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: Written by: Kamran Mofid; Published: 02 June 2022; Hits: 725

Paul Oestreicher examines the contract between the monarch

and the public in the UK and the Commonwealth*

Members of the royal family on the balcony of Buckingham Palace watch the Royal Air Force flypast during

the Trooping the Colour parade on June 2, 2022, in London.-Chris Jackson / Getty Images

‘THE Firm needs a balcony from which to wave, and a people to return the compliment, and maybe even cheer. The sun may shine.

From the unthinkable moment when the longest and most popular reign in British history comes to a peaceful end, King Charles, if he chooses to, and his consort will reign — but not rule. That is of the essence of our polity. The citizens, no longer subjects, will peacefully go their own way and think their own thoughts. Some may even wonder: how long will this circus survive?

Come the next reign, which may still be quite some way off, one thing is clear: revolution is not in the air. My guess is that the next monarch may choose to continue to share his private passions and convictions with the people. That will neither frighten the royal horses nor destabilise the status quo. It may simply add some spice to life at the Palace. Changes are as natural as the hitherto moderate climate of these isles.

These reflections are clearly no more than my uncertain predictions. Nothing beyond the present moment is ever certain.

I have said all this with equanimity, even though my much-respected training vicar, Stanley Evans, long since promoted to higher realms, would be angry — very angry.

A leading light in the Christian Socialism of the East End of London, he would say: “It is none of your business to reflect on what will be. You must state in no uncertain terms what should and shall be. The inherited privilege of the few is wrong, wrong, wrong. Challenge it!”

I have to confess that, even while I was his curate, Stanley was right never to quite trust me. Marxist fundamentalism is as foreign to me as are its Christian varieties. Nevertheless, he was right in siding with Wat Tyler’s priest, John Ball, proclaiming to the peasants on Blackheath in June 1381, before they marched on Westminster, that “Under God, all shall be equal.”

That is why the economy, the just distribution of our common wealth, matters more than our mode of national management. For challenging the rich, Tyler and Ball were hanged, drawn, and quartered. The Archbishop concurred (but then, the rebels had beheaded his predecessor).

WITH a New Zealand degree in politics, two books on Christian-Marxist dialogue, and a lifetime as a church diplomat based in England but ministering far beyond, I was always on the frontiers of non-party politics.

My first seven years were lived in Nazi Germany. New Zealand then gave my family refuge. Europe, Western and Eastern, of which England (Brexit be damned) will always be a part, became my workshop. At 90, I am back in the South Pacific. My three passports sit lightly together.

These are my credentials for this reflection on what good governance might look like in years to come.

So, back to my start. Ceremonials do matter. The English love it — even our flag. But never, never, “My country right or wrong.” That’s pernicious. Traditions go deep. The kings and queens of this sceptred isle, to whom Shakespeare gave character and meaning, frame our history. Yet the people made it.

Charles and Camilla will need a new framework. To crown them surrounded by the hierarchy of the Church of England would be an anachronism, faintly ridiculous, far away from where the great majority of the people are.

Solemnity, yes, given our history; even Christian solemnity, with the assurance of freedom of religion and conscience for all. Goodbye to “protecting the Protestant Religion” of Elizabeth l. Welcome to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Jews, Muslims, and those of other faiths should be made to feel part of this realm, as well as those whose faith is known to God alone.

The post-Elizabethan age, when it arrives, will trigger a debate. Do we really want a monarchy? The question needs to be asked, although I shudder at one more referendum. The issue might well engender massive heat and division at the expense of what really matters: the maintenance of a just and open society — the very thing that is in the process of being lost, both in the barely United Kingdom and in the rest of Europe.

LET me explain by using the example of the erstwhile British colony of New Zealand, which is gradually adopting its much more poetic Maori name of Aotearoa: Land of the Long White Cloud. It has kept the Union flag beside the Southern Cross on its flag, and this by popular choice. There was no need, given the almost universal love of the Queen, to put the monarchy question to the people. Post-Elizabeth, that is very likely to happen.’

*This article was first published in Church Times on 27 May 2022.

Read the original publication HERE

Paul Oestreicher – an inspirational peace campaigner. Photo:vaincrelaviolence.org

…’In 1986, just after the birth of our second son, Paul, I was awarded my PhD and soon after I was given a full time post as senior lecturer at the Department of Economics at Coventry Polytechnic (now University).

Soon after my appointment, a dear friend of mine from New Zealand, Prof. Kevin Clements, visited me at Coventry. I had organised a dinner at a small, cosy restaurant near the cathedral. He asked me if a dear friend of his from New Zealand, who lived in Coventry, could join us too.

I did not know at the time that I was going to meet a globally known and respected person, a man that was going to have a major impact on my life in years to come.

They arrived at the restaurant where I was waiting for them. Kevin introduced me to Canon Paul Oestreicher, a residentiary canon of Coventry Cathedral and director of the Cathedral's Centre for International Reconciliation, a member of the General Synod of the Church of England, Chair of Amnesty International UK from 1975-1979; Vice President, Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament (CND); and a lifetime worker for peace and social Justice.

Paul and I became very good friends. I shared many wonderful and enriching times with him at his office at the cathedral, listening to his stories, learning from his wisdom and insight. A truly wonderful man. We also had many wonderful times, sharing food and drinks at our respective homes, alongside our families…’: Coventry and I: The story of a boy from Iran who became a man in Coventry

More articles by Canon Oestreicher from the GCGI Archive:

Canon Dr. Paul Oestreicher ANZAC DAY 2020 GCGI Sunday 26 April Sermon

THIS ENGLISH BREXIT- Canon Dr Paul Oestreicher

The Disintegration of this Disunited Kingdom- Canon Dr Paul Oestreicher

THE BATTLE OF THE SOMME, A HUNDRED YEARS ON

And finally, my heartfelt congratulations to Paul for his award of OBE in the Queen’s Jubilee Birthday Honours “for services to Peace, Human Rights and Reconciliation”. …Jubilee honours for Paul Oestreicher, lifelong peace activist

With our best wishes to Paul from all of us in Coventry.

: Written by: Kamran Mofid; Published: 20 May 2022; Hits: 922

The modern world has become an anxiety machine

Photo: Aarón Blanco Tejedor/Unsplash

‘The modern world has brought us a range of extraordinary benefits and joys, including technology, medicine and transport. But it can also feel as though modern times have plunged us ever deeper into greed, despair and agitation. Seldom has the world felt more privileged and resource-rich yet also worried, blinkered, furious, panicked and self-absorbed.’

A Must-read book

How to Survive the Modern World

Photo:Rizzoli Bookstore

‘How to Survive the Modern World is the ultimate guide to navigating our unusual times. It identifies a range of themes that present acute challenges to our mental wellbeing. The book tackles our relationship to the news media, our ideas of love and sex, our assumptions about money and our careers, our attitudes to animals and the natural world, our admiration for science and technology, our belief in individualism and secularism – and our suspicion of quiet and solitude. In all cases, the book helps us to understand how we got to where we are, digging deeply and fascinatingly into the history of ideas, while pointing us towards a saner individual and collective future.

‘The emphasis isn’t just on understanding modern times but also on knowing how we can best relate to the difficulties these present. The book helps us to form a calmer, more authentic, more resilient and sometimes more light-hearted relationship to the follies and obsessions of our age. If modern times are (in part) something of a disease, this is both the diagnostic and the soothing, hope-filled cure.’

Read An Extract HERE

Photo: Via TelegraphIndia

Modern masterpiece

The relevance of Chaplin's 'Modern Times'

‘…According to the opening title, the film narrates a “story of industry, of individual enterprise — humanity crusading in the pursuit of happiness.” The machine is projected as the most outstanding achievement of human beings. However, Chaplin presents a contrasting picture of the devastating effects of industrialization on human beings. The brutal nature of the work at the factory leads to Chaplin’s character suffering a breakdown and being sent to an asylum. After his recovery and release from the hospital, he is arrested mistakenly and sent to jail. His presence at a mental asylum and a prison is, therefore, the direct consequence of working at the factory…’- Continue to read

How To Survive The Modern World

A pick from our GCGI archive

How to lead our lives, function and prosper in an increasingly polarised world?

Photo:Via Medium

Compassion, kindness, hope, courage and joy: The Path to a More Loving World

Healing the world as if the web of life mattered: In Praise of Ancient Wisdom

Life is too short not to live it simpler

New Year calls us to hope beyond despair and light beyond darkness

One who dreams is called a prophet

Decoding Beatrix Potter’s Secret Life and her Love for Nature

the Four Es

Life and the Cult of Busyness

Composing a New Life: In Praise of Wisdom

The Beauty and Wisdom of being Ordinary

Saving the Web of Life: The Time is now to Tune into Peace, Love and Wisdom with a Spiritual Revolution

The heart and the soul of education is wisdom

In a world that seems so troubled, how do we hold on to hope?

Happy Teachers, Happy Pupils, Happy Schools, Better Education, Better Lives, Better World

‘Nature and Me’: ‘Nature as a Cure for the Sickness of Modern Times’

‘Nature and Me’: Realigning and Reconnecting with Mother Nature’s Wisdom- A Five Part Guide

Detaching Nature from Economics is ‘Burning the Library of Life’

Happiness is to Do Nothing

Are you physically and emotionally drained? I know of a good and cost-free solution!

On the 250th Birthday of William Wordsworth Let Nature be our Wisest Teacher

The beauty of living simply: the forgotten wisdom of William Morris

GCGI is our journey of hope and the sweet fruit of a labour of love. It is free to access, and it is ad-free too. We spend hundreds of hours, volunteering our labour and time, spreading the word about what is good and what matters most. If you think that's a worthy mission, as we do—one with powerful leverage to make the world a better place—then, please consider offering your moral and spiritual support by joining our circle of friends, spreading the word about the GCGI and forwarding the website to all those who may be interested.

: Written by: Kamran Mofid; Published: 19 May 2022; Hits: 531

A Must-read book

‘The Center for Global Nonkilling has just released its most recent book, co-published by Creighton University, that artfully explores the intersection between faith, ethics and politics in modern times: Peace Portraits: Pathways to Nonkilling – A Memoir. The intimate autobiographical portraits in the collection reveal how five global peace leaders –Mahatma Gandhi, Lester B. Pearson, Glenn D. Paige, Bhagavan Sri Sathya Sai, and Máiread Corrigan Maguire impacted the author’s life. Using their short biographies, CGNK’s Governing Council member Balwant Bhaneja examines the path of nonviolence and nonkilling.

As Bhaneja writes: “Peace is a much abused word. It has been misused and misspoken by all sorts of leaders in defense of their insurgencies and wars—Stalin mobilized the Soviet Union in the name of peace, Hitler’s war to colonize Europe was to bring peace and prosperity for Germans, and even Bush’s military intervention in Iraq was to introduce peace and democracy in the region to make America look great again. These wars of the previous century were fought in the name of peace which led to the deaths of around 200 million people, mostly innocent civilians.” He adds: “The US involvement in the Afghanistan war in this century has been the longest in any foreign war, 20 years in 2021. You have to be naive to feel high-minded after having paid such a heavy toll, and have the gall to call it a “mission of peace accomplished.“

By bringing together the spiritual life with the political, Bhaneja delves into the nature of personal conscience as embodied in the thoughts and actions of these peace champions. His definition of peace continues to evolve, from the internal as peace of mind and personal happiness to peace outside, to see if and how it can be externalized to alleviate physical misery around. It is through this quest he came to learn about Nonkilling Peace and its measure. “Deliberate killing of humans stops progress—you stop killing, progress resumes.”

Professor Glenn D. Paige on Bhaneja’s book commented: “This is a unique contribution to nonkilling literature. Reminiscent of classics like St. Augustine and Tolstoy— it is not a story from bad to good, but from ahimsa to nonkilling—good to good.” The author brings a wealth of experience to this important topic being active in promoting alternative visions of how politics might be conducted. A continuous thread through the book is the question: could we not take a portion of the money and resources put into armaments and military research and instead direct that to a ministry of peace? An interesting and worthwhile work.

Balwant Bhaneja is the author of six books. He has written widely on politics, science and arts. His other works include Troubled Pilgrimage: Passage to Pakistan and Quest for Gandhi: A Nonkilling Journey (also published by CGNK). A former career diplomat with the Canadian Foreign Service, he served in London, Berlin and Bonn.’

Peace Portraits is available in paperback on Amazon and also in a digital Kindle edition.

Learn more about Peace Portraits and the Centre for Global Nonkilling HERE

Nonkilling and Non-violent Conflict Resolution and Peacebuilding

A pick from our GCGI archive