. Those
efforts would reflect, then, what would be the
fullness of creation.
ln looking at that, the question is how we
move from where we are now - a tremendously
unjust situation - to one in which justice would
prevail. And that's really the challenge. The
vision of sitting down at the table with plenty for
all and a party atmosphere, dancing, children,
animals and so forth, is not without the reach
of humankind, if we were to change certain
fundamental assumptions and certainly to strip
away the entitlements of those of us who are
privileged so that we would share in a much
more egalitarian way.
Have other movements relating to women's
spirituality, such as the Goddess movement,
fed into women-church?
Yes, I'm deeply indebted to colleagues who
have taken this very seriously - I think about,
particularly, Carol P Christ's work, or Starhawk,
who has also brought the understanding of
pagans and witches into the mix. I have never
been persuaded of the gendered notion - I'm
bothered by the notion of a male God and
I'm not wildly comforted by a female one. But
I really respect, admire, appreciate and am
indebted to people who have put fonruard the
Greek, Hebrew, Egyptian, Syrian and other
Goddess figures, because I think they're crucial
not just for women's understanding. Carol P
Christ has written a very important article about
why women need the Goddess, but I don't think
it's just women who need the Goddess - men
also need to move away from gendered thinking
of the divine, however unconscious it may be.
I've also been very moved by a lot of the
testimony of people for whom Goddess worship
has allowed them to be spiritual. One of the
things that is central to our beliefs and my work
is the notion that spirituality is a human right,
and that the right to articulate one's spirituality
needs to be riot only guaranteed but enhanced.
It seems to me that all these efforts that provide
diversity and individuality in the ways of spirituality
mean that more people can afticulate and
express their own deepest longings, and the
issues and ideas that ground their deepest
commitments - that's what I consider to be
spirituality. I think anything that does that is
to the good, and anything that prevents that is
really truncating or abofting what the American
Catholic moral theologian Daniel C McGuire has
called the 'renewable moral energy of religion'.
I
I love the
notion of a
'renewable
moral energy"
because it
means that
among us and
for us are the
resources
of those who
have gone
before us
interview
I love the notion of
a 'renewable moral
energy', because it
means that among
us and for us are the
resources of those
who have gone before
us. So it's a kind of
ecological movement, a
compostingof the ideas
that have gone before
us. To take from those
ideas not the content
in the most literal
sense, but the energ/
- even if the content is
offensive, For example,
the notion of God as
father, lord, ruler, king,
I find offensive. But it
doesn't mean that I
want to throw out either
the people for whom that has been useful, or
the notion that there is something important,
special, unique and creative about the divine.
So I take that renewable moral enerS/ to myself
and try to understand it in some other ways.
How does women-church tie in with other
liberation movements?
I think this is terribly important. The womenchurch
movement is really very small and
modest, and hardly a blip on many people's
screens. However, if you think about it first in
terms of church, there was a joke that for many
years that the Pope couldn't spell feminism, and
now it's all he talks about. That's a metaphor for
how the Catholic church moved from complete
'pedestalling' and/or oppression of women to
understanding that women in the West, and
indeed all over the world, are not to be trifled
with, and if we are trifled with, we will respond
with the kind of training and commitment that
we have. The women-church movement is
largely responsible for that.
However, the roots and wings of the womenchurch
movement are connected to many other
movements, in both church and society, for the
full humanity of persons. That would mean, in the
church context, beginningwith the second Vatican
Council where many new ideas came fonruard and
women who are nuns tookthat mandate to change
very seriously, changed and then were told by the
church, 'We were just kidding - now change
back'. So that's one, but the other influences
are beyond any traditional religious institution.
They are movements for liberation, especially in
post-colonial thought and anti-racist work, and
in the economic anti-globalisation movement
that is so terribly important now. The connections
are also with groups working for their own
freedom within particularly oppressive countries.
The wings also touch the movements for >
movementlll

interview
change in virtually every
other religious tradition
- for example, Jewish
women, Buddhist
women, Muslim women
who are working for the
transformatton of their
patriarchal systems as
well.
What difference
do you think the
appointment of Gene
Robinson is going to
make to the church's
problemswith women
and sexuality?
I think it's a
watershed. My own
view is that it was a
licit and valid election
and consecration. The
forces of conseruatisi ng,
narrowing, more
parochial ChristianitY
have glommed onto this
and instrumentalised
it. They're reallY in a
hard place - you reallY
have to argue that
issues around sexualitY
are more imPortant
than communion, to
do what the conservatives
are doing in the
Anglican church. I think, theologically, that is a
very difficult argument to make - even if you're
very conservative. I think it's very hard to say
that a particular issue, which is as disputed
in the known world as homosexuality, is more
important than the issue of communion. There
are disputes around intercommunion with regard
to Orthodox and other Christians, but in fact
the good of communion within a tradition like
Anglicanism has traditionally been that which
'trumps' everything else. Like it or not, people
come to the table together.
I suspect there's something much more going
on. lt's an opportunity for those Anglicans who
have opposed the ordination of women' and for
those who opppse more progressive, actualised
and theoretically sophrsticated readings of
scripture, and for those who oppose the kind
of interreligious pluralism that is now common
amongst progressive religious people. I think all
of those things come together, and homosexuality
becomes a kind of whipping boy. lt's still
OK to be anti-Say, it's one of the prejudices that
is permitted in the larger culture - which I of
course abhor.
I also think that, while it may have a certain
srgnificance within the Anglican communion, the
same argument is going on withrn many of the
12 lmovement
Q&A
What are you reading at the moment?
I usually have three or four things on the go at once! I'm catching
up on journals in my field and reading a very interesting book about
Chinese mothers and daughters - I have a Chinese daughter, so I'm
always reading in the Chinese area.
What's your favourite film?
I don't see as many as I'd like. I recently saw Ihe whale Rider, which I
liked. And The Magdatene Laundries certainly wouldn't be a favourite
but I found it compelling. L

take it personally
take it personally I anita roddick
TheFword-forgiveness
Can you imagine a world in which we
all resisted the impulse to lash out
at each other in frustration, where in
our troubled twenty-first century when
violence, confrontation, conflict and
war is rife, forgiveness offers a means
of laying aside the hatred and blame,
breaking the chains that shackle us
to the past and moving on? Oh, this
marvellous F word!
Forgiveness to me is so inspiring, but at
the same time complex, because it seems
to provoke strong feeling in just about
everyone.
It's a funny thing, this F word. You begin to
notice two very different reactions when you
talk about this subject. There are those who
see forgiveness as an immensely noble and
humbling response to atrocity - and those
who simply laugh it out of court. For the first
group, forgiveness is a value strong enough to
put an end to the tit-for-tat settling of scores
which has wreaked havoc over generations.
But for the second group, forgiveness is just
a cop out, a weak gesture, which lets the
violator off the hook and encourages only
further violence.
When you study forgiveness you begin to
see that for many people forgiveness is not
a soft option but the ultimate revenge - a
liberating route out of victimhood, a choice,
a process, the final victory over those who
have done you harm. As Mariane Pearl, wife
of murdered journalist Daniel Pearl, said: 'The
only way to oppose them is by demonstrating
the strength that they have taken from you.'
A friend of mine, Camilla Carr, who was
held hostage with her boyfriend Jon James in
1997 by Chechnyan rebels, said Jon survived
only because he'd learned from practising
martial arts that 'to overcome your opponent
you should meet hardness with softness'.
Their ordeal lasted 14 months, during which
Camilla was repeatedly raped by one of
her captors, but they have come through it
remarkably. For them - like for many others -
forgiveness was about seeking to understand
the enemy.
Someone else I'm in awe of is Americanborn
Linda Biehl, whose 26-year-old daughter
Amy was beaten and stabbed to death in a
black township near Cape Town. She now
employs two of the youths convicted of Amy's
murder and later given amnesty through the
Truth and Reconciliation process. Having
now visited the townships herself, Linda
has realised that 'We all share basic human
desires. lt's just the context that's different.
I've even asked myself if I'd grown up in a
township, could I have behaved like that?'
I'm far more moved by stories of forgiveness
than revenge. ln fact revenge scares
me a little. I don't understand the thinking
which advocates the settling of scores,
because it just creates an interminable cycle
of attrition.
Gentle people attract me more than resolute
ones, vulnerability more than strength, and I
believe there are very few truly malevolent
people in the world. As Father Michael
Lapsley says, 'All people are capable of being
perpetrators or victims - and sometimes
both'. Lapsley runs the lnstitute for Healing
Memories in Cape Town, despite - or probably
because - of having both hands blown off in
1990 when he received a letter bomb sent by
FW de Klerk's death squads in the post.
lf one can understand why people behave
as they do, then often the road to forgiveness
is opened. Not only is forgiveness essential
for the health of society, it is also vital for our
personal wellbeing. Bitterness is like a cancer
that enters the soul. lt does more harm to
those that hold it than to those whom it is
held against.
And yet for some rare people, forgiveness
is the most constructive way fonvard, one
which has immense rewards for victim and
perpetrator, as well as society. As Archbishop
Desmond Tutu has said, 'Forgiveness does
not mean condoning what has been done. lt
means taking what has happened seriously
and not minimising it; drawing out the sting
in the memory that threatens to poison our
entire existence. ln the telling of stories like
these there is real healing.'
Forgiveness for me is as mysterious as
love. I've never understood how people who
experience pain through violence can see any
light, or any freedom from the obsession of
why or how? I've never really believed that I
would forgive, but then nor have I ever really
understood the cage which anger locks you
into.
Forgiveness in the face of atrocity to me is
a curious and heart-stopping act that I believe
is worthy for the basis of my first column. I
Forgiveness
is not a soft
option but
the ultimate
revenge
- a liberating
route out of
victimhood,
a choice, a
process, the
final victory
over those
who have
done you
harm.
. Dame Anita Roddick
in 1976. She stil! spends
time on The Body Shop
business, and also runs
her own communications
company, Anita Roddack
Publications. (www,
anitaroddick.com),
manufacturing'weapons
of mass anstruction'.
Publications available
include 8/ave ttearts,
Rebel Spirits; A Spirrtuat
Activist's Handbook and
A Revolution in l(indness,
Photoglraph O Brian Moddy
2002
movement | 13

JU$T fl$lsft$F
Jind your passion!
Jind yorr proiect!
Where will your vision of discipleship lead you?
flH,
ar
K
Revd Dr John Vincent is
leader of the Christian
Ashram Movement,
an honorary lecturer
in Biblical Studies at
Sheffield University, and
Director Emeritus of the
Urban TheoloS/ Unit.
Jou&Ne/
'11^A
tt',Jl
tl' . ;:'
:
j":l
jlr
John Vincent
writes and edits the
Journey: Explorations
into Disc,pleship
programme. Details
of four volumes so far
from Ashram Press,
178 Abbeyfield Road,
Sheffield 54 7AY.
14lmovement
Le?Iotattw
Jnl4
EA.ipIL4tiP
ffi
JOHN UNCENT
I have always been rather scandalised at
the way the churches manage to stand
almost everything Jesus said and did on
its head - and then seek to justify it from
some words of Jesus.
Doubtless, many rnovernent readers will have
been asked, 'Are you saved?' I remember being
asked this question in my teens and in my twenties,
and being unable to answer it satisfactorily.
For what it is worth, I came into Christianity
because ofa conviction thatJesus was a person to
whom I wanted to become a disciple. The church
seemed the obvious place where that would be
welcomed. And the Methodists offered to pay me
full-time to do what I deeply wanted to do - be
a disciple of Jesus. (l discovered soon after that
being a Methodist minister also meant a whole lot
of other things, not necessarily related!)
Get lost!
I soon discovered Mark 8:34-37. lt still fills me
with amazement. 'lf you want to save your life,
you'll only lose it,' Jesus is reported as saying,
'But if you lose your life for my sake and the
gospel's, you will save it.'
And what is 'the gospel's sake'? The gospel
of Jesus in Mark is that the Kingdom of God is
present on earth. That's clear in Mark 1-:I4 and
no other 'good news' is ever named. lt's not a
gospel of salvation, but of losing yourself.
So what were people doing trying to get me
saved? 'Get saved!' they were saying. 'Get lost!'
Jesus was saying. 'You can gain the whole world,
but lose your life,'Jesus goes on. But lose your life
for him and his cause, and you will find it.
Finding life
So, I've tried it. Faced with the rational human
desires to succeed, I've tried the odd and some
would say perverted route of trying to fail in the
world's terms.
This has led me to some odd decisions. I did a
doctorate on Discipleship, but then had to say that
I could not use it to get more money for myself as
a university professor, but that I would have to be a
disciple, which meant a 'journey downward'.
For me, that meant finding a place in the
modern world which corresponded to the
boundaries of society, the place of 'publicans
and sinners', the place of the poor, where Jesus
went. So I came back from Basel University with
my doctorate and became an urban missioner'
I'm still at it. I don't know about boasting that
I've 'found' life. But it's all eminently worthwhile,
and puts you alongside some of the most cool
and courageous people on earth, doing some
stuff that will always be needed for humanity's
wholeness. And also for mine!
Passion and proiect
I often say that discipleship is satisflTing two basic
needs in yourself. First, follow your passion. Don't
let your passion be centred on some paltry marketforces-dictated
success. Let your passion be the
love of the movement, the love of community, the
love of the Kingdom of God - and then for whatever
and with whoever finds you.
Second, find your project. The Kingdom of
God is not something we build. But it is
something that we set up signs for, projects for'
The mission statement for my latest project,
the Burngreave Ashram, is 'to be a sign of the
lncarnation, and a place where Kingdom of God
things might happen'.
Every disciple must follow their passion and
find their project. SCM and other formative
movements need to move on from endless talk
and fruitless rationalisation, and open up the
new world of Radical Christianrty, which is about
Christocentric practice, and discipleship, which
is about how you get into it.
Choice
BBC Radio 4 runs a programme called lhe
Choice. People who have made some important
decision in life are interuiewed in depth about
the 'choice' they have made. They interviewed
me for an hour - or rather 'researched' me! ln
the end, the choice between being a professor
and being an urban missioner was not romantic
or dramatic enough for the programme.
So, the choices to follow Jesus do not make the
headlines. Often, they are secret choices, within
your heart, where your passions and projects are
dreamed up. But they are no less important.
Theologically, they are the choice to align yourself
alongside the movement, perpetually inaugurating
God's Kingdom on earth, to become part of
the Body of christ which continues his mlnistry
of loving, self-giving, reconciling and affirming
within bruised humanity, to become paft of the
mysterious company who in every age 'fill up what
lacks in the sufferings of Christ'.
Who joins the movement now? I

lt
J{'$T yr$rsf}$fl
theolo{y as vision
Towards a holistic vision of ecofeminist liberation theology.
ln the 1960s, liberation theologr began
to develop in Latin America and soon
spread throughout the world. Feminist
theologies were also developing in the
1960s and in the following decades
were being reframed by women in many
different cultural contexts. The 1990s
and the first years of the twenty-first
century have seen an expansion of the
feminist paradigm to include a relationship
with nature. All liberation theologies
breakout of the privatised and individualistic
confinement of classical theolory
and spirituality. They recognize that both
sin and salvation are communal. Humans
construct systems of oppression that
alienate people from themselves and also
impose repressive violence on others.
They also construct ideologies that seek
to make such systems of violence and
oppression appear to be normal, natural
and the will of God.
Salvation is a process of deconstructing these
ideologies and breaking free of the traps of
domination and alienation. lt is a process of
getting in touch with our true human potential
for mutuality, vitality and joy. lt is a process
of reimagining a way of living that promotes
wellbeing and fullness of life in a mutually
enhancing way with one another, rather than
viewing life as a scarce commodity to be
monopolised by a few by denying it to others.
It is a process of beginning to shape at least
some small and tentative spaces where such
wellbeing and mutually enhancing life can be
experienced and nurtured.
Ecofeminist and ecojustice theolo$/ and
spirituality recognise that we must live this
process of deconstructing systems and ideologies
of alienation, and constructing patterns and
visions of mutually enhancing life, in reciprocity
with the entire world of nature with whom we
are interdependent. Elite humans have set
themselves up as superior to the 'non-human'
world as its 'lords', just as they have constructed
classes and groups of humans as inferior to
themselves, not quite 'animals' but not fully
human, fit only to be servants. The vision of
transformation toward fullness of life thus must
include not only all those 'othered' humans, but
the ultimately 'othered' world of nature.
Ecofeminist theologies are emerging around
the world in many different religious traditions
and cultures: lndia, Africa and Latin America, as
well as Europe and North America, in Hinduism
as well as Christianity. Yet these emerging
visions share a broad commonality. There is
a rejection of the splitting of the divine from
the earth. God is deconstructed. No longer an
anthropomorphic Ruler outside the world, the
divine is re-envisioned as the matrix of life-giving
enerry that is in and through and under all
things. ln the words of St Paul to the Athenians
in the book of Acts, 'the One in whom we live
and move and have our being.'
This life-giving enerry is not simply reduced
to what is, for much of what is is alienated
and distorted. Rather it might be said to be
'immanently insurgent.' That is, the divine not
only sustains the renewal of the natural cycles
of life, itself a daily miracle, but also empowers
us to struggle against the hierarchies of domination
and recreate new relations of life-enhancing
mutuality.
Dr Rosemary Radford
Ruether is Carpenter
Professor of Feminist
Theolo$/ at the Pacific
School of Religion in
California. She has
written many groundbreaking
books,
including Sexism
and God-Talk and
Ecofeminist Theologt/
and Earth Healing.
This vision of the Holy calls us
to stand shoulder to shoulder
against systems of economic,
military and ecological violence.
This divine enerS/ can be imagined in many
ways. One can use metaphors drawn from many
human contexts, as well as the natural world.
The metaphors that are excluded are those that
re-enforce gender stereotypes and relations of
dominance, exactly those that have predominated
in much of traditional religion with its
obsessive sacralisation of Kings and Lords. My
metaphor for this sacred enerS/ is the 'divine
matrix,' the font of life that wells up to create
and recreate anew all living things in ecozoic
community.
The Holy One calls us to repent and let go of
the grasping for domination that violates and
impoverishes others, and to cultivate relations
of mutual flourishing. Such a Holy One, or Great
Wisdom, calls us into life-giving community from
many stands of tradition, culture and history.
But this vision of the Holy also calls us to stand
shoulder to shoulder against the systems of
economic, military and ecological violence that
are threatening the very fabric of planetary life.
As ecologian Thomas Berry has proclaimed, this
is the 'great work' of our generation. I
movementl15

JU$T Yr$t$f?$t
a vision for worship
Some pick 'n' mix liturgy on community and justice.
Adrian Riley designs
and edits www.
emergingchurch.
info on behalf of
several church
organisations. He
was one of
the founders of
HOST alternative
worship group in
Bradford and in
2OO2-3 worked
as Methodist
Chaplain to
Bradford University
and College. He
now works as a
graphic designer
in Scarborough,
where he and his
wife are involved in
the genesis
an experimental
'church'with other
young Christians.
Openingl: route maps
Equipment: something to create a focal point (see below); large-scale street maps of the local
area - either originals or photocopies; chunky colour felt-tip pens or coloured ribbon.
Preparation: Create the central focal point in advance.
' create a circular altar or visual point of focus for the act of worship. This can be something as
simple as a large candle on thefloor, something a bit arty tike a rouno coffee table draped with
coloured cloth extendilq oY, into where peopte witt sit or, ir yor,r" going for the full alt worship
experience' a stack of televisions with appropriate imagery ro"ping throughout the act of worship.
Encourage everyone to sit around the central point ratheithan in"straight rows (go on - do away
with the chairs, they only get in the way).
' Lay the maps around the central poini- it's up to you if you go for multiple maps or one huge
l,l?;.,lyou're using draped materiar and being reatty crevervoi couro print the map(s) onto the
' Begin the worship with an appropriate piece of music on cD about community or gathering. Go
for something securar rather than something obviously christian.
' Encourage everyone to cast their mind back to.the jolrney" they,ve made that day culmlnating
I;ff l?:1ff,.1':3ll?'ilj;,0'n
them to prot their jou;.ut ;; the maps - 0,,#i,e it in pen,
. Gonclude this call to worship with a Bible reading or prayer of approach
Bible readin(:
ma$azine montaSe
Equipment: lots of lifestyle magazi.nes (for example'
weekend supptements);-icissors; qly:i strip of
.l.utgu
O.O"t t*.Up"per is ideal); paper and felt-tip pens
Preparation: Hunt out Bible quotes in advance'
. Lifestyle magaztnes tend to sell the image of a perfect
world free rtot J'gele and pov:rty: Here we'll
ir-i"p"."
these imaiesirith quotes-about justice from
the Bible' Half an fr-our with a Bible concordance (or
oneofthosehandywebsites)willarmyouwithplenty
quotes.
mages from the magaztnes
a Togethe cut out an d paste
o nce you have a montage
to form a ban ner or frieze
al that' S (su pp osedlY)
of images that SUMS up
Weste rn life start to replace
desi rable n conte mporary
the quotes add speech
the advertisi ng slogaNS with
subve rt The n fix to
C' models,
bubbles comln b from the
to worshiP.
the wal AS a backdroP
gone for the
centra aIta idea
a Altern ativelY if you've
n striPs to p ace n
you could create the montage
between the maPS'
lntercessrbns,, m a $a zi ne
montagle and sticl

I nterce.ssions.' postc ard
memory prayers
Equipment: postcard-sized pieces of card; pens or
pencils; a photographic memory
. We tend to collect little scenes in our minds' Usually
they just float around there and crop up at indiscriminate
times. We're going to try and use them here'
Gather into small groups and collectively spend a
short time with a led meditation - concentrating on
breathing and being still for a few minutes.
. Then, within the groups, talk about some of the images
that have stuck in your mind, places and people that have
caused you to think about justice in the world' lllustrate
somethrng to represent each scene on a piece of card'
Place each of these in the middle of your group'
. Once several cards are in the middle, take it in turns
to pick up a card - it doesn't have to be one of yours
- and offer a prayer for the situation.
. Then, as a group, spend a shortwhrle discussingwhatthe
roots of these tnjustices are, and some possible actions'
These will probably range from small acts that you can do,
through to big governmental, even $obal, issues' This is
the complexrty of working for justice in the world'
. Bring the small groups together again and, in turn,
have someone from each group bring your postcards
to the centre of the gathering and place them on the
maps. As you do so, explain the justice issues that
arose in your group.
JU$T fr$r$f}$a
Glosing: prayer maps
Equipment: completed maps as used in ,Opening:
maps'; scissors (if you're using multiple maps or have
printed the maps onto material)
. Encourage everyone to take away a map or piece of
map. Look at the route marked on the piece you have.
This is to be your prayer-map for the coming week. you
are to try and walk the route several times in the week,
pray for the people you pass on the street, think about
the issues that come to mind and look for your role in
bringing justice in the world.
:(
take it furthet,,..
lx sat tlsoutct
turltaa,
t,
I
fi
r)
What unites the 'just visions' presented in this feature is that they
all focus on how we can live together. Our vislons are about how we
can build a better, more just society for all. They're about fighting
the isolation and selfishness of mainstream culture. And they are
often expressed by how we build communities together - whether
in traditional church structures or a range of alternatives.
This topic came up many times at the conference, and it's a powerful
focus for discussion. Perhaps you have your own visions of building new
communities and would like to explore them.
The SCM resource Common People explores Christianity and community.
Writers including Mary Hunt, Don Cupitt and Robert BecKord explore the
theme from many different angles, exploring in more depth some of the
issues raised by this feature and at our conference.
As well aS articles, Common People includes poems and prayers,
discussion starters, and personal stories from students and members of
all kinds of Christian communities.
Get a copy now, and explore your own just visions with your SCM group,
or explore for yourself some new ideas of what a Christian community can be.
You can older Common People at a special discount price -
i4 for SCM members, f,6 for others - until September 2OO4.
Just e-mail office@movement.org.uk or call OL21, 47 1, 2404.
See wryw.movement.org.uk/publications for more information
about Common People and other SCM resources.
(orilril
5\ q
Stude;1
ON PE OPI,E
Cbr Stian
movementllT

JU$T YlSl$fl$l
vrbions
-a
of communitY
Whether it's the church, the Body of Christ or the 'kingdom of God', or a new
network set up outside traditional structures, Christian visions of a better
world are always centred on how we relate to one another in community.
Deb Curnock explores how Christians are inspired to live and work together'
and looks at new ways of buildin$ community in a postmodern urban society.
Deb Curnock graduated in Religious Studies from St Martin's
College, Lancaster in 1998. She lived for a year in a Jesuit
Volunteer Community and is an individual member of SCM.
Residential and intentional
communities
As well as traditional orders such as the Franciscans,
Jesuits or Benedictines, there are many newer
communitres with a viston of living out some ideal of a
common life. They are incredibly disparate. Some are
politically or social-action driven, others focus more
strongly on the values of communal life or prayer and
contemplation. The Ashram Communities choose to
live in deprived city areas, 'searching for appropriate
lifestyles to take account of a divided church and a divided
Britain'. The Northumbria Community searches for 'a
new monasticism', inspired by the heritage of Celtic
Northumbria, following an established Rule of Life and
their own Daily Office of prayer. The Quest Community
in Glastonbury, responding to the extraordinary evidence
of spiritual searching that draws people to that region
from around the world, have restored and opened up a
tiny disused chapel, which is now open at all times as
a place for meditation. Anabaptists and Mennonites,
radical movements born of the Reformation, now seek
to live out a radical alternative to the modern world,
combining theological conseruatism with a commitment
to peace activism and a non-consumer lifestyle.
What these varied groups share is an understanding of
the communal life as a wellspring of strength for whatever
active vocation drives them. The community offers a way
of living differently. Some seek a connection with others
that goes beyond the boundaries of the nuclear family,
others the opportunity to live a more ecologically sound
lifestyle through the mutual support of like-minded folk.
Radical traditions within the church have often seen
in the New testament a model of a better way of life
where 'the believers had everything in common'' Older
groups like the Anabaptists survive and thrive to this
day, while newer groups look to these earlier movements
for inspiration, identifuing themselves within an evolving
tradrtion of radical Christian lifestyles.
The spirit of openness in the community inspires me to
work for unity in the various Christian churches in the
area, and to be open to people of all faiths or none.
An Anglican nun
lSlmovemeet
Communities work best where all the members share a
common goal - e.g. justice and peace. lt is important
when living in community to identify each other's
similarities but also their differences, and work with
rather than against them so each can play their part.
A member of the lona Community
Dlspersed communities
Probably the best known of these is the lona Community,
centred on the restored abbey on lona in Western Scotland
and consisting of individuals and small groups scattered
around the UK, connected by a common rule of life and
committed to social justice. Members are accountable to
one another for therr use of time and money and meet
locally and as a whole community from time to time. ln
a similar vein the Christian Ufe Communities, following
the lgnatian (Jesuit) model of spirituality, meet regularly in
local groups to reflect, socialise and pray together, as they
try to live consciously Christian ltves' These groups offer
the support, motivation, and spiritual input of a community
without retreating from the wodd. They look for God in the
busyness of life, and community time offers an opportunity
to reflect together on the questions this creates'
Many of the so-called 'emerging church' groups
fall into this category, consisting of groups of friends
scattered around a city or region, coming together to
create moments of stillness and reflection where the big
questions can be asked. The line between residential
and dispersed communities is distinctly blurred, as many
residential groups evolve into an ever-widening group of
friends and supporters, and dispersed groups often centre
on a shared place of retreat. Most communities live with
the tension of wishing to retreat in order to create a better
alternative or find a more contemplative life, whtle still
desiring to live in the world and change it for the better.
Each community finds its own emphasis, and (at the risk
of being idealistic?) the result is mutually complementary'
each group having a function within the body of Christ'
Ours is a 'community of households'which could
happen in nearly any suburban street where terraced
houses can be joined together.
A member of the Neighbours Community
As part of our vows we have a vow of poverty' which
means we hold everything in common' ln today's world
inui *otf." so hard for independence, our life shows
iuJ no* life is really about interdependence' Not a
Lad message in today's selfish climate!
A Franciscan friar

'Emer{in!, church'
communitr'es
These have evolved to fill the needs of those who are
frustrated with, or perhaps never connected with, church
in its traditional forms. Many of these groups identifit as
part of the alt worship movement, trying to create church
in a form that reflects current cultural ways of celebrating
or socialising, specifically club culture and caf6 culture.
Many of these groups emerged out of the evangelical
churches in the eighties and nineties, in an attempt to
remedy the 'cultural disconnection' they perceived in
the traditional churches. Groups like Grace in London
and Fuzzy in Cheltenham make use of technologl and
the media in worship. The process of creating an alt
worship event is considered as much a spiritual process
as participating in the event itself. The events themselves
are multi-sensory and usually participative.
The strong sense of community in these groups may
stem partly from the shared sense of alienation that
brought together like-minded individuals unsatisfied with
mainstream churches. Many see themselves as prophetic,
presenting a new form of Christian community that
connects with their world. Perhaps more important than
the multimedia style is the emphasis on a democratic
community in which members have equal opportunity to
participate, and see themselves as facilitators rather than
leaders. lf traditional churches are culturally disconnected,
it is not only because they use overhead projectors in a
world accustomed to high-tech visuals. The gap has more
to do with power structures. Alt worshippers don't want to
line up in rows, watching a show from the front; nor do
they want to stand at the front and lead. Many are familiar
with the comfort and intimacy of a club chill-out room, an
intimacy which is absent from daily life, where neighbours
are strangers - and their events often consciously mirror
the chill-out atmosphere.
No overview of alt worship and the emerging church
would be complete without a special mention for Ship
of Fools, a unique online community styling itself as
'the magazine of Christian unrest'. The anarchic Ship of
Fools forums have evolved over the years into a global
community, attracting not just conventional Christians
but also the disaffected of the church, those on the
fringes, or those who have no time for organised religion.
Its bulletin boards Heaven, Hell and Purgatory are home
to debates ranging from "Did Jesus have erections?" to
the value of particle physics as a theological tool.
The outstanding success of this community is probably
due to the combination of lively online activity with
real-life contact in the form of Ship Meets. 'Shipmates'
periodically resurrect the debate about whether such a
community really is a 'church', but there is no suggestion
of replacing real-life contact with cyber-life. What the
Ship provides is participation in a much broader conversation
than is normally possible in the real world.
CommunitY has little to do with
a part of and who You're close to doesn't dePend on
where you are ... The alt worshiP communitY doesn't
revolve around big leaders or power hierarchies. lt
JU$T Yt$t$ft$,f,
Suppo rtive com m u nities
A number of community networks exist primarily to offer
support to vulnerable groups such as the homeless
or those with learning disabilities. One such group is
the Simon Gommunity, which describes itself as 'a
partnership of homeless people and volunteers living
and working with London's street homeless'. Volunteers
share in decision-making with homeless residents with
regard to the running of the home. One of the purposes
of the projects is to recreate something akin to the
experience of a family home for folk who may have
difficulty in building healthy relationships as a result of
damaging life experiences. For volunteers the experience
is a hands-on education.
ln a similar, but slightly different vein are the Camphill
and L'Arche communities, networks that specialise in
offering a permanent supportive home environment to
those with learning difficulties, so that both they and
those who care for them are empowered to achieve their
full potential in life and to witness to the equality, dignity
and infinite worth of each person.
This type of community is founded with a specific
remit and appeals to folk with a particular calling in
life, setting them apart in some ways from the general
tradition of intentional Christian communities, yet they
collectively have made a massive contribution, not only
to the Christian communal movement but in the wider
intentional community movement. They tend to be longlived
as communities grow, which is perhaps attributable
to their simple stated purpose of learning to live together
and learning to value one another, in order to provide a
stable home for their more vulnerable members.
Ship of Fools has shown me what I'd always believed
and hoped: that people of good wiil with strongty
differing beliefs can still find common ground and care
about one another.
I stopped going to church and pretty much gave up on
Christian things, but my connection with Ship of Fools
and some caring Christian friends has stopped me
giving up entirely.
ln terms of prayer and spirituality, Ship of Fools hetps
me to focus on the wider issues in the world, and to
recognise the need for me to take action in the wortd.
Various members of the Ship of Fools bulletin boards
Find out more
lnspired? Want to get involved in alternative worship,
change the world, join a network of like-minded individuals,
or grow your hair, run away and live in a commune?
We've prepared a long list of contact details and extra information
on all the communities mentioned her plus many more, as
well as a llst of further reading. Get in touch and get involved.
You can download the list from the movement section at
ww.movement.org.uk
Or for a more in-depth look at some of the issues and communities
discussed here, get the SCM resource Common People
(available at a discount until September - see page 17).
works by co-operation of equals. lt's open to new
contributions. A member of Grace alt worship group movementl19

ties and binds
-1
ties and binds I jim cotter
Like most
people who
are sincere
(think of
any political
or reli$ious
leader), Mel
Gibson isn't
necessarily
either telling
the whole
truth or even
aware of the
whole truth.
3t
1) /L-
The Passio n of the Christ
It's one of those rules: never comment
on a film untilyou've seen it. So I'll ask
some questions instead. The publicity
about Mel Gibson's movie lhe Passion
of the Christ has alreadY made me
uneasy. He's being accused of encouraging
anti-Semitism, and while I'm
fairly sure that he doesn't intend that,
and that he is faithfully trying to portray
what the gospels say, like most people
who are sincere (think of any political
or religious leader), he isn't necessarily
either telling the whole truth or even
aware of the whole truth.
lf you go and see this film, as people with
minds, who can think, don't be uncritical
because it's religious. Ask why the languages
used are Aramaic and Latin but not Hebrew.
(l gather there are subtitles in English.) Ask a
question about historical accuracy. Why does
Matthew in his gospel portray Pilate as a
weakling and give the impression that it is the
Jews to blame for having Jesus crucified?
Remember that he wrote his gospel around
the year 80, two generations after the death
of Jesus. The Temple in Jerusalem had been
destroyed in the year 70, and Judaism, led
by the rabbis, was transferring the place of
ritual from temple to home. Among them
were Jesus-inspired Jews arguing that the
Messiah had indeed come and that all Jews
should follow him. Matthew's gospel reflects
this intra-Jewish debate, which was doubtless
fierce and not without name-calling' Why
otherwise have Pharisees always had a bad
press among Christians? lt is only in recent
years that we have begun to realise that first
century spin could be just as misleading as
twenty-first century spin. Our ancestors were
not innocent, and not everything they wrote
is automatically either the Word of God or
historically accurate. We have been given
minds to discern.
Well, in that Jewish debate, gosPelas-propaganda
casts leaders and mob in
Jerusalem around the year 29 as the baddies.
And gospel-as-propaganda, in a community
fearful of persecution by the Roman Empire
and aware of the reputation of their fellow-
Jews as troublemakers, wishes to describe
the governor of the time, Pilate, in the
best possible light. lt wasn't his fault, your
honour.
lf - and remember I haven't seen the film
yet - this propaganda is shown as accurate
history, take note, and at least talk about
it afterwards. 'Gospel' means 'good news',
but as the American scholar John Dominic
Crossan, whose book tlVho Kil/ed Jesus? has
prompted this column, points out, 'news' is
always being updated, and 'news' may be
good for some but bad for others.
Crossan's conclusion is that Jesus was
killed by collusion between the religious and
political leaders (focused in the roles of Pilate
as governor and Caiaphas as high priest),
who saw their power, position, wealth, and
comfort threatened by this man and his
followers, who were giving the underdogs
a glimpse of what life is like if God's just
ways are put into practice. The further up
the ladder you climb the more difficult it is
to follow the Way. None of us likes the idea
of being so slimmed down as to slip easily
through the eye of a needle.
Treat Matthew and Mel with respect, but
don't be uncritical about either. Those who
are convinced about 'gospel-truth' may be
the furthest from it. I
What do you think?
Jim will be available on the SCM discussion forum during May and June, to
respond to readers'thoughts on this column and explore the ideas further.
Log on to www.movement.org.uuforum and join the debate!
Jim cotter runs cairns Publications, an independent christian imprint publishing
collections of poems, prayers and reflections. He has also set up small Pil$rim
Places, a small but growing network across the uK. They seek to turn small
chapels and churches, as well as crypts and chapels in larger churches, into
,small pilgrim places' - spaces for retreat, reflection and pilgrimage, held together
by common values. They will be places for prayer, quiet and conversation,
providing a welcome for searchers, seekers and those rejected or marginalised by
the churches. You can join the network and receive updates on their activities at
the website: www.cottercairns.co.uk
20lmovement

oom 101
Gnrbfian) room AOL
What would you put in?
some of those little foibles that just have to 9o...
For SCM Christians, there are lots of major things we would want to change about
the way churches are run, through from investing in the arms trade through to being
middle-class and elitist. However, we also know there are no end of little things that,
if only we could scrap them, would make the whole church experience less cringeworthy,
more credible, and more bearable for our dear selves. Here is a selection of
False spontaneity: The minister or worship
leader says Just do whatever you are comfortable
with' but you can't possibly do that because
you're in church, don't they understand?
Everyone else is acting as one so you can
hardly be different, not without causing a scene.
This seems to extend to our understanding and
treatment of the Holy Spirit as well. lf you are
to sing a song as the spirit leads, the spirit
always wants the chorus seven times, and if you
have a time of open prayer, the spirit bestows
something on the lips of the same people every
time - and they're not even interesting! This
leads on to the next topic...
The church nutter: Every church has one, most
churches have several, the whole set-up seems
to attract them. There is very little you can do
about it because he or she is the one person who
turns up to everything. They will say nothing for
ages then explode into long vitriol about their pet
subject, however ludicrous or irrelevant it may be.
This is a particular problem for people who attend
church but also have a life. You're finally heading
out the door at 1pm, thinking you'll catch your
lunch just before it burns, and there they are.
Three hours later, you know everything there is to
know about lsrael's role in the end times but you
are also very, very hungry.
Charity bring-and-share: This is very worthy
indeed. lf you all give up your Sunday lunch and
put what you would have spent on it in a pot for
Africa's poorthen a tidy little sum can be raised and
it shows your church has a social conscience. The
problem is, the membership doesn't understand
the idea of simplicity and spends the preceding
week trying to.bake something better than anyone
else can, and then, even if you make it bread and
cheese, they try and outdo each other by finding
exotic cheeses that cost more than their average
Sunday lunch.
Rotas: Every organisation seems to have them,
maybe it is true that you need them, but
they sure rip the soul out of your existence.
Somebody joins a church because they are fired
up to change their own lives and those of their
community, then once they've attended for three
weeks in a row different people approach them
with unique opportunities to staff the coffee rota,
Sunday school rota, flower rota and so on. Before
long you are indispensable and then burned out,
and all for no reward (except in Heaven, but who
wants to wait till then?) Anglicans amongst you
may even have experienced the phenomenon
that is establishing a committee to decide who
should be on the committee that will decide who
will organise the tea rota.
Trendy vicars: A few church men and women
have something profound and prophetic to say
about the modern times in which we live, but
most of them don't and someone needs to be
sent round the country making them aware of
this. There are few things more embarrassing
than watching a poor old chap, and it usually
is an old chap, scratching around at a visitor's
service or a children's special desperatelyseeking
comparisons between Jesus and Luke St

inclusiveness
inclusiveness and the
search for truth
Why the churches need diversity and debate.
Usually, if you want to decide what to think about an issue being
debated, you listen to the different points of view and wei$h up
the arguments. At least in theory, researchers believe progress
comes through public debate: they look for evidence, put their
arguments in the public realm, and allow the public response
to judge. They don't say: 'l just happen to know, with absolute
certainty, that the complete truth is in my book and I refuse
to listen to anyone who disagrees'. That would be a sure way
of becoming a crank. No. Only religlion operates like that, and
that's why reli$ion so often seems out of touch'
How did religion get into this state? There's a history behind it. The
Modern Churchpeople's Union, for which I work, was founded at the end of
the nineteenth century, to defend new research against attack by reactionaries
who felt their faith was threatened by the theory of evolution and
biblical research, and who therefore invented the infallibilities of the Pope
and the Bible. The MCU, on the other hand, thought the church should be
happy to learn something new and adapt its theolos/ accordingly'
It wasn't the first such debate. ln the Middle A$es there was a similar
disagreement over the waters above the earth. Scientists couldn't find
them; but they must have been there because Genesis 1:7 said so. By
the end of the fourteenth century the dualism so common today had been
established: the physical, observable world could be studied by reason,
but all spiritual and theological matters were the domain of the church,
whose doctrines were to be accepted without reason or question.
Soon after that, the Reformation generated a new problem. Once there
is a variety of conflicting traditions, each claiming to be the supreme
spiritual authority in receipt of God's truth through direct revelation, how
do they resolve their disagreements without using reason? lt can't be
done! So each sect struggled to stop its 'true believers' being led astray
by competing doctrines, and therefore built up
that array of thought-policing practices which
operate so vigorously today: sect members are
taught what to believe, warned that doubts and
questions are of the devil, and given strict rules
for conversations with non-members. They are
encouraged in a conviction of certainty which,
conveniently, provides a cheap sense of superiority
and dispenses with the need to study the
issues seriously. Come across any of this?
Once the rejection of reason has produced
sectarianism, sects define themselves by opposition
to their competitors, and become exclusive.
The search for truth gets subordinated to the
defence of boundaries; if a member disagrees
with the sect's teaching, the important question
becomes not 'are you right?' but 'can we still
count you as one of us?'
Thank God there's more to Christianity than this.
Saner minds have argued that scripture, tradition
and reason are all needed, because all are fallible.
ltl[-
uNl0il
Absolute certainty is not for humans. Openness,
humility and creativity are appropriate to faith,
as to all else. This has been the mainstream
approach of many churches, including the Church
of En$and to which I belong.
What does this mean for the current threats
to split Anglicanism? lf the only reliable source
of truth is information received directly by
the individual from God, then churches are
secondary; what is all-important is the sharp
distinction between those who are in and those
who are out, so sectarians like their churches
to have clearly defined boundaries and reject
anyone who doesn't toe the line.
On the other hand, if truth emerges from
public debate within the community, then the
community needs to hear divergent voices; we
wouldn't want 'pure' churches of the carefully
selected, because that would block our ears.
Anyone at all may have something to contribute:
Baptists, Muslims, Wiccans, the lot. lt is
therefore better for the church to be inclusive,
not sectarian. We expect the local church at its
best to be a forum within which different views
are expressed, not a select gathering of people
who agree with each other. Truth emerges not by
putting up barriers against those who disagree,
but by knocking them down. Because we are
fallible, we need the church to be inclusive.
Jonathan Glatworthy
lnterested in the MCU? Gontact the office
and give them your details. There's a reduced
membership fee for students, and what you
get is:
. four mailings a year, including the journal
Modern Believing and the
newsletter Srgns of the Times;
. reductions on MCU f,rf,,
(8"t,
conferences;
. reductions on various publications;
. a chance to keep in touch with people who
share SCM's vision.
Modern Churchpeople's Union, 9 Westward Mew,
Liverpool Ll7 7EE
oLst 726 9730
off ice@modchurchunion.org
www. modch u rchu n io n. org
See also www.inclusivechurch.net
cJ c I'rr
c v irrrl
' 1. . '.
J

celebrity theologian
Celebrity Theologian
Thomas Merton
Who, what and when
was Thomas Merton?
A Roman Catholic
Trappist monk from
Gethsemani Abbey in
Kentucky. He had a
complex background but
you could say that he
was American. He died
in 1968, electrocuted
by accident whilst in Bangkok for a
religious conference.
Couldn't have gone down the pub for a pint
with him then?
Don'tyou believe it, the eveningwould probably
end up with Merton carrying you home.
Wasn't he holy then, like monks are
supposed to be?
By his own admission Merton was what
we might call 'a bit of a lad' in his younger
days. Whilst a student at Cambridge he even
fathered a child. He deeply regretted the hurt
that he had caused people in his early life.
He would go on to say that his case shows that
God can use vocation as a means of saving a
potentially lost soul rather than as some sort
of 'reward' for a holy life. lf you know many
clergr, this may make some sense!
What do other monks say about him?
He wouldn't get away with that herel
But what do monks know about real life?
He saw the first part of the twentieth century
and the beginning of the modern world that we
know and recognise. Merton believed that the
monk was at the true centre of life rather than
at its periphery. Much of what we call reality
is actually false; the monk is trying to detach
himself from these things to find the ultimate
truth about himself and all things.
Although unseen, the monastic orders support
the rest of us by their struggle to discover the
truth through their lives of prayer and seruice.
What were his main concerns?
There is a great concern about honesty and
truth in regard to oneself. We have to discover
the real person that God loves. The gaining of
self-knowledge is a crucial step in the spiritual
life.
What depressed him?
That humanity doesn't learn the lessons from
life. We seem condemned to repeat our
mistakes over and over again. The Second
World War was a prime example of this.
lsn't he only of interest to monks and
nuns?
Some of his work is more specifically for a
monastic audience but he wrote generally. The
best known work is probably his early autobiography
Ihe Seven Story Mountaln. There are
a number of anthologies available that give a
taste of his work.
He sounds a bit mystical. Mystics can be
hard to understand, can't they?
Merton can be clear as day and blindingly
incisive about the human condition. At other
times he can be rather hard to understand. I
think he was a clever bloke, and he knew it.
Some people feel he is less convincing when
he toes the party line as a 'good Catholic'.
Did he have any radical ideas?
He was possibly radical for his time in a
concern later in life for the points of contact
between the Christian monastic tradition and
older examples of monasticism in religions
such as Buddhism. He had some deep conversations
with the present Dalai Lama.
Did he do anything else?
He wrote some poetry that is interesting and
worth a look.
What would he have said about our media
filled world and the lnternet?
He would probably say that we are all obsessed
with listening to noise rather than listening to
God in silence. I
Stuart Powell
Vicar of St Mark, Stockland Green, Bilmingham
We have
to discover
the real
person
that God
loves. The
gaining
of selfknowledge
is a crucial
step in the
spiritual
life.
THE SEVEN
STOREY
MOUNTAIN
ffi
THOMAS
MERTON
Zen and the Eirds of Apgrtite
Thomas Merton
I
readin{, list
Key books by Merton include his earfy autobiographical lhe Seyen Storey Mountain,
New Seeds of Contemplation (a collection of spiritual teachings following the
traditional phases of contemplation) and Zen and the Birds of Appetite exploring the
Buddhist monastic tradition. There is a Thomas Merton Reader (Bantam, 1996, ISBN
0385032927) which gathers together examples of Merton's writing in many fields,
from throughout his life.
movement 123

worldview
{
vv orI cl vi e rv
A report from SCM lndia on the World Social Forum 2OO4.
A globalisation
of struglgiles. A
globalisation
of resistance.
A globalisation
of movements,
of activism,
of defiance. A
globalisation
of hope.
fhe British SGM is
affiliated to the World
Student Christian
Federatlon (WSCF), the
umbrella organlsation for
SCMS all ov6r the world.
www,sorvlngthetruth.org
www.wscf-europe.orfl
24lmovement
Goregaon East, Mumbai, lndia provided
the venue for the fourth World Social
Forum (WSF) onL6-2LJanuary 2004. The
theme of this WSF was 'Another world is
possible'. Nearly 100,000 people from
all over the world came there in solidarity
with those fighting against liberalisation,
privatisation and globalisation (LPG). The
passion and commitment of the Student
Christian Movement of lndia could be
seen by its participation at the WSF, with
about forty students from all over lndia.
WSF 04 was challenging. Mumbai, a teeming
city of almost 20 million, has some of the
world's worst inequality and urban poverty.
Participants saw the poorest of the poor, every
day. For many, poverty was no longer a word in
development literature. lt was breathing right
in front of you. You couldn't talk any more in
workshops about the abstract poor. No, they
had faces, and bony bodies. They were living
reminders of the need for this 'other world' we
were fighting for. Along with so many others,
they made the Forum seem more real, more
urgent, and more critical. Amidst these issues
I was questioned with: what's my theological
task?
WSF 04 was overwhelming. lt had it all. Films,
plays, street theatre, children's theatre, songs,
music, dance, books, artefacts, workshops,
seminars, rallies, resounding slogans. Women
were rallying, and discussed how to challenge
the social force of patriarchy. Like at the last
Forum, the anti-war message was loud; in fact,
louder. The anti-Bush sentiment, even stronger;
some felt it dominated the Forum. lt might have
dominated a lot of the media attention, but
there was much more to the Forum than that.
lf democracy lives in lndia, you can feel it
in the vibrant culture of resistance. lt was the
pulse of the WSF. These were not just protests
for the sake of protesting. These were rallies of
people with ideas, with histories, with stories,
with sufferings, with victories, and with visions.
Victims, winners, survivors, fighters. The WSF
was a festival of the oppressed.
From Bhopal gas victi ms to H i rosh i ma su rvivors,
from Narmada dam oustees to North American
peaceniks, from Dalits to differently abled
rights advocates, from South Korean socialists
to South African AIDS activists, from Peruvian
peasants to Pakistani anti-nuclear activists,
from Brazilian landless workers to Bombay
slum dwellers, from queer rights activists to
child labour abolishers, from theologians to
trade unionists, from feminists to free Palestine
crusaders, from anti-Coca Cola campaigners to
cotton farmers. The Forum offered space for
expression, for exchange, for discussion, for
disagreement, for debate, for celebration. lt
allowed everyone to come there. To share a
platform. To raise a voice. To launch an idea.
To build a movement. To generate solidarity. To
challenge hegemony. To defy imperialism. And
even to question the WSF.
An lndian newspaper called it an 'anti-global
event.' With more than 120 countries participating,
could an event be more global tn nature?
This is just another form of globalisation.
A counter-globalisation. A globalisation
that challenges the prevalent neo-imperial
corporate agenda, A globalisation from below.
A globalisation of struggles. A globalisation of
resistance. A globalisation of movements, of
activism, of defiance. A globalisation of hope.
'There were no concrete outcomes,' complain
many critics. Yes, there were no formal declarations
passed; who needs more of those?
But there were hundreds of outcomes. The
forging of people-to-people bonds. The uniting
of struggles. The building of bridges. The
strengthening of solidarity. The shaping of new
alliances, new coalitions, new relationships.
The articulation of alternatives.
I had a great learning expertence, a listening
experience, a linking experience. My faith was
challenged, I rethought my calling, and I was
challenged to participate in the struggles of the
people. WSF strengthened my commitment to
serue humanity, and made me optimistic to see
a bright future, another world, free from all the
evils of society.
I can still hear the reverberating chants. I can
still taste the dust. I can feel the passion and
power of the 100,000 people who, like me,
came to breathe in another space. I can picture
new dreams being created. I can visualise
the outline of the other world emerging on
tomorrow's sunlit morning sky.
lf another world is to be possible, another
'me' has to be possible. WSF left me with
that spirit of transformation, and has made an
indelible impact on me. I
Raj Bharath Patta, MTh (CT)
Gurukul Lutheran Theological College;
Student Christian Movement of lndia
national executive committee member

atlantis and me
atlantis and me I wood ingham
Times are grim (and so are we)
Tribes seem to be rarer and rarer on
university campuses these days. But it
wasn't long ago that we still had significant
population of Goths on campus.
You may have seen them around - they
still exist. Although they're a bit rarer
these days. They're like squirrels, you
see.
No, they are.
It's a Well Known Fact that the depopulation
of the British red squirrel is due to the
introduction of the more savage and aggressive
American import, the grey squirrel, right?
Now, the traditional British Goth (Gothicus
Miserabilis Eldritchi, distinguishing features:
big hair, black hair dye, eyeliner, frilly shirts,
mainly nocturnal, congregates in small
colonies, depressed because the Sisters broke
up) has, over the years, been pushed out of
its natural habitat. Breeding grounds are now
limited to Nottingham and parts of London,
with a few tiny colonies still struggling in other
parts of the country. They've been supplanted
among angsty middle-class teenagers by their
more aggressive American cousin, Gothicus
Numetallicus Mansonii, otherwise known as
Spookykids, who are, you know, the teenagers
with the combat trousers and the Korn or
Slipknot T-shirts and the big dan$y keychains.
There you go. Goths. Like Squirrels. QED.
Anyway, when I arrived at university, aged
19, I had for a long time known a lot of Goths.
They were my friends. They were all right.
But, having joined the CU, I soon discovered
that my new friends, my CU friends, mostly
reckoned that the Macabre Society was not
only a waste of time, but that it was - gasp
- Satanic! They did all sorts of evil black magic
rituals outside people's houses and put curses
on CU members and stuff!
I've always had a healthy disregard for this
sort of thing, and I found it hard to swallow.
No one could actually tell you exactly who it
was in the CU had experienced having people
doing rituals outside their house. I thought no
more of it.
A few years later, I became good friends
with a couple called Dave and Melanie, who
graduated a couple of years before I did and
who, it turned out, had both been on the
committee of the Macabre Society when they
were in university.
And this is what they revealed to me. Mel and
Dave used to share a house with the Macabre
Society's president, a guy called Mark, who
after dark would apply hairspray and mascara
and become a frilly-shirted Gothick Overlord.
He also used to tell people his surname was
'Arbre'. Mark Arbre. Get it? He used to get
really wound up by people calling him 'Mr.
Tree', but it was a cross he was willing to bear
just as gladly as he bore the consequences of
wearing sunglasses when out on the streets
at night, these consequences including an
unfortunate tendency to walk into lamp posts.
And then there was the one time where he was
out with Dave and spent five minutes trying
to get into the wrong side of a phone box,
because he 'couldn't find the handle'.
Anyway, it turned out that after having
endured one of the CU's three-yearly missions,
where they spent a week being leafleted,
invited to meetings and told they were going
to Hell because they liked music with gloomy
descending basslines, they decided to do
something pro-active. Do you have any idea
how much you need to provoke Gothrcus
Miserabilis Eldritchis to make him do that?
Quite a bit, I can tell you.
Anyway, what they did was find the Christian
House in the Student Village, a house which
was entirely occupied by the most prominent
CU members (there's always at least one
of them). And then, when it was dark and
they were sure there were people inside,
they sprang out of the bushes dressed in
bedsheets, and, holding candles, proceeded
to walk around the house chanting gibberish
(or the chorus from the Sisters of Mercy's
'This Corrosion' - opinions differ, although it's
difficult to see the difference, frankly).
Wonied faces appeared at the window. And
then, from the kitchen window, the sound of
hymns began to waft out, as someone inside
pulled out a guitar and began to lead an
impromptu worship session.
After a while, the Macabre Society retreated,
leaving the inhabitants of the CU House still
thinking they'd been targeted by Satanists.
And thus into CU legend. Didn't make the
Macabre Society's lives any easier, though.
Anyrruay, the moral of this story is that there's
a rational explanation for nearly everything.
But you might have to talk to an old Goth to
get it. I
They sprang
out of the
bushes
dressed in
bedsheets,
and, holding
candles,
proceeded to
walk around
the house
chantin$
gibberish.
What do you
think?
Wood helps host
SCM's online
discussion
forums. lf you
want to know
more about the
classification of
Goths, log on to
www.movement.
org.uldforum
and ask him!
. Wood is a freelance writer
and illustrator based in
Swansea. You can find
his website at www.
johnheronproject.com. He's
convinced that there is a
wholly rational explanation
behind most things, with
the possible exception of
Westlife.
movementl25

media: music
fi)etlie)
cinema... books... IV... art... music... web...
a fellow traveller
Billy Bragg was once called 'Britain's gtreatest Krck po€t'. What makes him so special?
Must I PaintYou A Picture?.' Ihe Essentia,
B,tty BrcEE, I Billy Bragg I s9.99
When I first saw Billy Bragg
perform, at an Anti-Nazi League
concert in the early nineties, I
just didn't get it. Who was this
weird Cockney, performing solo
with a jangly electric guitar and
pausing between songs to rant
(surprisingly articulately) about
politics?
But once I'd got over the shock of
hearing someone sing in a genuine
British accent, rather than the mid-
Atlantic drawl I was used to in most
rock music, and discovered his
the Bard of BarkinS
Words of wisdom from Billy Bragg on...
Love and loss
'l saw two shooting stars last night.
I wished on them, but they were only satellites.
It's wrong to wish on space hardware -
I wish, I wish, I wish you'd care.'
Growing up
'l used to want to plant bombs
At the last night of the Proms -
But now you'll find me with the baby in the bathroom,
illiil;ii;ibiiiv Bragg
phenomenal back catalogue of songs,
I was hooked. Ten years later, I found
myself crying like a baby as he led the
('A new England')
With that big shell listening for the sound of the sea.'
('Brickbat')
Mixing pop and politics
'One leap fonruards, two leaPs back -
Will politics get me the sack? ...
Here comes the future and you can't run from it -
lf you've got a blacklist, I wanna be on it.' (Waitingfor the great leap forvvards')
lmperialism
'ls this the nineteenth century that I'm watching on TV?
Dear old queen of England handing out those MBEs'
"Member of the British Empire" - that doesn't sound too good to me.'
('Take down the Union Jack')
crowd at Greenbelt tn a rousing chorus
of Blake's'Jerusalem'.
For those who haven't Yet been
converted, the recent release of Must
I Paint You A Picture?, a double CD
collecting the best-loved of Braggs
songs from throughout his 2o-year
career in music, is the perfect opportunity
to find out what you're missing.
Stereotyped as an earnest angry
young man with a guitar, this collection
shows that he has a wide musical
range. As well as the classic solo
songs - 'A new England', 'To have and
have not' - and the alt-rock of songs
like 'Accident waiting to happen', there
are songs from the folk tradition ('The
world turned upside-down'), and the
sleevenotes reveal big-name collaborators
from REM and JohnnY Marr to the
Hives. There's also a selection of the
country-tinged songs he liberated from
Woody Guthrie's legacy of unrecorded
material.
It's telling that Bragg was the one
who was invited to reinterpret Woody
Guthrie, the archetypal protest singer.
His music has always been informed
by his politics, his desire for a better
world, and his anger at tnjustice. He
has a talent for putting across powerful
messages in pop songs, without oversimpliflTing
the issues as so many
artists with a social conscience do.
When he sings 'Take down the union
jack' - his attack on the 2002 Jubilee
celebrations - he isn't just playing with
anarchist imagery, he's laying out his
vision of a reclaimed patriotism, freed
of bigotry and celebrating pluralism.
Similarly with his performances of
'Jerusalem'- he's managed to reclaim
the satirical and rebellious visionary
spirit of this song from those who >
26lmovement

would make it an anthem to the
establishment.
More importantly, he has always
been engaged in activism for causes
he believes in. A member of the Red
Wedge coalition of left-wing musicians
in the eighties, he now writes pamphlets
and articles, and has put forward the
most cogent and democratic proposals
l've seen for electoral reform in the
House of Lords. And he was the first
UK artist to make ethically-produced
T-shirts available at his gigs.
What really makes his songs special
is that he intertwines his political
observations with personal sentiment
and emotion. Must I PaintYou a Picture
is filled with touching love songs and
evocative pictures of real people's lives.
ln his first single 'A New England', he
sang 'l'm not trying to build a new
England - I'm just looking for another
girl'. Ever since, his songs have chronicled
falling in love, breaking up, getting
married, having kids, grieving for a lost
parent - always perceptively finding the
experiences we all share, setting it all
in the context of the real world and its
politics and history. His songs are the
kind of stuff that can genuinely become
the soundtrack to your life, making for
a real warmth and friendliness in the
crowd at his gigs.
Bragg got a lot of column inches
in the Christian press last year,
following his headline performance
at the Greenbelt festival - there as
part of their day of campaigning for
trade justice. While he's not one for
organised religion, he describes himself
as a 'fellow-traveller' with Christians
whose beliefs inspire them to fight for
justice. He speaks with admiration of
Quakers and other Christians who've
stood at his side in protests, and
in 'The world turned upside-down' he
sings about the Diggers, an egalitarian
Christian sect. He explores his relationship
with 'believers' in 'Upfield', where
he describes a vision of 'a tree full of
angels', who share his anger at poverty
and injustice despite the fact that he's
a 'pagan'. What matters is that they
share a 'socialism of the heart', a real
compassion for people and desire to
build a better world.
'Upfield' and other songs reveal
something Bragg shares with Blake (who
he name-checked with his album William
Bloke) - the ability to create a vibrant
symbolism and mythologl of his own.
As his songs weave a political backdrop
into personal stories, public characters
and events become reference points
that help us to make meaning of the
world we live in, a language that he
uses to communicate not just political
messages but personal emotion. A good
example is 'Waiting for the Great Leap
Fonruards', where a cast of figures from
politics and history - updated to reflect
current events when he sings the song
live - is used to reflect on both political
and personal hopes and frustrations.
media: music
Recent years have seen Bragg take
a few breaks from his hectic musical
career, having kids and moving to a
quiet Dorset village. The later songs
collected here are certainly more
thoughtful in content and gentle
in musical style. But none of his
political feruour is gone. ln 'No power
without accountability', he attacks the
World Trade Organisation. His goals
haven't changed but he's found new
and broader connections with other
causes as the global justice movement
gathers momentum. And 'retiring' to
the country hasn't stopped him either
- he's still kicking up a fuss, finding
it easier to make his voice heard in a
quiet rural area than in a big city.
Still, this is as good a time as any to
look back over his career and produce
this collection of songs, every one a
gem. ln proper socialist style, it's not
your standard 'Greatest Hits' either
- many of the songs were selected
by fans on his website, so hidden
beauties like 'Sulk' (originally a B-
side) are included alongside the big
singles. Buy it now and be inspired.
And if you possibly can, go and see Billy
Bragg play live. Just remember to take
a handkerchief. I
,h,,:nr''"y#:,il
In the media section of the movement
pages at www.movement.org.uk, there's
a transcript of the interview Billy Bragg
gave to journalists before performinS, at
Greenbelt 2OO3.
resources round-up
Some stuff we thought was interesting but couldn't review this time...
Godand theGanEs I Robert
Beckford I Darton, Longman and
Todd I t10.95
ln this 'urban toolkit for those who will
not be bought out, sold or scared out'
Robert Beckford attempts to provide
theological tools for an understanding
of disaffection amongst urban young
people. Offering a clear analysis of the
cultural and political factors at work, he
argues for an approach based on actionreflection
to seek life-transforming
responses. Accessibly written, essential
reading for all with an interest in young
Black culture and those in urban work
or ministry.
Local lnter Faith Activity in the UK
lnter Faith Network I t8.95
The findings of a six-month project
looking at how inter-faith work is being
carried out at local level. lt covers the
spectrum of local inter-faith activity
from prolects in schools and youth
organisations, to dialogue groups and
councils of faiths, and also looks at
how local authorities are working in
partnership with local inter-faith and
faith bodies to improve community
cohesion. There is also a linked good
practice booklet, Partnership for the
Common Good: lnter Faith Structures
and Local Government, available free
from www. interfaith.org. uk
Honest to God; forly yearc on
Cofin Slee (ed) | SCM Press | 8M,99
A collection of papers from the
symposium held to commemorate the
fortieth anniversary of the publication
of Honest to God by John Robinson, a
seminal texi for liberal theologr.
Explores how the issues raised by
the original book have impacted on
the church and Christian thought, in
the areas of culture and context, God
language, behaviour and belief, and
christologr.
A valuable text for anyone with an
interest in comparative religious
studies.
movement 127

media: film
€et spirited away...
A masterwork of Japanese animation.
Spirited Away, directed by Hayao Miyazaki
Available on VHS and DVD
A train travels across a flooded
sunlit landscape, and stops at a
station platform that rises above
the water. A girl (Chihiro, the
heroine) gets on, accompanied by
a tall black wraithlike figure with a
white and black mask for a face,
and a small bird carrying a fat
hamster.
(The wraithlike monster is a No-face,
a being that mirrors the desires of those
around it. The hamster is in fact a giant
baby under a spell; the bird is an evil
sorceress' familiar, also under a spell.)
There are a few other passengers on
board already: shadows of commuters
sitting around. The girl and companions
look around and then take a seat. The
hamster and bird sit on the windowsill
and look out. The train moves off. (The
girl is travelling to meet the witch who
transformed both baby and familiar,
the twin sister of the evil sorceress
aforementioned. The witch has cursed
a dragon who stole her seal from her,
slowly killing him. The girl is bringing the
seal back hoping the witch will take the
curse off the dragon, with whom she's
in love). lt passes across the landscape,
leaving a trail of ripples behind it. As
the sun sets and night falls, the train
stops at stations letting off the shadowy
passengers until apart from the girl and
her companions the train is empty. lt is
one of the most beautiful sequences I
have seen in any film.
The characters may
be animated rather
than acted, but they
are $loriously real.
,t
ll tiil .
We feel that Ghihiro
has stumbled into
only a small part of
a far lar$er world
It is a meditative moment in a plot
which is marvellously inventive and
surreal. Chihiro has ended up in this
magical alternate reality after her
parents take a wrong turning and find
themselves in what they take to be
a deserted theme park, only to be
turned into pigs as night falls and the
theme park opens for business. (The
nightmarish sequence in which night
falls, the park comes to life, and
Chihiro finds her transformed parents
is another stand-out sequence.)
Under the surreal invention lies a
background of Japanese mythology
and folklore, about which I know
very little, but which gives the film
an underlying coherence. The centre
of the film is the bathhouse run
by a sorceress for the benefit of
Japanese gods. 'Gods' is possibly
the wrong translation, since they are
more mundane, physically odd and
numerous than either the decadent
aristocrats of the Greeks, the warriors
of the Norse, or indeed God of the
Abrahamic faiths. They are more like
fairy bureaucrats or office workers on
their night off. There is a lot going
on in this world: sufficiently many
s*;ffi;
--
;n
tll'i;'' I' '- o
,llff
it
)c
il
rhH
characters just turn up without being
explained that we feel that Chihiro
has stumbled into only a small part
of a far larger world.
The characters may be animated
rather than acted, but they are
gloriously real. Just to mention two:
Yubaba is both greedy and malicious,
but also honourable after her fashion
and an overprotective mother.
Chihiro's father establishes himself
while on screen as a memorably smug
rationalist - not a good trait in the
supernatural West End. (They do not
take cash or any major credit cards.)
Chihiro herself grows from a brattish
nervous child into a resourceful and
compassionate survivor in a transition
that is perfectly convincing.
Meanwhile, the film has enough
ambiguity to leave postmodernists
arguing about the ending (does
Chihiro remember her experiences?)
and enough old-fashioned storytelling
to make traditionalists happy. lt is
astounding that it hardly made a
mark at mainstream cinemas. See it
on video. I
David Anderson
SCM individual membel
28lmovement

media: film
pop culture review I gordon lynch
One trilogy to rule them all
'Thus the major film epic of our age
draws to its end!' At least that's
how Gandalf or King Theoden might
announce the completion of the Lord of
the Rrhgs trilogr, whilst furrowing their
brows and peering meaningfully into the
middle distance. Certainly The Lord of
the Rrhgfs deserves the acclaim it has
received, and by the time you read this
we should know how many Oscars it
won from its multitude of nominations.
A comparison between the Lord of the Rings
and Matrix trilogies is instructive. Whilst I was
waxing lyrical a few months ago about the style
and philosophical contenl of Matrix Reloaded,
it was hard to imagine quite what a flop
the concluding Matrix Reyo/utions would be.
Special effects are all very well, but Revo/utions
proved that it's possible to reach a
saturation point where you see so many deadly
machines that you pass the point of caring.
What is most striking about a comparison
between the two trilo$es concems the strengths
of their respective stories. The MaUix set up
an interesting set of philosophical and religious
questions, but ultimately failed to provide a
coherent or persuasive way of resolving these.
Its story finally dissipated into senilment and
big explosions. What is arguably most impressive
about The Lord of the Rings, aside ftom its
gound-breaking special effects and its sheer
visual spectacle, is the strength of its nanative.
Written over a period of many years, Tolkien
intended his story to be read alongside the
great myths of Norse and Germanic culture.
Here was a myth intended to replace the myths
Britain had lost as it went through a process
of Christianisation. Few scripts that end up as
Hollywood films match this scale of cultural
vision and ambition. And it shows. The Lord of
the Rrngs offers a sweeping mytholo$cal vision
on a scale that we are unlikely to see again in
our generation.
Like all effective myths, it seeks to provide
a framework through which we can make
sense of life. lt is striking how its particular
vision often runs counter to habits of thinking
that are commonplace in our daily lives today.
The therapeutic culture of the late twentieth
century (which I certainly do not despise) has
helped us to focus on personal development
and growth, on the importance of authenticity
and self-expression. We live in a culture that
celebrates the right of the individual t0 make
choices that will provide them with the most
satisrying life possible until they reach the final
conclusion of death. The Lord of the Rings
is little concemed with questions of personal
fulfilment, however, or at least sees these as
secondary issues. Here the central question
is not what characters can do to make their
lives as fulfilled as possible, but whether they
are prepared to $ve up their lives for a greater
good. The virtues celebrated are not authenticity,
creativity or self-expression, but love,
duty, loyalty, self-sacrifice and courage. These
latter virtues can seem so alien to a culture
raised on aspirationalW programmes and selfhelp
books. And yet the popularity of The Lord
of the Rings suggests that there is something
still compelling about the heroic virtues shown
by Frodo, Sam, Aragorn and the others, even if
we may not always be quite sure what it means
to live them out in our own more mundane
lives.
Our culture is one that risks an obsession
with the 'project of the self, in which we can
mistake existence as a challenge for maximising
personal fulfilment. We live in a culture, wrote
the philosopher Gabriel Marcel, that is centred
upon satisfactions rather than larger questions
of the meaning and purpose of our existence.
Yet fte Lord of the Rings challenges us to think
more collectively about what is worth fighting for
and what kind of world we want to live in. We
live in a culture obsessed with controlling risk,
and beset with anxiety about how best to take
charge of our lives. Yet in lhe Lord of the Nngs
the obsession to take control of life and evade
wlnerability finds its ultimate symbol in Sauron,
whose desire for power leads to the creation of
the One Ring through which all things can be
controlled and dominated. The wlnerability of
those who resist Sauron, and their abandonment
to the often outrageous twists of chance
or destiny, serves as a reminder that ultimately
we cannot control our lives, insulate ourselves
ftom all harm or evade death. But that even in
the midst of this wlnerability we can still find
friendship, purpose and goodness. The Lord of
the Rings cenainly does not promote some kind
of other-worldly asceticism. The Shire remains a
place in which homely pleasures are treasured
and celebrated. But it also seeks to remind us
that such pleasures rest on our willingness to
take risks to preserue the good, face our wlnerability
courageously and recognise that we are
,d
What do you
think?
Gordon will be
available on the
SCM discussion
forum during
May and June,
to respond
to readers'
thoughts on
this column
and explore the
ideas further.
Log on to www.
movement.
org.ulvforum
and join the
debate!
. Gordon Lynch teaches
practical theology at the
University of Birmin€lham.
movement 129

media: book
compellinS readins
A topical issue and a gripping story of deliverance.
Sickened by Julie Gregory
Gentury | tt2.99
This is a heartbreaking book. A
personal memoir of child abuse is
hardly going to be anything less,
but the particular kind of abuse it
describes is so horribly compelling
that it's also fascinating to read.
Sickened is 'the memoir of a
Munchausen by Proxy childhood' - the
author's account of being brought up
in a backwater of southern Ohio by a
mother who has Munchausen by Proxy
syndrome or MBP. MBP is 'the falsification
or induction of physical and/or
emotional illness by the caretaker of a
dependent person. ln most cases, the
perpetrator is a mother and the victim
is her own child.' ln Julie Gregory's
experience, a mother who has a history
of traumatic abuse in her own early
life, makes her otherwise healthy child
sick in order to seek continued medical
care. Constant visits to doctors and
hospitals with symptoms in the child
which are either invented - borrowed
from medical encyclopaedias, or real
- the result of actual neglect or abuse,
fulfil the mother's need for the sympathy
and control she never had as a child.
There are over 5OO clinical articles and
books on MBP, but until this memoir
was published, no-one had told the full
story of MBP from the inside.
Copies of Julie's actual medical
records, with incriminating names and
addresses blanked out, are printed
in the book. They show the horrifiting
naivety of the medical professionals
who often took simply on trust what her
mother told them was wrong with her
- prescribing drugs, carrying out tests
and worst of all, authorising unnecessary
surgery. Also reproduced in the
book are photographs from Julie's family
album - pictures of her at different ages
with her mother, Sandy, her father, who
colluded in the abuse, and her innocent
younger brother, Danny.
However, Sickened is not simply a
retrospective medical case study. lt's
written in the present tense and reads
like a novel whose pages you can't stop
3Olmovement
rHf rnuf sronY 0F A
r osT cxll0x000
.IULIL GRLGORY
(c
It's the sense of survival
and deliverance which
helps to make the book
ultimately upliftin$.
turning. Much of it is direct speech so
that at times you feel it's a film script,
recreating awful scenes at the doctors,
in the car, and over the dinner table.
Julie conjures up images of 1980s
0hio brilliantly - her family's trailer
home, guns in the bathroom cabinet,
a diet of 7-Eleven food, the fashions
at the discount clothing outlets, and
the hell-fire-and-damnation version of
Christianity instilled by her grandmother
whereby 'we thought hell was a place
you burned for eternity if you didn't
finish your meatloaf'. But it's the
mother-daughter relationship which is
in focus throughout - their twisted bond
of terror and love, a perverted mutual
dependence, which Julie can only begin
to understand and escape when she
grows up.
There are times in the book when you
wonder how Julie Gregory managed to
survive into adulthood after the physical
and mental abuse and breakdown she
suffered, let alone go on to become
a graduate in psychiatry, an expert
writer on Munchausen by Proxy, and
an advocate in MBP cases. Her survival
seems to be partly credited to God.
Albeit in the background because of
the horror of her daily existence, Julie
learns to doubt the God-fear professed
I
by her parents even as a child and to
come to her own understanding of a
benevolent God who is watching over
her in spite of everything. At her lowest
point, she loses her faith completely,
but then finds it again, with a deeper
maturity. lt's this sense of sulival and
deliverance which helps to make the
book ultimately uplifting.
Munchausen by Proxy syndrome has
been in the news lately. The Observer
newspaper recently ran an article called
'How I lost two children to the "lie" of
Munchausen's' about a woman whose
new-born child was taken away from
her and into care because she was
suspected of having MBP. Her first
child had died as a baby after suffering
breathing problems and evidence from
an expert witness said she had probably
smothered the baby to death. But that
witness was Professor Roy Meadows,
the paediatrician who first came up with
the theory of MBP in L977, and who
has recently been discredited after his
evidence was ruled unsafe in the highprofile
cases of Angela Cannings and
Sally Clark, both imprisoned for killing
their children and subsequently freed.
Critics of MBP fear the syndrome blinds
social workers, lawyers and judges to
other explanations for apparent child
abuse, such as the side effects of
drugs or the symptoms associated with
real illnesses. The Government has
asked local authorities to examine up
to 5,000 cases in which children were
taken from their parents in the civil
courts and in which MBP may have
been cited. No-one would argue that
wherever a false diagnosis of MBP has
been made, and has led to a parent
being wrongly accused of child abuse,
the miscarriage of justice should not
be rectified, but surely the numerous
campaigners who are now seeking to
debunk MBP altogether and say that it
just doesn't exist, would do well to read
Julie Gregory's powerful book. I
Member o, ,,on ,n.r, l?lot,llgY"""il
Julie Gregory has a website at
wwwjuliegregory.com
Srckened is out in paperback in
October.

the serpent
GI.AD TO BE GAY AFTER ALL
The good rednecks of Ray
County, Tennessee have
reluctantly overturned their
total ban on gay people within
county limits, professing
surprise that it caused
such a big fuss.
Perhaps one day one
of these groups (what
is the collective noun
for bigots anyway? A
hatred? A spite?) will
go the whole hog
and ban women
too, then die out
within a generation.
Sorry-gotalittle
right-on there
for a moment. I
can't help it - my
sympathies go out to
all those who are exiled
for being different. ever
since that nasty incident
with Saint Patrick and my
scaly ancestors. This
roving serpent misses
the ould country at
times. Oh the mist
and the craic and
the songs, the
songs, they'd
melt your face
so they would.
CHARITY STOPS AT HOME
It may surprise you to learn
that I'm not a great one for
charitable giving, but I was
puzzled by a recent report
that made the news recently,
criticising aid agencies. They
ran a big appeal warning that
a famine was coming, and
the money poured in from the
guilty middle classes. They
did their aid agency thing
and in the end the famine
didn't look so much like the
massive disaster people had
paid to avert.
Disappointing as I always
find it when thousands of
people fail to starue, I just
don't get their point. What
next? lt's a bit like paying
someone to wash your car
then complaining that the
mud splashes are gone. Or
buying a smoke detector and
complaining when your house
doesn't burn down.
I
A GREEN GADGET
Surprisingly enough, I don't
frequent ladies' toilets at
railway stations, but an
acquaintance of mine, who
is so inclined,
brought me a
report of an
intriguing
new device.
t
t
The
electric
hand-dryer
in this particular
convenience was
equipped with a
scrolling message,
which introduced the dryer
as the Nova 2, promised the
wet-handed user that their
hands would be dry soon,
and concluded 'This handdryer
saves trees'.
Clever hand-dryer! I can
just see it, chaining itself to
mighty redwoods on its days
off, and living in tunnels with
its friends the eco-toaster
and the crusty bread-maker.
Juicers for justice and
bleeding-heart handwhisks!
THERE IS A LIGHT AND
- oH, tT WENT OUT
The current non-existent
state of world peace isn't the
fault of Bush and Blair after
all, or indeed of the elusive
Mr Bin Laden.
No, it's all the fault of
Birmingham City Council.
Since the great and holy Sir
Cliff isnited it at the Millennium,
an eternal flame of
peace has been burning in
the city's Centenary Square.
However, it was recently
allowed to go out following
a dispute over who pays the
gas bill.
Hard-hitting and prophetic
as ever, the local Church
of England has branded the
council 'mildly pathetic'.
War criminals, I call them. I
look forward to seeing some
Brummie councillors being
tried in the Hague.
You may well laugh! Stranger
things have happened.
Speaking of which, Bush and
Blair have been nominated
to receive the Nobel Peace
Prize.
ln related news, Peter
Stringfellow will be
decorated for his
services to chastity,
and Victoria Beckham
will receive a prize for
understated good taste.
FIGHTING SPIRIT
A lesson for those of
you dabbling in Religious
Studies and the like. A
couple from Georgia
in the US both found
themselves in prison
when a discussion
about the nature
of the Trinity
ended in
'scissorstabbi
ng',
^-,
ripped
shirts and
other ridiculous
bodily harm.
See? Theology is just
the start of the slippery
slope to sectarian violence
and delinquency. So make
sure you're armed before
you wade into that discussion
of penal substitutionary
atonement in the union bar.
CRAZY FOR JESUS
Jesus freaks everywhere
are no doubt incensed by
people's growing reluctance
to believe in Hell, and
be thereby terrified into
accepting Jeezus as their
personal friend.
Hats off, then, to the
American Airlines pilot who
recently found a whole new
way of inducing screaming
terror in heathens.
Passengers were understandably
unnerued when he asked
over the tannoy for any
Christians on the plane to put
their hands up. He went on
to accuse the non-Christians
of being 'crazy' and advised
them to talk to the Christians
about their faith. Inferring an
'or else' between the lines,
scared passengers began
ringing relatives on mobile
phones.
Of course, this particular
proselytising technique
might not travel across the
Atlantic too well. Would
you own up, or not? I can
picture an embarrassed SCM
member bumbling, 'Well,
I wouldn't want to define
myself too narrowly... but I
do take Christianity seriously
... very willing to discuss this
in an open and balanced
manner...' They'd be lumped
in with the heathen crazies.
START THE DAY WITH
GREAT TASTE?
Returning from my suit
fitting the other afternoon, I
noticed a billboard featuring
an irritating pair of creatures
called Trinny and Susannah.
Apparently they ridicule
members of the public in
some television programme
or other.
(No, I'm not like one of
those high court judges
who don't own TVs
and have to
have lawyers
explain to them
the concept of
' o,""XTff'l'TJ1l];
^agoggle-box-l
I like seeing Jeremy
^
make the students
Ot
squirm on lJniversity
Chailenge.)
Anyway, these
women are advertising coffee
under the slogan 'Start the
day with great taste'. Great
taste indeed. I mean, leaving
aside the many questions one
could raise about dumbeddown
makeover TV, this is
Nescaf6. lt's rnstant coffee.

unconventional?
tu
We welcome all views and approaches. SCM is open to people of
all faiths and none who want to explore the Ghristian faith in an
open-minded and non-judgemental environment. SCM seeks to
promote a vision of Christianity that is inclusive, aware, radical and
challenging.
q
Irr
5 /llovenett
(brittiar
9tqcent
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