Faiths Act: my reflections on PWR, from The Times newspaper

Hello everyone! Whilst in Melbourne, I was asked to write some reflections for The Times, a UK newspaper. I've copied them below in the hope that they might be of interest. I'd love to hear your thoughts on them. Sorry for the poor formatting! Peace - Sean

December 8, 2009

Daily sketch: world parliament of religions

You can find faith in very unexpected places...

Up early on Sunday. Adrenalin still running. A Catholic Mass in the Ukrainian (or Byzantine) Rite was happening somewhere in town. I arrived a few minutes late to find people still waiting outside the Church: about a dozen, mostly men, mostly much older than me. For an early Summer’s morning it was surprisingly cold. We started to get impatient. The priest must have overslept. I began to wish I had done the same and found somewhere to attend Mass later in the day.

I was about to leave when one of the Benedictine sisters in the group called across the road to a passing gentleman. It turned out he was a Catholic priest she had bumped into the day before. Someone said they were staying in a nearby apartment and we were soon all having breakfast there. The priest offered to celebrate a House Mass for us.

Somehow this caught the mood of the Parliament. From annoyance at waiting outside a locked Church for a priest with poor timekeeping, I was now celebrating the liturgy in probably the most intimate and personal setting.

The Parliament has brought together thousands of people who subscribe to an amazing variety of religions, faiths and philosophical traditions. But a vital part of the gathering is this sort of chance encounter with those from your own faith group from around the world. For interfaith work to be more than a kind of spiritual joyride you just have to be firmly rooted in your own tradition. So enjoying your own form of worship is important. Interfaith is not about trying to blur boundaries. Nor is it about compromising your own beliefs or watering them down.

On the way to the apartment we passed a young woman crying in the lobby. It was still early in the morning so perhaps she was just home from a night out. She mumbled something about her daughter. We paused, although if I’m honest, this was more to wait for the lift than to listen to her story. She asked us what we were up to. “We’re going upstairs to pray”. Matter of fact. Almost defensive. But her face lit up. “Can I join you? I’m not religious. But I think I believe. Will you let me join you?”

I was touched. To this, woman this motley group of Catholics must have seemed welcoming, even inviting. We prayed and shared the liturgy in the upper room. We shared food and tried to relieve her distress a bit. All very Biblical. But it’s sadly rare that you see Gospel values lived out in such a practical, unglamorous and matter-of-fact way. Yet here we were quite unexpectedly.

I got back to the Parliament later in the day with a new energy. Spent the afternoon at a UNESCO consultation on youth involvement in interfaith. In the evening met new friends I had met the night before; we all went to the sacred music concert.

Interfaith is a journey of respect, understanding and sympathy but you come home to your own faith. That was Melbourne’s message today.

December 14, 2009

Daily sketch: world parliament of religions

December 7-8: 'Poverty must no longer be with us'

Up early again. The Parliament begins with observances from various traditions each morning. Today I am hoping to make it to the Anglican service. I am running late. It is difficult to go anywhere without bumping into someone with an interesting story to tell. I met a friend from Boston on the escalator. We end up chatting over a coffee about her work with High School students. I promise myself I will go to an observance tomorrow morning.

Poverty and injustice are key themes of discussion at the Parliament this time round. I take my place in the Plenary Hall for the morning keynote. The Convention Centre seats 5,000. Wood panelling and seats of various shades of green make it seem as if I am sitting in a bizarrely stunted tropical forest. The air conditioning is not quite right this morning. I shiver.

Katherine Marshall, a friend of the Tony Blair Faith Foundation, from the World Faiths Development Dialogue, is moderating. She speaks of the need for faith groups to be more proactive in anti-poverty work. Jim Wallis, a personal hero of mine, gives an exegesis of Mark 14:7 where Jesus said, “The poor you will always have with you”. This is not a call to resignation or an acceptance of injustice. Quite the opposite. We are supposed to keep the poor close to us at all times. They should be in our hearts and on our minds always, and this should make us active in our advocacy and proactive in our work against injustice.

A panellist from Cambodia talks about the spiritual challenge of poverty. Are we acting with integrity and showing compassion if we ignore the cries of the poorest and most vulnerable? The audience of four or five hundred applauds.

I really want to talk to Jim Wallis. I hesitate a little. Bad move. A sizeable queue forms before me. Photographs. Handshakes. Platitudes. I snatch an introduction as he is leaving for his next session. I tell him of the inspiration I find in his considered approach to faith in politics. “You’re the one doing the work, though,” he replies. “Keep building the movement!”

I am back in the Hall a few hours later. Waiting for a sound check before our plenary speech. Supposed to be meeting Rabbi David Rosen to talk about our work, but the rehearsal for our presentation is running late. We are up next. The Dharma Master Tsin Tao sits down behind me. “Sorry Sean, can His Holiness go first?” I’m hardly going to argue. The Monks shuffle onto the stage.

I am speaking on a panel with about 40 people in the audience. One of the challenges of the Parliament is the sheer wealth of programmes offered. So for an afternoon session this is a good crowd. The session is exploring Christian responses to environmental challenges. The Reverend next to me gives an impassioned speech on resource extraction in Ecuador. I end up talking about the need to reconnect with our local communities, and to move away from our hyper-individual lifestyles. I am a little thrown when an elderly lady approaches afterwards for my signature. “It’s for my Women’s group. They’ll be thrilled I met you!” I think she may have confused me with someone else. I sign anyway.

December 14, 2009

Daily sketch: world parliament of religions

December 9: the final day of the Parliament

The final day of the Parliament. The youth coffee house ran late last night. As usual, I oversleep. This last week has been inspiring, challenging and thought provoking. It has also been exhausting. It will be good to have some time to digest it all.

I am standing at the entrance to give out the last of our flyers. I get into conversation with some young Muslim women. They love the concept of Faiths Act and we exchange contact cards. We seem to have generated some real excitement for our work.

Security is tight. The Dalai Lama is giving the closing keynote address is a few hours’ time. The pile of change in my pocket sets the alarm off as I go through the scanner. I turn to apologise to the queue behind me for delaying their entry. They smile. The diversity of those in attendance is staggering. 220 religions, spiritual groups and philosophical traditions, from more than 80 countries, are represented here. Behind me, a group of Gyuto Monks stand chatting to a Greek Orthodox Priest.

I have been asked to take part in a live webcast for the Presidio based in San Francisco. I make my way to the hotel. A bedroom on the 14th floor has become a makeshift studio. I almost trip on the mass of wires and cables. The view over the Yarra River is stunning. I talk about the importance of youth involvement in interfaith work. Valerie Kaur, the American filmmaker behind the excellent documentary ‘Divided We Fall’, is in the corridor.

I bump into a Rabbi at the vending machines. I have been living off overpriced snacks for a few days now. It turns out he is good friends with some of those I met on Sunday at the UNESCO consultation. He works with schools to introduce interfaith learning into the curriculum. We swap stories. One of the most inspiring parts of the Parliament is conversations like these. “It’s not about religion, it’s about relationships.” Snatched conversations and chance meetings are at the heart of my experience of the Parliament.

I make my way to the Plenary Hall early. It is filling up fast. There has been a lot of excitement about the Dalai Lama’s speech, especially after he was unable to make it to the last Parliament. He walks on stage to a standing ovation and rapturous applause. Reminders to refrain from flash photography are spectacularly ignored. The 14th Dalai Lama, born Tenzin Gyatso, to a farming family in 1935, has astounding charisma for an elderly man. He chuckles as Aunty Joy Wandin, Senior Elder of the Wurundjeri People, the traditional custodians of the land now known as Melbourne, places an animal skin on his knee. “It’s moving!” he jokes.

He speaks of the importance of tackling inequality. It is an issue of justice, not charity, he says. He implores leaders from the Global North to visit Tibet, to see the scale of the issue. For 20 minutes the room is silent. Then another standing ovation. Another flurry of photographs.

The Parliament is finished. We assemble on the footbridge outside the Convention Centre for a photograph. During the week messages of support have been sent from the Parliament to the Copenhagen Climate Change Conference (COP15) and this photograph will express our final message of solidarity. “Was this bridge built to hold 5,000 people?” someone enquires.

We pack up our banners and collect our leaflets. Rev Dirk Ficca, Executive Director of the Council for a Parliament of the World’s Religions wants to talk to us before we leave. We swap stories and experiences before jumping on a tram to St Kilda beach. Dinner at a vegan restaurant with our friends from InterAction, a Melbourne-based interfaith youth group. The Parliament may be over, but the conversation carries on late into the evening.

This last week has been a fantastic reminder of the sheer scale and wealth of interfaith dialogue and action taking place all over the world. The challenge to us? Just as Jim Wallis said. To take these stories back to our communities and continue building the movement.

December 14, 2009

Daily sketch: world parliament of religions

December 10: breakfast with the Dalai Lama and time to head home

Up until the early hours chatting with new friends and seeing Jem off to the airport. I managed to get a ticket to breakfast with His Holiness the Dalai Lama – 20 years to the day since he was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize. Disastrously oversleep. Cursing, I throw on a suit and run the short distance to the Convention Centre. It is ironic that I feel this stressed as I hurry to meet a man who embodies peace and tranquillity.

Someone from Amnesty International is introducing the Dalai Lama. I have not missed it. I sit down to a vegetarian breakfast. Again, he gets a standing ovation. He speaks in broken English with a monk at his side offering suggestions when His Holiness can’t find the right words. The message is the importance of compassion. There is special thanks to those Chinese in the audience. It is essential to dialogue with those on both sides of the Tibet debate, and not to vilify or demonize “the other”. It is a good reminder for all interfaith and intercultural dialogue in charged political contexts.

It is easy for dialogue to become a talking shop for those already in agreement. But what is essential is to talk to those we disagree with. Those who do not naturally feel at home in interfaith work. The fundamentalists and the entrenched conservatives. Dialogue without these groups risks being shallow and unproductive.

I wander into town. Outside the famous Flinders Street station I buy a Big Issue. I get chatting to the vendor. Steve is in his late 40s and has a wealth of stories to share. Politics. History. Religion. He knows about the Parliament and is keen to hear my story. “This city is built on diversity,” he says. “People have got to try to understand each other. It’s not enough to live alongside each other; we need to live with each other.” I could not agree more. Steve right there on the street seems to embody the spirit and legacy of the Parliament. The last week has been a reminder of the wealth of difference in our global community, and a call to a new commitment to pluralism. I promise Steve I will take his story back home with me.