When I was a child great importance was given by the institutions I attended regarding what religion I was and the modern census form still has the 'Religious Question' though a growing number of people now choose to answer it 'Jedi Knight'. Most of us at our local Secondary Modern school were considered to be ‘C of E’ (Church of England, Anglican or Episcopalian). Of course there was the occasional ‘strange’ kid who was Catholic or Jewish but most English lads and lasses were C of E, even if they never actually went to church. All this is far removed from the situation we find ourselves in today where many classrooms have more Sikh, Hindu, and Muslim pupils than Christian, (let alone C of E’s). As I get older I have found myself wanting to celebrate once again my own spiritual roots in the Church of England and yet at the same time I can’t help questioning why, when many people no longer see the relevance of going to Church and are letting their allegiances lapse, I find myself moving in the opposite direction.
First a brief mention of my background and story. I am a musician, artist, and music and R.E. teacher who has recently retired through ill health and moved back to the area where I grew up. I was baptised as a child at Skegby St Andrews and attended St Werburghs Church in Derby as a young adult before moving on to explore the more exotic Spiritualities of the East and in particular Buddhist and Hindu forms of meditation and praxis (practical ethics & behaviour). I have a degree in Religion Culture & Belief from the University of Derby (2001) and I have taught for almost 20 years at Belper High School as well as spending a considerable amount of time as a Community Musician, Drummer, and Performing Artist working throughout Europe as well as locally in the East Midlands area. All this changed dramatically in 2010 when my mother, Mrs Betty Wright, passed away. She had been a resident of Woodhouse for many years and I had returned to the area to live and support her in her later years. This change in my personal life was further exacerbated by some serious health issues of my own where I suffered a series of heart attacks and strokes that have resulted in me having to retire from both teaching and performing for a living.
Long before these events though, back the mid 1990’s I went through a personal epiphany when I began to discover that the methods of meditation I had been practicing in a Buddhist and Hindu context could also be found within the Christian tradition, and I began a long pilgrimage back to the Christian Church to embrace once again the ‘Baby’ I had almost thrown out with bathwater. However this 'Prodigal Son' journey also raised certain questions such as, ‘why the Church of England when there are so many other Christian denominations out there I could belong to?’ and ‘What’s so special about the established ‘Establishment’ Church that makes it unique and potentially attractive to those seeking a dynamic Spirituality in the 21st century?’ Along with these questions came the accompanying feeling that it all seemed on a par with which football team I should follow- Derby County, Nottingham Forest, or Mansfield Town, or the Catholics, Baptists, or the ‘Happy Clappy’ lot that worship down at the local Community centre? This conundrum has led me to create a list of reasons why I feel personally drawn to supporting my local ‘C of E’ parish church of St Edmunds, rather than any other. I realise that my own reasons for doing this may be very different from your own, should you be a church attendee, but I hope that this list will at the very least be thought provoking but may also encourage a renewed commitment to faith whether you are a church goer or not.
1) A Broad and Tolerant Church – Far from being a weakness as some would maintain, the fact that the C of E attempts to tolerate and celebrate believers from such diverse backgrounds as the Gay and Lesbian community on the one hand and Charismatic and Literalist Fundamentalist groups on the other is to be thoroughly applauded in my opinion, and the growth of women Priests and women Bishops, has begun to bring a much needed feminine perspective down into our local worship and community life. Also the recent move away from a literalist reading of the scriptures by some scholars like John Hick and Don Cupit is also a factor that appeals to my intellect. and other Christian writers like Matthew Fox, Karen Armstrong, Francis Spufford and Elaine Pagels, though not all Anglicans, have helped me formulate a faith that that is starting to challenge current ways of thinking and is carving a new mark on our post-modern largely atheistic society. Never heard of any of these writers? Go to Google and check 'em out, you might be amazed at what's being debated these days.
2) Local to the Community – In England at least, the Anglican Church is at the Spiritual heart of the local community, and it is the ‘One Stop Shop’ that we go to in times of need, and to remember our fallen and deceased as well as marry, be Christened and do stuff like co-ordinate our local food bank. One thing we are not short of in the UK is a wide variety of Christian denominations – (over 340 according to UK Church Statistics, 2005-2015.) - and it would be nice to think that in a future age we could bring our doctrinal and political differences to the alter and utilise the wonderful but often neglected and under used, Anglican church buildings that exist at the heart of our towns and villages and engage once more in common worship as one church under Christ on these Isles – The Church ‘in’ England, rather than the Church ‘of’ England.
3) Indigenous to the Isles – Although formed as part of the Protestant reaction to the abuses of the Roman Church but also fired by some dubious political motives engendered by the Tudor dynasty in the 16th century, the C of E nevertheless has a strong connection with the ‘Celtic’ Church that originally emerged on these Isles that in turn was closely related to the earliest indigenous Pagan and ‘Druidic’ beliefs and culture.
4) Pagan Elements – Neo-Paganism is one of the fastest growing new religious movements in the Western world, (and by ‘West’ I mean a certain mindset rather than a geographical region – Australia and New Zealand for example are about as ‘Eastern’ as one can get geographically and yet clearly operate from a Western philosophical perspective). Many pre Christian rites and practices were continued by Christian communities on the Isles many of which remain to this day. The visual arts were represented by the use of the Chi Rho; a pictogram of Christ represented as both the gods Apollo and Jupiter; various types of crosses like the equal lengthen solar cross; the Vesica Pisces (fish symbol); and religious icons and statues of the saints were all borrowed from pagan iconography. Churches adopted the design of ancient Heathen temples that were often founded on original Pagan sacred sites. The vestments of priests and monks and hair styles (tonsure) were adapted from pagan fashions of the time. Processions and pilgrimages, wedding customs, baptismal rites, the Chrism, Eucharist, and the veneration of holy wells were adapted from Pagan customs, and magic and healing arts like herbalism, crystal healing, divination, the use of charms, and other forms of naturopathic medicine continued on into the Christian era. The Pagan days of the week, months and seasons, and feasts and holy days, persisted often with the original names and purposes remaining intact - though many were later adapted to conform to later Christian beliefs. Perhaps now is the time to celebrate the obvious fact that British Christianity has Pagan DNA running right through it and we should heartily embrace our Pagan cousins who are currently seeking to re-discover our earliest forms of folk religion on these Isles.
5) Authority and Ancient Heritage – Finally the C of E has ancient Apostolic roots and a system of authority that has helped to guard it against abuse and maverick teachings as well as provide a rich legacy of music, visual art, architecture, worship and praxis that continues to outshine and outlive all attempts by our popular culture - with its simplistic outlook and flash technology - to override it.
This list is by no means exhaustive but provides, in my mind at any rate, a sufficient basis for pledging a personal allegiance to the Anglican Communion, not because I think that ‘my’ church and faith is better than any other - in the same way I might feel about a football team or nation state or culture - but primarily because I feel the C of E simply represents ‘my’ own personal culture and faith. Had I been born for instance in Afghanistan to Muslim parentage I would no doubt feel quite different about these allegiances. By celebrating our own uniqueness and allowing others their own right to do the same we can help to resist the seemingly unstoppable corporate global march towards mass conformity and uniformity of culture. Maybe it’s time now to stop apologising and start celebrating who we are and where we come from and be happy to be - ‘C of E’!
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