My primary motivation to go to Rosalind Brown’s talk was because I had assigned myself the task of writing a post about it. After all, this respected author of Being a Priest Today was being hosted by St Nicholas for the Day in the Diocese.
In the closing address, Archdeacon Julie put it perfectly for me when she conceded “could’ve been in the office doing important looking stuff” (my important looking stuff is exponentially less important looking than what I imagine our esteemed Archdeacon has to do). However Julie, like myself, thoroughly enjoyed and benefited from the talk and it was (to once again quote her) “a real treat”.
Rosalind’s talk was engaging, well delivered, insightful, thought-provoking and oftentimes humorous. A handout with an assortment of “I wonder” phrases given during the interim discussions made me laugh. For those of you familiar with Godly Play (the Montessori style ‘Sunday school’ we run at our family service) you would understand why; it felt a bit like Godly Play for Grown-ups minus the craft.
Rosalind’s address was delivered in three parts. The first was titled “Taking our smallness lightly but our presence seriously” (a quote from Joan Chittester and drew heavily upon Rowan Williams book Faith in the Public Square). The second part was an intriguing examination of Benedictine hospitality. Finally, the third, a biblical talk on Hagar and Elijah.
We are all of equal value to God
A particular point that stood out to me was that of each individual’s value. That is, we are all of equal value to God. Whether it was a Williams quote or her own, I loved it when Rosalind stated that “there are no superfluous or spare people”. This is profound for those of us with distorted views of our self-worth but also a challenge. This value does not come from one’s own merit but from who we are to God. We are precious in His eyes.
The connection Rosalind drew between the viewpoint of Equal Value and its implication for the current attitudes to work, attitudes like the increasingly demanding and all-consuming expectance of performance driven from both forces within and external to the worker. Dehumanising was the word used and I am finding it hard to disagree. The connection was startling in its directness yet disturbingly unsurprising all the same. How often have we felt sucked into that seemingly inescapable cycle of commitments and additional ‘extra credit’ projects all for the so called sake of… what? Our boss? Or our professor’s approval? Our career aspirations? Or perhaps our own so-called ‘self-improvement’?
That last paragraph sounds rather negative and depressing (I assure on the whole, the talk was actually very encouraging). But perhaps instead of boring you with another few hundred words or so I might instead heed Rosalind’s recommendation and read the transcript of Rowan William’s lecture ‘Benedict and the future of Europe’. And likewise, I might wonder about my own rhythm of life. And perhaps if you too dear reader, are intrigued or are one of the many ever-chasing the elusive ‘balance’ we so crave, could spare some precious time I would encourage you to do some wondering too.