Just before my very last lesson with the Anglican community in Manchester, on Hebrew and Jewish culture, receive this from the Dean of Chester's office. Why cannot he answer himself, I wonder. Passing the buck, as usual. Funny how all the Bishops in Manchester can write to you themselves, as if they are friends (which most of them are), and the former Archbishop of Canterbury can actually give you an exclusive for your blog, and yet the lower down the hierarchy you go, the more pompous and buck-passing they get.
Reminds me of schools. The worse they are, such as one I taught in for a short while in Tottington (where you had to wear evening dress for parents' evening, even though the locals were mainly farmers, and I don't possess any evening dress: considered wearing my wedding dress instead, but thought better of it), the more outer things are important, whereas at Withington Girls' School, the teachers dress down, they don't have prizes and as far as I remember, they don't have prefects either, or many school rules. And you know what, it works!
So I include everything, here on this blog, so you can see what all this can lead to: the passing of responsibility to others and the stating of opinion as fact. Because Sizer is not an expert on Israel. Canon Andrew White is an expert on Israel, and believe it or not, he doesn't really rate Sizer, to put it very politely indeed. As for Sizer's theology, I am surprised he has not been prosecuted for it.... I don't even want to go there.
This is the correspondence from one Irene to another, to be read from the bottom up.
Dear All
Please could you do something about this lecture. My husband and I heard Sizer's diatribe against Israel at Liverpool's Anglican Cathedral and he was truly scary.
Moreover, the literature by him, freely available at his venues, is based on the anti-Jewish Christian theology of contempt, on which I am unfortunately an expert, but which we thought had died out some time in the Middle Ages.
I really do feel that if allowed to go ahead, his talk could lead to attacks on the Jewish community and therefore constitute a security threat. I said this in my original letter to the Dean of Chester, but obviously in vain.
So much for Anglican attempts to celebrate 350 years of our return to England. What a joke!
Irene
Dr. Irene Lancaster FRSA
Centre for Jewish Studies, University of Manchester
Trustee: Foundation for Reconciliation in the Middle East
http://irenelancaster.typepad.com/my_weblog/
Centre for Jewish Studies, University of Manchester
Trustee: Foundation for Reconciliation in the Middle East
http://irenelancaster.typepad.com/my_weblog/
-----Original Message-----
From: Irene Lancaster [mailto:[email protected]]
Sent: 14 June 2006 15:07
To: 'Irene Pendleton'
Cc: irene lancaster
Subject: RE: Stephen Sizer lectures
From: Irene Lancaster [mailto:[email protected]]
Sent: 14 June 2006 15:07
To: 'Irene Pendleton'
Cc: irene lancaster
Subject: RE: Stephen Sizer lectures
Dear Irene
Re: STEPHEN SIZER ROADSHOW AT CHESTER'S ANGLICAN CATHEDRAL
Thank you for your response, which does not surprise me. I am forwarding your response to others in the Anglican Church and elsewhere to do with as they think fit.
I completely refute the contents of your e-mail. It is of particular concern that you have not taken on board the theology of contempt towards Judaism expressed in Revd Sizer's writings, nor the psychological techniques he uses in lecturing to stir up his audience.
Yours sincerely
Dr. Irene Lancaster
Dr. Irene Lancaster FRSA
Centre for Jewish Studies, University of Manchester
Trustee: Foundation for Reconciliation in the Middle East
http://irenelancaster.typepad.com/my_weblog/
Centre for Jewish Studies, University of Manchester
Trustee: Foundation for Reconciliation in the Middle East
http://irenelancaster.typepad.com/my_weblog/
-----Original Message-----
From: Irene Pendleton [mailto:[email protected]]
Sent: 14 June 2006 14:17
To: [email protected]
Subject: Stephen Sizer lectures
From: Irene Pendleton [mailto:[email protected]]
Sent: 14 June 2006 14:17
To: [email protected]
Subject: Stephen Sizer lectures
> The Dean acknowledges receipt of your email and notes its content. In
> reply, he makes this statement from himself and the other Cathedral
> Clergy:
>
> Thank you for contacting us about Stephen Sizer's July lecture in the
> Cathedral. We are aware that his views are controversial, but we are also conscious of his desire to speak for some highly vulnerable people in Israel/Palestine, whose voices are too seldom heard in this country. He has up-to-date and first-hand experience of what is going on in the Land, and the issues he raises are significant. Our inviting him here does not necessarily mean, of course, that we will agree with everything he says, and there will be a chance for people to ask questions of him on the night, and to hear his response.
> We consulted the Bishop of Chester before arranging the lecture, and he agreed to our going ahead.
>
>
>
>
> Irene
>
> Irene Pendleton
> Chester Cathedral Office
> 12 Abbey Square
> CHESTER
> CH1 2HU.
> 01244 500953
>
>
And to add insult to injury, or maybe just to play a benign joke on me, as a parting gift, before I go off to Israel in 7 weeks, my Hebrew class has given me a year's subscription to The Church Times, so I can continue to disagree profoundly with Giles Fraser (who at least came to see me) and Paul Vallely. But if the Church Times allowed me to write a Letter from Haifa, now that would be a turn-up for the books.
> reply, he makes this statement from himself and the other Cathedral
> Clergy:
>
> Thank you for contacting us about Stephen Sizer's July lecture in the
> Cathedral. We are aware that his views are controversial, but we are also conscious of his desire to speak for some highly vulnerable people in Israel/Palestine, whose voices are too seldom heard in this country. He has up-to-date and first-hand experience of what is going on in the Land, and the issues he raises are significant. Our inviting him here does not necessarily mean, of course, that we will agree with everything he says, and there will be a chance for people to ask questions of him on the night, and to hear his response.
> We consulted the Bishop of Chester before arranging the lecture, and he agreed to our going ahead.
>
>
>
>
> Irene
>
> Irene Pendleton
> Chester Cathedral Office
> 12 Abbey Square
> CHESTER
> CH1 2HU.
> 01244 500953
>
>
And to add insult to injury, or maybe just to play a benign joke on me, as a parting gift, before I go off to Israel in 7 weeks, my Hebrew class has given me a year's subscription to The Church Times, so I can continue to disagree profoundly with Giles Fraser (who at least came to see me) and Paul Vallely. But if the Church Times allowed me to write a Letter from Haifa, now that would be a turn-up for the books.
And as well as the Church Times, I have received a bar of scintillating, dark, meaningful and sultry Zohar chocolates This is probably a good sign, as the person who we are buying off in Rehov Einstein is called Zohar, which means 'a bright light' and is also the name of the most famous mystical book in the Kabbalistic literature.
And I must say that the Anglican Church is a paradoxical creature, because Canon Theologican, Dr. Andrew Shanks from the Anglican Cathedral has just dropped round with a letter of appreciation for me, saying a lot of very nice things, especially that I was the first to open up channels between the Manchester Bet Din and the Bishops in Manchester and that I am open to argument and have a real sense of humour. Oh and he appreciates my blog, as well.
And this is of especial significance, as Andrew is a very close colleague of both the ABC and Giles Giles Fraser, and - like them - is on the left of the Church. Let's hope that it the future others will learn his type of humility, which is open to the other and is not based merely in prejudice and closedness.
So the next thing will be a meeting organised by Steve with the new guy in charge of CCJ, who sounds very good, and most of all, modern, together with a party for me with all my former Anglican students, God bless them.
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