THE RECORD July 2015

Mill Hill Unitarian Chapel City Square, Leeds

A PLACE OF SPIRITUAL SANCTUARY FOR ALL

Liberation: Inspiration: Compassion

Our ServicesSundays: morning Worship Service 10:45

evening Sacred Contemplation 6:00Wednesdays: midday Meditation 1:15Thursdays: evening Sacred Contemplation 6:15

First Sunday of the month: Bring and Share Lunch in the Priestley Hall

ContactsWebsite: www.millhillchapel.orgMinister Rev’d. Jo James 0113 243 3845 email jojames.email@gmail.com tweet @jojames_

Facilities Manager/Lettings: c/o Chapel 0113 243 3845

Chairman of the Congregation Alan Hawkins: alan.c.hawkins@btinternet.com

Director of Music Anthony Norcliffe : anthony.norcliffe1@homecall.co.uk

The Record Editor Email millhillrecord@gmail.com @millhillchapel

charity number: 1081978

One of the oldest and most distinguished of the denominations to arise from the Protestant

reformation Unitarianism is an open theological tradition which emphasises freedom of conscience,

affirms the inherent worth of all humans and acknowledges the validity of all religious approaches

to the Divine.

From Our Minister

Every new month there are new initiatives and new life to celebrate at Mill Hill.

In June we took the first steps of the newly formulated walking group; a small but intrepid troupe joined forces at Leeds station and boarded the train for Todmorden on a beautiful misty Saturday morning. The children played happily as we grown ups gazed at the lovely country side of the Calder Valley. At Todmorden we walked to the old Unitarian Church. This impressive gothic chapel was built about twenty years after Mill Hill in the 1860s. Sadly the Unitarian community that worshipped there for about a hundred years failed to adapt or change with the times and the building no longer sustains a fixed congregation. It is maintained by the Historic Chapels Trust and a former member of the congregation, Wes, is now employed as caretaker. Wes was kind enough to let us into the building and show us around. It was most moving to be in this great space for a little while, the stained glass and marble columns retain their beauty and grandeur. We held an impromptu service, singing ‘Immortal Invisible’ together, our living voices rising to join with others, silent now - though present. contemporary custodians of a similar church we renewed our commitment to do all that lies in our power to ensure that we do not let the life ebb away from our own place of worship, instead of allowing stasis and entropy to become entrenched we will be innovative, flexible, adventurous and bold.

Lots of initiatives confirm this; as you’ll see in the other pages of the (now monthly) Record, Our book group began its monthly meetings at the end of June with a look at the essay ‘Returning to the Springs’ by John Beuhrens, the group meets on the last Tuesday of each month at 6.30pm in the chapel.

Outside the Chapel

GAY PrideAs a congregation that affirms all minorities, including diverse sexualities, Mill Hill Chapel will be joining the ‘Leeds Pride’ parade. We also will have a stall at the festivities in August. This will also be an opportunity to let people know that the chapel is registered to perform same-sex marriages. If you would you like to take part let Jo know. You don’t have to walk the entire route. Also, mobility scooters are welcome.

Other GroupsWe are already in collaboration with the Vegan Interfaith Alliance hosting a food sharing evening after the service on the 3rd Thursday of each month at 7.00 pm in the Priestley Hall. Anyone is welcome to attend, either to help out with cooking, cleaning or washing up or simply to share food and fellowship.

Do you want to participate in recycling or other environmental activities? Would an Ecological Group interest you? Alan wants to hear from you. See him at chapel or email: alan.c.hawkins@btinternet.com

The Spiritual Reading Group will on meet on the last Tuesday of the month, 28th of July at 6:30. We will be discussing the prayers in this issue. This group is an opportunity to explore and deepen faith. Please tell Jo or email: MillHillRecord@gmail.com if you have suggestions for reading material.

Rosemary will be considering what our congregation can do to promote Fair Trade. If you want to get involved with this new initiative. Please email me: MillHillRecord@gmail.com or speak to me at church.

Guest Worship Leaders

19th July Stephen Carlile16th August Anthony Dawson

IMPORTANT REMINDER: NO SERVICE on 12th JULY

On Tuesday July 28th we will consider not a book or even a chapter but some prayers, one translated by Jacob Trapp and the other by Thomas Merton, both are reproduced in this issue. In August we are celebrating our serious commitment to Lesbian Gay, Bisexual and Transgendered (LGBT) as people to be valued and cherished in a place of religious worship. By joining the Leeds Pride parade and holding a stall at the celebrations afterwards Mill Hill will visibly affirm the rights of LGBT people. We are also looking ahead to having a stand at University ‘Freshers Week’. Our monthly bring and share lunches are now a firm favourite with many in the congregation and other innovations, like the opportunity to light a candle and share a prayer during worship are also popular.

Speaking of innovation in worship, the idea of ‘thematic worship’ is one that has proven successful in many Unitarian chapels - and over the past few months I‘ve been experimenting with it here just to make sure that its achievable before introducing it formally; our theme over Easter extended to the services either side of holy week, and the following month, May was themed around Uncertainty and Faith, June services considered the Spirit and Inspiration etc. So for the next year a monthly theme has been chosen and we’ll try to ensure that services reflect the theme. (See the next page for a list.) This will be a light touch arrangement - its not something which should be rigid or inflexible and I hope that the chosen themes will integrate well with the holy days and celebrations of the Church Calendar. If you’d like more information, or if you’d like to suggest changes air propose alternative themes please do let me know. Jo

From the web: ‘ukunitarians’ facebook page

As you may know we are also struggling to maintain our rota of ‘greeters’, people willing to welcome newcomers to chapel, give out hymnbooks and make the collection. The truth is that the most important element of this role is after the service, making sure that newcomers feel welcomed, included and looked after.A recent comment on the Unitarian face-book group “ukunitarians” caught my attention. Ann Howell writes:“A very bright and motivated friend of mine recently visited a Unitarian church in a seaside town on the south coast (that shall remain nameless), looking for a new spiritual home. The service really spoke to her and the last hymn nearly moved her to tears, so she was very hopeful about this community and looked forward to engaging with people during coffee after the service. If only! No one would speak to her! She tried making conversation with a few people, but they all skittled back to their cliques after a couple of minutes of painfully polite banter. She eventually took to standing in a prominent position looking obviously lonely, but no one approached her! This woman is one of the nicest and most interesting people I know - the congregation would have been lucky to have her! She says she will try the Quakers next…”

The congregation would have been lucky to have had her! Thats the truth of our situation too - we can never know who is going to happen across our threshold at any service, are we all ready to greet them with warmth and welcome?

2015-2016 Worship Themes

March/April The Divine Feminine May Uncertainty and FaithJune InspirationJuly: TransformationAugust: JourneyingSeptember: ReturningOctober: WisdomNovember: TranscendenceDecember: WonderJanuary; HopeFebruary: Resilience March: RebirthApril: Growth

This month we are sorry to lose our Facilities manager Malcolm Clarke who is going with his partner Gillian to start a new life in sunny Lanzarote - we all wish Malcolm and Gil the very best in all that they do!

While we search for a replacement to fill Malcolm’s vacant role a challenge will be to cover the range of tasks Malcolm usually accomplishes. Our Chair of Trustees Roy Coggan will take on much of this burden, keeping the car parking and lettings up to date, but some of the other tasks will require a collective effort. Perhaps we could all show a community spirit in helping to tidy litter from the churchyard, tidy up after services and keep the place looking its best?

A reflection from Rev’d. Ant Howe Minister, Birmingham; Holywood

Our forebears dared to proclaim: God is One. There is one eternal source. When we find the Unity of God we also pave the way for the unity of humanity where all are equal under the one "I who am" - God, known by many names, yet eternally One.The very first time God is mentioned in the Bible it is as Spirit. The Spirit of God, at the dawn of Eternity, "hovered over the face of the waters". It is the untamed power and energy of the universe.With God was the Word - the creative force, the Logos, or Christ which brings order out of chaos, which brings light, and is the same force which dwells within humanity. It is this Christ-nature, so evident in Jesus and other great teachers and prophets, that is the 'image of God' in which we are created. The Word is Wisdom interjecting in time and is God's power at work in the world. It is reason, science, law.Jesus of Nazareth showed us how God - Spirit - can not only be regarded as a force, but also as a parent, lover or friend. It is the image of God within us which draws to the spiritual and connects us the Ground of all Being. This is a God of love.After the crucifixion of Jesus, when he was no longer physically present with his friends, his followers experienced God in a new way: as a universal transcendent presence or Comforter. This presence of God does not depend on personalities or priests, but is available to all, Eternal Good.God therefore is spirit, science, law, reason, transcendent, intimate, comforter, good, love.The great commandment Jesus gave was to love this God with all our heart, soul, mind and strength - and to love our neighbours as ourselves.Whether we relate to God as a distant force, an intimate friend, as love, or in some other way, this in no way divides God or negates the one-ness of God. God's many names only serves to give us glimpses of the vastness of God.When we love God and are "laying down our lives for our friends" and living the golden rule 'do unto others as you would be done to' we live out the advice of epistle writer:

"Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good"

Chapel Flowers July

5th Flower Fund12th NO SERVICE19th In memory of Mr & Mrs J J Gamble28th Flower Fund

If anyone would like to make a donation to provide flowers in memory of a loved one, to celebrate anniversaries or remember a birthday, then please contact Joan Perry or Susan Coggan (Flower Secretary). Some dates are available. NB: If you already have a subscription for flowers please check that this is kept up to date - Flower secretary

Music at Mill Hill

Anthems during July5th: “O come, ye servants of the Lord” – Christopher Tye12th: NO SERVICE19th: “O Lord, I will praise Thee” – Gordon Jacob26th: “Non nobis, Domine” – Roger Quilter

Organ Recitals

This month sees the final weeks of our Grand Series of Summer Organ Concerts on weekly Tuesdays at 1pm, when we will warmly welcome two of our regular guest players – JEFFREY MAKINSON (now Assistant Director of Music of Lincoln Minster) on July 14th and ELIN REES (Bury Parish Church) on the 21st. Both have splendid programmes lined up for us. Our Director of Music, ANTHONY NORCLIFFE, will play on the 7th and 28th of July. And, by way of advanced notice, The first two Tuesdays in August will feature Anthony giving his two annual Charity Concerts, fuller details of which will appear in next month’s ‘Record’. We will be delighted to have your company at these ever-popular events.

PrayersThe spiritual reading group will meet to discuss these prayers on July 28th at 6.30pm in chapel

Great Spirit, whose voice is heard in the stillness,Whose breath gives life to all,We come before you as childrenNeeding the help of your strength and wisdom.

Give us to walk in beauty,Seeing the uncommon in the common,Aware of the great stream of wonderIn which we and all things move.

Give us to see more deeplyInto the great things of our heritage,And the simple yet sublime truthsHidden in every leaf and every rock.

May our hands treat with respectThe things you have created,May we walk with our fellow creaturesAs sharing with them the one life that flows from you.

by Jacob Trapp inspired by a prayer from the tradition of the Navajo people

My Lord God, I have no idea where I am going. I do not see the road ahead of me. I cannot know for certain where it will end. Nor do I really know myself, and the fact that I think that I am following your will does not mean that I am actually doing so. But I believe that the desire to please you does in fact please you. And I hope I have that desire in all that I am doing. I hope that I will never do anything apart from that desire. And I know that if I do this you will lead me by the right road though I may know nothing about it. Therefore will I trust you always though I may seem to be lost and in the shadow of death. I will not fear, for you are ever with me, and you will never leave me to face my perils alone.

― Thomas Merton, Thoughts in Solitude

enthusiasm for closeness with God. They were demanding, energising, intolerant and loved to demonstrate the gifts of the spirit.

It was during an ecumenical congregation swap I visited the Quakers and found their silence all embracing, engaging, intriguing. So I stayed with the Quakers, content to listen in silence to the voice of God that was freed from explicit religiosity. What I took from the Quakers was my belief that I, similar to many humans, are looking for connection, a sense of the numinous, a link with the eternal.

It also led me to understand that no matter what church is attended or what religion is practiced, most people will work out for ourselves what they believe within the framework that fits most closely with what they have opportunity to participate in.There aren't many Shinto shrines in Leeds therefore, I'm guessing there aren't many practicing Shinto adherents either. In my experience of attending many different churches and faith activities, even within the strict interpretation of fundamental evangelical Christianity, there are many views.

My growing understanding that I can only experience and comprehend God and 'his' plan for my life through my own capacities compelled me look for a Church that would facilitate my personal journey of spiritual exploration. Which in turn has led me to Mill Hill.

What I find in Unitarianism is the freedom to honestly determine that which I feel to be true. It provides the space for exploration and my spiritual journey, my walk with God without constraint of applied religiosity, rules set in a different time by communities alien to my own. However, there should be evidence that my spiritual life has some tangible, positive effect on people and the situation around me. Faith ought to be demonstrated by works. Otherwise, it is empty words and posturing

To sum up for me, a spiritual life is a journey. One that has no final destination that we can be certain of. But what I focus on is that a journey that sustains, feeds, intrigues me. This is a worthwhile journey in and of itself and Unitarians and my fellow pilgrims at Mill Hill are good fellow travellers.

Introducing Ourselves: We Share Our Biographies Russell Alan’s Story

You could describe my religious path as 'Methodist by birth, spiritual by nature, Unitarian by conviction.

I was brought up a Methodist. My family were very regular attenders. Firstly in Sale in Cheshire and then at the Drive in Sevenoaks in Kent. Church was very important to my parents so we were there every week. We took an active part, not just in the services but in the fabric of the church's life. Day's out to Eastbourne on the coach, Harvest barn dances, Christmas present delivery, taking out children from the local orphanage.

I 'became' a Christian at a tent revival meeting when I was 15. That's when I swallowed the hook, line and sinker of the fundamentalist Christianity: I was a sinner, I was lost, I was damned and the only way back was to accept Jesus as my saviour. Strong, simple, black and white. I chose to follow church teachings, I confessed my sins and gave myself to God.

My conviction stayed with me until my early twenties. Yet I eventually stopped believing in a fundamentalist view of life. the black-or-white, damned-or-saved version of Christianity was too simplistic. Also there was a blame culture. Personal failings in belief were blamed on a lack of faith rather than the unattainability of the ideal. However, the downside of leaving was that I had thrown the baby out with the bathwater. Losing my religion meant that I'd lost my spirituality as well. I spent a number of years lost in a atheist cum agnostic fog.

When my wife and I moved north and had our eldest son, I looked to the Methodists again to provide some feeling of community that had played such a strong part of my life. I was willing enough and found some comfort in the familiarity of the service and hymns. But the expressions of faith lacked the dynamism of the Fundamentalists with their