Thinking Faith is a holiday-cum-retreat-cum-study week for young Catholics who want to think and pray and enjoy themselves with like-minded people. The organisers are a group of Catholic friends who were closely associated with the Dominican Order when they studied in Cambridge. We are now working in a variety of professions. Our aim is to share something of our experience of community, of reflection and of prayer with those who come to join us for the week. The third Thinking Faith week took place at Boarbank from 21st-27th July 2007.
Most of the mornings are devoted to lectures and discussions on a variety of topics, more or less directly related to faith. This year’s course, for example, began with two scientific topics: the first speaker explained the biology of embryonic stem cells and the reasons, both scientific and ethical, for not seeing them as a miraculous solution to medical problems; his talk focused in particular on the way in which cells have a potential to become a certain kind of thing. The second speaker explored the science of global warming, giving us a starting-point for grasping a very complexity and enormously important issue: the lecture ranged from the question of how the daily global temperature is established, to how scientists estimate temperatures from many thousands of years ago, and then make projections for the future. The ‘green’ theme continued with a talk on the difference that Christian theology might make to our attitude to environmental issues, reflecting on the implications of the doctrine of the Trinity for creation. A third speaker took the theme of ‘Living Simply’ and gave us a wealth of ideas and encouragement, based on her own personal experience, for making practical changes to our lives.
Other talks looked at the contemporary church and its relation to wider society: one examined the issue of women’s ministry, with a particular focus on the church in Germany, exploring both the controversial and the constructive developments there; a second looked at the social changes that have contributed to a decline in church-going in Britain, with particular reference to the religious ideas of, and the public response to, Lady Diana, the Princess of Wales. Finally, we were introduced to the historical and theological background to Pope Benedict’s recent book, Jesus of Nazareth, and in particular to the reasons for Benedict’s concern with relativism.
A highlight of the week was a visit from two guest speakers from the Cenacolo community in Kendal. The community consists of ex-addicts, who live a very disciplined life of work and prayer, and so support each other in discovering faith and a new way of living. Everyone was very moved by the courageous testimony of our two young speakers.
We begin each day with morning prayer, and end it with compline, both sung together using the Dominican versions of the sung office. It is also possible to join the Boarbank community for vespers. On most days, our chaplain says mass for the group; once or twice a week we join the community for mass. Guests may also make full use of the beautiful chapel and oratory at Boarbank for private prayer. This year, we had a couple of additional short sessions of prayer or meditation, one led by one of the participants, who used a very powerful contemporary account of the healing of a leper. We also used morning prayer on Thursday to perform the world premiere of a hymn tune written especially for the occasion! We take full advantage of the opportunities to relax in the beautiful surroundings of Boarbank Hall. This year, we were very fortunate to be able to begin the week by joining a walk across Morecambe Bay, led by the Queen’s Guide, Cedric Robinson. In the middle of the week, we took a day off for a walk in Eskdale, being blessed by incredibly cooperative weather and the usual marvellous Lakeland views: despite the forecasts, the rain held off until we were in the cars on the way home. Some of the group walked further than they had ever done before! Many thanks to John, our guide for the day.
During the free afternoons and evenings, guests can enjoy walking, visiting Cartmel, with its fine medieval priory church, playing tennis and other sports, chatting over a glass of wine, or simply relaxing. This year we also watched two films together, Al Gore’s An Inconvenient Truth, which introduced our reflections on global warming, and The Mission, a beautiful, powerful and thought-provoking film about the Jesuit missions in Paraguay.
To read the leaflet containing details of Thinking Faith 2008, click here.
For more information, contact Sr Margaret Atkins@Boarbank.