I had half an hour spare in Rochdale Town Centre yesterday and so I dropped into Touchstones local history library. The very helpful librarians gave me a folder on "the Parish Church" and so I skimmed some pamphlets of Dr Molesworth's sermons.
I was very struck in reading about this Vicar of Rochdale that the parishioners wanted him to publish his sermons. So much so that 15 of them, all men, including one Churchwarden, had written him a letter on 10th December 1849 demanding that he publish his sermon from the 2nd Sunday of Advent. This sermon, the letter tells us would "dispel some of the fallacies" around and that "it was an excellent exposition" of the task of the Church in "holy education."
Rather than talk about the disputes and contentions that gave rise to this letter, I want to reflect on communication. Dr Molesworth published a number of pamphlets in his time. There was one reflecting on the salvation of a Rochdale horse stealer who had been executed in London.My question is how do we encourage each other to reflect on the world we are in, so that we can better live as Christians in it. Reading pamphlets was a good way in the mid 19th Century. Reading is a spur to deeper thought. In every time Christian writers tussle with the issues of the day and write to encourage the faithful. For example, my colleague Amy writes a very good blog. Each week new Christian books are published.
How do we live as Christians in 2017 ? What helps us "practice" the faith ? When we gather for holy communion we stop our busy lives, and look at the world around us. We open our hearts and minds to our Father in heaven, and pray. I hope it helps.
Reading about that previous Vicar of Rochdale reminded me of a a priest from a different age and indeed Church who developed a good way of helping people engage with the issues of his time. He was Joseph Cardijn.
Joseph Leo Cardijn (13 November 1882 – 24 July 1967) was a Belgian Roman Catholic cardinal and the founder of the Young Christian Workers
See-Judge-Act is a pastoral method which grew out of his work as a Roman Catholic Priest, with Young Christian Workers in the 1940s. (NB thanks to Paul Skirrow for this summary)
In Cardijn's work, the young people were talking about their life issues in the factories of the day. In general terms they had many difficulties in their working lives. For example, one complaint was that the factories were dangerous. Cardijn told the workers to come back to him with a clearer description of what they could "See". To be more specific about what the problems were.
They would come back with their stories: the safety guard is left off to speed things up; the ventilation is inadequate and fumes build up; and so on.
On the basis of their stories Cardijn sat down to "Judge" with them why this was and who was responsible. They could then decide on the best way to "Act" to remedy the problem.
So the method is very simple -
See: look carefully at the world around you, the context you are in and the things which are going on there; Judge: think carefully about what you see and whether it measures up to the values you hold onto as a Christian; and Act; do something about it!
SJA groups can meet anywhere - churches, community centres, homes.
This method from the 20th century challenges us. How do we see in our time, do we hesitate at the judging, and do we act....
It continues today as the Young Christian Workers - indeed there is a special mass this week in Salford.
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By the way, there are some useful historical resources about the Church in Rochdale now available on the Link 4 Life web site.