An afternoon of remembering, held at St Mungo Museum, 2 October 2022, by Sr Isabel Smyth SND

There was a real sense of celebration last Sunday, 2^nd October, when the St Mungo Museum of Religious Life and Art held its first interfaith event since the closure of the museum during the Covid pandemic. Glasgow City Council had suggested that it might not open the museum again but rather it would seek ways of finding another promoter such as Historic/Environment Scotland to take it over. There was an outcry from all those who appreciated the importance of the Museum, particularly the faith communities who for decades had found it a safe space for dialogue. The campaign, spearheaded by Interfaith Glasgow, led eventually to its opening which in itself was a cause for celebration. This first event, focussing on the life of Stella Reekie and the work of the International Flat, brought together 69 people, many who had worked with Stella in Glasgow, some who had worked with her in Pakistan and some who knew very little or nothing of her life and work. There was a lot of buzz, chatter, laughter as people renewed friendships and shared memories. The event captured the spirit of The Flat, even to the extent that we had to buy more cake for tea.

The reason for the focus on Stella Reekie was that this year, 2022, was the 100^th anniversary of her birth and the 40^th anniversary of her death and it seemed an appropriate moment to remember and celebrate her. Stella was born on 29^th July 1922, the youngest of eight children in Gravesend, Kent and died in Glasgow on 28^th September 1982. Her life had been one of service. As a young woman she had joined the Red Cross so that she could work with refugees in Europe. It was this that led to her being present at the liberation of Bergen – Belsen, something she never talked about, but the horror of that experience must have seared her soul. That and the experience of working with refugee children caused her to reflect on the inhumanity of life without Christ and, as she herself admitted, it was this that led her to sail from Liverpool in 1951 to join the Church of West Pakistan.

There are many stories about her work in Pakistan – her popularity and readiness to help with all sorts of problems, her wonderful capacity for communication even when her understanding and knowledge of Urdu was rather shaky, her work with women and children, her indefatigable visiting of homes and villages and something that seems to have characterised her all her life – her ability to exist on little sleep. There were two colleagues from Pakistan present at our celebration in St Mungo’s. One had been a Pakistani pastor with whom Stella worked closely and the other a Scottish missionary also in Pakistan at that time. She told a story of how she would visit Stella in Gujerat, and Stella would always drive her to the bus for her journey home. The only flaw in that plan was that Stella was always late because she was busy about many things but insisted on the lift. This then meant Stella driving at breakneck speed after the bus until she had overtaken it, causing it to halt so that her friend could then board it.

After seventeen years as a missionary Stella returned to Scotland and was eventually employed by the Home Board of the Church of Scotland as a community worker, working with the large number of immigrants who had come to Scotland in the 1950’s and 60s, mostly from India and Pakistan. It was at this point she became a deaconess, working in community relations from her own home in Belmont St. Glasgow. In 1972 she went to live in 20 Glasgow St. which had been bought by the Church of Scotland as a centre for her work. This then became the International Flat, a centre for immigrants, especially women who at that time had little opportunity for life outside the family. She organised English classes, cookery and sewing classes, meals for the wives of overseas students, summer play schemes for children in the area. She helped the new Scots cope with the bureaucracy involved in finding accommodation, employment etc. She welcomed everyone to the Flat which became a centre of hospitality and developed friendships which, as our celebration showed, have stood the test of time.

Most of the people present at St Mungo’s on 2^nd October had known Stella through the International Flat and her work in establishing the first interfaith group in Scotland. Stella was convinced that new citizens would only be accepted and integrated into the wider community if that community knew something of their faith. So, the Glasgow Sharing of Faiths held monthly meetings when a member of a major world faith would give a talk on their faith, answer questions, provide food and give time for small group discussions. Each year there was a Presentation of Faiths in a prestigious public building for three full days which allowed school children to visit and learn and adults to be entertained by groups such as the Jewish Male Voice Choir. This was a time when the teaching of world religions was being introduced into the religious education syllabus, with very few published resources so the meetings and events of the Sharing of Faiths became a focus for teachers trying to come to terms with world faiths and make contact with places of worship.

Three people, Canon David Lawson, Mrs Brij Gandhi and Mr George Ballentyne, all members of that first Sharing of Faiths committee shared their memories of Stella and her interfaith work. David recalled how he lived very near the International Flat and often, especially after meetings, Stella would phone and invite him round for coffee. Sometimes this was to reflect on a meeting they had both been at and which had reached a decision which was not quite what Stella would have wanted. How were they to put it right? These conversations and coffees lasted into the wee small hours which never disturbed Stella who could exist on very little sleep.

 Brij had got to know Stella through her parents when she visited them from Kenya and was even encouraged by Stella to do some voluntary work in the Flat during those visits. When Brij and her family moved to Glasgow, Brij became a member of the Sharing of Faiths and worked with Stella at the Flat. She remembered how much Stella asked of her even when she reminded Stella that she had a husband and young children to look after.  It was part of Stella’s genius/ charism (?) that she was able to involve people beyond what they were prepared to give and believed possible. As Maxwell Craig, the chair of the Sharing of Faiths said in the booklet published after her death,” That she did so successfully time and time again was part of the miracle”.  

George had become involved in the work of the Flat when he was asked to represent the Glasgow Bahá’ís on the Sharing of Faiths committee. He recalls his first meeting when, as a naïve Baha’i he thought people would respond to his involvement by becoming Baha’is, he found himself siting with someone who had been in the concentration camps; someone who had lived through the Partition of India; others who had endured pestilence, famine, and war – whose faith had been, literally, a matter of life and death for them. While interested in interfaith George expressed his gratitude to Stella who had shown him how to live it. It was her model, her example that set the tone and direction for most of his adult life, right down to the kind of jobs he had done.

This sense of gratitude was echoed by many at the celebration, especially David and Brij as well as Sr Isabel who had chaired this time of remembering. Interfaith had become a spiritual adventure for all of them and they had all been involved in it in some way or other ever since those early days of the Sharing of Faiths. They saw their work as part of the legacy of Stella who forty years after her death was remembered with affection and thankfulness. When Stella died in 1982 the Glasgow Sharing of Faiths was the only inter faith group in Scotland. Now there are 20 local groups, including Interfaith Glasgow, and a national body, Interfaith Scotland, which carry on the work begun by her over fifty years ago. The seeds that Stella sowed then have borne fruit in a way that she probably would not have dreamed of. And for those of us who are reaping the benefits of those fruits and sowing our own seeds of understanding and cooperation, Stella still remains a source of inspiration and encouragement. Her life and influence are a good reminder that many of the seeds which we now sow can bear fruit in a way that we cannot imagine.

A Guest Blog by Niamh Margaret Dillon. Niamh is a parishioner of St Augustine’s Church, Milton, and wrote an earlier blog about her experience of lockdown on Holy Isle. Niamh now studies law at Edinburgh University.

The Future of Faith feature was produced by the Edinburgh Interfaith Association, in partnership with the Coexistence Initiative, as part of the organisation’s coronavirus resilience response: Interfaith Insights & A Spotlight on Faith. Both programmes explore various topics pertinent to faith groups during the pandemic- ranging from uplifting musical performances, to discussions on mental health and wellbeing throughout lockdown, giving a platform to spiritual perspectives on dealing with isolation, and, ultimately, demonstrating how faith can strengthen communities, and push individuals within those communities to do great things. This instalment was particularly engaging, due to it being led by activists aged 25 and under- all only kick starting their careers and embarking on their life missions now, but doing so under circumstances that no one could have predicted. Despite this unprecedented adversity, what was palpable in each young person was a true belief in the causes they advocate for, each demonstrating equal measures of infectious enthusiasm and compassion when sharing their views.

The word that unintentionally became the heart of this dialogue was “community.” Inadvertently, each panellist centred their own testimonies and ideas for moving forward in a post-COVID society around this word. It quickly became clear how instrumental a sense of community is in shaping a person’s faith, and, no matter where you come from or what you believe, how fundamental a driving force it is within all human beings. The nature of the virus has certainly tested this principle, pushing everyone to consider new ways of approaching both how we practice our faith, and how we reach out to create bonds with our neighbours. JoAnn, a young Christian woman from Northern Ireland whose first experiences with cross-religious dialogue were informed by her country’s marred past in the Troubles, spoke on how she’s witnessed the pandemic mobilise people to tangibly live out the principles of their faith, and, instead of failing to practice what they preach, many churches- both Catholic and Protestant- have once more become hubs emblematic of goodwill and charity in a time where the virus has left many struggling to make ends meet.

In my view, stories like these are a moving display of the good that can be achieved when we bring our values beyond the pulpit, and apply them to cultivate change in our own lives and the lives of those around us. It’s evident that, through the pandemic, community has emerged as a stronghold of connectivity, reliability, and source of joy in people’s lives, and it is my sincere hope that we have all been inspired to continue to live out these principles, even when the virus and memories of lockdown seem far behind us. The voices of people like JoAnn, who grew up in a place like Northern Ireland, are invaluable in reminding us of how crucial it is to not only engage in dialogue, but to actively work alongside other religious groups in aims of producing outcomes informed by each individual’s truth and beneficial to everyone, so that we can substantially prevent a conflict like The Troubles from ever happening again.

Moreover, for Zain, who is Muslim, attending a Catholic school was his first contact with a different religion, compelling him to begin thinking about his own relationship to faith and finding common ground with others at a young age. Indeed, while there is a great amount of work still to be done, it’s evidence of great progress and should be a source of pride for Scottish Catholics that our schools serve as a safe space for people from a variety of backgrounds to have their first encounter with other beliefs, while still having their own spiritual boundaries respected. This shows there is ample opportunity for Catholic schools, specifically, to continually nurture these interpersonal cross-community bonds, and encourage children to approach something that, on the surface, may appear different, with curiosity and compassion.

I was particularly moved by the words of Sydney, an inspiring young Jewish woman from Calgary, Canada, who has lived in many small Jewish communities around the world and is now working through Scotland, and, moreover, within whom the pure joy of living out her faith and using what she’s learned to help others is abundantly clear. Currently volunteering on a Highland farm, she is immersing herself in a culture different from her own, but finding within this new climate how her own religious practices fit into this lifestyle. Her two contrasting experiences- one with interfaith projects across world, in places like Mumbai, and the other where the majority of her personal and professional endeavours are deeply rooted in her own faith and customs, work in tandem to inform one another. These experiences facilitate this deeper understanding she evidently holds, of the threads that bind humans from all backgrounds together, and that our differences should be celebrated, and cause for unity – an understanding which, in these times, is a great gift. You can read more of Sydney’s reflections here: https://www.sydneyswitzer.com

The aforementioned ubiquitous appeal of community makes it ripe with opportunities for diversity and inclusion; how powerful it is when people from all different backgrounds can come together, united in the goal of making their communities more representative, prosperous safe spaces. These young people represent shared values that can actively serve to improve our country, all while giving the sense of being firmly rooted in and proud of their own faith systems and traditions.  It’s clear that the future of faith in Scotland is in the very best of hands.

This instalment was such a success that it has now been commissioned as a monthly feature, where in a panel of incredible young people dialogue on how their faith has inspired them to make change in the world. You can find more details on the Edinburgh Coexistence Initiative and Edinburgh Interfaith Association Facebook pages.