About The Parish

To be more precise, this is about parish relief which was the beginning of the welfare state.  The first Poor Laws were introduced in 1599 and 1601 in the reign of Queen Elizabeth the First and they were extraordinary humane and caring.  To be eligible for help the poor had to be unable to work by virtue of old age or sickness.  But there was another significant group of recipients – the orphans.  These then were the deserving poor.  Which begs the questions, who were the undeserving poor?  The Elizabethans found the answer in the Bible in the words of St Paul, “If a man shall not work, neither shall he eat!”  So why did the Elizabethans introduce the Poor Law?  One factor was the wars conducted in this reign on land and sea which led to large numbers of men whose war wounds prevented them from working.  Many roamed around the countryside in gangs stealing and terrorizing parishioners (but how do we get them back Roger!?).  However, the majority of ex-servicemen who could not work were hideously disabled and, although begging was against the Elizabethan law, many were given help by family, friends and compassionate strangers. 

In Elizabethan times, there were 9000 parishes, each with a squire who as the local magistrate administered the law.  The deserving poor received outdoor relief in the form of either a pension of between 4 and 6 pence weekly or received payment in kind in the form of food, clothes and fuel.  They were called “Collectioners” and were obliged to wear a cloth badge on their coat to indicate that they were dependant on parish charity.  To pay for the help given by the parish, rates were collected from householders “of ability”.  The able bodied were required to work in Workhouses for their maintenance.  Poverty was mostly found in rural areas, often as a result of a failed harvest.  I was once told by an ex-Relieving Officer (more about them later) that you always found poverty where there was a cathedral!  (Since I was then a young man responsible for visiting and assessing the needs of people applying for help in Winchester from the then National Assistance Board, it was not good news!

In 1662 parishes became responsible for the migrant poor.  Hitherto, vagrants had been whipped and simply moved out of the parish.  Now they became the responsibility of the parish in which they were born.  In practice, this was unworkable and normally the parish in which they had lived for three years had to take the responsibility for them.  In 1697, parish officers were given the authority to compel “masters” to take parish apprentices, who were usually orphans.   In 1723, pensioners were forced to forgo parish relief unless they entered a workhouse.  The humanity of the original Elizabethan Poor was fast disappearing.  Next month, we learn of an extraordinary piece of economic engineering devised in 1794 by magistrates meeting in the
Pelican Inn in a place named Speenhamland in the County of Berkshire.  For this and much more, get “Faith Matters” next month!                                                                                          Roger Bryant

The Pope’s Regensburg Lecture

Father David made a brave attempt in his sermon on 17 September to address some of the issues raised by Pope Benedict XVI in his lecture at Regensburg University a few days before.  Since then, an English translation of the full text has been published in the Roman Catholic weekly ‘The Tablet’, so here are some observations on it.

As has now been widely reported, the Pope’s main concern was to argue the essential reasonableness of the Catholic faith, based on a synthesis between the faith and ancient Greek philosophy; thus acting unreasonably must be contrary to God’s nature.

So far so good, one might think; but he then goes on to criticise movements which he accuses of trying to ‘de-Hellenise’ Christianity.  His list included the 16^th-century Reformers, whose teachings were of course vital for the development of the Church of England; liberal Protestants in the 19^th-20^th centuries such as Harnack, who emphasised Jesus and his teaching rather than traditional dogmas; and modern scientists.  In these central sections of his lecture he reserves his sharpest criticism for Christians outside Europe who have argued that if a Greek element could be incorporated in the faith as it developed around the Mediterranean 2000 years ago, then so can elements from other cultures – Indian, Chinese or whatever.  Obviously the Pope’s traditional, Eurocentric version of Christianity is highly controversial and subject to critical debate – something which we might forget as we see his cuddly image on our TV screens.

Our media has however ignored most of this to focus on the first two paragraphs of his lecture, which relate to Islam.  And his quotation from the Byzantine Emperor Manuel II on Muhammad (‘evil and inhuman…’) does stand out as the most violent language in the whole lecture.  It’s hardly surprising that it should have upset Muslims – more so it would seem than his really fundamental scholarly critique of their idea of God’s transcendence as implying His irrationality.  He has since made it clear that he does not share Manuel II’s view of Muhammad.  We can take this as a sincere apology, but it is worrying that the most prominent Christian leader should have allowed such a misunderstanding to arise.  Even in an academic lecture, a Pope needs to choose his words carefully.

The Pope quoted Manuel in support of the argument that spreading the faith by force – of which he was accusing Muslims – is contrary to reason and therefore to God’s nature.  But what was lacking in his lecture was even the briefest acknowledgement that the RC Church has, during its long history, repeatedly been guilty of that very thing.  A few examples will have to suffice – in the late 8^th century during the campaigns against the heathen Saxons in north-west Germany, refusal to accept baptism and even to abstain from meat in Lent became capital offences, and recalcitrant prisoners were massacred.  Later on the Northern Crusades were waged against the Baltic peoples (Estonians, Latvians and others) to force them to convert.  There was the Albigensian Crusade against the ‘heretic’ Cathars in southern France; not to mention the Wars of Religion between Catholics and Protestants across much of Europe in the 16^th-17^th centuries.  By contrast, the Muslims certainly conquered territories which had been under Christian rulers, in the Middle East, Sicily, Spain and eventually the Balkans; but generally they did not try to force the inhabitants to accept Islam. Christians and Jews were tolerated provided they paid a tax, and their communities survived.  However when the Catholic monarchs of Spain reconquered the whole country in 1492, Jews (followed shortly by Muslims) were given a choice between conversion or expulsion.

Of course the RC Church in recent years has repudiated forcible conversion, but the Pope’s failure to acknowledge its past weakens criticisms that can legitimately be levelled against Muslims now.  Christians and other non-Muslims ought to enjoy the same rights in Muslim lands that Muslims are now allowed in Europe.  Muslims are entitled to protest against what they perceive as attacks on their religion – but should do so peacefully, as most probably the great majority would agree.

Moreover, when the Pope reminded us of Manuel II’s complaints against Islam, he could have acknowledged that the Byzantine Empire was under fire from Latin Catholics as well as from the Turks.  In fact it was the infamous 4^th Crusade (1204), in which the Crusaders actually captured and ransacked Constantinople, which had fatally weakened it.  And the mediaeval Papacy did not scruple to take advantage of the Empire’s weakness, by trying to pressurise the Byzantines to accept the authority of Rome.  These events are remembered by the Greeks to this day, and complicate Orthodox-RC relations.

One might also note that in the Pope’s critique of modern scientists, there is no sign of regret at his Church’s attempts to suppress scientific discoveries, e.g. by Galileo.  But what is needed is not a string of apologies - simply honest acknowledgements that the record of the RC Church is far from perfect in these areas.  Pope John Paul II understood this better than Benedict XVI apparently does – which is a shame, as there’s obviously much that he has to say which would be of value for us all.                                                                                                                                        Michael Laird

A Visit to the Medina Mosque

As a member of the Hampshire Standing Advisory Committee on Religious Education (SACRE), I was invited by the Muslim Council of Southampton to visit the Medina Mosque.  It was a day full of references to Islam; in the morning on Radio Four the service included both the African Kerrie and the Muslim call to prayer and later in the service at St Faiths Father David spoke about the Pope's lecture which had offended some of the Islamic community.

The Medina Mosque is located in St Mary's Southampton not far from the Saints Football Stadium.  There are 1,200 mosques in Britain and this is one of the 250 purpose built ones.  I had seen it built but had never been inside.  The invitation had advised me to dress modestly and I took a scarf.  There was a warm welcome at the door where I removed my shoes and stored them in a large rack and was offered refreshments.  There was a very distinguished panel of seven which included: an Imam, Sir Iqbal AKM Sacranie OBE, Judge Khurshid Drabu, Prof. Tariq Ramadan and John Denham MP.  The theme for the afternoon was 'Towards Understanding Jihad'.   I learnt a great deal; there are two million Muslims in Britain fifty per cent of these were born here and fifty per cent are under twenty four years old there are increasing member of one parent families.  A lot of what I heard reminded me of St. Faiths and that Christian's and Muslims have so much in common.  They also have problems with buildings, the design of mosques is changing - the domes were built to amplify sound and the minarets for the call to prayer and are often not included in new mosques, often people are not happy with these changes.  A Catholic priest, Canon O'Shea, opened the seminar by delivering a letter of apology and spoke about the meaning of the Pope's lecture.  We were told about the core values of Islam and heard quotes from the Qur’an: 'Behold Allah, enjoys justice and the doing of good and generosity to neighbours'.  Peace and tranquillity are central to Islam and Jihad means standing up for justice or the struggle to advance your cause.  The Judge said we are all jihad's and gave the example of the long struggle they had had to get planning consent for the mosque and the daily struggles that people have in their lives.  The only female on the panel was an Irish woman who had converted to Islam and reminded me very much of the cheerful round faced nuns that I was taught by at school.  She was dressed much the same too, accept that she was dressed all in pink rather than black.  There was much discussion about the war in Iran and the need to engage in politics, one quote I noted was 'foreign policy is the essence of violence'.  I found Prof. Ramadan’s presentation particularly interesting, he lectures all over the world on philosophy and social justice he described 'emotion as being at the top and spirituality at the bottom'.  There was a mixed audience of men and women from many faiths.  I sat with the women and was struck by how well behaved the children were, they played quietly on the carpet and the mothers responded quickly when they became bored fathers also came over to give a hand when the children became tired.  We finished the day with curry and many people came up and offered to come into schools to talk to the pupils about Islam.

I found it a fascinating and valuable day which brought home to me how much we have in common.                                                                                                                                      Ann Buckley

St. Nicholas School

St. Nicholas School was an independent preparatory school for boys at 63, South Street, Havant.  My father, Ivor Hughes, was headmaster from 1949 to 1959.  He was ably assisted by my mother, Jo Hughes, who used to refer to herself as the 'head cook and bottle washer'.  She was responsible for all the catering, looking after pupils who had accidents or who became unwell whilst at school, in fact anything that my father could not deal with.  In those days we had a Navy of some proportion and many of the boys were the sons of naval families.  Pupils also came from Hayling Island and as the old road bridge could not withstand the weight of a fully loaded Southdown single decker bus, they all had to get off and walk across the bridge, rain or shine, and then get back on the bus on the other side and continue their journey.

My parents bought the school in 1949 when it was called 'Manor House School' and was co-educational catering for pupils from the age of 6 till leaving age.  The girl's parents and the parents of boys over the age of 13 years were given plenty of warning so that suitable alternative placements could be achieved.

I seem to remember that the school was bought to give me a good educational start in life; you could do that sort of thing in those days.  My father was the only headmaster during the dates above and it  always seemed to be a happy school.

On the 31^st January 1953, the night of the East Coast floods, my  father suffered a heart attack and spent the next three or more  months in St. Mary's Hospital in Portsmouth.  The school was run during that time by the senior master, Evan Jones, and my mother.  I think the pressures of running a school and also treatments we have today were not available back then and he continued to have heart attacks.  In the end our family doctor, Jimmy Rickett, whose surgery was in East Street, sent my father up to see the Queen's physician in  Harley Street who told my father that if he did not give up, his life expectancy was not good.

The school and its seven acres of ground were put up for sale and was sold to a man who said he wanted a school for his children.  Alas, he was a property developer and the result of his work is still to be seen at the southern end of South Street.

One thing I do remember about the grounds was a wonderful Cedar of Lebanon.  It must have been hundreds of years old but sadly became a victim of the Havant by-pass.  I hope it put up a good fight and gave the road builders a good challenge.

The time I spent living at St. Nicholas was a very happy one.  I was 5 years old when we moved there and 15 when we left.  Sadly, neither of my parents are still alive.  My father passed away in 1992 at the age of 90 and my mother three years later.  My mother did start to write a book based on the happenings at St. Nicholas.  I seem to remember she titled the manuscript "Chalk & Cheese".  I looked through all her effects when she passed away but, sadly, there was no sign of "Chalk & Cheese".

I, in fact, was confirmed by Canon Duke-Baker at St. Faith's in June 1956.  I always remember after the confirmation service Canon Duke- Baker's sister came up to my mother and asked how my wrists were.  The truth was that not long before I was due to go up to St. Faith's for the service, it was realized that I did not have a suitable white shirt and one of the women who helped my mother was despatched to buy one for me to wear which when put on had arms that were far too long and made it look as though I had bandaged wrists!                                                                 Mark Hughes

A Ride Around the Churches

‘Travel by car to another area and start your ride from there’ was the advice on the list of churches which the Hampshire and the Islands Historic Churches Trust produced as guidance for the sponsored bike ride and walk.

This was the sixth year which my husband David and I had taken part in the sponsored ride.  The idea of cycling and visiting churches of all denominations, old and new, large and small, interests us.  At the same time it is an excellent idea to be able to raise money through sponsorship which will be given to support historic churches (and especially good that St Faith’s benefits from half of the money we raise).

In the past we have visited churches in Portsmouth, cycled over to Chichester and back through the Downs and explored the churches in our immediate area of Leigh Park, Emsworth and Bedhampton.  This year we chose the churches in and around Winchester.

No, we didn’t cycle all the way there but, after signing in here at St Faith’s and at the United Reform Church, we loaded the bikes onto our car and together with our friend John Sawtell from St Alban’s West Leigh, we drove over to Shawford Down.  The weather couldn’t have been better.  It was sunny and warm and there was only a light breeze which always seemed to be blowing in the right direction!

The first church we visited was St Mary the Virgin at Twyford.  Preparations were underway for a wedding and the church was full of flowers.  These complemented the amazing Chagall banners decorating the church which a local artist has produced as a reminder of the common heritage which Jews and Christians share.  We could have stayed a long time there but time pressed and there were more churches to visit.

We claimed the Traveller’s Dole at the Church of St Cross and sat outside the building in the sunshine sampling a little mug of beer and a crust of bread.

It was interesting to see the differences between all the churches in their history, the layout of their buildings and their services but wherever we went we were met with smiling faces and offers of soft drinks and biscuits.  I told myself that a biscuit a church was necessary to give me more energy for the hills that inevitably lay ahead.  Altogether we signed in at eleven churches and had a completely lovely day.

We are most grateful to our generous sponsors, thank you one and all for helping us to raise well over £100.  The organisation of the event is complex and grateful thanks is due to Audrey Currie, here at St Faith’s, whose job it is not only to give out the forms but to collate the results and to make sure that all the monies are in and forwarded on to the Historic Churches Trust.

It is really a great day out and benefits a good cause so why not sign up to go next year?  There is no need to cycle, walking will do just as well (as Sheila Creech did last year) and Richard Acworth tells me that people used to ride on horseback in his parish in Devon.  So, why not join in next September?                                                                                                                         Hillary Deadman

“I am because we are” - Reflections on a trip to Ghana

It seems as if everyone has had their say on Africa and its needs in recent weeks.  Therein lays a big mistake, in my opinion: all talk about Africa is framed around its needs and its problems.  Whilst this is hardly surprising, given the enormity of the challenges facing the continent, it is a great shame, for I believe that one African country in particular has a great deal to teach the rest of the world about the simple yet difficult task of living together.

I am just coming to the end of a Sabbatical period, part of which has been spent in Ghana.  This was my third visit to this beautiful country, the first two having been taken up with visiting churches and forming links through the Interdiocesan West Africa Link.  On these occasions I was struck by how peaceful, stable and law-abiding the country is - despite its position in a turbulent part of West Africa - an impression that has been confirmed in discussions since.  My purpose this time was to look into the reasons for this, not as an Africanist or a social anthropologist, neither of which I am, but as a parish priest trying to contribute towards the building up of community in my town of Ryde, Isle of Wight, and wanting to learn good practice from anywhere in the world that might have something to teach us. 

The overwhelming impression created in my discussions with people in two different areas, one in a rural setting in a small town near the eastern shore of the Volta Lake, the second in the capital of the country’s northernmost region, was that of unity.  Life is not divided up into different compartments – commerce, politics, home life, religion; all is interconnected.   Underlying all this is the link between the living and dead in traditional African religion and the importance of ancestors.  This is an ever-present reality, even for the majority of Ghanaians who are Christian or Muslim.  This link is not always benign, for it makes the person feel they are being constantly watched.  For example, a highly intelligent Anglican priest whom I have known for years confessed to a sense of guilt at not having visited his father’s widow since the funeral, fearing that his ghost might rise up to rebuke him.  Despite this, the effects are generally positive, for it gives everyone a sense that they are part of something greater than themselves.

The guardian of the link between the living and the dead is one of the jobs of the Chief whose importance in any African town or village can hardly be over-exaggerated.  It is a task that not all chiefs feel competent to undertake: the Chief of Bolgatanga, for example, who is a Pentecostalist (and a pharmacist), delegates this part of his work to his elders.  A chief is also involved in many more mundane tasks, which might be undertaken in this country by a Councillor or a policeman.  The locally elected officials, such as MPs or Assembly-People will always defer to the chief before raising a matter (such as sanitation or local investment) in Parliament or (district) Assembly.  The Chief may then summon a Gong-gong meeting in response, at which elected officials will be asked to speak.  He may also be involved in arbitration in disputes well before they come to the police, and works together with the Queen Mother on matters concerning women, health and education, particularly HIV/AIDS.  Although there is nothing democratic about the chieftaincy system, it appears to give a sense of unity, participation and ownership to local government which our elected officials could only dream of.  It helps Ghana considerably that its 33 tribes seem to get on pretty well (with the exception of some skirmishes in the north and north-east in recent years), and that the country absorbs refugees and immigrants without noticeable destabilisation.  According to a local policeman I met, a person who wanted to sow conflict in Ghana would find himself very much out of place.

A third reason for Ghana’s stability lies in the extended family.  Some of these can be so large that they can be little communities in themselves.  When I asked why there was so little crime in a given community, I was given the answer, “so many people are related to each other, you might find yourself stealing from your family”.  The family was also cited as a reason for inter-religious harmony, since it might contain Christians and Muslims, so “you’ve got to get on with them!”  Traditionally, the family would seek to support members in need and sponsor students’ education, but inflation is making this more and more difficult.  Many families are finding that, with the best will in the world, they simply cannot afford to support each other and are so being forced into ‘nuclear’ attitudes, turning their back on people in need.  Ghanaians cherish the extended family, but it is under tremendous pressure.

As for religion, there is no aspect of Ghanaian life that is so public and “in your face”.  Everyone returns from the country with a favourite religious shop name.  From “Almighty God welding services” to the “O my God! Vegetable store” and my personal favourite, the “With God all things are possible beauty salon,” religious faith and commerce are very closely intertwined.  It doesn’t stop there.  Anyone taking a journey on public transport (minibus), might be asked to start or end the journey praying for “travelling mercies”, and a football reporter writing about Ghana’s recent World Cup victory over South Africa thanked Almighty God for his mercy before settling down to match analysis.  Churches are everywhere, often competing with each other, and as you walk around a Ghanaian town in the evening, reggae and highlife music will blend with shouts and singing from high-intensity prayer meetings.  Yet underneath this aggressive surface lies considerable religious tolerance.  The schools (many run by churches) will teach about Christianity, Islam, Hinduism (in the big cities) and traditional African religion and will contain children of all faiths.  The teachers I spoke to were emphatic that all are “children of one God”.  This attitude is mirrored in ecumenical and Christian-Muslim relationships.

It is sometimes argued that ecumenism and inter-faith enthusiasm are by-products of secularism, where people of faith “huddle together for warmth” against the godless hordes.  Its enthusiasts are liberals who have given up on evangelism and church growth.  This already dubious theory is blown apart by Ghana’s experience, where most churches are full and growing (especially the Pentecostals).  Yet it was a Pentecostal minister who insisted to me that Christians should see each other as one and that Christian-Muslim co-operation was paramount.  Though Islam is stronger in the north, Muslims (who have historically been traders) are to be found in virtually every village and town throughout Ghana, complete with mosque.  Yet the few areas of conflict in recent years have had little or nothing to do with religion, and both communities take active steps to build bridges between each other, such as football matches, invitations to major festivals and peace marches before elections.  Yet the Al-hajji who tells me this is no pushover: he presides over the building of a vast new mosque and looks to the expansion of his faith. 

The Anglican Church is closely involved in all this, as it is in many other good things.  Although strong in the south, it is a fairly small church overall in comparison to others, yet punches above its weight when it comes to schools and social projects.  Anglican schools are usually oversubscribed and its small congregations in the far north support a home for abandoned babies, a women’s textile centre and a reforestation programme, amongst other things.  Liturgically, it is a unique mixture of the BCP, Catholic ritualism, charismatic prayer, singing and drumming and evangelical preaching.  Its priests are also well trained to offer critical comments on things like the Prosperity Gospel, a growing movement in West Africa.  I always come away from Ghana proud to be an Anglican.

Ghana is a very poor country.  I went there soon after the announcement of the cancellation of their debt (which has made Tony Blair into something of a national hero), but that money needs to get to the grassroots where people – especially in the north- are really suffering at present.  As someone said to me “democracy begins with breakfast”.  However it is rich in a sense of community and of everyone having a place in society.  “I am because we are”.  I returned home from a hot and steamy country to a cool and windy English summer.  More than that: my beloved country seems more and more to be becoming a place where people are making a cold, lonely and unaccompanied journey through life, death and into an uncertain beyond.  I returned with a resolve to make the church at least into a warmer place of belonging. 

Revd Hugh Wright, Vicar of St John's, Ryde, IoW