NOVEMBER 2023
Holland Park
Not much writing they smooth, apart from a blog of daily readings on John the Baptist for December.
WAITING GAMES
I spent most of the month waiting for a) a file for ‘Daily Prayers from the World’s Faiths’ with all the latest corrections, then b) a file in ePub which Amazon KDP could accept; then c) an up-to date file in a format that Amazon KDP could accept. Hopefully it will all come together next month.
Another wait was for replies to my invitation to speakers of various faiths to take part in the Interfaith Symposium on Prayer on 31st January. I sent out invitations on 2nd and 29th November, and have had one positive reply (probably).
MARKETING
My main marketing effort will be in the new year. But I did go to the Christian Resources Exhibition in Solihull to let people know about my book. I sold four copies, one on the train within ten minutes of leaving Marylebone. Arriving there, I met representatives of the Unite the Union – Faiths branch, who were very interested and thought it could be useful for the Army! I also met again Elliott from Monkeynut who puts books into audio. He is keen to work with me and I have sent him some files.
CHURCH
It has been a very busy month church-wise. We re-started the Queens Gate Connect study groups, and I led two enjoyable Zoom meetings. On 29th I joined again the Wednesday Saints Zoom meetings. Up to then I had been doing a 5 week physio exercise course for my arthritic knee.
Linda was away a lot this month, so I managed to host three Sunday lunches for folk from the church and/or Philbeach Gardens. I am getting it down to a fine art, with using a slow cookpot and inviting just three people at a time so we are a table of four – ideal for keeping conversation flowing.
Queens Gate has started an experimental evening service, mixing liturgy with more free- flowing worship (with violin, piano, cello etc). When I was in Durham, Michael Ramsey, who was my spiritual director, said that he had advised a group to start the kind of loose worship with the reading of a psalm. I suggested that to our site pastor Sam, and he thought it a good idea.
HTB pu on a safeguarding training for Connect group leaders, which was excellent. The speaker said we should follow a six point procedure when any incident occurred:
- Check if immediate risk of harm. Don’t be afraid to ring 999.
- Understand confidentiality
- Be a listener not an investigator
- Show acceptance
- Stay calm
- Make a note / Tell somebody
Clear and helpful.
In Kensington there is Christian Community, Bickersteth House, which has been accommodating young people coming in London for over 100 years. I went to the 101st birthday celebration and had a long talk with the principal guest, the superior of the Community of the Resurrection, aka the Mirfield Fathers. We had a fascinating chat , both of us having the same concerns about the future of the Church.
I took part in a study day for all London clergy in Church House Westminster. I heard a wonderful talk on waiting in in Advent from Paul Gooder, then some sessions on how to practice being a contemplative community with Lectio Divine (Sacred Reading) and the examen – a stocktaking at the end of a day. My quirky discovery of the day was mitres for sale in Faith House, only £865 each.
The month ended with a two day retreat at my normal place, the Monastery of the Holy Trinity, Crawley Down. A great place for discovering one’s hidden tiredness. My first night I slept for ten hours and another hour after lunch. And did some useful and reflective reading.
THE WORLD
Israel/Gaza/West Bank
We have been transfixed by the ghastliness of Israel and Gaza. I get my information from two sources, emails from Haaretz the Israeli newspaper and from Sabeel, a Christian prayer fellowship based in Jerusalem. I read how Israelis and Arabs have been working together to keep the peace in cities in Israel; also how the ‘spotters’ – IDF women soldiers on the front line whose warnings were ignored by their male commanders and who were left unarmed to be massacred by Hamas. Shocking.
Meanwhile in the West Bank Jewish settlers have been attacking Palestinian farmers. At least 400 Palestinians have been killed there in 2023 (Sabeel prayer letter).
David Cameron, the new Foreign secretary, visited the West Bank and said that it is not enough just to arrest these settler activists; they have to be arrested, prosecuted and imprisoned. At last, someone brave enough to tell it like it is.
Zimbabwe
I support a charity, ZANE, dedicated to helping the destitute elderly in Zimababwe. I went to their annual lecture and heard one of the bravest men I know of, Charles Coltart, a human rights Lawyer in Zimbabwe and recently elected mayor of Bulawayo, the second largest city in that country He continues to work for the people despite constant threats of attack and arbitrary detention. Do pray for the people of Zimbabwe under their atrocious government.
MUSIC
I heard two outstanding recitals. One was a trio of harp, viola and flute, playing Debussy who wrote the only trio for that combination. The other was the astonishing Sonata 22 in A by Schubert written a few months before his death. Listen to it, especially the mega-weird Andante movement.
Music at Hill, the concert society I chair, came to the moment of decision. Should we stay at Holy Sepulchre by the Old Bailey, where we keep our harpsichord, or should we move back to St Giles in the Fields, which has a slightly better acoustic for baroque music? We had a thoughtful and enlightening meeting and decided unanimously to stay at Holy Sepulchre, to the complete delight of Nick the vicar.
At the recital on Friday 24th I made an appeal to the audience to pay for the tuning of the baby grand piano in Wormwood Scrubs prison chapel. The piano had been given to the prison by Ivor Novello, a famous composer of musicals from 1920 to 1950. In 1944 he had spent a month in the Scrubs for misusing petrol coupons (and trying to bribe a policeman). I received enough to pay for it from just that one occasion. (I was also corrected by John Pugh, a member with an encyclopaedic knowledge of music and most things; I had been calling the individual in question Irving Berlin by mistake – he was an American composer).
TV & FILMS
I saw a documentary on BBC4 about the last year for the First World War. I had not known how near we had come to losing it in March and April; (the Kaiser proclaimed March 21st as a national holiday); nor that the allied victory had been down to the Australians and Canadians.
As part of the 60 years celebration of Doctor Who, Linda and I watched the second episode and were thrilled by the first appearance of the Daleks.
By far the best film we saw was ‘Anatomy of a Fall’, a very tense drama about whether a murder and been committed or not. At the end I thought we were only being told half the story – the other half could be seen in Hitchcock’s ‘Rebecca’.
Wishing you a blessed if cold Advent.