Bishop Philip Huggins attends an international multifaith retreat at the Brahma Kumaris Global Retreat Centre, in Nuneham, England. Here, Bishop Huggins recalls several individual actions that contribute to a global response to the climate, human flourishing and interfaith collaboration for the welfare of our home, Earth.
Inner and Outer Peace:
a reflection by Bishop Philip Huggins
In this reflection I would like to share the gift of recent experiences.
Firstly, sitting on a beautiful Australian beach with his partner, my friend Graeme was reading St. Augustine.
Not a usual beach practice but seemingly providential.
Reading a section in which Augustine speaks as if he is the wind, the waves, the birds of the air, the fish of the sea, my friend had an overwhelming feeling of oneness with all God’s creation.
St. Augustine also conveys elsewhere that our happiness relates to our appreciation and re-appreciation of what we already have.
This is great wisdom. Count your blessings.
There on that beach was an awakening moment for Graeme.
From this he now lives.
Both with wonder (wishing he had noticed and been more appreciative earlier in life), and with a yearning to help heal the earth.
He gave to our congregation The Thanksgiving Address of the Onondaga Nation: The Words That Come Before All Else.
Thereafter and secondly,there is the story of Tom who has come from farm life into the city of Canberra to work on strategies which protect the habitats of koalas.
In the city he noticed the absence of small birds – the absence of their sound and flight.
In response he has been building little boxes to place in trees … so the little birds can return and feel safe.
He is awake and focused on doing what he can.
The common element to both these stories is silence and observation.
Relatedly, and in more detail, we have just completed a four-day multifaith retreat with the theme Inner Peace and Outer Peace.
Sister Jayanti, Additional Administration Head, Brahma Kumaris, India/UK, with Sister Maureen, BK Programme Director, was our host and Co-Chair with Sister Maureen, Revd Dr Marcus Braybrooke and myself. There were many, many gifts!
We met magically in Nuneham, where Alice in Wonderland was imagined. It is now the Global Retreat Centre, looked after by the Brahma Kumaris, UK.
I would like to share a little about this Retreat and suggest that it might be a model others will find helpful.
We invited around thirty religious and spiritual leaders to prepare by sharing their thoughts on how silence and deep spiritual reflection helps their life as peace builders.
Once gathered in this rural and global retreat centre, people spoke about the situation from which they had come and what their hopes were for this retreat.
The effect of the sufferings since October 7 were vivid in the reflections of Jewish and Muslim leaders. Others involved in Climate Action conveyed the weight of that responsibility when the necessary action is delayed by the current standard of political leadership. Trying to ensure the UNCOP process lands the Paris Agreement in time is difficult even when decisions on where each COP will be held are not helpful.
Those involved in matters of health and education brought their awareness of the opportunity cost of militarism and of the immediate cost to those made refugees by violence.
Once gathered, people shared their learnings about how they sustain their peacemaking in current circumstances.
A common learning is the importance of silence and of a meditation practice. I shared about how the Jesus Prayer of the Heart sustains me.
Thereafter participants shared stories of people of grace and inner peace who have given them inspiration.These sharings were rich. For example, the inspiration a Muslim leader gained in Bosnia from a bereaved mother.
Others mentioned the courageous writing of Arundati Roy in India. Present too were those helping to provide clean drinking water to villages in Africa, amidst poverty and vested interests …
Lungelwa spoke of the model of her grandmother who had little but who’s grace made guests feel comfortable, even if the only hospitality she could offer was a glass of water.
After these nurturing sharings a feeling of deep unity in our common humanity became more pervasive. Thus, we were ready to consider how, with a global perspective, we can deepen connections between Inner and Outer Peace.
We asked: where are the gaps and how can we enhance cooperation?
Groups formed and participants took responsibility for continued action.
To conclude, we asked people to share one intention that they had as a result of our retreat.
This, too, was rich and focused. A granddaughter of the poet Rumi conveyed his wisdom that all truth is derived from a dream.
We agreed that we needed to sustain our spiritual practice for peacemaking with more intentional times of stillness,silence and meditation.
Having felt the unity this brought to our togetherness, we know how this better integrates ‘Inner and Outer Peace.’One of our number expressed the yearning that our global political leaders would go on a retreat like the one we shared.
We agreed that, frustrating as it can be, we have to be patient with what it takes to bring healing after trauma. We had heard stories of the years taken to bring true reconciliation so that alienations do not travel into yet another generation.
Accordingly, to prevent further trauma, we know our thoughts,words and actions should always convey a healing and not a harming choice. Our role in this regard is crucial as we observe, on a daily basis, what continues to take place.
We parted, therefore, as friends who share a dream … A sacred imagining of a human family flourishing together … even yet!
Revd. Dr. Simone Sinn spoke for us all in saying that her intention is to now better incorporate small practices of stillness and silence into her daily life so as to better attune to sacred imaginings…That is,even whilst being utterly truthful about the disease of global realities.
So, after all this, we planted a tree … overlooking the place where there have been and are now so many wonderful imaginings!
Graeme on a beach; Tom in his urban backyard and those of us gathered for this Retreat, like many, want to do what we can for those who are innocent of the past and now so vulnerable.
After times of Buddhist and Hindu chants and Friday Shabbat prayers, it was my honour to celebrate Holy Communion at our Retreat on the Feast Day of Mary Magdalene who, in the poignancy of love’s grief, unexpectedly met the Risen Jesus in a garden.
Everyone came to this Eucharist. For some from other faiths it was the first time to see this actual Service. Their expressed appreciation is one of the most wonderful experiences of my vocational life. One sang a song in Persian; another in Arabic to contribute to this extraordinary moment.
I was graciously assisted by Ms Sarah Maguire of the Anglican Pacifist Fellowship and Revd Dr Marcus Braybrook, a pioneer in this field.
Prior to going to this retreat, our family had some days together in an old shearers hut. We found a lamb, somehow on its own and barely breathing. Bringing it by the fire and gently feeding it, we saw the lamb recuperating and embracing life.
These young children,tenderly helping the lamb to breathe and flourish,remind us of what Arundati Roy has conveyed to a World Social Forum …
“Another world is not only possible, she’s on her way…
On a quiet day, if I listen carefully, I can hear her breathing,”
© Bishop Philip Huggins, 2024
