The Spirit At Work Through A Search For Ethic?
I'm writing my blog late this evening with stars in my eyes and my head still feeling a bit numb. It all started this morning. For over an hour flash photography ruled the conference I was chairing as part of the Church of Scotland's response to engaging civic Scotland in a debate as to what kind of society we want to become. The referendum on Independence has caused the Church of Scotland to open up a much wider debate centred around ethics and policy making in a changing Scotland. I was chairing the first of what we hope will be a number of conferences stimulating discussion in this area.
Those who attended were senior decision makers in the public and private sectors. The conference allowed us to explore key ethical questions facing us as we live through what some people are calling a change of age.
How we as individuals learn to relate to each other is key for the ongoing well being of our society. Living through this period of transition may be enjoyable for a few, creatively challenging for others, it is how for the majority of people becoming a time of anxiety and stress as the economic safeguards put in place during more affluent times are removed. The tension between our purpose and our politics is in fact fundamental to understanding the kind of society we are living with at the present time.
Yesterday was a very important day certainly in the life of the First Minister Alex Salmond, he was celebrating the fact that he is now the longest serving First Minister since the Parliament was reconvened 12 0r 13 years ago. It was of course because of this that the press had shown interest in our conference. Hence the many photographers flashing cameras every 30 seconds for an hour. ( I think I might claim an industrial injury.The photography was unrelenting. One wonders how many times you need to take the same picture, over and over again.) I found it most distracting to the extent I'm sure I talked a lot of nonsense as part of my opening remarks. As to what the First Minister said, he just carried on regardless a true professional at work. Much of what he said was complimentary to the role that the Church of Scotland has played in the history of Scotland and of course he was commending the Church for the leadership in opening up this wider discussion in civic Scotland.
I was someone glad when the cameras stopped flashing and we could get down to engaging with the topics on our agenda. Professor Richard Wilkinson, who is the Emeritus Professor of Epidemiology at the University of Nottingham, is the co-author of a book entitled " The Spirit Level" in this book he shares international research on the impact that a more equal society has on the health and well being of its citizens. Professor Wilkinson made an outstanding contribution to the day and he laid the foundation that allowed us all to consider the fact that in the UK we have been living in an increasingly unequal society for the past 30 years. Wilkinson highlights the fact that this always impacts on those in the lower income brackets, often disconnecting them from engaging with the levers of power that enable societies to change and develop a greater sense of community and well being.
Another outstanding contributor to the discussion was Professor Alison Phipps, she lectures at the University of Glasgow in languages, religious education and anthropology , she is also Co-Convener of the Glasgow Refugee Asylum and Migration Network( GRAMNET) Alison is no dry academic, she is a distinguished poet, and a gifted speaker. She spoke of the place language has in creating community and invited us all to consider the political approaches to languages and also the impact that language has on our intercultural communications. in other words learning to engage with each other and especially the strangers among us through the knowledge their mother languages enables us to become a more open and welcoming society. She also broadened the whole definition of language out to include the technical language that are often used in our various academic endeavours. She spoke of the importance of engaging across the political, social,and religious disciplines in order that we might discover the common ground of our thinking that will enable a change bringing about a greater equality in our society.
Professor Phil Hanlon of Glasgow University continued on the theme of change and highlighted the fact of the growing disease that can be found in our communities throughout the UK. He spoke of the challenge to health and well being is the levels of stress and anxiety that can be found in all our relationships. Hanlon spoke of the desire for meaning and purpose that seem to be at the centre of the human quest. This allowed me when my turn to speak came to help people see that much of our conversations were indeed entering into the area of theology.
I came away from the day reflecting that the church has a special role to play in our world. At a national level the Church of Scotland doesn't simply have a right to be listened to because of her past relationships with governments and her historical heritage. We have a role to play when we seek to be prophetic and live out the gospel values in our daily lives.
As men and women go in search of meaning we are the people who carry with us the words of life and meaning. Perhaps for too long we in the Christian church have allowed ourselves to listen to the voices that tell us no one is listening to our message, people are more interested in profit than people.
I found myself summing up the conference using an old fashioned biblical word. Repent! It struct me that speaker after speaker were saying, its time to change, we cannot sustain the lifestyles we have been living. Its time to turn away from the politics of greed and embrace a humbler and more inclusive life philosophy. It was it seemed to me that our academic were inviting the church and I guess other faith groups to speak more confidently about the mystery of faith. I for one came away renewed and encouraged believing that the Holy Spirit is alive and well and working in our world. Its time for those of us who are called to proclaim the gospel to pick up the challenge and engage others in the discussion that asks, who am I? why am I here. What is the purpose of my life? These three questions alone lead us into the story of salvation.
