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2001
Conference/AGMResidential Conference
- 13th-15th November 2001
at the Swanwick Conference Centre (right).
The theme was "Whose land is it anyway?" and looked at "Creator and Creation
in the Christian Tradition".
The objective was to explore, in the light of the Christian tradition, the
relationship between Creator and Creation, and in particular, but by no means
exclusively, humankind. We sought to pay attention to the way in which we use
land. This explored not only farmland but the profligate way, which in Britain
and much of the western world, we use land for workspace, recreation, transport,
utilities, worship, homes, gardens (or lack of), trade, learning and much else.
A Reflection on the Conference
Participants at our Conference at Swanwick in November 2001 gave warm
approval to the event. Obviously it struck a chord. Sadly but fortuitously
coming soon after the terrorist attack on the US and as the effects of Foot and
Mouth were abating the question was not answered. It could not be. Whose Land is
It? But speakers and participants quickly agreed that there are many facets to
any response.
Do Christians have a special relationship with land? Prof. Richard Bauckham of
St Andrew's alluded to many texts, from both Old and New Testament, showing that
Jesus replaces the temple so "the land" is wherever his people are. They are the
Church and that is to be found in many nations. There is a mystical connection
between humankind and land. The modern alienation from nature militates against
that relationship. It is denied again when the biblical expectation of living in
mutuality with creation is not realised. Salvation is not nature replaced by
technical wellbeing. Salvation is nothing less than the renewal of Creation,
root and branch, to mix the metaphors.
It is the soil itself that fascinates Edward Echlin. Well known through his work
for Christian Ecology Link, he expounded with texts from the Fathers, English
poetry and his own experience how soil, a product of erosion brought about over
millions of years, is itself caught up in the Christ story. Jesus had a special
relationship with the soil. His culture made that inevitable. It is part of the
Salvation event. That in turn commands our spirituality, our practice and our
loving concern for our fellow creatures.
What is the practical response of the Christian? Fr Paul, a member for some 50
years of the Cistercian community at Mount St Bernard in Leicestershire talked
about his time on the monastery farm back in the 1960's. There were conflicting
demands. They must produce a profit otherwise the community could not live or
keep its buildings in repair but as numbers fell there were not enough to work
the farm and to pray, study and worship in accordance with the rule of St
Benedict. Furthermore, current farming practices left the monks behind unless
they too used them. They preferred the natural way but when, for instance, they
gave up spraying and thinning in the orchard the quality of the fruit declined.
The answer was compromise. Never satisfactory; always provisional - until the
next test. He suggested, "Work forgets it is work when it strengthens our love.
Work is linked by Gilbert of Sempringham with cheerfulness and laughter. The
trained pear tree, bare in Lent, speaks of the Cross: in blossom at Easter it
speaks of Resurrection. The old dream of the monk: to create a paradise in the
howling wilderness. The respect for tools of all sorts."
If Fr Paul felt the conflict Andrew Brown, Chief Surveyor to the Church
Commissioners, spoke of tensions that his work tried to reconcile - not always
successfully. The C of E's assets, be they land, buildings, shopping malls or
other, must provide an income to meet given expenditure - pay the clergy, see to
pensions, etc. Rents have to be optimised, capital realised when something like
a farmhouse is no longer needed, development gains looked for and made. There is
an environmental policy. Farmers are considered individually. Commercial
realities have to be faced and the necessity to help individuals tempered
accordingly.
Continuing with the theme of the practical response the Director of the Arthur
Rank Centre, Gordon Gatward, emphasised that if the independent small farmer is
to survive in Britain planning policy has to change. The debate about the future
of farming in Britain is very necessary. What do we want? What are we prepared
to support? These are questions to be tackled by a wide section of society. One
might ask, "How long will the political will to do something last?" He spoke
movingly of the plight of many farmers and their families as farm income plunged
and then was struck by Foot and Mouth. His involvement through the Addington
Fund had given him all too many first hand experiences of the agony. That is
epitomised by the experience of a cull recounted by the Revd Patricia Pinkerton
in terms of the Passion and Crucifixion. David Turner of "Send A Cow" reminded
that problems can be far worse elsewhere. Citing his experiences in Uganda he
told of hope and new life. But it is not achieved without balancing many things.
These included political pressures, local and global, climate, environment,
culture, finance, market forces, husbandry skills, morale and crucially the
spirit and character of those caught up in that web.
Conferences fail if they do not let people speak to each other. There can be too
much being spoken to. "Whose Land Is It Anyway?" afforded several opportunities.
Not only at meal times and in the short breaks between events but a time when
people gathered in small groups, also in two "Market Place" sessions and again
in some displays.
The "Market Place" gave a chance for anyone who wished a chance to air an interest close to their heart. They included a study of Creation in the Early Church, Faith and Gardening, Chaplaincy to Travellers, A Rocha an international conservation organisation, Green Oases, community villages, survival of plant and animal species, veganism, tourism and Christian Rural Concern (CRUC). Some of them opened new ways of thinking to participants and allowed one to one discussions. The displays were of their nature self explanatory. CRUC had their display and it was complemented by a photographic record by Christine Polhill upon making connections between ecology and faith in action. It picked up a comment in Jane Brown's "The Pursuit of Paradise". There is so much to be done with the notion of the garden of charity and Christian love. It could still have an important role in modern society and the display set out just such an enterprise in a 3/4 acre garden in Staffordshire. The bookstall was a succesfull feature with good sales! Thank you Jenny Carpenter of ARC!
Worship is an important part of a conference such as ours. Martin Riley, fluent in Welsh and English, prepared them using various sources including his own poetry. Sadly we did not have much musical talent at our disposal but that did not prevent stillness and sound, reflection and intercession in formal and informal settings. Coming sometimes straight after a thought provoking session they helped forward the integration of the conference.
The final session was an address, at times emotional, by Bishop David Jenkins. It gripped the conference as he spoke of many things under the title "An Easter People". The tension and complication of the state of Israel, from the Balfour declaration to the Intifada of today are examples of twisted and convoluted reasoning which strangles so much of life, religious and secular. The unhelpful loyalty to the tradition of Joshua and Deuteronomy which would defend the "land" and exterminate all aliens and yet in which there is a tradition of hospitality running counter to it is but one example. Belief is beyond all reason - or is it? The drive of new creation is beyond all prudence yet Resurrection points to something other. God may wish to re-create his land, but on his terms not ours. Yet in the churches and out of them there is blindness, ignorance and active ill will as well as deluded aims. The church wastes time on its liturgies and its obsession with control. Meantime the earth turns and people search for meaning.
Behind the speakers stood a floor to ceiling backdrop "Celebrating the Rural Church". A scarecrow in the shape of a cross dominated a ploughed field with facets of rural life and faith spelt out. Like many scarecrows it did not stand upright. Weather and poor materials made its impression on the landscape uncertain. The conference did not try to answer the question in its title, "Whose Land Is It Anyway?" Whilst deliberate, maybe human endeavour is too fragmented, like the scarecrow. Certainly there are many interests trying to use the planet for their own gain. Sometimes it is done with knowledge, often in ignorance. Sometimes it is attempted with commercial gain uppermost, sometimes with altruism. Often desperation drives frantic energy, whilst on other occasions the wilderness blossoms.
Those who came to the conference will make their own conclusions, and
hopefully changes to their lifestyle. Resumes of the talks and a few tapes will
be available soon from Stephen Cope (see back of Journal). That this conference
was topical is not in doubt. Not only because of the mayhem resulting from
September 11th, Foot and Mouth, potential global warming, food miles, refugees
and so much else, but because the Church, and especially the rural Church, is in
a unique position to point to our dependence as a sub species upon nature and
the inter-relatedness of the Creator and Creation.
by Peter Lawrence with gratitude to Mervyn Wilson
Electronic copies of the transcribed text of the papers can be obtained from
the Revd Stephen Cope, The Membership Secretary of the RTA. Email Address:
secretary@rural-theology.org.uk
Speakers and titles of papers:
Prof. Richard Bauckham Professor of New Testament Studies and Bishop Wardlaw Professor of St. Mary's College University of St. Andrews
Title: The Bible and Creation - Whose land is it anyway?
Fr. Paul Diemer of the Cistertian Community at Mount St. Bernard Abbey, Leicestershire
Title: The relationship between the Creator and Creation in the Christian Monastic Tradition - A monk remembers the Monastery Farm
Man in the context of Creation and Fall: as God's steward and mouth piece of creation in giving praise. This is the place of the monk. What is a monk? The mediaeval background of the Cistercians. The Cistercians at Mount St. Bernard with reference to the farm as I knew it in 1943 - 1970. Horses, manual work, machinery, organics, pesticides. Attitude to animals. Commercialism and profit; does it mitigate against monastic values? The place of craftsmen in the monastery: the pottery, metalwork, technicians. A section on manual work itself - work as part of being human - solidarity with all workers, work as penance, work as prayer. The monastic experience as integrating the spiritual life, and the life of nature and the seasons - a wholeness. Things in the created world as the 'presence carriers' of the invisible God, speaking to us about him. Creation a 'sacrament' of God leading to wonder and worship. George Herbert.
Andrew Brown Chief Surveyor and Head of Commercial Property Department of the Church of England
Title: Investment in Agriculture, a Landlord's perspective
Revd Dr. Gordon J. Gatward, Director of the Arthur Rank Centre, Stoneleigh, Warwickshire
Title: British Farming: Europe and the future
The can be no doubt that the foot and mouth outbreak of 2001 will prove to be one of the most significant drivers for change in the history of UK agriculture. affecting not only the structure of the industry but also the landscape itself. In many ways, however, FMD, along with BSE, has just accelerated a long-standing process regarding society's perceptions and expectations concerning land use. As the CAP has proved to be economically (and environmentally) unsustainable, the move from agriculture production subsidies to support for environmental and social benefits has gained political momentum. As the public's demand for greater access to the countryside has increased so too have the questions about ownership and use of the land. As interest in and support for organic farming has increased so too has the anxiety and scepticism regarding the role of science in food production and land management. All of these issues, as well as the process of change itself raise many theological and ethical questions, some of which will be considered in ths paper
David Turner
Title: Faith and Creation 3rd and 1st World - The Reality: The African Scene
Dr Edward P. Echlin
Title: Jesus and the Earth
Jesus as embedded in the earth community, living and learning about the soil, especially at Nazareth. The whole earth, or soil, community is created and redemmed in Him. Christian Spirituality, and practice, includes our fellow soil creatures.
The Rt Revd. Dr. David Jenkins formerly Universtity Lecturer and Bishop of Durham
An Easter People
The Resurrection of Jesus by God demands and offers a much wider and deeper - more demanding and promising - a perspective on human life in the world and in history than most of us a the 'Easter People' seem to realize. In and through the Resurrection God declares and demonstrates that He is in reality the God who is truly here and the God who will truly bring about His future and Community of love. So EAster People are called to live by this faith and for this future.
In our current world of process change and globalisation this faith and perspective must now stimulate new ways of understanding and answering questions like, 'Whose land is it anyway?' Right now, for example, the Deuteronomic myth of whose land parts of Palastine are by God's gift and will have brought the Jews and us to a chaotically explosive cul de sac in the 'Middle East'. This is all the more challenging because the State of Israel was helped into being by western Christian guilt about anti-semitism.
What have the forms and words of 'Victorian 'Harvest Festivals' to say which engage most of our neighbours with conviction, realism and hope? How can we maintain that men and women are called to be 'stewards of creation' when we see what the human race has done to itself and the earth in the proportionately minute segment of space-time in which we have lived on earth.
Consider, therefore, how a truly convinced 'Easter People' might begin to respond to all this. Dr. Jenkins offers a few suggestions for discussion on the last day of the conference - and for pursuing thereafter.
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