Sister Dr. Mary Hall: Interfaith Pioneer

[created 6 Sept. '08, edited 10 Sept. '08 and 1 Oct '17 (re Pakistan)]

I've received news that Sister Mary passed away peacefully yesterday morning.

Sister Mary was a pioneer in interfaith dialogue - she was executive director of the Multi Faith Resources Unit (later renamed Multi-Faith Centre) in Birmingham, which was particularly active in the 1980s. The centre was based for a while in the lovely location of Harborne Hall, which belongs to the Sisters of the Retreat of the Sacred Heart. (Sister Mary contributed a preface to a history of the Hall).

The MFC worked in the areas of education, training and community development.

Sister Mary formed a multi-faith team from around the Birmingham area, being careful to choose people who were well rooted in the respective traditions. So visitors to the centre or indeed anyone who encountered members of the team could gain an authentic taste and enter into rich dialogue. I have copies of a few group photos from the MFC and I get the feeling that Sister Mary would be happy to be remembered for her work in this context - the interfaith family (in the above photo she is the tallest person and standing at the back). This was, of course, in addition to her relatives and other families within the Catholic Church, but certainly she seemed very actualised by the interfaith 'movement'.

She was an excellent trainer, with a varied background, including several years teaching in Pakistan, where she held various senior positions in Lahore, e.g. becoming headmistress of the Senior Cambridge High School. My mother worked with Sister Mary as a Buddhist member of the team for about 10 years and very much appreciated her vision and skill, learning a lot about other faiths and also more general skills in communication, organisation and so on. She could apply these skills when meeting a wide range of people - from the team itself through all those she met in various dialogues, perhaps the most adventurous of which was in New York State, including a session at the U.N. building (apparently a tough but appreciative group of participants with lots of questions!)

Sister Mary expressed her heartfelt gratitude for all the contributions made by my mother by kindly gave an address at my mother's cremation service paying warm tribute.

I myself didn't have that much contact with Sister Mary (I was at secondary school and then University), but from my mother's descriptions and brief meetings one could quickly notice her intelligence and strength of character; coupled with her height she made for quite a powerful presence (and I think she appreciated especially if people were likewise)! In sum, she made an important contribution to interfaith, which I occasionally hear about, but I think it should be more widely known.

I understand Sister Mary's funeral will take place at Selly Park Convent at 12.15 p.m. on Wednesday 10th September.

Multifaith symphony at the Buddhavihara, Kings Bromsley.

How to commemorate the first anniversary of your Buddha vihara? This was the question facing Ven. Dr Phra Khru Panyasiri (perhaps better known as Phra Maha Laow), the Abbot of the Buddhavihara in Kings Bromley. His solution was to bring together two gatherings:

• A gathering of Sangha members from Europe and Thailand (including representations from Wat Phra Dhammakaya in Woking, and also the Oxford Buddha Vihara).
• A multifaith gathering with presentations from people from a wide range of faiths

In the UK, particularly the West Midlands, and especially Birmingham, some Buddhist centres have distinguished themselves with their active involvement in interfaith (to which my mother, Fuengsin Trafford made a significant contribution). However, I found this gathering particularly remarkable because of the various presentations on the interfaith theme from members of Thai Sangha, including some of senior rank. I'm sure my mother would have approved!

In fact it was one of her long-time Buddhist co-workers (if that's the correct term), Yann Lovelock, who passed on an invitation to the event and looking at the programme I saw it as a good opportunity to reconnect with people: the programme itself had considerable input from the University of Derby and the Multi-Faith Centre there; I had worked for both of these between 1998 and 2000 (the latter for fundraising and Internet-related projects). It gave me a chance to see again Paul Weller, Eileen Fry and quite a number of the steering group who had co-created the MFC and seen it through to completion over a long period.

Indeed Prof. Paul gave the keynote speech describing the rapidly contours of the British religious landscape and indicated how the handling of difference was critical to the subsequent development of good relations - else it can all too easily lead to sectarianism. And many speakers pointed to ways to bring about the happy, constructive path, not least learning how to listen in respectful silence. There was a considerable amount of useful input, particularly nice to see the Universities of Derby and Staffordshire develop some synergy in work on religion and spirituality.

The presentations were brought to a fine conclusion by Bhikkhu Sugandha, whose excellent command of English and dramatic style of delivery struck me as being rather unusual - no wonder that it turns out he is a Cambridge graduate! Bhante Sugandha cleverly played with a metaphorial image of an individual faith being like a violin - a superficial acquaintance can make it sound terribly scratchy and discordant, whereas a maestro can make it sound so melodious. However, what was really sought was the harmony of an orchestra where all maestros come together to play a symphony ...

Many monks, plenty of dialogue, lots of photos, supported by traditional Thai hospitality. The weather was reasonably clement - it only rained whilst we were inside the marquee and on the way back from the train I saw a couple of rainbows. :-)