10 February 2010

Sports, spirituality and chaplaincy

Villa Park ... like many English football clubs, Aston Villa has its origins in local church activities

Patrick Comerford

Introduction:


Over the past few days, a number of sporting metaphors have been deployed to describe George Lee’s decision to resign from the Dail and from Fine Gael.

He has been described as “walking off the pitch,” and accused of “playing the man and not the ball.” Enda Kenny and Fine Gael have been compared to a manager signing Wayne Rooney for Shamrock Rovers and then not playing him.

But, whatever the links between the language of football and the language of politics, there are religious imagery and metaphors in sport too.

Start thinking of what is conjured up by phrases such as “the beautiful game,” or “The Dream Team.”

Bill Shankly ... once said: “Some people believe football is a matter of life and death. I am very disappointed with that attitude. I can assure you that it is much, much more important than that.”

Bill Shankly once famously said: “Some people believe football is a matter of life and death. I am very disappointed with that attitude. I can assure you that it is much, much more important than that.”

Although we know that is not so, we know there are pitfalls too in being too dismissive by asking what has football got to do with religion.

We have all heard people talk about their favourite club’s grounds as “holy ground.” This so true, in so many sports, that it was recently to the point that the Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA) has now given in to popular demands, and is making Croke Pwrk available as a venue for weddings.

There are good and bad images of sport in the Bible. Think, perhaps, of what the Apostle Paul says: “Not that I have already obtained this or have already reached the goal; but I press on to make it my own …” (Philippians 3: 12).

Or what he says about running the race: “You are running well …” (Galatians 5: 7). “I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race; I have kept the faith” (II Timothy 4: 7-8). The crown he talks winning here is the laurel wreath bestowed on winning athletes. Or there are other New Testament images: “Let us run with perseverance the race that is set before us” (Hebrews 12: 1).

In the Apocrypha of the Old Testament we are told of the controversy at the time of the Macabees created by Jews who wanted to undo their circumcision so they could take part in the gymnasium without being embarrassed by the mark of faith in their body.

The church link with sports

A number of football clubs owe their origin to various church groups:

Both Aston Villa and Birmingham City were founded by cricket enthusiasts drawn form local churches. There are “The Saints” in Southampton, because they were founded from Saint Mary’s Parish, which gives their stadium its name. Newcastle United play at Saint James’s Park. There are similar church origins for clubs such as Bolton Wanders, Barnsley, Tottenham Hotspur, Manchester City, Swindon Town, Fulham and Queen’s Park Rangers.

Aston Villa was formed in 1874 by members of the Aston Villa (Wesleyan) Chapel Bible class; Barnsley (1887) was formed by the Revd Tiverton Preedy, assistant curate at Saint Peter’s; Birmingham City (1875) was formed by members of Holy Trinity Church choir; Bolton Wanderers (1874) was formed by the headmaster of Christ Church Boys’ School and boys of Christ Church Sunday school, and the Revd Joseph Wright was its first president; Everton (1878) was formed by boys from Saint Domingo’s Chapel Bible class; Fulham (1879) was formed through the inspiration of the Revd John Henry Carwell, curate at Saint James’s; Manchester City (1880) owes it origins to the efforts of the Revd Arthur Connell from Saint Mark’s Church, and his daughter, Anna, to regenerate the former rural district of West Gorton; Queen’s Park Rangers (1885) was formed by boys connected to Saint Jude’s Institute; Southampton (1885) began with boys from the Young Men’s at Saint Mary’s; and Swindon Town (1879) was formed through the inspiration of the Revd William Baker Pitt, curate at Christ Church

In Scotland, Glasgow Celtic was established in 1888 by several Roman Catholic parishes trying to raise money to help feed poor children in the city.

I imagine that in Ireland there are similar origins for Saint Patrick’s Athletic in Dublin. I’m told the colours of Drogheda United are meant to represent the Sacred Heart of Jesus and the Immaculate Conception of Mary.

But think too of the Gaelic Athletic Association and the role of Archbishop Croke in its formation, so that he gave his name to Croke Park and at All-Ireland finals the ball is still thrown in by the Archbishop of Cashel.

Look at the names of American football and baseball teams – the Saints, Notre Dame ... and so on. Indeed, the Saints won the upper Bowl at the weekend.

Sport as spirituality and religion

How often have you heard: “Football is a team game … but you need to be in the team.”

If religion is about regulations for life, then football can be religion for many people, if they are “in the team.”

We are not creatures made to live in isolation from one another. Relationships are important; and some relationships are so important they need and are nurtured by public ceremonial and ritual affirmation.

Those who are enthusiastic about sports often use theological words and words that laden with spiritual values when they talk about sport and speak of “vision,” “spirit,” “love,” “inspiration,” “passion,” “caring,” “belief,” and “heart.”

Indeed, for many people, their club can be their religion and their identity. There is a bond of fusion that grows without being seen until someone tries to remove it. Just think of how loyal some people are to clubs since birth or childhood, and have maintained that loyalty in the face of moving home or peer pressure to conform to other clubs.

The stadium becomes their temple; even if they are not there regularly, they know that weekly observance is the norm or the ideal for faithful followers.

For many people, their club can be the source of their spirituality too. It is a way of life – it decorates their homes, their cars, their apparel, it gives shape to their week, it marks out the days and the seasons. The football club may even be their church, through which they express their religion. They name their children Ryan, Wayne and David after their saints and heroes, they take their future partners to matches to test their suitability and compatibility, they want to be married on the grounds, they even want to have their ashes scattered over the “sacred turf.”

The match day itself plays out a whole liturgy of its own, drawing people together in fellowship, giving them a sense of belonging and a shared spirit. There is a sense of being there for a common purpose, a common celebration. They are not just spectators, they are celebrating. They express this through singing, chanting, and arm waving. “You’ll never walk alone.”

This is liturgy in the meaning of being the work of the people. They wear the appropriate liturgical colours, and they chant the appropriate communal chants: “When the saints go marching in.” Who can sing “Abide with me” without thinking of a Wembley cup final?

They dress specially and appropriately for these occasions; they put their trust and their faith in their saints and heroes, they maintain, and demand, a minute’s silence after the death of those they revere; they take away relics; they leave behind candles, and petitions and memorials, and sign their Books of Remembrance.

An army chaplain was telling me that football emblems are replacing angels on graves in many cemeteries in Northern Ireland.

On many occasions, the fans make the connections that we often fail to make in the church. Churches may empty quickly when there is a home game early on a Sunday afternoon. But the Revd Owen Beament, Vicar of All Saints’, New Cross, says that every Saturday at All Saints’ they pray for Millwall at the morning Mass. The most important thing he carries in his funeral bag is a CD of the Millwall team song. And, of course, the churches were full too after the Heysel, Hillsborough and Bradford disasters.

Sport and parish ministry

In your parish ministry you will be asked to say grace at the annual dinner of local sports clubs; to take part in one of the memorial services or commemorations for deceased members, which have become popular in many golf clubs; and perhaps to be a patron or vice-president of a local GAA club.

But you will also rely on local sports clubs for fund-raising and local charity events.

However, sport is not marginal or something to be used, a tool for your ministry. We are told that Christ came so that we may have life and “life in all its fullness.”

Sport and advocacy:

When things go wrong in sport you may find yourself being the voice not just of the church but the voice of reason within the community on issues such as:

● Discrimination against women. Why are women's sports always demeaned and reported in a second-rate way?

● Homophobia and sexuality: Football remains a bastion of discrimination on the grounds of gender and sexuality in many areas. Why is it acceptable to chant abuse from every terrace at the referee, accusing him of self-centred sexuality?

● Sectarianism: Think of the conflicts expressed through the clashes between Liverpool and Everton, or Glasgow Rangers and Glasgow Celtic. There are many examples in Northern Ireland. But as chaplain of Liverpool, the Revd Bill Bygroves was part of a team of people involved in a peace-making and bridge-building process. That work took 20 years, but they knew they were getting places in 2005 when both communities came together for an official service of reconciliation with a remembrance of those who had died in the past.

● Racism remains a major issue in all sports.

● Sunday sports raise major questions for all the churches.

● Access to sports and sports facilities: sport is about wholeness and health, and also about regard and respect in the community. We are good about speaking out on human rights and access rights in other areas. How would you respond to the way sports facilities are available on the basis of ability to pay and finance?

Sports chaplaincy

The Olympic chaplaincy experiences over the last few decades has raised some interesting dilemmas and taught some interesting points. Often, the problems become apparent not when someone wins or loses, but someone who comes second or third.

But they have also raised other issues, such as the difference between evangelism and proselytism. Fears, both religious and secular, about evangelism and proselytism threatened the capacity and freedom of chaplains at the Olympics in both Athens and Beijing.

The Revd John Boyers, a Baptist minister, has played a pioneering role in chaplaincy work with football clubs in England, making a unique contribution to the development of sports chaplaincy.

At an early stage in his ministry he became chaplain to Watford, whose grounds are on Vicarage Road. In 1991, he began to pioneer the development of chaplaincy in sport under the auspices of SCORE. Then, in 1992, he became chaplain to Manchester United.

He has found that chaplaincy is not just for Premier League clubs. It has also become a natural part of the life of semi-professional sides and even small clubs in amateur leagues, so that many clubs now have a chaplain, usually known affectionately as “Rev,” “Vicar,” or “Padre.”

Some of the problems sports chaplains face were raised dramatically in the television soap Dream Team: there was a player with psychopathic tendencies, another with homosexual inclinations, one involved in an extra-marital affair and then with a teenager; there was even one character who had an experience of a religious conversion and became a Christian.

But Dream Team sometimes became a nightmare, and was not always related to reality, and the daily, mundane toil is not always dramatic. Beyond the glamour, in real sport, there are real human faces.

And chaplaincy is not all about football. John Boyers, for example, has also been involved in chaplaincy at cross-country races, boxing finals, Rugby League World Cup finals, the Commonwealth Games, the Olympics and the Paralympics.

What is chaplaincy?

Charles Coombe, a former Dean of Kilmore, once told me how he was chaplain on a ship. They gave him a label with just his Christian name on it – “Charlie” – and underneath his role description in one word was spelled: “Chaplin.” For the full cruise he was known as: “Charlie Chaplin”

Sometimes chaplaincy can be misunderstood in the Church. But chaplaincy in general, and football chaplaincy in particular, has become the most extraordinary growth area in what are otherwise seen as secular institutions. It is a reality that church-going is in decline in many places. Yet, many institutions are looking to create chaplaincies. In this, sports clubs are no different than that other collection of secular cathedrals – the shopping centres.

One leading supermarket chain has found that staff morale is higher in shops that have chaplains than in those that have none. But for many organisations there are practical reasons for chaplaincies, and there are end-game expectations: including better morale, better practice, better team work.

When I was involved in rugby into my early 20s, we were happy that there was one of us in charge of the bags, and someone with water, and slices of oranges at half-time. But today, top sports clubs now would not think of going without a fully professional support structure that includes specialist club doctors, physiotherapists, chiropodists, sports psychologists, dieticians, dentists, ophthalmologists, podiatrists, and so on. Many team managers know too that they must include in the team of professionals a chaplain to deal with the spiritual and pastoral needs of the whole team – the players, the back-up professionals,

The word chapel is derived from the Latin word “cappa” for a cloak. The cloak of Saint Martin of Tours was revered as a sacred relic, and the sacred place where this relic was kept was the capella. The name capella was then applied to nay small place of worship that housed something sacred or holy, and eventually came to be applied to any modest-sized place of worship – and so we have chapels and chaplains who minister in them. In other words, the ministry of chaplains has its roots in being the guardian of something sacred that has been entrusted for safe-keeping within the context of the believing community.

In many ways, that is how we understand chaplaincy in sports and in shopping centres: guarding the sacred to ensure its safety, well-being and continuing existence. Unlike rectors or parish priests, chaplains are not the leaders of faith communities. The places they work in are not primarily a gathered congregation of believers as such. But they are guardians of something that is sacred and valuable in a location that may otherwise be hostile.

So often the church wants people to come to us. We organise special services, or publicise a special event, and then expect people to attend it in our buildings. But chaplaincy goes to where people are at. It is incarnational in the sense of the incarnational in John 1: taking on flesh and pitching tent in the world as it is, leaving behind the glory and getting hands dirty, preparing to make immense sacrifices.

Chaplaincy is often a support role, an opportunity to get alongside players or club staff. It provides opportunities to listen, to care, to remember and to pray for. These are trusted relationships that develop. Most clubs at some stage would recognise the need for their staff to be cared for. Chaplains can do a unique job in this area if they have the skills and the personality to get alongside people.

How would you apply this to the spiritual aspects of hospital chaplaincy, chaplaincy in a shopping centre, army chaplaincy?

A note on resources:

Score (Sports Chaplaincy Offering Resources and Encouragement) is a charitable trust founded in 1991 by John Boyers. It seeks to ensure proper training, professionalism and cohesion in the ministry of sports chaplaincy.

Visit their website at: www.scorechaplaincy.org.uk

Canon Patrick Comerford is Director of Spiritual Formation, the Church of Ireland Theological Institute. This essay is based on notes prepared for a workshop with Year III BTh students on the course ‘Spirituality for Today’ on 10 February 2010.

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