Sitting in a public place, praying, meditating, holding silence, reflecting, contemplating - whatever you call it - is a very simple but very special thing to do. I sat and contemplated/prayed with some lovely people from XR Huddersfield and Calderdale in July. Being still, sitting on a camping chair in St George’s Square, outside Huddersfield Railway Station was pretty much all that I did, action bordering on inaction, but it was a rich and powerful thing to do.
Who was there ? Well I didn't really bother too much looking for labels. I am a Christian, I know there was at least one Roman Catholic woman there, and some Quakers also turned up with a banner. We were all rebels, precious human beings and that was the shared ground on which we met. The organiser had come up with the title ‘Mourning our Dying Planet’ and that was what had attracted me. As I had felt my energy for climate activism fade over the previous few months, I wanted to return to …. well, a quiet place, a desert of sorts. To do this with others who understood what this climate and ecological crisis was all about, would be a healthy, healing thing.
Lots of people passed by, coming in and out of the station, on their daily business, some heading off on holiday. There are direct trains to Manchester Airport; at this late stage in the Pandemic there are more flights somewhere even hotter. On the way into the station some would stop to take a leaflet and many would talk. (We always had someone there who was not vigil-ing but ready to listen, chat, smile.) Huddersfield folk are very friendly. So the silence was enhanced by snippets of conversation, alongside the roaring buses, drilling builders, trundling cases, and the like. Believe it or not, it was possible to go quite deep in the silence. It was like a mini retreat to me.
Physically, we were loosely scattered on the large square. But it felt like our hearts were centred and close to each other.
The first day of the Vigil had developed into “an action” which had a march up to Huddersfield’s producer of dangerous chemicals Syngenta. This once ICI-owned firm produced Paraquat and the like and exported poisons which were now illegal in the UK to other nations with less legal protections. I didn’t manage to join the small march up to the factory but followed it on social media. It provided an important real world edge to the vigil. We were claiming an island of Peace in a context - the profiting from destruction, and the suffering of the planet was right there for our hearts to confront with silent love.
It wasn’t all serious silence. Of course, there was chatting too, and during those times it was good to talk to others. All through my ministry as a vicar and now in retirement, I have met people who have taught me something and inspired me. I thank God for Helen and the other rebels.
Practical matters. The weather apps were predicting rain. In the end there was no rain but I did get sunburned ! So come prepared for every weather. Bring some snacks and drinks. Toilets ? It was easy to go to the loo because some of the lovely Huddersfield rebels had made an arrangement with the rail station and they let us through the barriers to the platform toilets. No problem at all.
Was it any use ? Can anyone know ? But somehow all that love and grief, that rebelling against our destructive economy, that silence, touched a deep place. Surprising people, with countercultural silence and grief, certainly had the potential to make for a deep encounter.
Already we are talking about another Vigil. Are you interested ?