On 1 May 2010, a group of Joiners and their guests were welcomed to the St Ethelburgha’s Centre for Reconciliation and piece by the enterprising and dynamic Director, Simon Keyes. In true Livery fashion he immediately opened bottles of wine and we all enjoyed a hearty welcome. We then went through to see the restored Church building that housed the Centre which was the brainchild of Richard Chartres, the Bishop of London and had been established and funded by independent fund raising much of which had come from the City Livery Companies. After surviving the Great Fire of London (1666) and the Blitz (1941-3), St Ethelburga's was devastated by a massive IRA bomb on April 24 1993. It has been rebuilt in a new form, reinstating its medieval exterior, whilst creating a remarkable new interior space to serve as a Centre for Reconciliation and Peace. Bishop Richard remained Chairman of Trustees although the Centre was now independent of the Church of England. He explained that the Centre’s mission was to inspire and equip people to practice reconciliation and peace-making in their own communities and lives. He stressed that their work continues the long history of Christian life at St Ethelburga’s and all at the Centre place importance on:
- Hospitality: we aim to offer a welcoming place in which anyone who arrives can feel at home and be a part of what we do. diversity: we value the strength that comes from embracing difference and diversity within a shared sense of common humanity.
- Conversation: we think that listening to views and values different to our own strengthens us and builds relationships.
- Responsibility: we believe that each of us can contribute to a peaceful world by the way we act every day.
- Spirituality: we invite people of all traditions to engage with our work at a spiritual level, recognising that peace springs from how we live our inner lives.
A most wonderful feast of Kurdish food prepared by the talented Della Murad followed with seconds for all. The Kurdish diet includes a wide variety of fruits and vegetables with lamb and chicken being the primary meats served with rice and using plenty of fresh herbs. Dessert consisted of a Kurdish style milk pudding with fruit which was particularly memorable. After dinner we all retired to the famous Bedouin Tent. It is a new kind of place where people of different faiths can meet as equals, rather than as guests in each other spaces; a space for new types of conversation.
The Tent is an experimental meeting space where people of different faiths can explore together, sitting as equals sitting in a circle, how to understanding their differences, transform conflicts, and develop shared values and strategies for collaboration in changing the world. Here we were treated to a wonderful concert of Kurdish music using the Tar (a type of guitar) and the Tombak (a type of drum) which are traditional Kurdish instruments. We all left St Ethelburgha’s profoundly moved by the work that was being done there and spiritually at peace with ourselves believing that everyone should visit the Centre.
The sincere thanks of the Joiners go to all at St Ethelburghs’s particularly Simon Keyes and Della Murad.