Movement Issue 168

THE MAGAZINE FOR CHRISTIAN STUDENTS
ISSUE 168 AUTUMN 2023
INTERVIEW:
ASHWIN THYSSEN
In conversation with
Lisa Murphy
PAGE 12
THE
INESCAPABLE GOD
A reflection on
Psalm 139
PAGE 18
BEYOND
FRESHERS WEEK
How to survive
at University
PAGE 35
IN DEFENCE OF
‘RIP OFF DEGREES’
A response to the
Prime Minister
PAGE 38

CONTENTS
EDITORIAL 4
COMING UP 5
NEWS 6-8
COMMUNITIES
NEWS 9-11
REVIEWS 41-43
INTERVIEW:
ASHWIN
THYSSEN
Movement talks to Ashwin about
accessible progressive theology,
THE
INESCAPABLE
GOD
Joshua Tinker-Reid reflects on Psalm
139.
12-17
poetry, and his calling to ministry.
18-19
BONHOFFER
IN BERLIN
Naomi Orrell shares her travel diary
and reflects on the experience.
BONHOEFFER
POEM
By M Day.
FAITH IN
20-24 28-33
25
BEATITUDES
FOR THE
NATIONAL
GATHERING 26-27
ACTION
Finding the Divine in Moss, a
reflection on taking action for
climate justice, and an intro to our
2023-24 Faith in Action Project
Workers
AFFIRMING
CHRISTIANITY:
HOW TO BE
A GOOD
CHRISTIAN
ALLY
34
A new small group resource from
SCM and OneBodyOneFaith
BEYOND
FRESHERS’
WEEK
Top tips for surviving and thriving at
university.
IN DEFENCE
OF ‘RIP-OFF’
DEGREES
35-37
Thomas Packer-Stucki responds to
the Prime Minister’s summer press
release.
38-40
2 MOVEMENT Issue 168 MOVEMENT Issue 168
3

Welcome to Issue 168
of Movement magazine!
Our interview in this issue is with Ashwin Thyssen, who was also our keynote
speaker for the 2023 National Gathering, Walk Humbly. We sat down with
Ashwin to get his take on intersectionality, evangelism and the legacy of the
2021 FIFA World Cup, and to find out more about his studies. Ashwin also
shares his advice for students and recent graduates, and gives an insight into
his current reading list.
At Walk Humbly we were challenged by Ashwin’s talks and our workshop leaders
to recognise our own privilege while hearing how others have not enjoyed the
same, especially in living out the faith in the context of a calling to ministry.
We were reminded that God loves each of us for who we are, and that we are
all called by name as children of God. Joshua Tinker-Reid in their article The
Inescapable God, reflects on this further in their exploration of Psalm 139, and
reminds us that nothing can separate us from God’s love, not even AI.
Elsewhere in this issue we have an article in response to Prime Minister Rishi
Sunak’s summer press release setting out how the Government will “protect
students and taxpayers from ‘rip-off’ degree courses.”Tom Packer-Stucki writes
in defense of humanities degrees and those who study them.
In our Faith in Action section, we have an article from one of our outgoing
Project Workers, Grace Stewart, about Finding the Divine in Moss that will make
you want to go and lie in a forest, and Emily shares her experience of attending
The Big One climate action this spring. We also introduce you to William and
Phoebe, the new Project Workers for 2023-24, who we’re excited to be working
with and learning from this year!
As well as the usual news and updates from the movement, inside this issue we
also have Naomi O’s diary from the Bonhoeffer in Berlin trip this summer, and
some tips for surviving and thriving at uni post Freshers’ Week.
Wishing you a great start to the academic year,
THE SCM TEAM
Student Christian Movement
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Edgbaston, Birmingham, B15 3JX
t: 0121 426 4918
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Movement is published by the
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Our vision is of SCM as a generous
community, expressing a lived faith
in Jesus Christ where social action
meets prayerful devotion. We seek
to be both a radical voice for equality
and justice, and a safe home for
progressive Christian students.
SCM staff: CEO: Revd Naomi Nixon,
Operations Manager: Lisa Murphy,
Communications and Marketing
Officer: Ruth Harvey, Faith in Action
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Howell, Finance and Fundraising
Administrator: Jenna Nicholas,
Fundraiser: Naomi Orrell.
The views expressed in Movement
magazine are those of the particular
authors and should not be taken
to be the policy of the Student
Christian Movement. Acceptance of
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endorsement by the Student Christian
Movement.
ISSN 0306-980X
COMING UP
SAVE THE DATE
CREATIVE RETREAT
JANUARY 2024
THEOLOGY GATHERING
JUNE 2024
WELCOME WEEK:
STUDENT MEET-UP
3 OCTOBER • ONLINE
We’re celebrating Welcome Week with a social. Come along to
chat, play some games, and get to know other SCM members.
New and existing members welcome!
STUDENT
SUNDAY
18 FEBRUARY 24 • ONLINE
Join us to pray for students around the world as we mark the
Universal Day of Prayer for Students.
SCM ANNUAL
GENERAL MEETING
22 APRIL 24 • ONLINE
Our AGM is a chance for members to hear about the work of
General Council and the staff team over the past year, and to
elect new representatives to General Council.
BONHOEFFER IN BERLIN
JULY 2024
STUDENT WEEK ON IONA
SEPTEMBER 2024
SCM is a registered charity in England
and Wales, number 1125640, and in
Scotland, number SC048506.
© 2023 Student Christian Movement
Design: penguinboy.net &
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TO FIND OUT MORE AND TO BOOK,
VISIT WWW.MOVEMENT.ORG.UK/EVENTS
4 MOVEMENT Issue 168 MOVEMENT Issue 168
5

NEWS
SCM MEMBERS
AND ALUM MEET
IN COVENTRY
After train strikes derailed plans
for an SCM Friends’ meet-up in
November, we were finally able
to come together at St Michael’s
House at Coventry Cathedral in
February. Sixteen people attended
for an afternoon of sharing food
and catching up on all things SCM.
Revd Andy Marshall, Chaplain
and Interfaith Adviser from Royal
Veterinary College in London, was
on hand to give a talk on the trends
in student ministry, and kindly
agreed to take questions from the
audience. SCM’s CEO Naomi Nixon
shared updates from SCM and
plans for the future.
It was lovely that SCM alumni
from the ‘60s through to recent
graduates, past staff members
and current trustees were able to
come together, bonding over the
experiences of being part of this
incredible movement. We look
forward to holding more events
especially for supporters in the
future. If to find out more about
supporting SCM as a Friend or
church donor please visit www.
movement.org.uk/friends
NEW MEMBERS
ELECTED TO
SCM’S GENERAL
COUNCIL!
At the AGM, members elected (and
re-elected) their representatives to
SCM’s General Council. Made up
of trustees and portfolio holders,
General Council is the decision
making body of the movement,
responsible for setting the strategic
aims of SCM and ensuring that SCM
is well run as a charity.
Michael Dickinson, Rebecca Mann
and Abigail Hollingsworth were
elected as trustees, with Rebecca
also being elected to the the
LGBTQ+ student representative
portfolio and Abigail taking up
Theology and Resources. Melody
Lewis was elected as the new
Movement magazine editor, and will
take the reins from issue 169.
Joshua House was re-elected for
a further term as a trustee, and
also as Membership and Groups
and Safeguarding portfolios. He will
serve alongside the new members
of GC and Russell Frost, Emilia De
Luca, Siobhan Doyle and Joanna
Ramsey, who are part way through
their term of office.
Thanks were given to Tom Packer-
Stucki, Louise Dover and Liddy
Buswell, who have come to the end
of their terms on GC.
To find out more about General
Council visit www.movement.org.
uk/general-council
SCM AT THE
BIG ONE
Earlier this year, staff and students
from SCM participated in The Big
One, a four-day climate action
gathering in London held between
21 and 24 April. Organised by
Extinction Rebellion in collaboration
with groups such as Christian
Climate Action, Young Christian
Climate Network and CAFOD, the
programme was packed full of
inspiring speakers, workshops,
craftivism and direct action.
On the Sunday, SCM was involved
in the No Faith in Fossil Fuels prayer
service. There were songs, prayers
of lament and intercessions before
the group took to the streets to
join thousands of protestors to
bring attention to the climate. SCM
member Emily Harris has written a
reflection on the experience, which
can be found on page 30.
A LOOK BACK:
QUIZZES,
LIMERICKS AND
CHATGPT
SCM’s Annual General Meeting took
place over Zoom in April. Convenor
Tom Packer-Stucki welcomed
everyone to the meeting, before
trustees presented their reports
in a variety of creative ways: an
interactive quiz, a limerick written
by ChatGPT, a series of webcomics
and a lesson presentation. The
staff report was presented as an
interactive game of ‘higher or
lower’. Highlights from the reports
include the successful trip to Berlin,
the growth of the 200 Churches
campaign, and the launch of the
Honest Church campaign.
After a report on the current
finances and a look at plans for the
future there was a question and
answer session before members
elected their new representatives
to General Council. You can read
the minutes of the AGM at www.
movement.org.uk/governance
WALK HUMBLY:
NATIONAL
GATHERING 2023
This year’s National Gathering
was held in beautiful Dinas Powys,
outside of Cardiff/Caerdydd. The
weekend was based around the
prophet Micah’s message of what
God expects of us: to act justly,
love mercy and walk humbly with
our God.
We were joined by special
guest Ashwin Thyssen, from the
University of Stellenbosch, who
guided members through no fewer
than four keynote sessions, looking
at things such as what it means
to follow God, what it means to
enter the discomfort of living our
callings and what forms of humility
God might be calling us to in this
moment. In addition, we were
joined by workshop leaders from
Women and the Church (WATCH)
looking at sex discrimination of the
Church of England, and the Council
of Christians and Jews talking
about Interfaith on Campus. The
SCM Trans Theology Group also led
a session exploring names and the
meanings they hold.
As well as listening to these
thought-provoking and inspiring
talks, students enjoyed workshops
on lino printing, experience
mapping and prayer writing, as
well as the usual fun and games
and use of the swimming pool.
Participants also spent time in
prayer together led by students
and our wonderful event chaplain,
6 MOVEMENT Issue 168 MOVEMENT Issue 168
7

NEWS
Charlotte, and heard from students
in the devolved nations about their
experience of Christianity in their
contexts.
The 48 hours flew by, but many
wonderful conversations were
had, friendships strengthened and
everyone left with lots to ponder.
TRAINS, TRAMS
AND TUNNELS
This year’s Bonhoeffer in Berlin trip
took place at the end of July, with
fourteen pilgrims visiting Germany
to visit the important sites and learn
about key people involved in the
peace and reconciliation work in
the city. Led by SCM’s CEO Naomi
Nixon, the trip was supported by
Project Bonhoeffer as part of our
ongoing Faith in Action project.
Travelling by train gave the
participants an opportunity to
get to know one another better
on the long journey into Europe,
where delegates spent a whirlwind
three nights in the heart of
Berlin, travelling to places such
as the Kaiser Wilhelm II Memorial
Church, Bonhoeffer’s House,
the Chapel of Reconciliation and
Martin Niemoller’s House. This
camaraderie came in handy on
the return journey where delayed
trains threatened to leave the group
stranded in Brussels, but all made
it onto the final Eurostar of the day
and safely home again after arriving
into London late that night.
Travel woes aside, participants
reflected on the life-changing
experience of learning more about
the city and its inhabitants, and the
role played by those working for
peace and reconciliation today. You
can read some of their reflections
on the SCM blog at www.
movement.org.uk/blog and watch
their video diaries on our social
media channels. Later in the issue
you can also find Naomi O’s diary
and reflections on the experience.
HELLOS AND
GOODBYES.
There’s a lot of change in the staff
team to report this time around. In
July, we said a melancholy goodbye
to our wonderful Fundraiser Sophie
Mitchell, who leaves to take up a
new role with The Faith and Belief
Forum, and our Faith in Action
Theology and Resources Worker
Grace Stewart, who had come
to the end of her time with SCM.
Grace will be returning to the
student world in September when
she begins studying for a Masters
in Social Work.
While we were sad to see Sophie
and Grace leave, we are really
excited that Naomi Orrell will be
staying on in a new role as SCM’s
Fundraiser following the end of
her contract as part of the Faith in
Action project. We’re also pleased
to welcome two new Faith in Action
Project Workers to the team;
Phoebe Edmonds is taking up the
Social Justice project worker post,
and William Gibson will be looking
at Theology and Resources. You
can find out more about them on
page 33.
SCM COMMUNITY NEWS
Here’s a round up of what some of our
wonderful communities have been up to.
KEELE CHAPEL
STUDENT FELLOWSHIP
Over the last term
we’ve
continued
to meet and grow
in
community
together. It’s been
great to be visited
by both SCM Faith
in Action project
workers. Grace helped us to explore gender and wellknown
Bible characters in her Queering the Bible session,
and Naomi provoked great thought and discussion on
the theology of our bodies, and particularly trans bodies,
considering the Bible, the poetry of Jay Hulme and our
experiences of sacred spaces.
Other highlights included visits from our chaplains, with
our Free Church chaplain sharing his experiences as a
Methodist and helping us to think through the Methodist
Quadrilateral of scripture, tradition, reason, and experience.
Our Catholic chaplain shared with us about what he actually
likes about the Catholic Church, specifically Ignatian
spirituality and Catholic Social Teaching, both provoking
great interest and helping us to think outside of our own
backgrounds and traditions.
We’ve also spent plenty of time studying the Bible, often
drawing our responses to passages, and being honest
about our responses to what we read, positive or not.
We also had an opportunity to have a (rather emotional)
meeting with the local Anglican bishop, to share with
him our views and experiences of the Anglican church’s
attitudes to LGBTQ+ people and same-sex marriage.
It also been really great to grow in community and friendship
across our time together. Much of the group, along with
other members of our Chapel community, went on our
Chapel weekend away, a great time of reflection, worship,
walking, and community on the theme of ‘Journey’. As
well as this, the group had spent much time together
casually outside of our weekly meetings, studying, having
movie nights, and discovering geocaching. Most of the
students in the group are remaining at Keele this year,
ready to continue the group and welcome new members
in September.
8
MOVEMENT Issue 168

SCM SOUTHAMPTON
INCLUSIVE CHRISTIAN
MOVEMENT DURHAM
Inclusive Christian Movement Durham has had a great
year. If you know of Durham’s SCM group from previous
years, you’ll notice we’ve changed our name from Joint
Anglican and Methodist Society (JAM soc). This has been
received well, as it better encapsulates what we are about
as a society, though we do miss our JAM related puns!
We have recently had our AGM and, excitingly, due to
the growth of SCM Southampton, we have been able to
increase the size of our committee to five people. We
have lots of exciting plans for the coming year, including
discussions on sex and relationships, a talk from The
Leprosy Mission, and more cathedral day trips.
Last year in the run up to exam season we had a session
on prayer led by a family worker from a local church as
well as a prayer station evening to give space and time for
us to connect with God. We continued to have sessions
led by our own members including one titled ‘Prophecy:
The Unruly Spirit’, which was a great chance to explore
a topic that we don’t normally touch upon. We also had
socials in the local dessert shop and it has been lovely
to see our group grow and learn together as we explore
different areas of the Christian faith this year. Coming up,
we are planning on a Testimony evening as a chance to
share and learn about our faith together, and we can’t wait
to welcome more freshers this year!
We’ve had some amazing speakers this year, including
the fantastic trans poet, activist and cathedral enthusiast,
Jay Hulme. Jay’s visit was our most well attended session
we’ve had in a long time. We also attended Durham Pride
at the end of May, marching in the parade with Christians
at Pride and Durham City Methodists. We had a stall with
them at pride itself, which was a great way to engage with
LGBTQ+ students and locals.
We are apprehensive but excited for the coming academic
year, with many of our members leaving Durham this year.
We want to wish all of them good luck for the future. And
if you’re in or coming to Durham in September, do say hi
to ICMD!
OTHER HIGHLIGHTS
FROM LAST TERM
THE BIG ONE PROTEST...
Several SCM Communities had representatives at The
Big One protest in London, organised by groups such
as Christian Climate Action and Extinction Rebellion.
Members of SCM communities in Leeds, London and
Glasgow joined with SCM staff to take part in a week of
prayer and action demanding action on climate change.
SCM EXETER...
ran a series of sessions called ‘Elements of Faith’, working
their way through air, water, fire, and earth. They’ve also
learned the Lord’s Prayer in British Sign Language and
signed it together.
SCM COVENTRY...
have had their re-launch. Stay tuned to their social media
for their plans for the new year.
CAMBRIDGE SCM...
spent the last term exploring the topic ‘The Character of
God’. This has included a Bible Study in Nature exploring
God in the Old Testament, as well as a session about God
and Gender. They also had a Prince of Egypt film night.
SCM BIRMINGHAM...
also watched the Prince of Egypt together! They also had a
session with Christian Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament
and a talk on Christian Anarchism.
SCM BRIGHTON...
were one of several of SCM communities that made
fabulous banners and attended local Pride events.
If there isn’t a group near you, why not start one? Get in touch with us at
students@movement.org.uk and we’d be more than happy to help put you in touch
with people who can support you locally.
10 MOVEMENT Issue 168 MOVEMENT Issue 168
11

INTERVIEW
ASHWIN THYSSEN
Ashwin Thyssen is a junior lecturer in the Department of Systematic Theology and
Ecclesiology, Stellenbosch University, where he teaches church polity, church history,
and religion and law. He is also a PhD candidate, focusing on Christian theological
anthropology. In his doctoral dissertation he considers how black theology and queer
theology may be in dialogue, in the attempt to construct a liberating theological
anthropology.
You describe yourself as ontologically black,
existentially queer and spiritually Christian. How
important do you think intersectionality is, and
what are your thoughts on the argument that
intersectionality limits and deflects discussion around
important issues of identity?
That’s a that’s a very, very good question. For me,
intersectionality is rather important as it allows me to see
parts of myself that aren’t always in the mainstream, or in
the media. And I’m saying this as a South African who’s
queer. So intersectionality allows me to see parts of myself
that’s not always popularised, but also allows me to see
the limits of my own identity, to recognise that I’m not a
woman, I’m not trans, so I don’t have the limitations that
comes with these identity markers.
I think intersectionality can help us focus on the justice
issues of the day, but what often limits those discussions
are an obsession with identitarian politics. So whereas I
think intersectionality helps us see the multiplicities of
identities, focusing on one part of our identity pushes us
into playing this game of oppression Olympics, where we
compete with each other to see who’s most oppressed.
I prefer intersectionality because it allows me to see not
only my own limitations, but also parts of myself that
others don’t always recognise.
For those who are new to the concepts of
intersectionality and privilege, what advice would you
give to help them start to explore and learn more?
I’m going to ground my answer in rather spiritual terms. I
was a very big reader as a teen, and one of the first books
I read that was written by an actual theologian was one
by John Calvin, who has a problematic history and legacy,
but in his book The Institutes of the Christian Religion he
starts off by saying that knowledge of oneself is knowledge
of God, and one cannot come to terms with God unless
one comes to terms with oneself. So as someone enters
on this journey of figuring out what intersectionality can
mean for them, I would invite them to be enveloped by
their true selves, by all of who they are, all of their gender
identity and expressions, the fact that we are forced to live
12 MOVEMENT Issue 168 MOVEMENT Issue 168
13

in a world where race matters, and to draw on the cultures
that we come from. So to look in the mirror and to affirm
oneself and say “this is who I am”, I think that is the first
step in realising what intersectionality could contribute to
your life, the realisation that you are who you are. And that
who you are is enough.
For those of us that do not regularly read theology,
are there any accessible theologians that you would
recommend? And what are you reading at the
moment?
I think one of the greatest challenges for progressive
voices is that we’re not accessible. One name that comes
to my mind right now is Rachel Held Evans, who sadly is
no longer with us. She wrote quite a few books narrating
her coming out of a former Evangelical background, and
finding her feet in this new landscape of Christianity and
thinking about how Christianity could be different. Then
there’s of course also this towering Lutheran in America,
Nadia Bolz-Weber.
And you see that this is the thing, right? The first people
that come to mind are from the Global North, but there is
also Revd Dr Patrick Cheng who wrote a lovely introduction
to queer theology, Radical Love, and of course Desmond
Tutu.
Are there any particular writers, theologians or
otherwise, that helped to form you and your faith as a
young, queer Christian?
So you asked me earlier and I didn’t actually get around to
answering what I’m reading right now, but I’m reading Katie
Cannon who is an American theologian, and she writes
about how black women in America are coming to terms
with who they are, but how they are sources of theological
reflection too. So that’s what I’m currently busy with, and
that is partly because of my own research and my PhD.
The wells that I’m drinking from right now and helping
me think things through this moment are, well, one of my
favourites is Dietrich Bonhoeffer, who constantly reflects on
what this moment demands of him not only theologically,
but morally and ethically. And so as we face the regimes
of this moment, such as the ecological crisis, it requires a
response on the part of the disciple.
You looked at Bonhoeffer’s writings for your masters’
thesis, could you tell us a bit more about your thesis
and what you think students today can take away
from Bonhoeffer’s work?
What I was trying to do in my thesis was draw Bonhoeffer
into the conversation with sexual minorities and how queer
folk make sense of their faith, and going beyond that to
imagine what an affirming church could look.
I think what he does offer students in this moment is
something that is often lost, but he embodies a sense of
curiosity, which is the foundation for learning. And one
sees that in his travels, early on in his life he spends a lot of
time in North Africa, and then he goes from there to spend
some time in Rome and he spent some time in Spain. And
so he is constantly curious and willing to explore and go
beyond the boundaries of his aristocratic upbringing.
For me it’s distilled in this one quote from his book
Discipleship, where he says, “When Christ calls a man he
bids him come and die,” and the self-surrendering, and
I want to press this point that it’s not this self-negation,
it’s not self-deprecation. It’s surrendering oneself to this
mystery that is the Christ. This mystery that is love does
not require us to humiliate ourselves. It requires a level of
humility that we might not be comfortable with, yes, but
it does not mean that we surrender ourselves to absolute,
dehumanising humility. That is what Bonhoeffer invites
people to today. The recognition that we are part of a
greater whole, and oftentimes a greater whole does invite
us to moments of self-sacrifice.
The title of your PhD. Oh, My Body quotes Whitman’s
I Sing The Body Electric. Are you into poetry? Do you
have any favourite poems that you’d like to share?
I am into poetry. I’ve never thought of whether I have
any favourite poems, but I’d say Langston Hughes’ What
Happens to a Dream Deferred (Harlem). It stays with me
because in in the world that we have before us, there are so
many dreams that are deferred of people, of communities.
I think the work that I’m called to is to be a dream-catcher,
to empower, to co-create with people the dreams that
they wish for themselves.
One of my favourite poets in South Africa is Koleka
Putuma, who is a black, queer woman, and she has
written many collections about this intersection of memory
and race in South Africa, and her gender. It’s been very
refreshing to read the ways in which she’s making sense
of this moment, but also the ways in which she as a young
person, is making sense of what it means to be a South
African in the shadow of apartheid. What we need to do
now as a younger generation is to pave the way for a more
democratic country.
FIFA had grand ideas of the 2010 South African World
Cup having a last legacy in the country. What do you
think is the legacy of 2010?
I’m not the best person to ask about sports-related things
because I’m not an avid sports watcher! I think with the
benefit of hindsight there was a lot of good that came out
of the 2010 moment, and in the same way, if I can take your
memory back, the 1995 Rugby World Cup, which we hosted
and won. In 1994, we came out of the elections, we had
our democratic dispensation to some degree, and then you
have the ‘95 moment where we won and that was a very
great unifying moment for people of different races.
I think what 2010 presented us with is the challenge of
firstly providing the infrastructure needed, but also this
realisation that we have a good story to tell the world, the
fact that we to some degree avoided a civil war. I think
the 2010 moment did contribute to level of good, but I
think it also left us with many questions, for example, as an
emerging democracy, is this the best we could do?
To what extent has the Dutch reformed church
grappled with the legacy of colonialism in South
Africa and do you have any favourite South African
theologians who write about colonialism?
I’m part of a church that is not Dutch Reformed, but comes
from the Dutch Reformed Church. So they created in the
previous two or three centuries churches for everything,
for every race configured in the apartheid scheme. And
ironically, in 1994, the Coloured and the Black Church
then united to form the Uniting Reformed Church, and
we intentionally called ourselves Uniting in the hope that
the other churches will join our formation and become a
United Reformed Church.
The church is more open and honest about its history. They
are more willing to have a conversation on colonialism
and apartheid, but there is a great deal of unwillingness
on the part of its membership. I think one of the saddest
things about this denomination is that their members are
suffering from trauma, most of their lives were sold a lie,
an ideological position that they were to defend, even go
to war for, because it was draped in the language of the
Gospel, And now these members are in a different era and
having to live with the fact that they believed a lie.
People who are now writing on the legacy and the history
of apartheid and colonialism include my supervisor, my
colleague Robert Vosloo, and then I have a friend who did
his PhD on speaking truth, and this concept of speaking
truth is also within the community of the Dutch Reformed
Church, and he’s trying to make sense of what truth
means for a community that are benefactors of privilege.
His name is Louis van der Riet.
One of the big names writing on colonialism and apartheid
is Achille Mbembe who is Cameroonian, and he’s a political
scientist writing on the impact of colonialism and what
to post-colonialism could look like. Another is Mahmood
Mamdani, who’s Algerian, who wrote Neither Settler Nor
Native published in 2020, he has an entire chapter devoted
to South Africa.
It’s ten years since Pope Francis’ Evangelii Gaudium
Apostolic Exhortation, where he called on the church
to embark on a fundamental change of direction
when it comes to evangelisation, moving away from
the past actions to read the signs of the times and
find new ways of evangelising the world today. What
would your vision of that be?
I love this question! First, I think we need to be encouraged
by the fact that our witness is our presence, that is the
Gospel. Our presence is oftentimes our testimony, our
witness, and the actions that come with our presence, how
we enter a room how we engage with others. So in that in
our presence, already people encounter the gospel. And
second, I think our social media platforms are conduits of
the gospel proclamation. While we’re still figuring out the
long-term effects of social media, we can at this moment
still use it for good, and advance the gospel in ways that
might have been unthinkable in the past.
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So first thing is presence, and it’s intentional because
people choose to be in your presence, it’s very consensual
way of evangelising, of communicating our witness,
because people are inviting it into their lives. And secondly,
people can choose to follow my social media, and again it
is very consensual.
How would you describe your calling to ordained
ministry?
I think it was Rowan Williams or Justin Welby who said,
“I do not remember a day that I was not Christian,” and
that’s true for me. I grew up in the church, and by the time
I was 12 I sort of had an idea that I wanted to become a
pastor, and so because I had that idea I sort of aligned my
decisions in service of that idea.
I very much grew up in the faith, and my keen interest
was stimulated by the church, the congregation I was in,
and also supported by the people around me that were
like, “OK great, you want to become a minister. What can
we do to support you?” So I did not have this moment of
absolute revelation like Paul, it was rather progression into
the idea. By the time was nearing the end of high school, I
was like, OK, now I have to make a life decision about what
I’m going to study. And in the Reformed Church we prefer
that people come in after school, so I ticked those boxes
and that’s my journey.
What advice would you give to somebody who is
starting to feel that call to some form of ministry,
whether that’s ordained or otherwise? What words of
encouragement would you give them?
This is so cliché, but I’ve always been told by others that the
One who calls always, always remains faithful. And I do think
that that that God remains faithful to the call. And what I
would say is, remain within your community and share your
calling with individuals in your community to support you, to
pray with you, to discern with you. If it’s in you, it’s in you.
If you have the calling in in whichever form it takes, trust
yourself and trust God. It usually doesn’t make sense at the
beginning. I’m not sure if it makes sense in the middle, but
right now I trust it. I followed the voice and there will be
moments when it does make sense, but I cannot assure you
that all of it will make sense. But there will be key moments
in which you are assured that you are following the path.
What advice would you give to someone who’s about
to start university?
Be not afraid. You’ll make mistakes, but any mistake made
is not the end of it. And you are in your early 20s. You don’t
have to have your entire life figured out right now. You
don’t have to stick with the major that you’ve chosen. It’s
OK to be confused. It’s OK to be in the moment. Enjoy the
moment. Enjoy. Enjoy this moment because this will not be
the same in 10 years’ time. If you do another degree, you
will not experience the freedom that this moment provides
you with now. Enjoy the freedom.
Do you have any words of wisdom for students who
are about to graduate, and enter into the world of
work or postgraduate study?
I think I’m sort of in between those phases right now
because I’ve been doing my PhD for the past four years
now but I’ve also entered the world of work, and I would
say to them you are not the job that you do and you’re not
the further studies that you’re doing, you are you. Don’t
reduce yourself to become just a cog in the system. You’re
more than that. You’re more than your job. You’re more
than your studies. You are you.
Where are your travels taking you to next?
I’m going to the States to Michigan as part of the partnership
between Stellenbosch and Michigan State University,
where we focusing on the African concept of Ubuntu,
which is often ‘I am because you are.’ So we’ll focus on
relationality, vulnerability and also just community. We’ll
have some discussions on how we manifest this abstract
idea of Ubuntu, how do we do that in the academy, in
communities. The conference will be attended by students
and academics, but also community practitioners.
Have you ever met anyone that’s made you feel
starstruck?
Yes. Recently I met the American theologian Professor Keri
Day, she came to Stellenbosch. We had a what was very
was normal conversation, nothing grandiose or esoteric,
but there are folks that when you meet them you just
experience the level of holiness, and I can imagine that
it is the effect that Pope Francis has on people, or Nelson
Mandela or Desmond Tutu. And I sent my friend a message
and I said I experienced that with Keri Day, an awareness
that there was mystery and beauty and holiness involved in that moment. I was
starstruck by her. I was just, wow.
If you could host a dinner party and invite three people, who would you
invite?
There’s a South African activist, his name is Stephen Bantu Biko, and he was
an anti-apartheid activist and I would invite him because he was assassinated
in his mid-thirties. I would really invite the Apostle Paul, I think just because
his legacy is so complex, and I think Paul would be an amazing person to have
conversations with, especially about the letters, what did he mean by those
things? Since I’m talking with you folks in the UK I would invite Queen Elizabeth,
since she’s passed she’d be able to speak her mind.
What do you do to unwind and to take care of yourself?
So I used to share a flat with my friend and last year made this rash decision
to move out and live on my own, and I realised that I forgot when I made this
decision that I’m actually an extrovert. So one of the ways in which I take care
of myself is by being around people, because I draw energy from them, so
spending time with my friends and chosen family.
I enjoy reading, not for work related purposes but just reading for fun, and being
a person from Stellenbosch I enjoy the occasional glass of wine. Sometimes I
end up writing a bit of poetry, and it’s usually in Afrikaans which I can speak
and read and write in, but it’s not the language I use primarily. I think one of the
reasons I write my poetry in Afrikaans is because my poetry ends up being very
religious, and I was raised as an Afrikaans person. So yes, time with friends and
chosen family, a bit of poetry here and there and the occasional glass of wine
and reading for fun. Reading for not to produce anything, but just to be in that
moment.
This mystery that is love
does not require us to
humiliate ourselves.
It requires a level of
humility that we might
not be comfortable with,
yes, but it does not mean
that we surrender
ourselves to absolute,
dehumanising humility.
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17

THE
INESCAPABLE
GOD
Joshua Tinker-Reid Esequibus has just completed a BTh
at Regent’s Park College, Oxford. They are exploring a
ministry calling in the Baptist church, and primarily write
trans and intersex theology. This reflection is adapted from
one of their sermons.
Recently, I found myself crying in the middle of a church members’ meeting. I was
explaining to the other members of my Baptist church the pain of knowing that, if
the denomination won’t change to make it safe for LGBTQ+ people to go through the
ordination process whilst being out and proud, I would need to leave and explore my
calling to ministry elsewhere. It has been a bruising few weeks, months, and even years.
As I shared the latest updates of my journey with the SCM Trans Theology Group, their
supportive messages reminded me of my favourite piece of scripture: Psalm 139.
This psalm is among the best-known psalms in the Hebrew Bible. Among progressive
Christians, it is probably best known for its middle verses, which describe how God
has known every inch of us and who we would be before we came into being. But it is
the start of this psalm, verses 1-12, that I was reminded of. I had often ignored these
verses. 13-18 were the most powerful to me as I came to understand the fullness of
my sexuality and gender, so it was perhaps a blessing when I was asked to preach on
1-12 at a small URC chapel a few months ago. It allowed me to see things from
a wider, more incomprehensible, more awe-inspiring perspective.
Psalm 139 is a deeply personal prayer attributed to David that resonates deeply
with the wonder one feels when they compare the brief, brittle existence that
humans have on earth with the awesome expansiveness of God. This psalm is
remarkable for its approach to God, to the activity of the Divine. It uses language
more closely aligned to our modern conception of divine attributes than any
other passage in the Old Testament. God is both the ‘far away’, transcendent
God who observes all from heaven, and the ‘close by’ God, whose Spirit dwells
amongst us. The psalmist is trying to comprehend God’s omniscience and is
struck by wonder: it is beyond understanding. David’s statement about God’s
omniscience is characteristic of him: vivid, concrete, not doctrinal but simply a
confession of adoration. God, for David as for us, is both personal and active.
When we think of the world that David was living in, it may be easy for us to
think of it as far removed from the fast-paced, technological age we live in
now. But with wars and conflicts ongoing in Europe, the Middle East, Africa,
and Asia, the life-or-death existence of David, whose life always seemed at risk
from his enemies, may not be as distant from us as we may think. In his hiding
and fleeing, fighting, and leading, David finds time to contemplate something
as incomprehensible as the nature of God. And in taking time to contemplate
and worship his Creator, David seems to find himself deeply comforted by
that same incomprehensible nature. God is with him. God is with us. God is
inescapable.
This psalm still speaks hope into the world today. David writes, “If I ascend to
heaven, you are there; if I make my bed in Sheol (the grave), you are there,”
(Ps.139:8). Even in a darkness so deep that the light becomes night, there is
no place that God’s presence cannot be felt, there is no place that God’s light
will not shine. When we are intimidated by technologies that seem to push us
apart, when we feel like we are losing the battle to protect our precious planet,
when tapping our card at the supermarket fills us with anxiety, God is there.
Wherever we go, whatever we do, however far we may flee, the love of God will
find us, and the glory of the Creator shall shine upon us. As one member of the
SCM Trans Theology Group put it “nothing I do is able to make God disappear
… I promise, I’ve tried, God just won’t f**k off.”
Psalm 139 is a deeply
personal prayer attributed
to David that resonates
deeply with the wonder one
feels when they compare
the brief, brittle existence
that humans have on
earth with the awesome
expansiveness of God. This
psalm is remarkable for its
approach to God, to the
activity of the Divine.
There really is nowhere we can go and nothing we can do that can separate us
from the love of God. To reword Romans 8:38-39, neither climate change, nor
AI, nor self-doubt, neither economic uncertainties, nor health problems, nor
war, nor anything else can separate us from the love of God in Christ. In the
chaos of an uncertain world, God is with us.
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19

ONHOEFFER
N
Bonhoeffer
BERLIN
in Berlin
This Summer we took a group
of students to Berlin to find
out more about the German
theologian Dietrich Bonhoeffer
and visit places of faith across
the city. Naomi O shares her
diary from the trip.
Tuesday
Day one of our Berlin trip was all travel! My day
started with a 6am train from York to London, where
I met up with the students at London St Pancras.
It was a sleepy start, but the students were full of
excitement, which helped pick up my mood. The
students came from all over the country, from York
to Edinburgh, Essex to Southampton. It was lovely
seeing the students build friendships right from the
get-go… just goes to show how lovely our members
are!
First train from London St Pancras to Brussels
was surprisingly sophisticated- considering how
horrendous UK trains are, the Eurostar feels
practically regal in comparison! Once we arrived in
Brussels, we had a few hours to explore the city. I
didn’t manage to see much, but Grace and a few of
the other students managed to see a castle and two
cathedrals in that time- incredible sightseeing skills!
Our next stop was Köln and the beautiful cathedral.
I’ve been to Köln a few times before, so it was nice to
have a couple of hours to experience the city again.
I managed to have a delightful chat with Rebecca and
hear about her work- very interesting to hear from
someone else’s work in the charity sector!
From Köln it was across Germany to Berlin. This
train was less delightful, with delays and dealing
with some grumpy German passengers… but we got
to the hotel in one piece. In bed for 2am.
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In a space where walls
are an integral part of
the history, there was
something powerful
about having walls
where something
could pass through
freely. Suddenly, it no
longer felt oppressive
to be in that space;
I felt freedom.
WEDNESDAY
Today was an early start at the Chapel of Reconciliation next to
the Berlin Wall. Luckily, our hotel was right next door, so it wasn’t
too taxing! Our guide, Ute, led us so movingly around this holy
threshold. We learned about the history of the wall and heard about
why it was erected. I was shocked to hear that people volunteered
to erect the wall, considering how much pain and violence this wall
caused. We heard stories about some of the victims of the wall and
the culture of fear that the police state created. Family members
would spy on each other and KGB officers would pretend to have
relationships with people to find out information. I couldn’t help
but think of instances of police states in the modern-day and the
psychological fear that instils in a person.
From there we entered the Chapel of Reconciliation, which was
incredibly moving. There was once a chapel that stood exactly
where the Berlin Wall stood, but after increasing pressures from
the various governments, the chapel was demolished. Once the wall
came down, there was a strong feeling in the local community that a
new chapel should be built on the same site as an acknowledgement
of the desire for peace. When I first went into the space, I found the
brownish-grey walls a struggle, as they almost felt a little oppressive.
After a little time has passed, however, I noticed how the walls are
built from compacted earth. I noticed how the walls were porous, and
it filled the space with a distinctly earthy smell. It became apparent
that because the porous walls allowed air to pass through freely. It
was like the walls were breathing! In a space where walls are an
integral part of the history, there was something powerful about
having walls where something could pass through freely. Suddenly,
it no longer felt oppressive to be in that space; I felt freedom.
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Lunch was an opportunity to dust off my broken German
(thanks German GCSE!) and I got a bagel and a waffle. After
lunch, we headed to the house of Martin Niemöller. Like
Bonhoeffer, Martin Niemöller was a member of the Bekennende
Kirche (the Confessing Church). Our guide explained how
Niemöller didn’t always have radical politics; in fact, he was
once a very proud member of the country’s army and incredibly
pro-military! It was fascinating hearing how the rise of the Nazi
regime dramatically affected his politics. I found it delightful
hearing how the announcer on the S-Bahn would let people
know when Niemöller was preaching, just because so many
wanted to hear that he him speak. Imagine if bus conductors and
train officials announced if radical theologians were preaching
today! We heard of the many acts of resistance other members
of the Confessing Church committed; it was a masterclass in the
art of non-violent civil disobedience!
Coming away from this day, the word ‘conflict’ was circling
around my head; I couldn’t help but be inspired by the acts of
resistance we heard about despite all the conflict and fear that
encircled their lives. I couldn’t help but wonder about the ways I
should be pushing back against conflict in my own life.
Thursday
Thursday morning was a free morning and I was determined to
see some sights! A group of students and I set off at about 8am
to Alexanderplatz where went to the Marienkirche. This is a
Catholic Church with a beautiful (and macabre!) fresco from the
15th century called The Dance of Death. From there, we walked
past the Berlinerdom, the Humboldt-Universität, and finally to
the Brandenburg Gate. The Holocaust and the LGBT memorials
were nearby, which felt harrowing.
MOVEMENT Issue 168
Coming away from
this day, the word
‘conflict’ was circling
around my head; I
couldn’t help but be
inspired by the acts of
resistance we heard
about despite all the
conflict and fear that
encircled their lives.
23

BONHOEFFER
It is a place where
I felt cleansed. Like
I was standing amid
the parted Red Sea –
next to Moses holding
back the waters. Like
I was walking towards
Jesus on the water,
the bubble-like tiles
floating in the blue
light beneath my feet.
We began our afternoon at the Kaiser Wilhelm Memorial Church,
which I found incredibly moving. I could try and explain how I felt
in this space, but our member Elijah wrote a beautiful account of
being in that space:
“The building is flooded with a cleansing sea of blue light, an effect
created by over 20,000 stained glass inlays, so much so that upon
crossing the threshold I felt that once again I had been baptised.
It is a place where I felt cleansed. Like I was standing amid the
parted Red Sea – next to Moses holding back the waters. Like
I was walking towards Jesus on the water, the bubble-like tiles
floating in the blue light beneath my feet. As I walked down the
central aisle, I looked towards Jesus, whose face is stricken with
anguish, and felt the space whisper “have faith.”
Lunch was halloumi and falafel, and I had a chat with other Naomi
about the trip to decompress, both of which were greatly needed!
After lunch, we finally headed to the Bonhoeffer House. As I have
spent the year reading and experiencing Bonhoeffer’s theology, it
felt surreal to be in a space where he grew up and where he wrote
some of his most famous works. We stood in his bedroom, where
he was arrested. Talking to many of the students afterwards, they
found being in that space very moving.
Friday
Travel day! Today was less successful than the first travel day.
Goodness, what a journey! After a series of delayed trains and
difficulties with access, we were certainly tired by the time we
arrived in London. Despite all that stress, I found it so uplifting
seeing the group come together- it’s a real testament to the kind of
people SCM attract!
Finally I was on my way home to York full of joy, good German
beer, and big ideas of civil disobedience. Auf wiedersehen!
Bonhoeffer
A man so great
Still remembered
To this date
His death, 78 years prior
Bonhoeffer
Your life reminds us
that we must live just
To act our faith
And in God, have utmost trust
Bonhoeffer
In Berlin your footsteps echo
This city sings your name
From church to ghetto
The capital of hope and pain
Bonhoeffer
We remember you, your sacrifice
For the marginalised
You paid the ultimate price,
your earthly life finalised
Bonhoeffer
I pray your death was not in vain
But I stand concerned,
Because it feels like nothing has changed
since you came
POEM
Bonhoeffer
The fascists are back
They never left, they went into hiding
We will defend all under attack
Or we will see humanity sliding
Bonhoeffer
In Christ we find peace,
serenity and love
But that must be for all
Fascism, we must organise against
Or as Christians we fail, we fall
Bonhoeffer
I pray for human unity
Against this societal disease
God, please give us the strength
to defend those in times of need
A painted statue of Bonhoeffer
stands in the medieval nave
screen in St Albans Cathedral
Image: Stephen Noulton / Shutterstock.com
by M Day
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25

Beatitudes
Blessed are those that greet you with a smile and offer you Fruitella,
Blessed are those that travel 13000 km,
Blessed are those who start conversations with, ‘I’ve always wanted to ask a Catholic this’.
National
Gathering
Beatitudes
After a weekend of discussing what it means to walk ‘humbly’, Ashwin Thyssen, our
keynote speaker, left us with a reading of Nadia Bolz Weber’s version of the Beatitudes.
Nadia wonders if, instead of being a list of qualities we should have, these prayers were
Jesus showering God’s love and affirmation onto whomever happened to surround him
on that specific mountain on that specific day. The kind of people not used to being
blessed by society.
Many of us at the National Gathering have been told we are unworthy of blessings:
we went to the wrong church, or were too loud, or were too kind, or too gay, or too
trans, or too doubtful. Nadia invites us to create more Beatitudes for the people and
circumstances in our life. To me, the National Gathering had blessings around every
corner, so here are my Beatitudes for the SCM National Gathering 2023.
Blessed are those who choose to leave worship with tears in their eyes,
Blessed are those that knit, or crochet, or embroider, or fidget so they can hear,
Blessed are those that bake flapjacks, brownies and Welsh cakes.
Blessed are those who preside over Communion with joy,
Blessed are those who are committed to the flourishing of all,
Blessed are those that show love to a version of themselves that they tried to destroy.
Blessed are those who spend dinners discussing nostalgic TV shows,
Blessed are those who sit in the quiet, those who hold others’ prayers up to God,
Blessed are those who squeeze the hands of strangers in silent solidarity.
Blessed are the babies who are unaware of the prayers they are in the midst of,
Blessed are those who fight against injustice and oppression, even when it hurts,
Blessed are those who draw the line at auctioning off individual limes,
but will sell three for 50p.
Blessed are those who pray through song or through silence
and those that can’t pray and don’t pray,
Blessed are those who cannot believe God would do good through them,
Blessed are those that sing their babies lullabies of resistance.
Blessed are those who build community to prevent the chaos,
Blessed are those who are because we are,
Blessed are those that step into tomorrow, today.
Blessed are the loud, kind, ecumenical, growing, curious, doubtful, queer,
anxious people of faith who spent a weekend laughing, thinking, listening,
talking, asking, crying, worrying and walking humbly.
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27

FAITH IN ACTION
Do you remember the first time you noticed moss? I do. I
was a child, young enough that I wasn’t in school yet, and
my mother was taking my brother and me for a walk in the
woods. Before she had children, my mother worked as an
environmental scientist, doing ecosystem assessments for
an engineering firm. She was (and still is) intimately familiar
with the things that live and grow in and around the region
of the US I grew up in, and she used to take us for walks
in the woods and fields near our hometown (and anywhere
we happened to be visiting), pointing out that plant and this
bird and explaining how amphibians are indicator species
for stream health and how to differentiate animal tracks. I
think four-year-old Grace knew more about the saltmarsh
ecosystems of the Atlantic seaboard than most of the
adults who lived there, both because wetlands are mom’s
favourite, and because child Grace had an encyclopaedic
knowledge of birds. (Adult Grace does not; at some point my
brain decided that a keener awareness of social conventions
in school was more important than bird identification and
jettisoned my bird knowledge.)
But anyway, back to moss. I remember my mother explaining
the difference between mosses and lichens, how they grew
and why, and what made them different from other plants.
Moss has always seemed like a fuzzy little miracle to me.
One of the first plants, incredibly tiny, but almost impossible
to kill. Most mosses will grow anywhere damp enough. They
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29

don’t have roots and so don’t need soil. They can go dormant for
centuries, waiting for the right conditions to start growing again. And
in certain ecosystems, they form mats thick enough that eventually,
other plants can just use the moss as soil. Other creatures live in moss,
mostly microorganisms, some of which live no where else.
And moss itself is beautiful. Delicate, many coloured little structures,
as complex as snowflakes and almost as tiny. But it is also incredibly
overlooked. Especially in the UK, where moss will grow on pretty much
anything that stands still long enough, we don’t look for moss like we
might flowers. It’s just there, in pavement cracks and on roofs and
boulders and benches, an annoyance we scrape off of things. To me,
moss is so hopeful. Tiny and unnoticed, growing where nothing else
can, and paving the way for other things to literally grow through it.
I struggle with imposter syndrome, and with feeling like I am doing
enough. Being good enough, working hard enough, devoting enough
time and energy to other people. Sometimes, it helps me to think of
myself as moss. I don’t have to be doing big things. I just have to be
moss. Be small and helpful and let other things grow from my work. I
just have to do my little part.
FAITH IN ACTION
ATTENDING XR’S
THE BIG ONE -
A REFLECTION
St Therese of Lisieux had a very similar philosophy, which is often
referred to as the ‘Little Way’. She talks about wanting to ‘strew
flowers before Thee’, by which she means countless small acts of
kindness and love. She felt incapable of doing ‘great works’ (and lived
in a society that actively prevented her from doing them), so she
chose to be a beacon of love and light as much as she could.
I have complicated feelings about St Therese. But much as she wanted
to be Jesus’s ‘Little Flower’, showering the world in rose petals of
kindness, I can always lean back on just being moss. I don’t have to be
the greatest or the best or the loudest voice. I just need to be there,
supporting my own tiny ecosystem, and helping other things grow.
God doesn’t ask us to succeed, God just asks us to show up and to try.
And even when I feel powerless, I know that I can be moss.
Grace Stewart was SCM’s Faith in Action Project Worker (Theology &
Resources) for 2022-23.
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31

When Extinction Rebellion (XR) announced on social media
that they were aiming to get 100,000 people outside
Parliament to put pressure on the UK government to act
on climate change, I knew I had to be there. The climate
crisis is such a dominating and complex issue that it is
easy to feel like the small acts don’t matter. By being
there on the 23rd of April I was hoping to make a
big impact and ease my anxieties surrounding
the thousands and thousands of people already
displaced due to climate change.
FAITH IN ACTION
So, with my make-shift canvas sign reading, ‘People
over Profit’ complete with a handle made from an old
piece of wood I found in the garage at home, I made
my train journey from Leeds to London, on the day of
the London Marathon, to be there. On the way I listened
to an episode from Extinction Rebellion’s podcast, ‘The
Power to Change with Margaret Atwood and Richard Black’
(Townsend, 2022) . From what I heard of the episode,
sitting in a noisy carriage, it helped me to form a good
understanding of where the UK is at currently with climate
change, linking it to the current energy crisis, reminding us
all that a shift to dependency on renewable energies with
the current national grid is extremely possible.
Extinction Rebellion had a whole programme of workshops
and craft activities to get involved in. I met SCM at the Faith
hub where young people from a collection of different faith
organisations, including SCM, the Young Christian Climate
Network and JustLove, were to lead a service. SCM asked
me if I wanted to be part of the service and read from
the book of James, chapter 2 verses 14-26. Accepting
this invitation, I felt mostly excited. The book of James
has always been one of my favourite books of the Bible
and to me this verse summed it up quite well, there is no
faith without works. Declaring these words right next to
Westminster - this was my chance to shout truth to power.
Put my faith into action and challenge others to do the
same. To play my part in a universal fight for freedom.
However, this was also a peaceful protest and spending
time in prayer and singing hymns also felt important. We
sang some classic hymns, and some I had never heard
before, within a community I felt truly included in. This felt
almost restorative - restorative of past hurt but also of a
future without hope. The theme of restoration resonated
throughout the day. Another point in the day when I felt
this was during the interfaith service when we all held
hands with one another in prayer. I could feel the love for
the earth as we prayed in community with one another, a
great sense of peace which I don’t often feel when praying
for the climate alone.
Finally, we finished the day with a march to the Home
Office, where we delivered hundreds of pink paper boats
to Suella Braverman, demanding the proper treatment of
refugees seeking asylum with more legal routes to the UK.
As a student nurse, and after chatting to a fellow retired
nurse earlier in the day, it felt important to remember that
to solve climate change we must treat every single human
being with the equal respect. Our humanity unites us. And
that is a powerful thing.
Emily Harris is a student nurse and a member of Inclusive
Christian Movement Leeds.
This autumn we are thrilled to introduce the two new Project Workers employed as
part of the Faith in Action project in partnership with Project Bonhoeffer.
Hello, my name is William Gibson and I am starting as the
new Theology and Resources project worker as part of
the Faith in Action project.
I am currently entering my final year of studying Theology and Religious Studies at the
University of Glasgow, I am an associate member of the Iona Community and a member of
the Church of Scotland. I have recently finished working at Apple, where I led organising
efforts to unionise the first Apple store in the UK. For me, faith in action is the place where we
encounter Christ and discover what it means to follow God. I embrace both activism and contemplation, individual efforts
and collective participation as equally valid and necessary expressions of faith in action. Especially when these actions
encourage us to stand in solidarity with, raise our voices for or be community alongside society’s most marginalised
Hello! I’m Phoebe Edmonds and I’m SCM’s new Faith in
Action Project Worker for Social Justice.
I have just finished a degree in Applied Theatre and Community Drama, using theatre as a
tool for social and political change. As such, I have a passion for creating work that inspires
thought and action. I am excited to begin my journey with SCM using this experience to run
campaigns and workshops to facilitate others to do the same. My roots in Quakerism have led
me believe of that of God (sometimes translated to that of good) in everyone, which I hope
to bring into the campaigns we create together. This mindset means I find joy in working with
many different people, often creating theatre and community events together, and recently I’ve worked with groups such
as refugees, LGBTQ+ young people and older gardeners. I’m excited to facilitate and work with other aspiring activists to
begin carving out the world we wish to live in, and maybe getting a bit creative with it along the way!
As well as the excitement of welcoming William and Phoebe, we’re also thrilled that Naomi O, our 2022-23 Social Justice project
worker, will be staying with the SCM staff team to take on the Fundraiser role. Sadly though we have said goodbye to Grace, our
outgoing Theology and Resources Project Worker. We wish her all the best as she begins studying for a Masters in Social Work.
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AFFIRMING
CHRISTIANITY
AFFIRMING CHRISTIANITY is a new series exploring the life of faith in Christ,
written by and for people who have shared progressive values.
We’re excited to have launched our first course in the series,
‘HOW TO BE A GOOD CHRISTIAN ALLY’, in partnership with OneBodyOneFaith.
If you affirm LGBTQ+ folks in principle and want to do more to demonstrate
that support, this is the course for you!
BEYOND
FRESHERS’
WEEK
HOW TO SURVIVE
AND THRIVE
AT UNIVERSITY
Once the parties are over and the photos shared on Instagram, the
real uni life begins. You’ll soon get into the rhythm of lectures and
seminars, and that first assignment deadline will come around
pretty quickly!
As the term draws on it can become harder to juggle coursework,
having a social life and taking care of your own wellbeing, not to
mention fitting in a part time job if you have one. Here are our top
tips for looking after yourself at university.
To find out more and order resources visit MOVEMENT.ORG.UK/ALLYSHIP
34 MOVEMENT Issue 168
MOVEMENT Issue 168
35

EAT RIGHT!
SPEND TIME
WITH GOD
It’s important to eat healthy, nutritious
food. This doesn’t mean you can’t ever
order a takeout with your flatmates
but make sure you eat some fruit and
vegetables. You’ll feel better for it.
SLEEP WELL
EXERCISE
There are plenty of ways to move your
body, and just 20 minutes a day can really
boost your physical and mental wellbeing.
Try cycling to uni if you usually get the
bus, or exploring the city on foot.
TALK TO
SOMEONE
when you’re feeling blue – a friend, a
university counsellor, a chaplain, a church
leader or a student mentor. Don’t suffer
in silence and don’t suffer alone. Your uni
will most likely have someone you can
talk to. It’s easy to isolate ourselves in our
struggles but try to resist that temptation.
Don’t be afraid to ask for help.
Take time out of your day to pray or
read some scripture, or even listen
to some worship music. Find other
Christians at your uni, whether that’s
an SCM community, the chaplaincy or
a local church, and go along to their
events and services.
BE KIND TO
YOURSELF!
Getting enough sleep is super
important, as everything feels worse
when we’re run down or tired. Try
and get into a regular pattern of
sleep, and get an early night once in
a while!
REGISTER WITH
A DOCTOR
Register with a doctor and dentist early
on in your uni life if you’ve moved to a
new city, and don’t be afraid to use them
– it’s what they’re there for!
KEEP
IN
TOUCH
with friends back home and with family,
but be careful not to be in contact so
much that you don’t make new friends.
Don’t beat yourself up for feeling
homesick, stressed, or for struggling
with your mental or physical health. Give
yourself the same love and care that you
would a friend and don’t put too much
pressure on yourself to be a certain way.
You are you, and that is perfect!
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MOVEMENT Issue 168
MOVEMENT Issue 168
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IN DEFENCE
OF “RIP-OFF”
DEGREES
AND THOSE
WHO STUDY
THEM.
From the Prime Minister, who last year diagnosed universities 1
as places “full of people who don’t vote for us”, came recently
an entirely unrelated announcement that, apparently, too many
people are going to university and not earning enough when they
graduate. Students are, in Sunak’s own words 2 , being sold “rip-off
degrees” - an interesting stance from the party who decided to
sell them to us in the first place. If one in every five students would
have been financially better off having not gone to university, as
the Institute for Fiscal Studies suggests 3 , you would think it worth
taking a look at the jobs they do, and why their earnings are so
low. Instead, the Government’s solution seems to be to continue
its attack on the arts 4 . It’s hardly the fault of universities that we
don’t value graduate jobs in the humanities or the arts in the way
that we should, and it isn’t the fault of such graduates that the
Conservatives’ only measure of worth is by income.
Of course, there is absolutely nothing wrong with non-graduate
careers. During the COVID-19 pandemic the wealthy saw, perhaps
for the first time, something everyone else knew all along: the
value of our lowest-paid workers. Our bus and tram drivers,
refuse collectors and hospital porters kept our world turning while
graduates stayed mostly at home, safely behind desks whilst the
nasty stuff was taken care of. Is it any wonder then, that workingclass
kids see university as a way to escape the so-called “lowskilled”
careers only noticed and valued in times of crisis? Now
the pandemic is over, the waves of strike action across Britain
show that we are perfectly comfortable in ignoring these workers
again. We have learned nothing.
All of this makes me suspect that this isn’t really about the value
of degrees at all, but instead about the apparently decadent
ambition of working-class students who follow their hearts rather
than their wallets to university, as though our only value has
to do with how much money we make over our working lives.
Perhaps the arts are best left to those who can afford to pursue
them; Oxbridge philosophy, politics and economics graduates
38 MOVEMENT Issue 168
39

will always need someone to mend their cars after all. This
announcement seems to be a thinly veiled message that
people like me should stay in our lane.
The crumbs we pay our musicians and our poets, coupled
with the precarity that comes with pursuing these careers,
ensure that these industries remain the preserve of those
who can afford to aspire to them. It is little wonder that those
arts and humanities courses in our ‘best’ universities will
likely remain open under the new Tory plans – their graduates
come largely from better-off families, whose
incomes will reflect this. Instead, it will be
courses at our less-prestigious institutions
which will suffer, and working-class access
to the arts along with it. Throughout the later
1900s, Britain’s working classes exported art
and culture to the world. A country whose only
creative voices are from amongst the well-off
will almost certainly be culturally poorer; more
Fleabag and less Victoria Wood.
All of this is engineered to extract maximum
value from Britain’s working
classes. We are allowed
to do the jobs that the
more well-off don’t
fancy doing, and
we are allowed
to pursue high-paid
careers and therefore
pay lots of tax, but what
we are not allowed to do is touch
those jobs in the arts, the
humanities, and the
media. Those are
for people better
than us, and perhaps a few too many students from poorer
backgrounds were prepared to brave the low pay that is
supposed to keep us out. Cutting university places is surely
the only answer.
Instead of sneering at ambition, the Tories might want to
think about how to fairly renumerate both the humanities
graduates and the non-graduates alike. Perhaps then
university courses would not be such a “rip off”,
and the shortage of non-graduate workers
abated. Dignity and value in every career would
offer school leavers and real choice in life – isn’t
that what conservatism is supposed to be all
about?
Unfortunately, our Prime Minister seems
unable to look beyond earnings to see
the human value of university education.
He also lacks the skill to notice the
underpaid workers in the creative arts
to whom we turn for inspiration and
escape, as well as those in hospitals
and in transport to whom we turn in
times of crisis. It makes me wonder
whether his own degree might have
been something of a rip-off. I guess
we can trust him to do the maths.
Tom Packer-Stucki is studying for an
MRes (1+3 PhD course) in Linguistics at the
Queen Mary University of London School of
Languages, Linguistics and Film. He served
on SCM’s General Council from 2019 to
2023, and is the outgoing Convenor and
Chair of Trustees.
IN
DEBT
& IN
THE
ARTS
REVIEWS
HOW WESTMINSTER
WORKS AND WHY IT DOESN’T
So, full disclosure, I didn’t pay for
my copy of this book. I won it in a
competition. On its launch day, a
brand new copy arrived on my doorstep,
complete with a stick figure picture of
Liz Truss scribbled on the front page
by the author. However, I’m pretty sure
that this preferable treatment hasn’t
affected my opinion of this lovely book,
or its handsome author.
The book itself is well structured, well
researched, and well written, but above
all it is sobering! If you have read the
work of the Secret Barrister, then
you will be familiar with the style.
The book looks at each section of our
political system in turn, beginning with
parliamentary candidates and how
they are selected, then working up to
the role of the prime minister. While
the first half of the book is concerned
mostly with the executive, the second
half is devoted to the legislature and
what scrutiny new laws are subjected to
(very little as it turns out).
In both cases, each chapter starts with
a brief explanation of how things
are meant to work, followed by an
exhaustive breakdown of the reasons
why they don’t. These range from the
relatively benign ( for example, it’s
difficult for the Prime Minister to
get anything done, because his office
is based in a 400 year old house and
there’s no room to put anyone), to
the outright malicious ( for example,
parliament is kept completely
ineffective because the government
always holds an overall majority and
sets the agenda).
The book also features two case studies
that describe how combinations of
these failures come together to lead
to catastrophic incidents. For my
money, these are the most important
parts of the book, as they show the
real-world consequences of the systems
failures. The first of these is given in
the introduction, and concerns Chris
Grayling’s decision, while Justice
Secretary, to privatise the probation
service. We learn how each safeguard
against bad ideas fails to kick in and
prevent this change. Then we are told
about the disastrous consequences of
this action, including (but not limited
to) complete systematic failure of
the probation service and several
preventable deaths.
It’s a really uplifting read!
How Westminster Works and
Why it Doesn’t
Ian Dunt
Hardcover
ISBN: 139960273X
Finally, the book concludes with
some suggestions for how the system
could be improved. Most of these
are quite simple and could be easily
implemented. It is, therefore, quite
depressing to know that they will never
be put into action, as there simply isn’t
the popular understanding of these
issues and why they matter. The only
solution to this (at least that I can think
of ) is for everyone to read this book,
and then educate their friends and
family by talking about it relentlessly
in pubs and over the breakfast table. Is
that okay Ian?
RUSSELL FROST
1
https://www.mirror.co.uk/news/politics/rishi-sunak-told-meeting-hed-30370275
2
https://twitter.com/rishisunak/status/1680848107708338177?s=61&t=Dvp9nyxRe2f7CEvBp_9eSw
3
https://ifs.org.uk/news/most-students-get-big-pay-going-university-some-would-be-better-financially-if-they-hadnt-done
4
https://www.ucu.org.uk/article/11678/UCU-condemns-biggest-attack-on-arts-in-living-memory-announced-by-Office-for-Students
40 MOVEMENT Issue 168
MOVEMENT Issue 168
41

RED ENLIGHTENMENT:
ON SOCIALISM, SCIENCE
AND SPIRITUALITY
In this book, Graham Jones seeks to
bring socialism, science, and spirituality
together into an emancipatory alliance.
Where the secular left has tended to
adopt an antagonistic attitude towards
religion, Jones identifies the positive
potential of progressive religious
practice in the global struggle against
all forms of oppression.
By bringing the motivating influence
of various spiritual traditions into
conversation with scientific discussions
about the nature of reality and
Marxist theory, Jones develops a
materialist spirituality that both
comforts and challenges. Central to
Jones’ constructive project is the notion
of embodiment: the recognition that
we experience the world through
our bodies. This emphasis on the
body ultimately informs the utopian
trajectory of the book: to promote
liberatory systems on all scales.
While I leave the reader to judge the
overall merits of Jones’ materialist
spirituality, I recommend this book for
its apologetic quality. While the idea
that socialism, science, and spirituality
might form a constructive nexus might
not be novel to readers of Movement,
this is not true for many. What Red
Spirituality offers, then, is a platform
from which to invite others to consider
the positive intersection of three forms
of discourse that are often presented as
antithetical. Another notable strength
of this book is its attempt to think
beyond the Western intellectual canon.
Jones invites the reader to re-evaluate
the connection between modernity and
secularization by highlighting the levels
of religiosity found in the majority
of the world’s population. As a result,
Jones maintains that an understanding
of religion is a strategic necessity for
any viable global movement for justice.
ROSS JESMONT
Red Enlightenment:
On Socialism, Science
and Spirituality
Graham Jones
Paperback
ISBN: 1914420195
BARBIE
Chances are, unless you’ve been on
a six-month long digital detox on a
remote island, you’ll have heard some
of the fanfare surrounding the release
of Greta Gerwig’s third directorial
feature ( following Lady Bird and the
marvelous Little Women). The film
has been both loved by audiences and
critics, as well as reviled by a very vocal
section of right-wing commentators.
So, is a film based on a sixty-four year
old toy worth the countless column
inches and literal billion dollars it has
generated?
The premise is simple: Barbie (Margot
Robbie) is living her best life in
Barbieland with her Barbie friends.
Oh, and the Kens are there too. But
one day she wakes up and life isn’t so
perfect. Her feet fall flat, she discovers
cellulite and why does she keep thinking
about death? Seeking advice from
Weird Barbie (a gloriously unhinged
Kate McKinnon), she discovers she has
to travel to the Real World and find
the child playing with her and fix their
sadness. Cue a hilarious and sometimes
gut-wrenching quest, accompanied
by Ken (Ryan Gosling), that explores
themes of gender dynamics, patriarchy,
mother-daughter relationships, beauty
standards and self-worth, and what it
means to feel. All in a neat two hours.
Firstly, Barbie is hilarious. The
screenplay is so packed with jokes and
fourth wall breaking asides that it
will keep you laughing the whole way
through. The tone works because the
cast (particularly Robbie and Gosling)
are completely committed to their
roles – it would’ve been so easy to ham
it up, but they offer thoughtful and
layered performances. The rest of the
cast (including seemingly half the cast
of Netflix’s Sex Education) follows suit
and are all pitch perfect. Whether it’s
performing a highly choreographed
song-and-dance number, delivering
a blistering monologue on the
impossibility of being a woman in our
society, or delivering perfect visual gags,
the cast gives it everything.
The film brings up a number of Big
Themes but with no easy answers.
When Ken discovers the concept
of Patriarchy and introduces it to
Barbieland, Barbie has to rescue her
fellow Barbies and convince the Kens
that they have to find their own place
in the world that isn’t defined by what
they have or who they’re with. The
film is showing that toxic masculinity
and patriarchy is just as damaging
to men as it is to women. It brings to
mainstream film something that we
rarely see: a resolutely feminist story
told with aplomb that is unapologetic
and rousing. I can’t recommend it
enough.
JENNA NICHOLAS
Barbie (12A)
Directed by Greta Gerwig
Starring Margot Robbie, Ryan
Gosling, America Ferrera
2023
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Grays Court, 3 Nursery Road, Edgbaston, Birmingham, B15 3JX
t: 0121 426 4918 e: scm@movement.org.uk w: www.movement.org.uk