Service of Rejoicing and Thanksgiving for the life of Dorothy Hart

On Saturday 20th April (11.00am) St John's Seven Kings will hold a Service of Rejoicing and Thanksgiving for the life of Dorothy Hart. Dorothy, who had recently celebrated her 90th birthday, died on 8th April 2013.

In her late 40s, while she was herself recovering from cancer, she met the Rev. Peter Hudson and became involved with the creation of Redbridge Community Care, now known as Redbridge Voluntary Care.

Redbridge Voluntary Care was established 40 years ago to provide a ‘good neighbour’ service helping residents when they have no one else to turn to. A broad range of help is available through Redbridge Voluntary Care including transport to hospital, clinics, etc, emergency shopping, light help in the home and visiting those who are housebound. Volunteers are on duty 24 hours a day, every day of the year, to make sure there is always someone on the phone who can help if necessary. This can also include collecting prescriptions, shopping, visiting lonely residents and providing transport. Once a year, they also take 100 elderly house-bound residents on a drive through the Essex countryside.

In 2011 the organisation was presented with the Queen's Award for Voluntary Service in recognition of outstanding voluntary contributions judged to be of the highest standard. Dorothy, as Vice President of Redbridge Voluntary Care, attended Award ceremonies at Buckingham Palace and James Hawkey Hall. When she accepted the Award on behalf of the organisation Dorothy said, “We are very touched to receive this award. Over the years we’ve worked with some unbelievably kind volunteers who go to great lengths to help people in their time of need. If more people came along to volunteer as result of this it would be wonderful.”

Dorothy was also a long-term member of St John's Seven Kings. She became a Sunday School teacher at the age of 17 and was a member of the Mothers' Union branch, volunteering in the Contact Centre which the branch has run for more that 20 years. She taught in the borough and her two children were involved in Redbridge Music School and Youth Orchestra, going on to become, respectively, a professional composer and musician  and a music therapist pioneering music therapy in France.

Music will feature significantly in the service, as Dorothy's home was always filled with music while her children were growing up. The Service will include performances by Dorothy's children and grandchildren of: Etoile Radieuse du Matin; Berceuse from The Dolly Suite by Gabriel Fauré; Roses Are Blooming In Picardy; Clair de Lune by Claude Debussy; and Sweet Georgia Brown. 

In sharing the eulogy prepared by the family, I will say, "As anyone who knew Dorothy can testify, she offered up her love to every person with whom she crossed paths, somehow managing to make each and every one of them feel special. She was the archetype of a good neighbour. No matter what their creed, colour, age or background, she made a point of letting others know she was there if they needed her. Her example, in turn, inspired goodness in others. If everyone in the world could take just one leaf out of her book, the world would truly be a better place."

During the service I will also be saying that the "most fitting tribute to her memory is to be inspired to follow in her footsteps by living Christ-like lives ourselves whether by volunteering with Redbridge Voluntary Care – and she particularly wanted this service to encourage new recruits – or in some other way of our own choosing."

Anyone interested in volunteering for Redbridge Voluntary Care Service or wanting to request their help, can call 020 8514 0980.

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Paul Hart - Cartoon.

Teilhard de Chardin, Paolo Soleri and Bill Fay

I was interested to read the following in the Guardian's obituary for Paolo Soleri:

'Strongly influenced by the Jesuit palaeontologist and philosopher Pierre Teilhard de Chardin, Soleri spoke in a hypnotic language of his own making, dotted with strange cosmic terms such as the "omega seed" and "miniaturisation-complexity-duration". He expounded his vision in a book, The City in the Image of Man (1969), a spellbinding work filled with intricate drawings of fantasy cities – from floating communes to canyon-like structures and teetering towers built on top of dams. It was a thrilling futuristic prophecy for droves of 1970s students, whom the guru Soleri entertained on a packed lecture circuit, but one that quickly became anachronistic in the consumerist 1980s.

With environmental Armageddon back on the agenda once again now, might there be a viable future for Arcosanti and Soleri's principles of arcology after all? "Materialism is, by definition, the antithesis of green," he told the Guardian. "We have this unstoppable, energetic, self-righteous drive that's innate in us, but which has been reoriented by limitless consumption. Per se, it doesn't have anything evil about it. It's a hindrance. But multiply that hindrance by billions, and you've got catastrophe."'

Bill Fay was also profoundly influenced by Teilhard de Chardin:

"Shortly after his debut was released, Fay stumbled across an old biblical commentary and quickly developed a fascination with the books of Daniel and Revelation. With the Vietnam War still escalating and the Kent State massacres in the headlines, the dark, apocalyptic tone of the ancient prophetic literature seemed disturbingly relevant. About this same time, Fay also began reading the writings of Pierre Teilhard de Chardin, a mid-twentieth century Jesuit, scientist, and philosopher, who believed that all of reality, both human and non-human, is rapidly evolving toward an eternal state of unity and peace. The earth’s present travails (war, poverty, injustice), however overwhelming they may seem, are really the birth pangs of the coming paradise—evidence of both the deficiencies of our current existence and the imminence of the world to come.

Armed with these new intellectual resources, Fay fashioned a second recording that was darker and more desperate but ultimately more hopeful than the first. Time of the Last Persecution is dominated by Fay’s vision of the coming apocalypse, vividly described in songs like “’Til the Christ Come Back,” “Plan D,” and the bleak, bombastic title cut. Fay’s eschatology on the recording is a far cry from the Us-vs.-Them cynicism of religious orthodoxy, in which the chosen people are eternally rewarded while the rest of us are cast into a bottomless lake of fire. For Fay, as for Teilhard before him, deliverance is deliverance for all (hippie and soldier, young and old, human and non-human) from the structures and institutions that oppress and alienate us. And the coming of the messiah signifies that all of reality—however senseless it may now seem—ultimately has value and significance. “The album was a commitment,” Fay recently explained, “albeit a reluctant one at first, to the belief that there will be, and has to be at some point, some spiritual intervention in the world.”' 

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Bill Fay - Time Of The Last Persecution.

Windows and gardens: Chigwell and Capel Manor

I went with my Mum and youngest daughter today to see St Mary's Chigwell, as it is the church where my eldest daughter will be getting married this summer. The church has an engraved window of Christ and the Children by Jennifer Conway, who was a pupil of John Hutton. When Hutton's King Lear and Cordelia panel at the entrance to the Shakespeare Birthplace Trust Gallery at Stratford upon Avon was damaged, Conway made a copy. Her engraved windows can be found at St Mary Barcombe and St Nicholas Sandhurst, as well as St Mary Chigwell. St Mary's also have a Christ and the Magi window by Frederick Cole. Afterwards we went to see the interesting show gardens at Capel Manor.

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Larry Norman - She's A Dancer.

Blackfriars - Mal Grosch

Mal Grosch's latest collection of poems is entitled Blackfriars and derives from his fascination for the area. He writes:

"I go to a church near Blackfriars and I am often in and out the area. It is a sort of village near St Paul’s if you look at it in a romantic way. I did a bit of reading up on the area and took some photos. The idea of an anthology slowly came to fruition. It is hopefully an entertaining read as well as having a bit of gravitas; a mixture of fun and the profound."

"Take one of the turnings off Ludgate Hill near St. Paul’s Cathedral. Have a wander round. Stroll along Carter Lane and notice the faded almost Mediterranean exterior of the YMCA. Say a prayer
in St. Andrews if it is open. Have a beer in the Cockpit. Tell them I sent you."


As the mist

As the mist,
The fag smoke of the morning,
Rises from the river;
A gull flies over Puddle Dock.
So will we rise
In the vaporous dawn
To be with the saints in Heaven.

For who is this devil
This upstart king
Of the raucous
Playing his flimsy role
As lord of the decaying Earth?
Short is the time he vaunts
In his invisible reign.

Mal plays guitar and sings in a small band called Over The Hill. They are a duo or trio playing country gospel, a few old standards and vintage British and American pop songs. He has three solo CDs and also plays guitar in the dance band at Cecil Sharp House in Camden, London, home of the English Folk Dance and Song Society most Thursday evenings. As a caller, he does evenings of barn dancing which can include English/Scots/Irish/US and line dances with some worship dance.

He will be reading a selection of his poems as part of an evening of music and poetry for the Arts Festival for the Barking Episcopal Area and Heart 4 Harlow Festival. This performance evening will be at Holy Trinity Hatfield Heath, 7.30pm, on Monday 27th May and will also feature, among other items, music from Colin Burns and poetry from Jane Grell and myself.

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Mal Grosch - The River.

Windows on the world (240)

Boars Hill, 2012

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Bill Fay - Jericho Road.

50th birthday party

I had a great time on Saturday at my 50th birthday party thanks to the kindness of family, friends and folk at St John's Seven Kings. I am very grateful for all those who were able to come, all who helped with the evening (my family especially, the Keenan's - with Bob responsible for the wall display above - and Maria Wright), all who contributed to the wonderful selection of food, and for all the good wishes expressed. Mal Grosch did the calling for the dancing, my daughters did the photo displays, while friends from commission4mission showed their creativity in their gifts (see Peter Webb's painted wood relief portrait of me plus Harvey Bradley's mugs above).

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Stevie Wonder - Happy Birthday.

Legacy of marketisation, privatisation, economic stratification and social dislocation

In considering the continuing divisive effect of Margaret Thatcher's legacy and funeral, it is worth reminding ourselves of what was said about Britain in the Faith in the City report published by the Church of England during Margaret Thatcher's second term of office.

As is noted on the Church of England's website, the Commission which produced this report met during what was the first half of Margaret Thatcher's second term of office as Prime Minister:

"There had been little explicit policy change during her first term in office regarding urban regeneration. What the report designated as 'Urban Priority Areas' did however feel the harsh impact of other policies as unemployment increased, public spending and taxation were reduced and a change in approach to the welfare state was initiated. The policies which put the market to the fore were beginning to take effect: it was claimed that the 'slump years' were over as inflation was reduced and privatisation caught the public imagination. Many of the problems highlighted stemmed from changes in society which could be associated with the demise of traditional industry. Other factors identified included estate design; institutional racism; poor quality housing; and lack of investment in educational and social services."

What the report says was actually far more damning than the above sounds:

"We have to report that we have been deeply disturbed by what we have seen and heard. We have been confronted with the human consequences of unemployment, which in some urban areas may be over 50 per cent of the labour force, and which occasionally reaches a level as high as 80 per cent - consequences which may be compounded by the effects of racial discrimination. We have seen physical decay, whether of Victorian terraced housing or of inferior system-built blocks of flats, which has in places created an environment so degrading that some people have set fire to their own homes rather than be condemned to living in them indefinitely. Social disintegration has reached a point in some areas that shop windows are boarded up, cars cannot be left on the street, residents are afraid either to go out themselves or to ask others in, and there is a pervading sense of powerlessness and despair ... It is our considered view that the nation is confronted by a grave and fundamental injustice in the UPAs. The facts are officially recognised, but the situation continues to deteriorate and requires urgent action. No adequate response is being made by government, nation or Church. There is barely even widespread public discussion."

As Gary Younge notes in today's Guardian, Margaret Thatcher's "is a living legacy of marketisation, privatisation, economic stratification and social dislocation." Her policies caused "a grave and fundamental injustice" in society at the time and continue to do so today.

My father, Phil Evens, was in ordained ministry during this part of this period setting up The Voice of the People Trust to sponsor Christian ministry in Urban Priority Areas through community work projects linked to parishes and the Aston and Newtown Community Youth Project which was particularly successful in reaching out to young people on the streets and steering them away from criminal and anti-social activities towards further education, training, employment and faith. His third book, Despair and Hope in the City, published in this period explored the relevance of community work to urban ministry. 

What follows is an account of a dream that my father had in the early morning after the 1987 General Election:

 

After watching the early election results, I went to bed at 3.00 a.m. and had the following dream ...

 

I dreamt that an elderly but important relative had died. In my dream I found myself outside the house they had lived in. It was quite small. All its furniture and possessions had been brought out lining the nearby streets and overflowing into a large warehouse type building. There was an amazing amount of furniture, bric-a-brac and general family possessions, from such a small house.

 

Many well dressed, upright looking relatives and, any people who had any conceivable connection with the family, had come from everywhere. They were moving around the furniture, lining the streets, pulling out drawers and taking anything they fancied. When I came near anyone they all looked as though they were politely looking on. As I went around, in my dream, I became increasingly concerned and bewildered at what was happening. No one seemed to be around to control or stop this.

 

In the warehouse type building the furniture and possessions were stacked on raised walkways. Here, some people, mainly young people, rushed off when they saw me coming and hid. One fell off the edge in the rush and I managed to reach out and draw him back to safety.

 

As I moved around this enormous collection of family possessions I found thrust into my hands a large glass container, beautifully made, into which had been put a few valuable family treasures - some small pieces of silver and a number of flat packs of what seemed like old one pound notes. I felt an increasing sense of distress at what was happening.

 

On waking up the dream remained vivid and the following thoughts immediately came to mind ...

 

The old relative who had died was the nation of Great Britain, and the small house was the United Kingdom. The nation's real wealth and assets, that had been a vital part of this small house and its family life, had been plundered by the well-dressed, polite and, in appearance, respectable people who, inside, had been rapacious and greedy. This wealth had now been dissipated and was no longer available for the home or its family life. I felt a deep sense of sadness and loss.

 

The interpretation of the dream was concluded by a picture of the Monarchy and the Royal Family. They were the only possession that the patriotic poor, the deprived, the dispossessed, now had that linked them into the life of the nation. Everything else of worth had been taken away from them and now belonged to the rich and powerful.

 

The final thought that came to me, was that I wouldn't wish to be in the shoes of Margaret Thatcher or her cabinet members for 'all the tea in China'. She, and her Government, had been weighed in the balance and found wanting.

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Elvis Costello - Tramp The Dirt Down.