Movement 114

the ma gazine of the student christian movement I issue 11,4 | summer 2OO3
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GreenbeLtil".i
The fragrance of Jesus is everywhere
N4ikt,: Y;rr:orrcl.Ii
BILLY BRAGG-
UMOJA-
MI
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22-25 August 2003
Cheltenham Racecourse
Diving for pearls
DALRYMP
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MOVEMENI ,s the termly ma*azine of the
9)##"*" Student Christian Movement, distributed free
movement':,:J?,f;;:{:#f:^:,,:xo,i3f ;::::,:,;*
Editor: Liam Purcell
e: editor@movement.org.uk
Next copy date: 11 July 2003
Editorial group: David Anderson, Neil Elliot, Rebecca
Hawthorne, Elinor Mensingh, Marie Pattison, Kate powell,
Matthew Prevett, Liam Purcell
SCM staff: Co-ordinator Elinor Mensingh; trnks Worker Marie
Pattison; Office Administrator Rebecca Hawthorne
SCM office: University of Birmingham, Weoley park Road,
Selly Oak, Birmingham 829 6LL
t= (OL2L) 47t 2404
tz (OL2t) 4L4 56Lg mark faxes 'FAO SCM,
e: scm@moverirent.org. uk
Website: www. movement.org. uk
Printed by: Henry Ling Limited, Dorchester
lndividual membership of SCM (includes Moyernent) costs
f,15 per year (LLO if unwaged). Subscription to Movement only
costs f,10 per year, or f7 for students.
Disclaimer: 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.
tssN 0306-980x
Charity number 24L896
o 2003 scM
Wanted! Articles, reviews, anwolk
We want Movement to be as open as possible. All your ideas
are welcome. Have you got something to say? An issue you
want explored? Ever fancied yourself as a writer?
Send your afticles and ideas, or just your details if you'd like to
write for us in the fi.rture, to the editor at editor@movement.orE uk.
All submissions will be considered by our editodal gtoup.
Have your say - join Movement's editorial
team
Movement is put together by an editorial group including the
editor, SCM staff, and student representativqs. There is a vacancy
at the moment for a student representative on the gfoup. lf you
would like to be involved in deciding the content and themes of
Movement, and could spare one aftemoon a tenn for meetings,
e-mail the editor at editor@movement.org.uk.
Do you have ploblems reading Movement?
lf you have visual or reading 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@mopvement.orE.uk

editorial
whaf's the story?
Of anecdotes, protest and peace...
Wath about sixty other people, I
attended SCM's annual conference in
February on 'Stories and Spirituality'.
Like last year's, it was a resoundin$
success. I found it very encouraging to
see so many groups and individuals
from all over the country, sharin$ in the
open and questioning approach which
characterises all SGM's work. You'll find
a full review on page 5.
Our feature this issue picks up on the
conference's theme too. Turn to the centre
and you'll find a range of approaches to the
idea of story. We're delighted to have Jon
McGregor exploring the importance of our
own personal stories and anecdotes. (Jon's
first novel if nobody speaks of remarkable
things was reviewed last issue. lt's fantastic.
Read it.) Professor John Sawyer introduces us
to a branch of theologl which explores the
impact of the Bible story. And there's an
exploration of Aboriginal spirituality and its
emphasis on ancestral stories.
People who were at the conference spent
some time sharing the stories that mattered
to them - funny stories, family stories, the
kind you retell again and again to your friends
- and you'll find some of our favourites
scattered throughout the feature.
Of course, our attention has been focused
during the writing of this issue on another,
much bigger story - the immoral and illegal
war currently being waged on an already
weakened nation, at who knows what cost in
lives and political instability. By the time you
read this, things will no doubt have moved on,
but there's still plenty we can do to make our
voices heard about the injustices and imperialism
going on in the name of the 'war on
terror'. The Stop the War Coalition have
provided some handy stafters and contact
details on page 11. And on page 10, Giles
Fraser shares some inspiring stories of people
who have dedicated themselves to peace,
and asks why the church isn't doing more.
See you next time. I
Liam Purcell
an immoral and
illegal war is
currently being
waged on an
already
weakened
nation, at who
knows what
cost in lives
and political
instability
editorial 3
newsfile 4
on campus 6
campaigns 7
diary 8
ties and binds jim cotter 9
peace, protest and
establishment $iles fraser 7O
war and peace stoP the war 7!
first among equals clairc connor 7.12
don't
this
feature:
73
75
76
78
st simon explains howard inSham L9
small ritual steve collins 2O
mind the gap 21
cereOntytlrcologian mafie pttison 22
ftiril(gfobdU, act localV... lenect
perconally paffi*aavvs A
worldviewi ausfiaLa 24
leviews
staying alive (ed. neil astley)
helen mackay 26
belfast songs liam purcell 27
g:ilfgS d nervYodt 0nartin s@lsese)
sfieptren gbe A
wellbeing (alison webster)
deb curnock 29
resource list 30
serpent 31
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strate$ic plannin€
Members of the General Council and SCM staff had several meetings last
term to work on a strategic plan for SCM. We aim to identify both short- and
long-term priorities for the coming three years. We are exploring projects
that fall into the following six main areas of work:
. Raising SCM's profile in the student world and the wider Christian
community.
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.oH"
I
. Fundraising for specific projects.
. MarketinEi SCM's publications.
. Getting more people actively involved in SCM's work.
. lmproving existing resources and designing new ones.
. Co-operation and partnership with other organisations.
We will keep you posted as we progress with this piece of work.
Dare to Share
_ I - - 1O May, London Participation fee f,1O
Y This one-day event will be a celebration of the ecumenical work that the
'Bodies in
{'t"-
Association' of Ghurches Together in England do to nurture the
spiritual life of the different groups in our society. SCM is sending four people
- to say something about our work with young people, and the other organisations
present will include L'Arche, lona, Bible Society, YWCA and YMCA. The event is being
organised by Focolare (an international
ecumenical network) and Churches Together
in England, and is open to all. Please contact
the office if you are interested and we will
send you a booking form.
NUS national
conference
SCM is a member of lnteraction - a
network of organisations that work with
students to campaign on social justice
issues. By the time this magazine
reaches you, the NUS National Conference
will have taken place (31 March - 3
April in Blackpool) and SCM will have
been involved in helping on an lnteraction
stall there. This should be a good
opportunity to raise SCM's and lnteraction's
profile among NUS delegates.
4lmovement
$rassroots reporJ:
cookin{, the books
stay
up to
date
SCM's monthly
e-mail
newsletter
contains updates
on our latest
activities, as well
as asking for
members'
opinions and
suggesting ways
you could get
involved in our
work. Sign up
now at
www.movement.
org.uk
About a year ago, Emmaus at Leicester University was visited by
some volunteers from the Nigeria Health Care Project. After
hearing about the crucial work that they do out there, building
clinics and providing nursing staff and medicines, we decided to
start fundraising for the charity. One of our members has now
chosen to go to Nigeria in March as part of her Medicine course,
and will spend eight weeks working in a hospital there. As the
staff are desperately short of even the most basic medical items
like dressings and surgical gloves, we have been raising funds for
her to take medical equipment out there. Our latest project is a
cook-book. We have been asking people to contribute a favourite
recipe, along with an anecdote or memory associated with it -
perhaps something amusing that happened the first time they
made it, or something about the people they made it for. The
book will be professionally published and sold across the country,
with all profits going to the Nigeria Health Care Project.
We will let you know when the book is ready! f
Leicester Emmaus Society

NEWS
SCM annual conference | 2l-23 February 2003
Hayes Gonference Gentre, Swanwick, Derbyshire
I was probably one of the people
at Swanwick with the least
knowledge of what to expect of
the conference. I had no previous
involvement with SCM at my
university (the Anglican/Methodist
society being only technically
affiliated) - indeed, I had never
actually heard of the movement
until January. I liked the words I
found on the website -'inclusive',
'aware','radical','challen$in$' -
and worked myself up for the
arduous 2o-minute train journey.
The weekend started wlth a session
where we were introduced to the
main theme - stories and what they
mean to us - in small groups. This
was followed by a short meditative
session, socialising in the bar and a
pub quiz.
Saturday brought us the two storytelling
highlights of the conference.
Firstly, Kathy Galloway of the lona
community shared some of her
stories with us and spoke about the
importance of stories in our lives.
She explained how important it was
to know our own stories and what
they mean to us, and to listen to
other people's when they are
oppressed or silenced. I was amazed
at how easy it was to listen to her
speak for an hour and a half without
losing my concentration - she was
\
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a.
f
\
engaging and absorbing while still
remaining calm and understated.
Later that evening we were treated
to a story-telling performance by
Dave Roberts, a professional storyteller.
He recounted several stories -
some of his own, some picked up
from others and some inspired by the
Bible - with enerry, passion and
humour, culminating in an emotional
rendering of 'Amazing Grace' which
must have deeply affected the
Catholic Women's League who were
meeting nextdoor.
attend workshops on subjects such
as spirituality in film and the art of
story-telling. Tim Sunderland of
Christian Aid gave a very good
presentation on the story of the
gospel and how it inspires Christians
to take action for global justice. The
other workshop I took part in was
given by two lndian Dalit Christians
who spoke about the oppression and
injustices suffered by the 260 million
Dalits (or'untouchables') in all areas
of lndian society. They were
animated and enthusiastic, eager to
share their many stories with people
who would listen and understand.
When I left at lunchtime on Sunday
I felt I'd got a lot out of the weekend.
I was inspired by the speakers and
enjoyed meeting different people
from all over the country, with
different religious backgrounds. The
worship reflected this - each session
was led by different people and
groups of people, with the highlight
being the 'weaving stories' service on
Sunday morning. The liturgy was
fresh, varied and inclusive and the
atmosphere reverent and spiritual
without being dull. This just about
summed up my experience of the
conference and my impressions of
the SCM in general. I look forward to
neK year! I Matthew Gardner
SCM lndlvldual mernbel, Nottlngham Unlverslty
Confolence photographs by fteelancs creatlye
Howard Ingham (wrvw.lohnhelon r$r;.;:;il,*
ryryw.movemert.orGl.
u k/ann ualconf erence
The other main speaker was Dr
Colin Green of the Bible Society, who
gave an interesting talk with impressive
visual aids - examining lhe
Matrix and Hello magazine with
reference to the Bible and searching
for truth in a postmodern world. lt
was a thoroughly prepared and
coherently argued presentation which
didn't over-complicate a less than
straightforward subject. In the
afternoon we had the opportunity to
**
&
movement l5

on campus
news from the universitY world
trtrtr
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fundin{, the
future
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Over 200 students took Part in a lobby of parliament on 6
March. Students tackled their MPs over top'up fees and
student debt throughout the day and made many MPs
chan$e their minds on fees and si$n a motion opposin$
them.
As well as the mass lobby, the NUS programme of action
includesoutdooradvertisingaskingthepublictosupportthe
campaign, and an online 'e-mail your MP' facility at
*rn rr.nrionline.org.uk. This will be backed up by an e-mail to
TOO,OOO students requestin$ they use this tool to make their
voices heard. Postcards highlighting the same message have
been distributed nationally in students' unions and beyond'
Students' unions up and down the country aimed to make
student funding issues heard on a local level each day from 15 to
21 March. This week of action culminated with a National strike
onFriday2lMarchat12noon.Noreportonthesuccessofthese
events was available at the time of going to press'
There is a range of resources available at
www.nusonline.org.uk foi students who would like to join in this
campaign, including briefings, information packs and tips on the
key points in the arguments about fees'
It you have any queries, contact Vicky Whitney' NUS
Gamiaign Co-ordinator, at vicky.whitney@nus'or$'uk' or see
www.nusonline.org.uk I
open forum
The student campai$n Forum (a new campaigning organisation
which we profiled in Movement issue 113) has now set up open
discussion forums on its website at
www.studentcampai$nforum.org'uk I
a
itl I
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spking
UJ
a$ainst
trcatms
Ude
SPEAK, a Christian network of
students and Young adults, held
their annual $atherin$ Soundcheck
on 22-23 February, attended bY
about 200 People. TheY then held a
Day of Action and took their
concerns about government support
of the arms trade to Parliament.
Sixty representatives knelt in a long line
in front of Parliament to take communion
and pray for the government and the
victims of its arms exports. This followed a
series of prayer vi$ils outside the offices of
BAE Systems, the DTI and the MoD. They
then presented a petition, made of strips
of bandages tied to a cross' asking Tony
Blair to address their concerns, and
handed it in at 10 Downing Street. ln the
afternoon, they held a reception for MPs in
Parliament. About fifteen MPs from the
three main political parties attended the
event, lending their support to SPEAK's
new campaign to end government support
and promotion of the arms trade.
Beccie D'Cunha, campai$ns co-ordinator
at SPEAK, said: 'Taxpayers need to be told
that their money is being spent to
subsidise this deadly trade to the tune of
over L42O million a year, or f,4,600 per
job. This subsidY is immoral and
uneconomical and should be transferred
to more productive and labour-intensive
civil industries.' I SPEAK is a network
connecting students
and young adults to
campaiglr and pray
on issues of $obal
injustice.
w rvww.speak'org.uk
6lmovement

campaigns
cetrr)petigt).i
faith and social justice cannot be separated
scate up for trade
justice!
Exciting news!
SCM staff have been working together with Christian Aid on
publicity for the next big weekend of action for Trade Justice - 27
and 28 June (see below). The publicity will enable us to give
people in the SCM network all kinds of ideas for getting involved
in the next lot of action. lt is also an opportunity to raise SCM's
profile as it will be distributed by Christian Aid, Tearfund,
Greenbelt, the URC, the Methodist Church and SPEAK.
SCM's website is also hosting an Action Exchange page which
you can visit to:
. find out about your nearest Lobby and Weigh ln events;
. link up with campaigners in your region;
. share information and plans with other local campaigners;
. publicise your events.
See www.movement.org.uutjm. A big thanks to Martin Davis,
SCM's webmaster, for setting this up so quickly!
24 hours for trade justice
The aim is to lobby every MP in their local constituency at some
point over a 24-hour period, from noon on Friday 27 June to noon
on Saturday 28 June. To our knowledge, this is the first time this will
ever have been done. There will be celebrity involvement and lots of
media attention, so MPs should definitely want to get involved.
There are many ways to make a local lobby something special.
Campaigners could go together in a group, all carrying different
kinds of scales to symbolise the call for trade justice. Or, if there
are enough people and an MP is supportive, they could lobby in
shifts throughout the night, perhaps ending with a Fairtrade
breakfast on Saturday morning!
The end of the 24-hour local lobby marathon will be marked all over
the country with a mass act of solidarity. At 12 noon on Saturday 28
June, campaigners will stand together in silence holding high sets of
scales - our international symbol for trade justice.
More information on how to lobby locally and how to get press
coverage can be found in the Trade Justice Action Pack,
available on request from the SCM office.
Write in for trade justice
Throughout 2003 we want to inundate decision-makers with
letters from campaigners. We also want to spread the message
about our campaigns to many, many thousands more people. We
will do this by asking campaigners to do sponsored activities with
a difference - instead of asking for money, they will ask their
sponsors to write letters to MPs and the Prime Minister.
Before 27 June letters should be written to MPs and from 27 June
to 10 September letters should be sent to the Prime Minister.
Sample letters are available from www.movement.org.ulVtjm I
another world is
on her way!
Where can you listen to Noam
Ghomsky, Arundathi Roy, Eduardo
Galeano and Susan George within
four days?
At the end of January I was lucky to
have the opportunity to go to the World
Social Forum in Porto Alegre, Brazil - a
breathtaking event with more than
100,000 participants from all over the
world. lt has been ever so motivating to
see the sheer number of people sharing
the vision of changing the current unjust
global economic system. '016, o16, o16,
Lula, Lula, Lula,' you could hear people
shouting throughout the meeting: the
recent election of Lula da Silva of the
Brazilian Worker's Party has marked this
year's event. ln his address to the forum
you could sense the hope people pinned
on him - he personifies the hope that
Latin America can move beyond
neoliberalism.
During 1,600 workshops, panels, and
discussions, themes related to trade
regimes, the debt crisis, the financial
system, war and imperialism were
discussed; the war against lraq featured
prominently on the agenda and the forum
provided an impressive protest of this
temporary global village against a
potential war.
It has been a celebration of working,
learning and partying. People went home
with the hope that is expressed in the
final words of Arundathi Roy's input
(which I consider as the main input of the
event):
'Another world is not only possible,
she is on her way. And if you listen
very carefully you can hear her
breathing.' I
Silke Lechner
scM lndlvidual m6mber, studying for a PhD at
London School of Economlcs
movementlT

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3ilry
ItGGfrl funul Gonfercnoc
St Alban's Gertre, Baldwin Gardena, Holborn, London
fhe Conference of the Lesbian and Gay Ghrisffan ilovemert.
t 0207735 t249
r wrvw.lgcm.ory.uk
5-10 Agll.l
Sccond brcpcrn Womnl $loc O.rE Uil'dy
Barcelona, Spain
A conlerence for women ol all ages, rellglons and
nationalities. Meet wfth women fium other courties ln
Europe to share ways ol life, irlerests, concerns and skllls,
learning from one another and drawing up ioinl acton plans.
Around 450 Euros
e mairinv@aol.com
r www.synodalia.net.
10 ilry
Dro to Shatut
The logan Hall, lnstitute of Education, london
More details on page 4.
11-17 ilry
Ghdtdr AHWGC(
Plan your participation nrifi hdp from silrv.drktilafrirodcory
17 ilry
try thct dl be ore... &f fo*?
St Albans Gathedral
A conference offering a vision ol Ghristlan uni$.
f12 lincludes conlerence informatlon and relreshmentcl
t 01727 890205
c sludy.centre@stalbanscalhedral.org.uk
r rnyrv.stalbanscathedral.org.uk
ttw
Priloo end Pollllcr - crn yrr hilo bd?
Westminster Gertral Hall, London
A oneday Ghristian Sociallst illovement conierpnce, eryloring
what it means to be a Ghristian lnolved ln parf poliths and
singleissue campaigns. See the adyert on We X2.
f5 (includes a ligftt lunchl
t o2072333736
e paul@christiansocialist.org.uk
6{ lunc
A weekend in the Sheffield inner city ashram, led by
Burngreave Ashram members.
140 lincludes accommodationl
Revd Dr lohn Vincent, Ashram Gommunity Office, 178
Abbeylleld Road, Sheflield 54 7AY
t 0114 243 6688
28 llry- l lunc
EcumGrlc.l Gqmrr l0ntstrg
An ecumenlcal conference in Berlin on spirituality, peace,
iustice, environmert, social and political questions, Europe,
theologt, dance and drama, Bible study, and other issues.
79 Euros plus food.
I Sheila Erain on 0161 288 9880
c ktag@sheilabrain.com
21 ,tnc
lfo Glf, ot Yrh.r$lll!
Wesley Menorial Ghurch, 0xford
fhe Annual Gathering of the living Spirituality Network.
r 01908 200675
c spidtuality@ctbi.org.uk
r rww.lMng.spirituality.org.uk
t+tt w
Yr Yrbryo - Ite Splrlt ln a Wodd ol llery Fallhr
A conference for Ghristians encountering people of different
taiths.
t199.50 residertial or 1100 non-residential
c pat.cutting@c-of-e.org.uk
5-7 SGptoatbcl
SGt Tnhls EvillAn:t
Gambridgeshire
Full details below.
14Scdcmb.r
Rdd ,urilG.9ridry! f(tlr R.cc, dtc Humrn RrcC
An opportunity for all Ghristians in Britain and lreland to
ioin together in thinking about racial iustice, thanksgiving
for human diversity, prayer, astion, and fundraising.
c wls@ctbi.org.uk
r www,ctbi.org.uk/ccri/ris
2
lnterested in the United
Reformed Church?
Want to see it from a
youth perspective?
Look no further lhan fZ
Published quarterly in Reform magazine,
we give the members 0f the Fellowship
of United Reformed Youth (FURY) a
voice, a space and the means to share
ideas, memories and information, 0rjust
discuss the ma.1or issues of the day.
So grab a copy of Reform next
time you see it, turn to the middle
pages and share, argue, discuss
or even just remember and enjoy!
SCm frainins Event 2OO3
5-7 September 2OO3
Cambridgeshire (nearest railway station Huntingdon)
) lnvolved in running your group or chaplaincy?
-r Thinking of setting up a group?
+ Want some training and a chance to share ideas?
Come along for workshops, discussion,
resources and more - get to know
people in the same boat and find out
how SGM can support you!
Comments from people at the 2002 event:
'A Sreat deal of ideas about staftingi a group and encouragement
from others. Relaxing weekend - very valuable!'
'l feel I have picked up a lot of {ood ideas for attracting fresherc'
'l really enjoyed the friendly atmosphere and general openness.'
More details from Marie Pattison:
links@movement.org.uk or oL27. 47 L 2404
Suprottd W Stututt Unk and Gadplic Student lrust
8 | movement
j
I

ties and binds
ties and binds I jim cotter
A surplus of the Word of the Lord?
We had to preach at two different
churches the following Sunday. Two
friends who were both mulling over
the story of the call of Samuel. lt
begins with the words, 'There was a
famine of the Word of the Lord in
those days'. My friend muttered, 'lf
only there were!'
Now we were both in California at the
time, he a resident, I a visitor. All over
America - but by no means exclusively -
there are so many people who claim they
have the definitive word of God. lt's
declared by a magisterium, or quoted from
the Bible, or passed on because the person
talking to you is quite clear that a word of
God had been given directly before
breaKast. (ln my experience, it's usually a
word of criticism, on the lines of: 'l don't
really want to have to say this to you, but
God has told me to...') These are the kind of
believers that David Jenkins, sometime
Bishop of Durham, labels the 'certainty
wallahs' in his new semi-autobiographical
book lhe Cailing of a Cuckoo. And certainty
is never the same thing as faith, which
always includes uncertainty and the
possibility of doubt.
I am used to words being'given to me',
sometimes when out walking and wondering
what next to write for Movement,
sometimes when in serious spiritual conversation
with a 'soul friend' or 'godfriend'. A
thought 'occurs' to me that - as far as I
know or remember - has never before
popped into my mind (or welled up from
deep inside me). Sometimes it is a pun or
other joke, sometimes a thought about God
or about the direction my or the other
person's life might be taking. lt feels
satisfying when this happens, even
creative, possibly inspired.
But I am immediately cautious. I wouldn't
dare claim that any such words are 'the
word of God'. I might go as far as praying
that words of mine might help in a process
of discernment which leads to a tentative
claim that 'this is the path that I trust God
is intending me to take.' But no more than
that.
lf we really do think that God speaks to us
directly, we are not far from claiming that
English is God's preferred medium. Well, of
course God may be clever enough to be a
multl-linguist and be fluent in every
language of the world. But is this really how
God 'speaks'? ls it not that we human
beings are constantly having conversations,
inner ones and those with others, and
hearing and reading other people's words,
and from among the welter of thoughts and
images we may begin to discern the ones
that seem wiser than most, that help us in
our living?
That is what it seems to me we have in
the Bible: the record of any number of such
conversataons, distilled and concentrated
from innumerably more than are on the
page, as our ancestors sought to discern
the word of God to them within the limits of
their languages and their understanding.
Someone said that the nearer we are to
God the more we keep quiet. And maybe
God is silent. Maybe that is the best word
we can possibly hear.
John Updike, the American novelist, wrote
this: 'The sensation of silence cannot be
helped: a loud and evident God would be a
bully, an insecure tyrant, an all-crushing
datum instead of, as he is, a bottomless
encouragement to our faltering and frightened
being.' I
Maybe God
is silent.
Maybe that
is the
best word
we Gan
possibly
hear
Jim Cotter runs Gairns Publications, an independent Christian imprint publishing
collections of poems, prayers and reflections. He has also set up Small Pilgrim
Places, a small but $rowin$ network across the UK. They seek to turn small
chapels and churches, as well as crypts and chapels in larger churches, into'small
pil$rim 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.cottercai rns.co. u k
movement l9

peace
a
, , , AN t
a
What is real protest, and how can the church support it?
your
' Face - p ai nti n gl, si r.'
'Face-paintingp'
'Yes, sir. And circus arts, Face-painting
and circus arts, srr'
'Go on..,'
'Well, sir, we send our agents to infiltrate
the demonstrations armed with some face
paints, a unicycle and basic juggling
skills. They get shown on the news, and
everyone says "CND - what a bunch of
middle-class twatsl"'
'That's an excellent idea, colonel. Better
take some annoying whistles and floppy
missfle costumes for good measure.'
ln hb vrondertul book Thrhgs @n Only H,
Better- subtiUed eflghteen miserabb yeas in
fie lib of a labour supporte/ -John O'Fanell
satidses $e whob culUrc of fte peae demo
and wtry it had so litUe political eftct 'peopb
rrveng not used to having tnir aqXlments on
deftnce sffi€/ put to ftem by peopb in
dolvn co€fiJmes'. So - b $e demo nothieg
more than a fun day out? ls it rnore than the
daqgercus ftdll of marching with a million
peopb? lntoftese important questions lotrer
fte lib's !rod( of Coneption Picciotto.
Conception is a slight S5-year-old woman who
has lived on the street immediately outside the
White House for over two decades. She has
been the nearest neighbour of five presidents -
thougfi none of them has ever spoken to her.
When Mr Bush looks outside his back window
there is Conception. Her round-the-clock, sevenday-a-week
peace vigil has made her deeply
unpopular with Washington's Parks Police. ln
order to try and get her to move they have
banned her from being able to use a sleeping
bag or indeed being able to lie down - these
would make her a vagrant and thus liable to
anest. For over two decades this quiet and
gentle woman hasslept sitting up, living off the
rubbish in Lafayette Park and using the local
store's bathroom for her ablutions. When I met
her last month, temperatures had dropped to
minus six. High School kids on a trip to the
Capitol crowded in around her, most sarcastically
deriding her politics as naiVe and
unpatriotic. She has seen much worse, of
course; often beaten up, spat upon and
frequently arrested. But the banners that she
looks after continue to proclaim their strident
message: LIVE BYTHE BOMB DIE BYTHE BOMB.
lOlmovement
o
'i;{lIL,
""@o"o
NC
;{OIJSE
i
tegl)
of Putney and a lectulel
ln phllosophy at Wadham
College, Oxford
suc an s
to the edge of sanity. Connie, as friends know
her, believes the government is firing X-rays
at her. Former fellow protester and inspiration
Norman Mayer was shot dead by a SWAT
team who believed that he was going to blow
up the Washington Monument. Just to meet
Connie is to sense a whole world of pain and
heartbreak. And yet there she remains, a
saintly vagrant - surely the most dedicated
peace protester on the planet.
I tentatively asked her about faith. She thinks
Christians are mostly hypocrites. Just across the
park is St John's Episcopal Church, Lafayette
Square. This is the so-called 'Church of
Presidents' where pew 54 is always reserved
should the President decide to come. lt's a
fantastically rich church that has valet parking
on Sunday mornings. The contrast between
Conception's epic struggle against the elements
and the system' itself, and the easy accommodation
that has been made at St John's ought to
worry us all. lt's a contrast that raises hard
questions about churches that make their peace
too easily with the establishment.
Last week I spent the morning with Brian
Haw from Redditch. He has been outside the
Houses of Parliament for two years protesting
for peace. Like Conception, he has had his
share of run-ins with the authorities and with
street bullies. Unlike Conception, his protest
has a Christian underpinning. His boards
showing children mutilated by the effects of
war are interspersed with biblical references
demonstrating God's commitment to peace.
Yet, despite this identification, Brian has little
good to say about the magnificent place of
worship that is the other side of the square,
Westminster Abbey. According to Brian, they
are just not interested in what he is doing.
I felt convicted by the laugh O'Farrell has at
the expense of peace protesters not because I
like face-painting, but because the demonstrations
I have been on have been so easily
detachable from the rest of my life. That makes
them a sort of holiday from the real - hence the
carnival atmosphere. Yet for Conception and
for Brian protest is no holiday - it is the real. lf
the church learns to side with them, the
consequences for church life would be
massive. And I don't think it's a question of
guts; I think we are thwarted by the silent voice
of an establishment that urges caution in the
name of influence. lt's the voice of 'sanity', but
is it the voice of Christ? I Giles Fraser

war
war and peace
loin the largest protest movement in living memory
The Hyde Park protest in February was
the largest demonstration in British
history, but its size is not what makes it
remarkable. For the first time, tens of
millions of people around the world took
to the streets not to protest about past
atrocities, but to prevent future ones.
Whilst pre-emptive protest made the history
books, pre-emptive invasion is an established
tradition. After the assassination of Archduke
Franz Ferdinand in 1914, outraged European
countries scrambled to be the first to declare
war. ln 1939, Hitler claimed that 'selfdefence'
justified his invasion of Poland.
Saddam accused the Kuwaitis of economic
warfare and invaded to 'defend' his people.
Now our government has declared war in the
name of peace. Opponents are accused of
cowardice and appeasement. Yet on 15
February, men who had fought in the Gulf, the
World Wars and the Falklands joined veteran
peace campaigners CND.
1.5 million protesters massed from the
Embankment to Hyde Park. Among them, the
placards of Thatcherites Against the War
jostled with the red swathe of the Socialist
Alliance banners. The Muslim Association of
Britain, the Reverend Jesse Jackson and the
Bishop of Aston shared a speakers' platform
with Ken Livingstone, Charles Kennedy and
trade union leaders.
The spread of groups comprising the Stop
the War Coalition has led to accusations that
it is more anti-Blair than anti-war. However,
the Prime Minister's pro-war policy affects us
all. Parents watch their nightmares on the
news each time a suicide bomber devastates
a school bus. Billions are allocated for bombs
but universities are drip-fed funding. Bush's
frantic search for a link between lslam and
the crimes of a secular regime offends
British Muslims. Each of these groups speaks
from a distinctive viewpoint, but we are
united in our opposition to the war.
Mr Bush sees the world in black-and-white.
He declares, 'You are either for us or against
us,' insisting that protests provide valuable
propaganda for Hussein. Yet many ofthe Hyde
Park stewards were Muslims, whose lslamic
brothers and sisters have been persecuted for
decades by the lraqi government. lraqi and
Kurdish refugees volunteer in our offices.
Andrew Murray, head of the Coalition, spent
the 1980s mobilising the trade union
movement to denounce President Hussein
while the government happily sold him
anthrax. Anti-war is not pro-Saddam.
Our taxes are funding this war, and the
politicians we elected are supporting it. Our
apathy allows it. The lraqi people, starued by
our sanctions, terrorised by their leader,
have no say in their future. A brutal war,
followed by a US-appointed military dictatorship,
will not bring liberation. Political
freedom must be built from within, or
degenerate into dictatorship. British citizens
live in a democracy. We have no secret
police; staruation and war do not threaten us.
Let us speak up and be heard. I
Stop the War Goalltlon
whatcanwh?
Protests and demonstrations
continue across the UK. The group
organising the largest-scale events is
the Stop the War Goalition, of which
SGM is a member. For more details,
please see www,stopwar.org.uk or
phone O2O7 053 2155.
Other networks and groups are mobilising
to resist the war too. Among them are:
. Active Resistance to the Roots of
War (Arrow) - a network which has
been organising direct action and
protest srnce the first Gulf War; it
now supports a sub-Eroup called
.lustice not Vengeance, respondingi
to eyents since 77 September, and
runs the PledSe of Resistance
network for people prepared to take
part in or support nonviolent civil
disobedience r,rrrrvw.j-n-v.org
. Move On - organising
worldwide vifils and petitions
www.moveon.org
Our taxes
are funding
this war,
and the
politicians
we elected
are
supporting
it. Our
apathy
allows it
movementlll

first among equals
)!-.
Ia:
l
first among equals I claire connor
Lucy Symons looks back over her year helping to run
an SGM group
Sister
Margaret's
tent
collapsed in
the night
and she
woke up
thinking
she'd been
mistaken
for dead
and
prematurely
mummified
. Claire Connor is Catholic
Lay Ghaplain at GKT
medical schools, KinEi's
ColleEle London
3 May
9pm This is the life. Sitting in the back
garden on an extremely unsafe deckchair
(the chop-your-fi ngers-off-as-soon-as-lookat-you
type), with a glass of wine and a
good book. Queen of all I survey ... all 15
unweeded feet of it, but according to Alan
Titchmarsh the untended look is in this
summer so we're the height of garden chic
here. Feeling a bit sad, actually. Just back
from SCM handover meeting so I'm no
longer the co-ordinator. More wine, I think.
9.3opm lt's nice not to have to worry
about organising everything but, looking
back on this year, it's been a great time.
Apart from Jeremy's jazz phase ... and the
time Kevin set fire to Tom's garden ... and
the Mouse lncident ... and ... well, anyway,
a good experience. Jeremy went for coordinator
and didn't get it, thank goodness.
He'll be far better as publicity rep. lt's gone
to a nice sensible first year called Ben. I
think Kevin might have stood for it as well
but he's not back yet - having the pins
taken out of his leg. Ugh, can't face talking
about this now. Suffice to say that the
exiting committee went out with a bang over
Easter. Don't think about it - ah, more wine.
7O.75pm Lots of good plans for stuff this
year. A Taiz6 prayer group, after our Easter
trip. Told Ben not to mention this to Sister
Margaret just yet as she's still a bit jumpy
after, you know. No, I just can't go there.
It'll have to wait for the review meeting.
7o.45pm I should be revising but
everyone needs to enjoy the calm before
the storm and I work much better under
pressure, so it would be pointless to start
work too soon. Yes indeedy. Just finish off
the last drop of chardon ... chardy ... wine.
Lt.3opm Huh, s'all gone dark out here.
Must've dropped off. Hey, who moved the
house ... whoops.
4 May
7pm Too ill to write. Can't possibly revise
today. Urrrrrr. Water. SleeP.
7 May
4.30pm Just got our exam timetables.
Not too bad - well spaced and they finish
quite early, so that's more holiday time!
Dom's being very serious about it, in a 'The
rest of your life could hang on these exams'
way. He'll make himself ill. Goodness knows
what he'll be like in third year. I wish he'd
chill out, it's not like we're on a mission to
save the world or anything.
6pm Oh no, it's the trip review meeting
tonight. I think I'm having one of Sister
Margaret's funny turns. Breathe, breathe.
10pm Thank goodness! Meeting was fine,
and everyone was in agreement on the
crucial points. Kevin turned up partway
through. He kept tripping up on his crutches
but he was glad to be back and looks a lot
better. So the new committee has agreed:
. Taiz6 is a great place for an SCM group
trip and may become an annual feature.
. The cost is very reasonable but rations of
crisps, chocolate etc. are a good idea to
keep you going (and to prevent Wet
Rebecca from doing a Suffragette: 'l can't
eat this food and now I'm staruing to
death' all week, inducing murderous
Poirot-style thoughts of Death by Tent
Peg in all but the most saintly).
. Those who haven't used tents before are
not to put them up on arrival (Kevin).
. Sister Margaret is not to be asked to
sleep in a tent again. Hers collapsed in
the night and she woke up thinking she'd
been mistaken for dead and prematurely
mummified in a shroud.
. Future transport will be by shuttle coach
from London or with a chaplain in a
minibus. Car convoys were not practical.
. A week camping in Normandy is a good
way to round off the trip, but only if the
tent situation can be remedied. Sister
Margaret could only sleep in her Fiesta
after the Premature Mummification scare,
and got a very bad back.
. Finally, and this will not be open to
discussion ever, bicycles are not allowed
on future trips, due to the risk of:
. losing riders through poor navigation
and missing the ferry (Kevin);
. damage to cars and bikes as a result of
roof-rack failure (Tom's car, Kevin's
bike) and consequent delay;
. serious injury (caused, for example, by
a beret falling over your eyes when
approaching a junction. You know who I
mean).
So that's really the end. Feel like breaking
into 'My Way' or similar. Ben took us all out
for drinks at the pub and is really enthusiastic
about the year ahead. Rather you than
me, Ben. Rather you than me... I
12 lmovement

feature: stories and spirituality
don't stop me if you've
heard thlb one beforc
ln a soundbite culture, our own stories are ever more important
Telling stories has always been central
to human culture and history, and to the
relationships which form the basis of
our societies. The Ghristian faith, in
common with most other faiths, is
based largely on the telling of stories,
and the histories of cultures and
subcultures have often been sustained
purely on the strenglh of stories handed
down through generations.
ln recent years there's been a revival of
interest in this oral tradition in the West; with
a focus on the art of storytelling, and an
analysis of myths and their meanings. But this
interest seems to have been concentrated on
story as something slightly removed from
daily life, something which has to be learned
or crafted. There seems to have been less
focus on the telling of stories as a cultural,
relational, concept; the time-passing tales
which constitute (or don't constitute) our daily
conversations. I'm talking here about the sort
of stories which begin 'you'll never guess what
happened to me last night..', or 'once when I
was a young man..', or'a friend of a friend fell
down a well..' - the type of story which is
usually referred to, slightly disparagingly, as
an anecdote. lt's my belief that these
personal and often apparently inconsequential
stories; anecdotes - are vitally important
to our understanding of ourselves and each
other, and that the opportunity for telling and
retelling these stories is something we
perhaps need to work to regain.
I say regain because it seems that there is
less space for the telling of these personal
stories than there has been in the past; the
information revolution has replaced the
cooking pot and the fireplace with the television
and the computer screen, and time which
might once have been spent sharing stories is
now spent passively consuming them. Not
that I want to be a Luddite about it - television
is a fantastic medium for telling stories, and
the mass media is how I make my living, after
all - but there does seem to have been this
distinctive shift, from storyterting to
storyhearhg.
Take, for example, the concept of
'watercooler W'; the notion that if a television
programme can get people talking about it at
work the next day 'around the watercooler'
then it's been a success. Quite apart from the
narrow target market this term implies (as
though everyone has a job in an office with a
watercooler...), the suggestion is that the
producers are aiming to replace people's
existing conversation with a conversation
about their programme; that they want
people's stories to be solely concerned with
the W story, a story which might have no
connection with or impact on their own lives.
lnstead of 'you'll never guess what happened
to me last night', they seem to be aiming to
impose 'you'll never guess what happened on
24 last night'. Which, maybe it's just me,
seems kind of darkly insidious and unpleasant.
But why does this matter? Surely it's
feasible that a TV drama is more
interesting and insightful
than what our friends
did on the way
home from
work, or
that a
novel >
Jon McGregor's frst
novel, it nobody speaks
of remarkable thingq
was longristed for the
Booker prize.
Stories from
the SCM conference:
The papal visit
'Every birLhday, my mom qoee throuqh Nhe oLory of
whal happened on Ihe day we were born.When I was
born, Nhe ToVe landed in Coventry, and my qrandparenNe,
ae Calholics, wenl Io see him. buL ae a child,l Ihouqhl
LhaI Lhe ?ope had come Io my Granny and Arandad's house
- and lhaL il actually wa6n't Nhe ?oVe, iN wae Jesue. 5o I lold
everybody Lhal Jesue camelo my qranny and qrandad'e houee
when I wae born.'
movement | 13

feature: stories and spirituality
without
retelling our
own stories,
experiences
which should
be important
become iust
fragments
of data,
stuffed into
our brain
without
shape or
context
will give us a better constructed narrative
than our grandparents describing the impact
of sweet rationing again? Well, perhaps. But
it's my observation that we can only form
meaningful relationships with people once we
are able to share stories with them. That we
are only able to begin to understand people
when we listen to the stories they choose to
tell and the ways they choose to tell them.
But perhaps more significant than even this
are the stories that people choose - if
permitted - to retell.
And I think this is the crux of my argument;
it would be daft to claim that 'no-one tells
stories any more', that our conversations
have been reduced to mere discussions of
sport, current affairs, and television drama.
But I do think it's fair to say that it's unusual
to retell favoured anecdotes, at least to the
same audience; any attempt to do so is
mostly met with a bored indication that we've
told that one before, as though novelty were
the sole aim in life. (ln my family, we used to
punish my dad for this mercilessly, especially
if the story began 'when I was climbing in
Scotland', or something similar. ln fact, he
was an excellent storyteller, and we probably
missed out on a lot by only ever letting him
tell each story once).
Because it's only by retelling a story, and
re-hearing it, that it becomes fixed properly in
your mind, becomes a part of what you know
and appreciate about that person. And
because without retelling our own stories,
experiences which should be important
become just fragments of data, stuffed into
our brain without shape or context.
It's interesting to consider where we find
the most retelling of stories: within couples,
for example, as a romantic gesture - 'tell me
the story of how we met...' - or between
parents and children -'tell me where I came
from...' - or between old friends - 'do you
remember the time...' ln other words, in our
closest and most trusting relationships,
where the stories become both a source of
that closeness and a way of re-establishing it.
Another example of a retold story; 'ln the
same way, after supper, he took the bread and
broke it, and gave it to them, saying "this is my
body broken for you. Do this as often as you
eat it, in remembrance of me"'. This story is
regularly retold in churches all over the world,
and no-one interrupts to say that they've
'heard that one before'. The story is listened to,
and relished, as a re-establishment of particular
meanings, understandings, and emotions.
So I see no reason why, in a world full of
stories beamed in from elsewhere, in a media
culture which favours the soundbite and the
image over the detail and the narrative, we
shouldn't take the time to tell and retell each
other our own day-to-day stories. To actually
prompt each other for the whole story, to enjoy
the sense of being involved in a scene from
someone else's life. lt wouldn't take much.
Because it's my belief, on my good days,
that all of life is infused with an intense
wonder and uniqueness, that this wonder is
the stuff of God, and that an awareness of or
openness to this wonder is the necessary goal
of human existence. And my point is, that
when you share a story with someone it's
because you think they'll find it interesting,
because something has caught your attention
or heightened your awareness of existence;
and you want to pass that interesVexcitement
on - you want to share a small fraction of the
wonder or the Godness of life. And so if we're
not telling stories any more then maybe
something has gone wrong. I
Jon McGregor
if
nobody
speaks
of
remarkable
things
Stories from
lhe SCM conference:
lhe second comingl
A whila aqo, al, abouf, Lhree o'clock in |,he morninq,
;axophone music sLarled blarinq lhrouqh Ihe walle
'rom nex\door. Ihe nexl morning, my friend who has Nhe
lowneNairs room reliably informed me LhaL ao soon
,he mueic eLarLed, he joyouoly leapl ouV of bed and frung
ryen Lhe curLains, exVeclinq il to be an announcem enl
of lhe eecond cominq of Chrisl.'
14 | movement
+t*--.':.-.
jr'rr nr,
: ,r,,,,.
\., l-
You can read a review
of if nobody speaks of remarkable things in
Movement issue 113 or at www.movement.org.uk
Buy a copy at Amazon via the link on SCM's
website and we get some of the money!
I

ston'es of communi$
What can we learn from Aboriginal spirituality's emphasis on ancestrat stories?
ln the Australian springtime of 1999 I
travelled to the northern Queensland
Aboriginal settlement of Yarrabah with an
Australian bishop. The fact that Bishop
Malcolm had grown up in Yarrabah and
was the first Aboriginal bishop in
Australia might have accounted for the
remarkably warm welcome on our arrival.
I'd like to think they were pleased to see
me too, bnt the importance €iven to the
occasion of re-establishing links between
a returning member and the home
communitlr was obvious.
During barbaric past attempts to rid Australia
of any indigenous gloups, a few missionaries
attempted to protect Aboriginals. Revd John
Gribble founded Yarrabah in the tate
nineteenth century as a safe haven, a 'mission
station' for displaced communities.
It is now common to hear about the problems
of the Abori$nals, especially alcoholism. Many
of these problems stemmed from the alien
culture and set of values, violently imposed by
the Western settlers. These values tore apart
communities, and attempted to replace the
rich culture and heritage that had served the
people for over 20,000 years. Yarrabah is a
modern example of an Aboriginal community
reclaiming its dignity and respect for its
communal values. The visibly Western
influences in fashions and modern technolo-
$es belie the ancient and vibrant sub-cultures
that are still present and alive - the stories of
their spiritual ancestors living on in the
community's consciousness.
It wasn't long before I was led off for a fishing
expedition along the rocky shoreline. The huge,
crazily angled and slippery boulders were
obviously familiar territory for them as they
nimbly scrambled over them to the sea, often
waiting patiently for me to catch up. Mothers,
fathers, aunts, uncles and children all tried
their luck tof,ether with fishing reels and small
buckets of bait. Gossip was amply shared
(secrets are not easy to keep in Yanabah!) and
one or two folk landed a handful of sea trout
that we cooked up for supper. An even more
challenging experience was also on the cards.
Before I left, I was to be taken turtle fishing. I
have to admit to being slightly concerned
about being out at sea in a boat with an angry,
snapping turtle for company. Happily for me, I
didn't have to face the situation as the tides
were not in our favour.
Not everyone in the
community goes turtle
fishing. There is not a
surplus of turtles offthe
Queensland coast and
regulating the numbers
cau$t has traditionally
been closely connested
to an ancient belief in
respecting and careful
stewarding of totems,
an important aspect of
their creation-based spirituality. Totems are
animal representations of the numerous land
spirits to which each percon 'belongs'fiom birth.
Therefore, those whose totem is the turtle have
a special regard for the stewardship of these
animals, and they do not participate in catching
them. ln the same way, regard is shown and
there is solidarity between the community and all
parts of the animal kingdom. The importance
given to totems throughout Abori$nal society is
apparent Bishop Malcolm's crook is wooden, the
head of which is carued into his own totem, the
fish ea$e. Atthouglr totems are many and varied,
every Aboriginal shares a common respect and
an intimate relationship with the land. lmposing
upon and polluting the environment, that
provides food and shefter for communities, is
regarded as nothing short of rape.
It is only too recently that some people, and
lamentably few who hold power in Australia,
are realising the power and importance of
Aboriginal culture and spirituality. lf we stop to
listen to their stories about community and the
inter-relatedness of all creation, we realise how
resonant the messages are in our troubled
world. lf we could learn true stewardship, our
looming environmental disasters would simply
not be happening. We need to appreciate our
common humanity and interdependence that
links us together. In doing so there is the
potential to overcome the worst that humanity
can do. We still have a lot to learn. I
Davld lllac{rende Mills
Dr David Mackenzie
Mills is a curate in the
Episcopal Church of
Scot and.His doctorate
was on the subject of
Abo ri Si n al spi ritu a I ity
and community.
ancient and
vibrant subcultures
are
still present
and alive -
the stories
of their
spiritual
ancestors
living on
in the
community's
corsciousness
Stories from
the SGM conference:
British hippos
'My qrandfather, beinq the cheery individual thaN he
wae, when my oioNer and me were younqer, lold us that,
Lhe boulders in the river were hipVoo. 5o for many year6,
we believed lhaL we had hippoo in our local river,'

feature: stories and spirituality
impact htbtory
lohn Sanyer irtrcduces a branch of theologr which elelores how we use the stories in the Bible
John Sawyer is
Emeritus Professor of
Biblical and Jewish
Studies at Lancaster
University
Stories from
the SCM conference:
The proposal
')ix yeare a7o, my 7irlfriend (now my fiancbe) orqanioed
When I was a student at New College,
Edinburgh in the sixties, studying biblicat
texts, I worked in one part of the library,
alongside one group of students, while
anyone with an interest in theologg or
church history or homiletics or liturgr or
contemporary British society, or the rest
of the world we live in, worked in another.
There was really very little communication
between biblical scholarship and the
rest of the theologr curriculum. We were
not encouraged to quote Augustine's
interpretations of Genesis, or luther's or
Milton's or Haydn's or Chagall's. lndeed
we were urged to criticise theologians
and preachers for their erroneous
understanding of the Bible. We were the
experts in the original languages and
biblical archaeology and we always knew
better. Since then that situation has
changed radically, and an increasing
number of biblical experts now take
seriously the impact of the Bible on its
readers down to the present day. The
'impact history' of the Bible is beginning
to be considered a legitimate part of
biblical studies.
The term is a translation of the German
word Wirkungsgeschichte, coined by Hans-
Georg Gadamer of Heidelberg in his hugely
influential Truth and Method (translated into
English in 1997). Considering the 'impact
history' of a text, such as the Bible, places
the focus on its power to influence people
and events. lt was the theme of a conference
on 'The Sociologr of Sacred Texts' held at
Newcastle upon Tyne in L991,, which
highlighted the notion that what
uo a trip lo Taris ao a birlhday eurVrioe. We'd had a
trondertul Nime,lhen we wenl on a boal lrip alonq lhe geine.
lL was a beauliful day, and we were elandinq on top of the
boat havin7 a huq, Juot, ae Lhe boaX was qoing underneath
Notre Dame, ehe whioVered in my ear and said,'Will you marry
rte?' I wae a bit ahocked'coe lhie had come from nowhere,
)o I pulled her head round in front, of rrte 60 I could look
nlo her eyee and eee if ehe wae eerious, but, I lhink I
'night have done it,loo vigorouely, and ohe eweare
Vhat, I wae tryinq to puoh her in lhe river.'
texts do is often more
important than what
they actually say or
mean. A more
common
English term
for
this
expanding
branch of
biblical
research is
'reception
history',
from
Rezeptionsaesthetlk. This is another German
term which goes back to the sixties to the
Konstanz school of literary studies, and is
more or less the German equivalent of the
preferred American term'Reader-Response
Criticism'. ln some ways I prefer Gadamer's
term 'impact history', because it puts the
emphasis on the text and its effect on people
and history, while reception history seems
more concerned with the readers and
receivers of the text. However that may be,
both terms are used to describe an approach
to the study and interpretation of the Bible
which takes account not only of its original
meaning, in its original ancient context and its
prehistory in the ancient world, but of its
impact on society and its many afterlives and
contextualisations - two other usefully
transparent terms incidentally that are now
widely used - down the centuries until the
present day.
$'hat people helieve
a text means is often more
important - historically,
theologicalU, aesthetically,
politically - than what it
originally meant
Since about 1990 there have been
numerous studies of the afterlives of biblical
texts (see the book list on the opposite page).
Most significant, perhaps, is the Blackwells
Bible Commentary series, the first volumes of
which should appear later this year
(www.bbibcomm.net). The aim of the series
is to encourage and enable readers to get
beyond exclusive focus on questions of date
and authorship, original meanings and how
things actually were when the texts were
supposed to have been written, to consider
howthe texts have been read and interpreted
and used in the long and fascinating history of
their reception by Jews, Christians and others
down to the present day. This represents a
shift of emphasis from a preoccupation with
ancient Near Eastern literary parallels, to the
interpretations of rabbis and church fathers,
hymn writers and preachers, theologians and
philosophers; and from the excavations at )

Jericho, Megiddo and elsewhere to the
mosaics and frescoes of early Christianity and
Judaism, mediaeval and renaissance art and
architecture, and the literary, artistic and
musical products of centuries of reading,
discussing and teaching the Bible.
What these studies and developments show
is that what people betieve a text means is
often more important - historically, theologically,
aesthetically, politically - than what it
originally meant. An obvious example arises
from a literary, rather than a historical critical,
the way the Bible is handled
and interpreted by women,
blacks, the marginalised
and other gfoups has had a
powerful and often
disturbing status in modern
biblical scholarship
approach to the Pentateuch. A moment's
thought reveals that the tradition that Moses
wrote the Pentateuch is far more interesting
and important than the fact that he almost
certainly did not. On the one hand, the unique
authority of the Torah, the Law of Moses, goes
hand in hand with the fact that at Sinai Moses
was the mediator 'whom the Lord knew face to
face' (Deuteronomy 34:10), while on the other
hand, Mosaic authorship makes the whole work
into a vision of the Promised Land, still in the
future and still bright in the prophet's eye when
he died. The power of the text to control and
inspire its Jewish readers down the centuries is
Stories from the SCM conference:
Small world
I come from Sradford, I eLudied Gerrnan al, univereily and I wenf, acro66 lo
Auslria Io of.udy for a while. I have Lhie urqe for adventure and exploration, eo
quite laNe one niqhL, I decided to Lake a Irain ouv Io a villa4e Lwenty-five milee
away, planning Lo calch the laef, train back. OuL I rrtisread Lhe LimeLable and
Lhere was no Lrain back, eo I wao elranded in thio ehut-down villaqe at 1Opm.
I found a pub, qoL eome food, and qoI; chaLlinq T,o an Auetrian lorry driver. We
talked aboul where I wae from and diecovered Lhal well back in his youlh,
he'd vieiLed Sradford, and he recounled No me all the buildinqe on lhe
eLreef, from where I live inLo Lhe cily cenf,re - a road I uee all Ihe fime.
ll Iranopired LhaL he had a camp bed in hie lounqe, eo he invited me
Lo etay on thaI, and drove me back into Lhe city the nexL
morninq,'coe Ihals where he worked.
what
matters, not whether
Moshe rabbenu 'Moses our Rabbi'
actually wrote it or not. Another example is the
book of lsaiah, where modern science, with its
concern to determine who wrote which bit of it
when, obscured the powerful prophetic
continuity that runs from the bruised wounded
body described in chapter one to the 'suffering
Seruant' poem in chapter 53. ln medieval
iconography these passages and many others
were taken together and applied to the Passion
of Christ. ln fact St Jerome said of lsaiah that
he was more evangelist than prophet, hence
the 'Fifth Gospel'.
A final example is to be found in the way the
Bible is handled and interpreted by women,
blacks, the marginalised and other groups,
interpretations which may or may not be
identical with the original intention of the
author, but which have had a powerful and
often disturbing status in modern biblical
scholarship. lf a 'biblical expert' of the old
school arrived on the scene and explained
that this was not what the original Hebrew
meant, we can imagine what kind of
reception he would get! I
John F A Sawyer
furJher readin{,
Some books on impact history focus on single passages, like Jeremy Cohen's 'Be fertile
and increase...'The Ancient and Mediaeval Career of a Biblical lext (Cornell, 1989).
Others look at whole books, like John Sawyer's study of the impact of lsaiah on the history
of Christianity (Ihe Fifth Gospel, CUP, 1996), Yvonne Shenvood's brilliant study of Jonah,
A Biblical Text and its Afterlives (Cambridge University Press, 2OOO), and Margarita's
Stocker's study of Judith, Sexua/ Warrior: Women and Power in Western Culture (Yale
University Press, 1998).
There are also now several reference works, including two Dictiona ries of Biblicat lnterpretation,
which move some way into this area, a one-volume pioneering work edited by Richard
Coggins and Leslie Houlden (SCM Press, 1990), and a 2-volume one edited by John H. Hayes
(Abingdon, 1999). There is also David Jeffrey's Dictionary of BibticalTradition in English Literature
(Eerdmans, 1992).
There are now many collections like Voices from the Mar{in: tnterpreting!the Bibte in the
Third World (ed' R Sugirtharajah, 1991) and Gerald West and Musa Dube Shomanah's lhe
Bible in Africa (E J Brill, Leiden, 2000), which contain illustrations of how ordinary, often
uneducated lay people have made the biblical text their own and found in it authority and
inspiration for what they believe in.
movement | 17

feature: story and spirituality
storytellers
Organisations with an interest in stories and how we use them
we need to talk about this!
Broadcast, electronic and other media now dominate our lives, but many of us now absorb
this passively at home, isolated and without recourse to face to face conversation. Our
mobile lives have left us very thin in terms of relationships. Spin has made us cynical of what
we hear. Civil society in general has declined so that many of our established corporate
bodies no longer provide opportunities for interpersonal engagement nor can credibly claim
to represent their people. So where should we turn? | believe we are at a crucial stage in
global political development and that we need to pay attention to three key questions.
. How do we work for the highest possible public conversation, where people feel
genuinely listened to, open to challenge and part of the process of politics?
. How do we build a realistic trust in our global, mobile world?
. Where do we find vision for our common life?
This has led me on a personal journey to the founding of AGORA, a new initiative
committed to just these aims. The A{ora was the civic centre of a Greek city where all sorts
of public life happened. The local authority, the law courts, moral and philosophical debate,
all were found in the {$ora. lt was also the place where Paul went to argue for the faith. lt
seems to me that we need spaces like the Agiora, not in a physical sense, but new social
spaces where people of all sorts can meet and engage with the issues of the day, and where
faith can be present. We are currently exploring a whole range of interests, including:
In Search of Vision - An eight-session course that can be held in pubs, cafes,
workplaces, drawing a wide variety of people into facilitated discussions based on their
own experience of working life and politics. Deliberately interactive, using Bible telling
and 'big picture' thinking about society and the role of faith.
Storycircles - People come together ready to tell a story. Any sort of story will do, some
personal, some funny, some historical, perhaps a faith story, yet stories that somehow
connect with us or are felt to be important. You will discover that we are all natural
storytellers and 'Storycircles' are not only fun, but also a great way to build relationships
AGORA
More information about AGORA, includinS
course details and bookin{ forms, can be
found at www.agloraspace.orgl
AGORA'S work with churches is being
purcued in partnership with Bible Society.
in our modern, mobile society.
All our initiatives offer opportunities for Chdstian
people to get invofued and leam to articulate
their faith in relationship to public issues and for
churches to make new relationships with the
wider society. ln May we are holding our first
residentialtraining event. lf you are interested in
relating faith to the public issues of the day,
then why not come along? I
Ghris Sunderland
ChdB Sunderland lE tho founder and preselrt Go.ordlnator of
AeOR L He b author ot In a Ctass Datkly - *Hngvlston
fot pubrrc fite (Patemostor Pr€€s, 2OO1).
the
Bible
Soctle'ty
This international
network of
churches, groups
and individuals
promotes reading
of the Blble -
'God's story'-
through research,
retelling the
stories of people's
encounters with
the Bible, and
supporting
communities as
they try to live out
God's story.
Stonehill Green,
Westlea, Swindon
SNs 7DG
r 01793 418 100
wwww.biblesociety.
org.uk
tfireTeIIin{PIare
A national network of Christian
storytellers and storycircles, offering
training, support and storytelling events.
St Wilfrid's Enterprise Centre, Royce
Road, Hulme, Manchester M15 SBJ
t 0161 227 0377
e thetelling place@bigfoot.com
a world of stoFr-es
The theme for One World Week this year (Sunday 19 -
Wednesday 29 October) will be 'Moving Stories'. Stories about
moving. Stories that move us ... motivate us to take action.
ln One World Week, groups and individuals plan events in their
local area, designed to raise awareness about what's going on in
the world, take action to change things, and celebrate being part
of one world.
w www.oneworldweek.org
18 lmovement

story
saint simon erelains
Of chemicals and canonisation...
Thais moved into the downstairs room a
few months ago.
When she came to see the room, she gave us
the distinct impression that a stiff breeze
would snap her in two.
She introduced herself: Thai's. Thais Beatty.
Sorry? Thais. She repeated it, making the
syllables distinct. Thay. lss.
Unusual name, that (sorry. You must get that
all the time).
My family's Catholic, she said, as if that
explained it.
I found out that Thais was in fact a saint when
my friend Saint Simon of the Pills, patron
saint of recreational chemicals, visited, and it
turned out he already knew her.
Thai's told me her story: when she was alive the
first time, a monk named Paphnutius forced her
to repent and bricked her up in a small room,
where she stayed for three years. When it was
time for her to be rescued, she refused to
go. Thai's doesn't remember this part,
and suspects that she wasn't wholly
herself at this point. But she died as
soon as they took her out, and she
t-
ascended to heaven.
She still isn't sure why. But
then, in those days,
becoming a saint was easier
than it is now. Recently, Thais
got a bit bored with the saint
business. Not being in the
canon any more gives her the
chance to get away from it
all. Recently, she's been
working in shops and offices,
in low-paid jobs.
It's OK. You get to meet
people, she says.
Saint Simon of the Pills is
here today. Thais is telling us
that being a saint isn't all it's
cracked up to be. Simon
disagrees.
A beam of light comes
through the window and
appears to form a halo
around his head. Funnily
enough, this seems to
happen a lot with my saint
friends.
Mother Theresa
was patron saint
of the homeless
about twenty
years before she
died.
She told me so
a few days ago
v
)t
Simon's still new at this, and, so far is
enjoying it immensely. Things have changed
since Thais' day. For one, he hasn't suffered
and died, and he isn't even Catholic - but the
job, it appears, was open at the time.
Besides, if Catholics and protestants can
have their patron saints - although the
protestants are in denial - why not the universalist
tendency? Here Saint Simon of the Pills
comes in.
This is how he puts it: You know Mother
Theresa, right?
Right.
Patron saint of the homeless.
Well, not yet. They haven't officially made her
a saint yet.
Well, all right. Not officially. But she's already
got the job. lt's not about a group of cardinals
in a committee deciding who's going to be a
saint, is it?
So...?
It's about belief. Theresa was patron
saint of the homeless about twenty
years before she died.
How do you figure that?
She told me a few days ago.
Riiight.
Anyway, it's like, why do you
have to die? And what's with
this miracle business anyway?
Hardly anyone believes in
miracles these days anyway.
It just depends on who needs
a patron saint and who's there
to fill the job.
Which, of course, still doesn't
explain how you got the job,
Simon.
Friend of a friend, mate.
Friend of a friend.
I have to say, beatification
really agrees with Simon.
He's taking it all in his stride,
and doing a rather good job
of it. I
Howard Ingham
Freelance creative -
www.johnheronproJect.Gom
movement | 19

small ritual
small ritual I steve collins
Searching for small rituals
what
becomes of
spirituality
when you
are too
tired to
hold a
coherent
thought?
. Steve Collins is an
architect and membet of
Grace alternative wolship
group in EalinEi, west
London. He has written
extensively about
alternative worship and
was one of the deri€ln
team for the labyJinth
www.labyrinth.org.uk, He
tuns the websites
rnrw.altenativ*orship.org,
n.lvlv,smallfi re.orEl and
www.smallritual.orgi.
This has been a difficult column to
write. Not because I have writer's
block as such, but because I have so
little time or energy left outside work.
Like many people, I work long hours -
an extra hour or two (or five) in the
office is nothing unusual. Add to that
an eighty-minute commute each way
through London's collapsing
infrastructure, and I am collapsing too
when I get home. Write on the tube?
Lucky to get on, let alone find a seat.
Write at home? I'm flaked. I find it
hard to come to terms with the fact
that there's only about an hour of
waking time for my own 'life' before
bed and the cycle starts agaan. And
that precious hour is often taken up in
answering e-mails. What was that
about a 'quiet time'?
So what becomes of spirituality when you
are too tired to hold a coherent thought?
When you can't pray with closed eyes for
fear of falling on the person next to you?
When you can't pray with open eyes, for all
the headlines on the newspapers around
you? When the only vacant space on the
train is inside your head? God of Mind The
Gaps goes with us, but how do we make the
connection?
Of course there's a case to be made that
we are victims of structural sin here. That
the whole purpose of The System is to keep
us away from God. Certainly it's amazing
how working long hours (to prop up The
System) makes us buy more things (to prop
up The System). Spiritual life in this environment
is like a weed in the pavement, often
trodden on, persistent in finding the cracks,
rooted in poor soil. The forms of devotion
we've inherited from our agricultural
forebears hardly fit. What if all the seed fell
on the path?
But what I've said so far offers clues to
new directions. Firstly, our devotional
practice needs to be embodied - needs
some physical object to focus our attention.
We're already good at this - the tiny screen
on a phone is somehow all it takes to shut
out the world. And like the phone, any
objects need to be pocketable. ldeally
they'd be potentially shareable, for
whenever two or three are gathered. Top
Trumps, anyone? lf three of you have the
same card you have to do the ritual on the
back.
Unlike the phone, this had better be
silent, or its sounds conveyed to you
through headphones. Sung responses will
not be popular with your fellow travellers.
Spoken responses are less disturbing now
that people use hands-free headsets.
Dangle a wire from one ear and you can say
anything to God. Remember to wait for the
reply, it's not a monologue.
And we don't have much time at any one
time. That hour on the tube yields only
disconnected moments for purposes other
than travel. Any devotion needs to be
timesliced - each part taklng two or three
minutes (the time between stops). Each
part has to stand on its own, because you
might not have the chance to complete a
sequence. Ritual in resealable wrappers, a
loaf you don't have to eat all at once. I can't
be too specific about forms, because I
haven't worked this stuff out for myself yet.
I wonder about creative adaptation of the
gadgets that surround us. I wonder what we
have in our pockets or bags that might be
useful, apart from that which belongs to
Caesar. I wonder what help there might be
in church history.
Portability, modularity, brevity - not things
high on the church's agenda in times gone
by, but then they travelled less obsessively
than we do. When travel becomes our
destination - the stuck train, the long-haul
flight, the traffic jam - we need to work out
what to do with the time. As for me, it's
time for bed. I
20lmovement

volunteering
mind the €ap
take some time out...
GM year at Christian Nd
Full of passion for justice?
''- f +r'
t- |
The current volunteers
Got a year to channel that
ener$/ into something really
rewardingB Ghristian Aid's
CIAP year offers 18-25s the
training, support and
resouroes to inspirc young
people to change the world.
Volunteers join one of Christian
Aid's many area teams around the country, and spend a year
getting young people fired up about poverty and injustice. They
organise events and workshops and lead worship and campaigns.
Volunteers take a two-week trip to visit some of the people
Christian Aid works with, and get to hear the stories, strengths
and hopes of these people. When they return they can share
these with the youth groups they work with, making the
challenges in poorer countries real.
r. w www.christian-aid.or9gapyear
GhristianliAio ; 6toE6o7?fi
l'm really, really enjoying this year
working with Christian Aid. lt's fantastic
to be doing somethingi that reflects my
faith and my passion for social justice,
and to be doing something that draws
upon, and helps me to expand, my experience
of youth work. Doin! this Sap year
with Christian Aid has also helped me to
decide what to do next with my life: the
experience of our trip to vrsrt some of
Christian Aid's partners in South Africa
made me look at thrhgs differently, and
raised lots of guestions in my mind. As a
result, I decided to apply to do Development
Studies at university.
.".".lll"ILIi',11,1?,""illii'
I decided to do the GAP-year at
Christian Aid for a couple of reasons.'
firstly, because I feel very stronfly that it
is part of the church's mission to be
involved in social justrce issues, and I
wanted to be involved in some kind of
work that reflects that. Secondly, l'd just
finished a post as Youth Leader at my
home church, and I didn't really know
what I was going to do next!
Hadlelgh wllk6, Llverpool
(orlglnally from Suffolk)
fiIlingthe €ap
There's a wide range of 'gap year' options to look into
these days - whether you're taking a gap year before
university, or taking a 'year out' before you get a job
(or even taking a year off from work).
Jesuit Volunteer Community
Year-long placements, living in community with other
volunteers, working with those on the margins of society,
and living on a basic budget. w jeSUib4Sluntteers-u!.glg
Gapyear.com
A good place to start if you're wondering how best to use (or
waste) your time - it has an 'ldeas Zone' to inspire you with
creative possibilities. The site covers active pursuits and
travelling as well as volunteering, with loads of advice and
links for travel bookings and equipment. Also a large
database of voluntary placements. w www.gapyear.com
Student Volunteering UK
An organisation supporting, promoting and developing
student volunteers, principally by supplying information
rather than organising placements. Their emphasis is on the
skills and valuable career experience to be gained on volunteer
placements.
w www.studentvol.org.uk e info@studentvol.org.uk t 0800 oL82L46
Volunteer Development England
A network of local agencies offering a wide range of placements.
Their website has downloadable guides and information.
w www.vde.org.uk e info@vde.ors.uk t Ot2t 633 4555
movement 121

celebrity theologian
Celebrity Theolqgian
St lgnatius of Loyola
Bom in Loyola Castle in the Basque region of
Spain, the youngest chib of a large fumily...
Now, wait right there. This rcunds mole
like a fairy tale - this column profiles the
works of serious academics, you lnror.
Yes. but every now and again we like to have someone who isn't a
stuffy Cerman Protestant. Do you want to hear about the dashing
Spanish nobleman, or not?
Dashing, you say?
I did. By all accounts our hero was rather popular with the young ladies of
the Spanish court. Until, that is, he went off to battle against the French,
where he was hit by a cannonball in the leg. Being a bit on the vain side,
he didn't like the way his leg had healed and rather than have the ladies
see him with a limp, he ordered his leg to be rebroken and reset.
What? He did what?
All for love. He spent the hours on his sickbed in romantic daydreams about
the geat deeds he would do to win the love of a certa'n noble lady.
ls this ever going to get theological?
Yes, yes. Moving swifdy on: lgnatius asked for something to read to help him
while away the hours. The only book that could be found were rather
religious in subject matter, when the lovesick invalid had hoped for something
more romantic. Howwer, being gifted with a vivid imagination, lgnatius was
soon daydreaming about outdoing the great sainb in geater acts of sainflines.
This was when he realised that serving God was the thing which would
bring him lasting happiness. (Sorry to disappoint any romantics who were
hoping he was going to get his $rl.) When recovered, he went off up the
mountains to a monastery where, in typical dramatic fashion, he spent an allnight
vigl, renounced swordfighting and women and went off to spend a
good number of months living in a cave praying.
5o, to hurry things along, what's his claim to fame?
Founder of the Society of Jesus, also known as the Jesuits, lgnatius
wrole The Spiritual Exercises. But don't rush out and buy it, it's
more of an instruction manual in the art of retreat-giving. lt is still
used today by .lesuits when they do thirty-day silent retreats.
Good stuff?
Well, some would say there's a lot of macho nonsense about
fighting for Christ and I have to say I'm more than a little squeamish
about military metaphor, but yes, there's a lot of good stuff.
Such as?
He's very keen on use of the imagination in spirituality, imagining
yourself in a Bible story as a way of praying. He thinks it's
important to be aware of how you feel about stuff rather than just
what you think. He's also very into 'finding Cod in all things'. He
encouraged his followers to look for Cod in every person, every
situation and in creation.
In creation? A bit of a tree-hugging hippy then?
Not exactly. But after he gave up his earlier riches he did embrace a simple
lifestyle and encouraged his followers to do the same and to care for the
poor. And if you mean that 'finding Cod in all things' led his followers to
have a deep respect for the integrity of creation, well, you'd be right.
Likely to join SCM?
lgnatius was no stranger to student poverty - he financed his
studies begging on the streets of London and Paris. No stranger to
ecumenism either. ln his own words, when asked who the exercises
were for, he answered, 'For catholics, protestants and pagans'.
Might have been heard to say:
'Huh! Ihe Liws of the Sants? Don't you have anything a bit racier?' I
It/ffiPattison
SCMUTil(sWod(d
ge esr frieDd!
By making a regular gift to SGM you can
help the movement to continue promoting
a vision of Christianity that is inclusive,
aware, radical and challenging.
SGM is the only national organisation that
offers students an open-minded and
ecumenicat approach to the Christian
faith, and it urgently needs your support.
Friends are kept informed of the movement's
news and activities through an annual
newsletter, Wider Vision.
lf you would like to become a Friend of SCM or would
like further information, please look at
www.movement.orEl/membership or contact the
office:
SGM, University of Birmingham,
Weoley Park Road, Selly Oak
Birmingham 829 61.l
t ou2t47L2404
Christian Socialist Movement r,.'orkinq'r;th YMCA
n asso. arion \.^,iith CAF=. SFEAK. CBED. JAE. Clvls
o'Passion and Politics -
Can you have both?"
A youth event for young people who want to make a difference
A one da; c,tri3rei,t-. !.,,here ya|ing u3oDle cati exc c.e
!rirat ii nreans t.r oe a Cirisl ar.t inYol'.,gd n oitrl',, Ltcllrcs
alrd 5,a,t e tsslres itanrL.argl1s.
Saturday 17th May 2003
Westminster Central Hall, London
10.30am to 4pm
Tickets C5 (light lunch included)
Programme includes:
. Cof nectrg God \riih POi iics ir \ryorsirlt-l
,.vrtr vc.shrlt lea,:jef Join-v Eeka'. {CivlSt
. Poi,licaL arlr Carltpaigr Ig Spe:rkcr:r
naiuJ ng Dayril Lanrnr,., lvlP RL,1h Valerro tCrail;
. Geili:!t a|s,,!iJrs io i'oL.i::auqhssi tliesiror)s -
OL3S|Cl a'rai Ans,,/€r Sess oits ,.,., tlr lite Scgakers
. Afternoon Action Groups:
Beconrrnc an aclr\.e ci: z€r. tYiliJAi
rools f,lr tna pciltica trads - iCAR-l
LCCa! .lLSt ce .' Glcrilal Jrrsl ce - iCEID anri .lAir
Farr Iiraie anci Consunrer Fower - it-qarfunii a;'rt SPEAK;
For more informalion contact CSM on 020 723ii 3736
or e-mail paul@christiansocialist.org.uk
e scm@movement.org.uk i! **'** Yr\4CA
22lmovement

think globally, act locally ... reflect personally
tn
reflect personally I patrick da
a
, act oca
llr
Do not let the flood sweep over me
'Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,
with alarm and sadness we have been
following the news of the destructive
flooding in your country, and so we are
wdting to express our sympathy and
solidarity. We know how traumatic this
calamity will be for those affected in
many ways: injury, or property loss or
damage, isolation by surounding
waters, or not knowing if loved ones are
safe. Know that our prayers are with you
daily, now and in the time of recovery
and reconstruction which will come.'
In the middle of January the Disasters
Emergency Commission reported on the
continuing crisis in Southern Africa. Heavy
rains have again struck Mozambique,
destroying homes, schools, hospitals, roads
and crops. An estimated 3O,O0O people
have been affected. But the letter above
was not written to people of that country: it
was written by them. Revd Arao Litsure, the
president of the Christian Council of
Mozambique, penned it shortly after the
floods of 2000. You can probably still
remember the images of people being
airlifted to safety from tin-shack homes. lt
was written to us in the UK, ourselves the
victims of serious flooding.
Our increasing ability to make personal
connections with people across the world is
incredible. Christian Aid's websites contain
stories and prayers for and from our
partners in lraq, Palestine, Afghanistan and
Sudan. By 'partners' I mean the organisations
we work with in poorer countries. We
have so much to learn from them - from the
consolation offered by Revd Litsure (with its
echoes of 2 Corinthians 1:3-11) to the
challenging range of opinions our partners
in the Middle East hold over the developing
situation there.
Christian Aid's aim is similar to that of
many other campaigning aid agencies: to
expose poverty and injustice, and to help
people see that it does not have to be this
way. But as well as encouraging people to
give and to act, we encourage you to reflect
on the values that inform those actions and
to explore why you should get invotved.
Just as we are encouraged to think
globally and act locally, so we shouldn't
forget the connection between developing
the self as we try to develop the rest of the
world. Christian Aid is not claiming to have
any magic formula for this, just a commitment
to continue exploring our values at the
same time as putting them into action. We
draw on our faiths, our past experiences,
and those of our partners.
It can be very difficult to act as genuine
partners - to learn from what people like
Revd Litsure say about how to best meet
their people's needs. lt can be hard to ask
if we really know better. This year's
Christian Aid Week is focusing on eight
individuals who have improved the situation
of others. Their stories have been a
challenge for me - to look at the way they
are making a difference, to reflect on
whether my efforts to help are the best way.
The message of Christian Aid Week 2003 is
that 'you can help change the world'. There
is an implicit message there, too: 'But don't
forget to let it change you'.
As Mozambique continues to struggle with
the renewed flooding, you might like to pray
for them in the words of Psalm 69:
When I come into deep waters
and the flood sweeps over me,
I cry out in weariness to my God:
'ln the abundance ofyour steadfast
love, answer me.
Do not let the flood sweep over me
or the deep swallow me up.
For your loye is steadfast,
and your mercy abundant.
When I am in distress draw near to me,
make haste to answer me.' I
You can
change the
world. But
don't forget
to let it
change
you too
. Patlick Dawes is
Ghristian Aid's student
worker
movement |
23

h--
worldview
vv orls,l vie yY
We interuiewed Glaire Vincent, member of Melbourne SCM and former
staff member of the Australian Student Ghristian Movement
We're seeing
university
change from a
place for
personal growth
- a place to sit
around drinking
tea and solving
the problems of
the world - into
the place where
you to get
training and get
a good iob
Members of the ASCM
at a conference
How and when was the ASCM founded?
The ASCM was one of the earliest SCMs to be
founded, in 1896 by John R Mott. ln the early
years, SCM was the only interactive experience
students had apart from goang to
lectures, so the SGM Bible studies had a quite
dramatic impact on university life, with maybe
a third of students being involved.
The SCM split off from the Christian Union in
the 3Os, and it's had its ups and downs. At one
point, it formally decided to disband but forgot
to tell one of the branches in West Australia,
which kept going, so they started up again.
Are other Christian organisations active in
Australian universities?
There are a lot of different Christian groups in
Australia, and I can't really speak for most of
them. We often get asked what the difference
is between us and the CU, or Students for
Christ, or other groups, and we always try to
answer by saying something positive about
the ASCM. We're aware of the tendency to
define ourselves in terms of what we're not
instead of what we are - so we'd say
something like, 'The SCM is open and
inclusive, and we try to apply the same critical
Interrogation to the Bible and our faith that
we would apply to our studies. We see the
Christian calling as a call to follow Christ in
solidarity with oppressed people,' rather than
saying, 'The SCM doesn't take a literal view of
the Bible,' or 'The SCM is not like other
groups because they are not queer-friendly'.
Does the ASCM have a tradition of being
politically and socially active?
The ASCM has always been politically and
socially active, though the issues and the forms
of activism are shaped by the interests of the
cunent members. Some issues
that the SCM has been focusing
on recently have been environmental
sustainability, human
rights and solidarity work with
people in the Philippines. The
theme of our most recent
National conference was'Sustainability
- Living within Means'.
Some struggles which have long
been at the forefront of the SCM
and which continue to be
struggles for us are women's
rights, feminist theologr and queer issues. The
ASCM believes that committed queer relationships
are as valuable as other committed
relationships, and we are supportive and
affirming of queer relationships.
ln terms of Australian politics, reconciliation
with indigenous Australians is one of the
biggest issues that the church and society
need to address before we can make any real
progress. We need a real apologl and real
solution-seeking, instead of saying, 'Let's
shake hands and forget about the past'. The
churches are in a funny position, because they
were the ones who did the damage in a lot of
cases. Several of the churches are doing a
really fantastic job with quite progressive
programmes, giving indigenous congregations
a lot of autonomy and trying to integrate
Aboriginal spirituality - although that's not to
say that they've solved all the problems. There
are other churches which are more or less still
denying that anything wrong was done.
ln recent times, the ASCM has been quite
active in university politics. For a while we had
a lot of members in common with the leftwing
political parties on the university campuses.
One issue that we've had to respond to in very
creative ways is the changing face of the
university. We're seeing university change from
a place for personal growth - a place to sit
around drinking tea and solving the problems
of the world - into the place where you go to
get training and get a good job with a lot of
money, to work hard and study. And the
financial situation for students gets worse and
worse as fees go up and government funding
gets more difficult, so students are frantically
working part-time jobs. ln some ways, there's
not a whole lot of space for the SCM in there.
How is the ASCM changing to face these
challenges?
Students nowadays seem to be less prepared
to make commitments to institutions, and are
more project-based. So this has led us to ask
questions about how we can address the lack
of community and the sterility on campus.
Providing community on campus is a really big
mission in itself - providing space, sharing
food together, letting students talk.
This has all led us to look at the de-institutionalisation
of the SCM. Are we just )

worldview
sustaining ourselves for institution's sake _
which is precisely what students are not
interested in? Or are we a group of fiery
students out there doing projects - which is
what students are interested in? We asked
these questions eighteen months ago, and it's
led to a dramatic restructuring of the national
movement.
ln the past, we had a full-time national
secretary who did administrative work, built
branches and visited the branches around the
country, which was very travel-intensive. We
also had a chairperson, a treasurer, a student
executive, the members of the Annual General
Meeting, and an area council in each state to
oversee the local branches. And we had one
struggling branch in each state, and we were in
a bad spot financially, so all our enerS/ was
going into sustaining this structure.
So we removed the position of national
secretary, and we no longer have a paid
national worker. We're now a network of
grassroots, independent student branches
with much less central co-ordination than
previously. The national co-ordination and
admin have been divided into six voluntary
positions which each receive an annual
honorarium: a national co-ordinator, a
database co-ordinator, the editor of our
magazine Jubilee Grapevine, a webweaver,
the WSCF co-ordinator, and a national
treasurer. The positions can be held by
students or Friends of the movement. And a
student takes the minutes at our AGMs.
We had a legacy of projects which were
exciting but had been started when the
movement was much bigger and better
equipped. So we've abandoned some national
projects and others are on hold, to be picked
up when someone has the energy. This
thinking has filtered down to branch level,
where we've moved on from trying to be
impressive and put on good speakers, which
was draining our energ/, and shifted the focus
to grassroots community building. Maybe we'll
get an interesting speaker several times each
semester, but in general we're focusing on inhouse
events, going with the energies that are
already floating around in branches, projects
that people are already involved in. We're
trusting that hew energies will grow out of that.
What kind of projects have branches been
involved in recently?
My branch in Melbourne has helped with
packaging of fair trade tea, gone hiking
together, and done some fund-raising for
Force 10 (the Australian churches' overseas
aid agency), where we fed people soup and
bread and they donated their lunch money. I
was inspired to do this when my dad, who was
in the UK SCM group at Oxford, told me that
the Australian SGM's loglo
. Four gum leaves (the gum is Australia's
most common tree) form a living cross:
the Christ.
. Three flowering gumnuts form a flame:
the Spirit.
. The flowers and leaves form a scooping
motion towards the centre, where
concentric circles, the Creator God,
Find out more about
ASCM and its ,ogo -
and download Jubilee
Grapevine maglazine -
at www.ascm.org!.au
radiate outwards.
. Gathered around the circle are a community
of people meeting in worship and friendship,
represented by an Aboriginal symbol for
people sitting around a campfire.
they used to raise money for Oxfam in the
same way,
And an individual member called Mark from
Western Australia was inspired by something
American Jesuits do, where they're sent on a
bus to a far-away place and given $30 to
make their way back. So he hitch-hiked from
Sydney to Adelaide, with $30 and the clothes
he was wearing. He got rides with truck
drivers, got his food from soup kitchens or by
begging, and slept in churches, shelters, one
night in a mosque, under trees, and in a 24-
hour MacDonalds. His aim was to meet God in
new ways, and he said it was a real grovyth
experience in terms of humility and trust.
SCM in West Australia have moved their
main focus off campus, onto a 'shared space'
programme where each month, a different
student or Friend will host a meal and lead
discussion on a topic they've picked.
What about international links?
We're part of the Asia-Pacific region of the
WSCF, which includes Australia and Aotearoa,
then from lndonesia up to Japan and across
to lndia and Sri Lanka. So it's a really diverse
region and I find it thoroughly exciting.
Australia can get stuck in its colonial roots
and think it's part of Europe, which it's not.
We're geographically positioned in Asia. tt
was when I started feeling part of the WSCF
that I first really felt at home in the region. I
find that really exciting and full of possibilities,
both for the SCM and for Australia.
The region's diversity is both cultural and in
the style of movement - you've got SCMs like
ourselves, Aotearoa, Singapore, Japan and
Hong Kong, which are on a small scale and
maybe struggling, all the way up to
movements like lndonesia's, with tens of
thousands of members. Something that really
excites me is that through all that diversity,
the core 'SCM-ness' really stands out. We're
all struggling the same struggle, and there are
lots of opportunities for solidarity between
countries through the wscF. I
The Asia-
Pacific area
of the WSGF
is a really
diverse region
and I find it
thoroughly
exciting.
Australia can
get stuck in
its colonial
roots and
think it's part
of Europe,
which it's not
movementl25

eviews: book
revie vYJ
cinema... books... television... art... music...
\
findinsthe
words
Chuck out the self.help books and turn to poetry instead
Alive I edited by NeilAstley
Bloodaxe Books 496 pages I t10.95
This is not an antholos/ with
rainbows, birds and flowers on
the cover, which is a good start
because the title Stayl:ngiAfi've is
not a promising one.
People like me who live with
depression frequently scour self-help
books with similar titles in hope of
finding something that will help us to
feel better, something that affirms
how horrible and wonderful the world
really is. ln the words of U2,
regarding self-help books, I stlll
haven't found what I'm looking for. I
have sometimes found music, art,
good writing and poetry (and my own
bad attempts at these activities)
therapeutic.
lf you ignore the off-putting title,
the subtitle 'real poems for unreal
times' gives a better indication of the
poetry this book contains. This is an
anthologr which can at its best make
you feel awed by the poets' ability to
express in words some of the
darkest, happiest and funniest
thoughts you have ever had.
It is full of poems that will make
you laugh, cry,.get angry, and make
you want to write to your MP. These
are not just relentlessly cheerful
poems - there is a good mix of
contrasting views on similar topics,
and poems are deliberately placed
next to each other when they draw
different conclusions about the
reality of the same or similar
situations. This is why this book
succeeds in the mission statement
disguised as a subtitle.
everyone should
know how relevant,
accurate, moving and
confrontational
poetry can be
There is always the temptation for
a reviewer to suggest that there is
something for everyone in an
anthologl. Whilst the diversity of
poets and subjects makes this book
an obvious choice in that respect, I
think that this collection will be best
appreciated by people who already
know they love poetry, or by people
whose experience of poetry is limited
to poems they were asked to
overanalyse at GCSE which didn't
resonate with their experiences,
emotions and politics. I believe that
everyone should know how relevant,
accurate, moving and confrontational
poetry can be, and this is a
book that showcases poems that are
all these things.
The section topics include the
body, life, death, childhood, nationality,
war, love and loss, and poems
are included from well known and
less critically acclaimed poets. The
themes it incorporates make it a
particularly good choice for
Movement readers because it
sometimes challenges, and
sometimes reinforces, views widely
held by SCM members. The editor of
this book is (l believe quite rightly)
evangelical about poetry and has
made excellent choices about what
to include. I was disappointed to find
that the selection of poems by
Simon Armitage were not the ones I
would have thought were best suited
to the themes covered, but this is an
inevitable frustration with an
anthologl. My only other gripe is that
there are quotes by poets and
writers whose poetry isn't othenruise
featured in this book.
Poetry may well be able to save
lives by inspiring hope, by showing
how ugly, beautiful, and complex the
world is, but please don't buy this to
put in your first aid kit. lt deserves to
be read often, read aloud, and
should be given a place at your
bedside, on top of the pile of
textbooks on your desk, and in your
thoughts for times when you can't
find the right words on your own. I
Helen Mackay
26lmovement

euews: mustc
belfast's own songs
An exploration of how pop music has represented a city
Songs Factotum iL2
ftom www.factotum.org.uk
Belfast Songs is the product of a
small Belfast-based arts charity
called Factotum: a book looking
at how the city has been
represented in popular music,
with a GD of Belfast artists'
remixes of songs about the city.
It's a beautiful thing to own: a CD in
an oversize package, with a softback
book in a sturdy slipcase, all in a
minimalist black-and-white design.
The book is the easiest place to
start, since it sets out the philosophy
of the project. As the introduction
points out, there is an amazing
number of songs about Belfast or
'the Troubles' - the two often being
combined in the songwriter's mind.
But are people writing about the real
Belfast, or an invention of their own?
An eclectic mix of Belfast writers
from a range of fields each analyse
one 'Belfast song'. There are famous
names like poet Paul Muldoon
alongside a range of less-known
writers, all approaching their subject
matter in different ways.
So there's straightforward musical
and social criticism, exploring the
political impact of the Belfast punk
movement: bands like Stiff Little
Fingers and Crass. Van Morrison's
evocations of the relatively peaceful
and mundane Belfast of his youth are
also looked at in depth.
There's some fascinating social
history in the accounts of the origins
and background of two traditional
songs, 'The.Ballad of william Bloat'
and 'The Black Velvet Band' - both of
which may have been imported to
Belfast from elsewhere, despite the
strong Belfast imagery in the bestknown
versions.
Other writers use their own
response to the music as a springboard
for explorations of more
general themes. Orbital's electronic
instrumental track'Belfast' inspires
om lekha to muse at length on tribal
l- -.
EELfAsr 5('tlc5
dancing, Ecstasy
culture, the inadequacy of simple
labels and the need to create a
'shared space ... an architecture of
the imagination'. Suzanna Chan
shows how the common personification
of Belfast as a female victim
perpetuates the sexist reduction of
'woman' to her 'sex' - pointing out
that this kind of female symbolisation
is largely the creation of men.
This interest in the construction of
identity through symbolism is
reflected in the book's most
prevailing theme: Belfast has been
used as an easy clich6 by songwriters
- often wealthy, privileged
songwriters from England or America.
Dropping Belfast into a song - or
using a Belfast street as a backdrop
for publicity shots, as the Clash did -
is an easy way for the songwriter to
show that they care, that they're
politically engaged. ln the process,
generalisations and clich6s are
perpetuated, complex social and
political issues are patronisingly
simplified, and the real culture and
inhabitants of a place are suppressed
from view.
So Aaron Kelly demolishes the
fatuous outsider's view of the
situation in Elton John's 'Belfast', and
its clumsy use of 'traditional' music
to try and create an authentic feel.
He shows the roots of this fake
'Celticness' in Victorian stereotypes
of the 'sentimental' Celtic races.
Belfast, Kelly says, has its own songs
to sing and doesn't need Elton
John's. Elsewhere, Stuart Watson
explores how the limitations of
country music make it impossible for
Nanci Griffiths to engage with the
real political issues in Belfast,
whereas the more 'experimental'
godspeedyoublackemperor are able
to say more through their ambiguous
and emotionally powerful music.
Speaking of experimental music...
the CD. I would have liked to hear the
original versions of some of the
songs covered in the book, but I
guess copyright issues (and the
wounded pride of some of the
songwriters) wouldn't allow that. So
we get remixes, with very little
background information - not even
on the fourteen artists doing the
remixing, who you're unlikely to have
heard of unless you're an afficionado
of Northern lrish experimental
electronica.
It's challenging and difficult music.
Even if you know the original songs
you may have difficulty recognising
some of them. lf you like artists like
Squarepusher or Aphex Twin you'll
enjoy it. lf you don't even know who
they are, you probably won't. Think
jarring noises, scary or irregular
beats and wibbly effects. I got quite
into some of it, but there were
several tunes that made my friends
scream at me to skip tracks. And one
track, 'Shift bad cell' by Jansky Noise
- which features a horribly distorted
electronic vocal singing a macabre
folk song about gallows and suicide -
is definitely not to be listened to
alone or in the dark.
So the CD's an interesting listen if
you keep an open mind. The book is
a fascinating read for anyone with an
interest in politics, popular culture or,
of course, Belfast and its people. lt
won't give you a definitive
understanding of the city - part of its
point is that no such thing is really
possible - but it may make you think
twice about the images we're fed by
our media and entertainers. I
Liam Purcell
Edftot ol Movement
movementl2T

eviews: film
under the knife
The iconography of Scorsese's epic movie
Scorsese turned my attention
towards cinema when | first saw
Mean Streets and his filml5omaking
impressed me again
when I saw Tart Driver. The lean
and edgS qualities of these early
masterpieces and Scorsese's
uncompromisin$ attitude to his
subjects as vital and visual
made them compelling to watch.
I was under the spell. Alongside
these films, Gangs of New York
is one ugly Jabba the Hutt. Since
no knife can now be taken to it -
in good old Five Points fashion -
I would like to comment on the
way the film uses a sacramental
language of the image to endow
a gangland story of revenge wath
a vital and tragic intensity.
'The blood stays on the blade,' Monk
Eastman gruffly says to the young
Amsterdam as the film opens. When
Monk falls as a hero in a gangland
fight the opening scene ends. Before
the bloodletting he reveals a Catholic
image of saint Michael slaying an
incarnation of evil. Throughout the
episode Scorsese introduces us to a
charged visual language where scenes
are imbued with an iconic quality.
Blood and knives are some of the
strongest images in the film. By
repeated and varied presentation they
carry meanings and emotions that
hold the story together: the scars of
Amsterdam's memory; the implacability
of his desite for revenge; and, for
the Butcher, his 6lan, his power and
28lmovement
of New York
by Martin Scorsese
his death. They impart the law of the
underworld - that might rules and
demands respect. And in plot terms
these images bind characters to their
various destinies.
ln Dickens' American Notes, written
after his first visit to America, he
considered the squalor and
depravation of the Five Points slum
worse than that in the slums of
London; with disgust he noted pigs
running wild in the streets. lt also
struck me that the combination of
violence and comedy in Gangs is
paralleled in Dickens' picture of
Victorian London. Note the same love
both have of abrupt image and
grabbing detail; and how the vivid
theatre of character and scenario
gives both an exuberant and vigorous
edge. Scorsese uses this texture to
dwell on an unreconstructed vision of
early New York. He lingers at the start
of the film on the black leather Bible
tossed in the waters.
There is a clear ritual and curiously
religious quality to the world of gangs,
crime and depravity that surround the
Five Points. Herbert Asbury, who wrote
Ihe Gangs of New York in the 1920s,
made such a world the subject of his
writing career. (lncidentally he made
his name as a reporter after
describing how a small town prostitute
took her Catholic clients to a Protestant
churchyard and vice-versa). The
camera dwells on scenes that are
enacted in a representative way; or
the codes of the fraternity are
emphasised; and a sense is apparent
of the organising forces within an
anarchic and corrupt world.
The sensuous and iconic style of
the shooting adds to this effect. lt
brings to a fallen district a kind of
visual transfiguration whereby crude
violence, dirt and ugliness are raised
up outside any moral or temporal
framework. Scorsese wants myth of
his subject. He invests it with a sense
of its depth and glory. He tries to
convert the viewer to look reverently
and with fear and awe on the
underworld of gangs and crime
through a sacramental language of
images. He forgives his characters
what they are and tinges them with
glory.
The crux of the storyline in Gangs of
New York is the father/son relationship.
Amsterdam must killthe man who is as
good as a father to him to revenge his
true father. He is implacable in the face
of the Butcher, the reverence the
Butcher shows to the memory of Monk
Eastman and the fact of his own
treachery. This gives the story a visceral
quality: it notes moral issues and
overcomes them by a brute imperative
that is at once base and $orious. The
predicament is not explored as only an
indecisive Hamlet can, or marked by
the fatalistic actions of Oedipus. lt is
exploited, and the tra$c and heroic
elements of the dilemmas posed echo
throughout the film.
At the close of the film New York
moves from a setting or foil for the
story to become the story itself. lt is
opposite the graves of the two gang
leaders that New York grows. The city
develops upon the bones of conflict,
rage and corruption and the lives of
honoured and dominant men. The film
suggest that today's New York is the
product of this age of titans, born of
blood and gristle. And the vigour and
will to life it embodies, it recalls,
comes at a price. lt is interesting that
the myth of Rome's founding by
brothers Romulus and Remus has in
its own story ideas of conflict and
supremacy that now indelibly mark the
NewYork oftoday. I
Stephen Gee
Stephon llves ln london and flnances hls
actlvitles by collectlnlt debts for a ioclal
landlord whlllt he mulls ovelrhatttoddo and

eviews: books
how are you feelin{?
A book by a former SGM Groups worker explores health and sickness
Wellbeing I
Alison Webster
SCM Press | 160 pages I f,9.99
This is a mini-treatise on
wellbeing for anyone with an
interest in health and social
care, philosophy, theologr and
social justice, or any of the
above. Alison Webster, a theologian
now working as a Social
Justice Officer in Wanrickshire,
guides us through the worlds of
contemporary philosophy and
theologr, trying to get a grasp of
slippery concepts like sickness,
health and wholeness. Looking
at the cover you might be led to
expect New Age self-help. What
you get is rather more intellectual,
if at times a little abstract!
Webster suggests that wellbeing,
far from being achieved simply by
getting cured of a sickness, might
have just as much to do with a sense
of belonging, being loved, being part
of a community. We are introduced to
some contemporary theologians who
have tried to explore the insights
sickness can bring. Could it be that
Jesus' Passion was significant not
primarily because he died, but
because he became 'passive', gave
up control, was 'done to'- revealing
a God whose love does not demand
control of the loved one? ls the state
of waiting, of being passive, being a
'patient', an honourable thing?
Capitalism encourages us to look
down on people who, for whatever
reason, whether in the short term or
over the course of their lives, are not
economically productive. We tolerate
brief periods of sickness or unhappiness,
but soon enough we begin to
ask, 'Aren't you better yet?' As
Christians, perhaps we should be
more open to the insights sickness
can bring, to the virtues of humility,
quietness and contemPlation.
Or does that way of thinking
idealise the suffering of people who
would prefer to be active subjects
directing their own fate? Webster
as Ghristians, perhaps we
should be more open to the
insights sickness can bring
argues that while we do need to
redeem the state of 'patienthood',
often despised in our culture, we also
need to overcome the duality of
thinking that sees some people as
sick and passive, others as well,
active and useful. ln reality, everyone
can be an agent of their own lives,
and we are all always moving along a
continuum of mental and physical
health and sickness. We like to think
that we know which side of the fence
we, and everyone else, are on, but in
truth there is no clear line that
divides sick from well, or mad from
sane. lt is not even always clear what
is a good or bad state to be in.
'Where', she asks, 'would art, poetry,
even theolory be, without mental
illness?'
Once you are thoroughly confused
as to whether you are sick or well,
and whether that is a good or a bad
thing, it all gets even more complicated
as we dive into the realms of
social conscience. Wellbeing, says
Webster, is a social thing too, and
statistically health is unfairly shared
out. Simply living in the wrong part of
town can be an indicator that you will
get sicker more often than someone
from the right side of the tracks. The
effects of injustice are written on
bodies. As Christians we value the
equal worth of all human beings
before God, so we must challenge
the systems that create these
divisions.
The book concludes with an
exploration of health and social care
policy with regard to well-being and
'spiritual needs', a fashionable
buzzword in current healthcare
debates. Webster paints a picture of
a culture which recognises the
existence of 'spiritual needs' and is
keen to address them, but where no
one is quite sure what they mean by
'spiritual' and most people are
embarrassed by the concept. Into
this arena the churches and other
falth communities are being warmly
welcomed, with policy-makers and
community leaders recognising the
unique contribution that they have to
make, providing as they do that allimportant
yet elusive factor, a sense
of community, which seems to be
the key to wellbeing and health. This
places a responsibility on the
churches to take an active role, to
have their say and try to share the
insights into creating community and
collective wellbeing, insights which
somehow need to be translated from
the language of outdated religious
imagery into the vernacular.
For Webster, the core of the
Christian contribution is the recognition
that 'shit happens', and yet
miracles are possible - that life can
flourish against the odds, that
wellbeing is a possibility. lt is a
message that is more shown than
told. Community is what churches do
best, and I was left with a sense of
encouragement that in our modern
world, which is so often seen as a
hostile environment for faith
traditions, they have this invitation to
show everyone else what they know
about how to make a healthy, happy,
whole community. I
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movementl29

esources
resources round-uP
Some other publications you may find useful...
Something Understood
Compiled by Beverly McAinsh,
Living Spirituality Network
An antholo$/ of poetry and prose used on
the Radio 4 programme of the same
name. Available post and packing free
from the Living Spirituality Network.f,,7.99
LSN, The Well, Newport Road, Willen,
Milton Keynes MK15 9AA
Tools for Transformation
By Peter Craig-Wild,
Wild Goose Resource Group
Explores the use of non-vertal tools in
worship, using liturgical history, contemporary
stories and practical suggestions to outline a
Msion of what worship could be.
t1o.95
t 01,47 332 6343
f o1,4L 332 1090
e wgrg@gla.iona.org.uk
Memories of Bliss: God, Sex and Us
By Jo lnd, SCM Press
A practical quest to help us 'live our sexualities
well', connecting human beings'
experience of sex with their ultimate
knowledge of God. Will shock some, but
excite and inspire others. t9.99
w www.scm-canterburypress.co.uk
Searching Stories Study Guide
By Nicola Slee,
Ghristian Education Publications
A series of studies focusing on stories from
Luke's gospel and exploring what stories
mean to us. Suitable for small group
sessions or personal reflection. S6.50
t oL21" 472 4242
f oL21"4727575
w www.christianeducation.orgi.uk
The Ark
Ship of Fools
An online reality gameshow, Ship of Fools'
The Ark launched at Easter. Players take on
the roles of biblical characters and are
voted off the Ark one by one. There is a
downloadable pack of discussion notes for
small groups taking a fresh look at the
twelve biblical characters in the show.
w www,shipoffools.com/theark
Born Among Us
USPG
Follow-up to The Christ we Share; a picture
pack exploring the Christmas story through
the work of Christian artists around the
world.
f,,15.00 (inc. p&p)
e info@uspg.org.uk
w www.uspg.org.uly'uspgshop
the l*gu"a.ge of life
t ofuers
sigwfcan
talking. about relationshiPs
Si(nificant Others is an SCM
resource exploring relationships.
Why is the church so
uncomfortable and dismissive of
new ways of relatin$? How can
we offer a modern vision to
promote relationships of justice,
mutuality and love?
. From the heart, Kindred spirits -
presenting the stories, ideas and
visions of people who've been
pushed to the margins of the
church because of their
'unconventional' lifestyles.
. Workshops for student groups to
use in discussing the issues.
. Outspoken - provocative,
polemical writing on key themes.
. Worship - a hotch-potch of
useful material for worship
groups and leaders.
Order before 31 July
2003 and glet 25o/o oJJ!
Usual plice g4.OO
Offer price g3.OO
includes postage
and packin$
Student Christian Movement, University
of Birmingham, Weoley Park Road,
Selly Oak, Birmingham 829 6Llt
ot2L4724242
e scm@movement.org.uk
w www.movement.org.uly'
publications
s
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(brbt'no
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movement

the serpent
GROT OF THE ANTARCTIC
ApparentlY they're building a
road to the South Pole. lt's
easy to see why the Pole is
becoming more popular as a
tourist destination - after
all, it already has a gift
shop selling half-price
'l reached the South
Pole' T-shirts. The
base there is now
under US control, so
of course we can
expect to see a
sharp decline in
such rampant
commercialism.
That, or more tat.
Snow globes with
snowy snowfields
and shakeable snow
inside so you can
shake the snow and
make it snow snow,
perhaps.
'l'm just going to the shops,
and I may be some time.'
A BIT OF A DRAMA
I know where I'm
going for my
holidays,
though.
There's
currently a
performance of a
Passion play going on in
Florida, being put on by some
really rather scary Americans.
'Jesus is the same now as he
has always been', they say on
their website. That may be so,
but only if he was always a
crazed Yank in a fake beard
and a nylon robe.
Their website (/www.1-
search-engi ne.com/jesus-dra
ma.htm) also has the option
to click on a link if you want
to be saved. I decided to give
them a challenge and clicked
on it. I was presented with a
prayer in a Windows alert
box, expressingthe hope that
some 'strong' Christians
would come round and help
me. I'm afraid I didn't dare
click 'OK' in case my door
was immediately smashed in
by an emergency squad of
bemuscled happy-claPPies.
GRIN AND BEAR IT
Joy ofjoys, you can now buY
the new ArchbishoP of
Canterbury in teddy bear
form. For the episcopal sum
of Lt2O, an 1"L" Rowan
Williams bear in silk
vestments can
be yours.
It's a great
idea. But
why stop
there? I
envisage a
whole range of
bishop-based
playthings.
Coming next: the
bishop fashion doll.
With styleable facial hair,
removeable Nazir-Ali
sideburns, and optional
backbone. And other
spiritual leaders too.
How about a talking
Dalai Lama? Pull his cord
and he dispenses words of
wisdom. Or Action Pope with
his pull-back-and-go
Popemobile.
HELP THE AGED
Scientific research has
established shocking new
information. Apparently, the
human brain doesn't just
degenerate into mush with
old age, as many scientists
had apparently believed
before. Oh no. lt actually
gets better at some things!
Such as diplomacy, social
interaction and storytelling.
No kidding?
They've come up with a
highfalutin scientific term for
this, of course. Apparently
it's called 'wisdom'.
Next week: scientists
announce that grass is in
fact green.
OVER BY CHRISTMAS
The war in lraq may well be
over by the time you read
this. But then, it should
apparently have been over
several days ago, and every
day since. As I write, we've
been told every day for four
days that the town of
Umm-Qas'r has been
taken, only to find the
next day that whoops,
actually, pockets of
resistance continue.
Deep pockets,
then. One piece of
misinformation may
be unfortunate, but
four must be considered
propaganda.
Future wars will, of
course, be over before
they start. And I'll
believe that when I
believe that George W
Bush can find his own
bottom with both
hands.
MAKEOVER
SCHMAKEOVER
You can't turn on the telly
nowadays without being
assailed by someone telling
you what shade of puce to
paint your toilet to
guarantee a quick sale in
the current economic
climate and allow you and
your irritating spouse to buy
that converted donkey-shed
in an untouched corner of
some
Mediterranean
paradise (untouched, that is,
until it's descended on by
the hordes of families who
move there after watching
this frightful programme).
Then there are the wonderful
special-interest makeover
programmes. I think it's
marvellous that television
makers are investing time
and money in making
programmes for minority
groups such as those ultrawealthy
enough to sell up,
move to a mansion in
Dorset, and maintain a
delightful pied-a-terre in the
city which costs more than
three normal family homes.
POLYPHONIC SPREE
There's a lot of fuss at the
minute about'polyphonic'
ringtones for mobile phones.
That's 'polyphonic' as in
'many noises', right? (lt's
Greek, you know - keep up at
the back.) That would be so
much better than what we get
now. I've often thought while
sat on a train surrounded by
beepy renditions of chart
tunes, 'l wish there were
some more noises'.
THE SOUND OF SILENCE
Anarchist and experimental
composer John Cage wrote a
piece of music called
Organ/ASLSP, with the instruction
that it should be played 'as
slow as possible'. He intended
it to last a few hours.
Some very thorough
Germans, however, have
taken this strange man at
his word and are doing
it for real. They
played the
first three
notes in the
eastern
town of
Halberstadt
in February
this year.
(The official
beginning
was
in
September
2001, but the
piece begins with
a pause.) They
should finish the performance
in 639 years. Some of the
notes will last for decades.
ln the same spirit, I'm trying
some avant-garde column
writing, and the rest of this
column will appear in

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