The Oppressor in the Mirror: One English priest doing theology in Wales

This is my abstract for BIAPT 15. As I begin working on it. What do people think?

This workshop reflects on my move from England to Wales. It is therefore personal – what theology is not? It asks questions about the stories that define individuals and communities, and explores notions of belonging and otherness.

When you are new to a context, you meet lots of people, and also go out of your way to introduce yourself. On one such occasion, I sat with the Head of the local secondary school for the first time. About 20 minutes in, I was struck deeply and profoundly by his words.

‘My Dad was caned at school for speaking Welsh and made to wear the knot. Whenever I meet someone who is from England, I remember that and our history’

I had no idea of that the Westminster government had tried to make English the first language of Wales. I knew nothing about pupils being punished for simply speaking their mother tongue. I knew nothing of what the Headteacher termed ‘our history’

Another conversation between a Welsh colleague and me was equally poignant

‘We are a conquered people. Your Castles are still here. We remember, even if you do not’

At that moment, I understood that I was in a foreign land, looking back at me from the mirror was the Oppressor. I discovered that I was Other. How was I to do theology in a meaningful way?

This workshop will touch upon

– identity
– story
– otherness

It does so tentatively; it could not be otherwise. I am an English priest serving within the Church in Wales, which still for many is still seen as the English Church (The Church of England in Wales).

It will chart some of my own discoveries of Englishness (there was something odd about being an Englishman in Wales whilst the Scottish independence referendum debate flourished), as I have begun to learn the Welsh language and sought to embrace some of the cultures of Wales. In doing so, how my desire to learn has been challenged by those within and outside of the Church, by English and Welsh.

The workshop will look to what the Christian narratives might offer to discussions about identity, story and otherness.