Summary of the points arising from discussion of the Draft Companions’ Rule at CCR London Group Meeting 6 February 2010
The preface to the Draft is full and well explained
The format is too long when compared to the old preface to the Rule
A number of people were worried by the phrase ‘distorted by’ in the first section. Would ‘influenced by’ be preferable? There is a risk that changes in society might bring distortion. Could the rampant secularism of today bring a threat? On the other hand, each generation can bring new insight
There is need for some kind of leaflet or information sheet, explaining the differences between Oblates, Companions and Associates, i.e. what is expected of each and how they relate to each other. This would assist enquirers in choosing what is best for them
The old green Companion’s booklet had a more attractive beginning and a simple summary
Would it be better to have the Rule at the start of the booklet and the explanation following?
The old whitish booklet (which followed the green one) had the rule on the centre pages, so it naturally opened at that point and could be found quickly
Some people find the word ‘Charism’ daunting. Would ‘gift’ be better?
The two leaflets, ‘Walking with the Risen Christ in the CR Family’ and ‘Walking with the Risen Christ as a Companion of CR’, are ‘looser’ and more attractive to some. The ‘commitment box’ idea is perhaps more useful than a rigid Rule, which might have been more appropriate in the 1950’s
For others, the discipline of the Rule is very important. The Abbess of West Malling said, ‘the greatest treasure that we have here is the Rule’. Charles Gore heard ‘The Power of the Disciplined Life’ when he was at Harrow and it inspired him
One Companion felt that if you only have a rigid Rule and plough through many psalms every day for years, it could become too laborious and not necessarily very life giving. It was important, in the earlier prefaces to the Rule, that love and joy were mentioned. Fr. Gerry Hughes in ‘God of Surprises’ goes through years of Jesuitical training and then abandons it. However, when we are younger we probably need the discipline as, for example, when we are learning to play the piano. When people initially come to faith, they don’t necessarily appreciate the discipline of discipleship
Confession and spiritual direction may or may not go together
The statement about sentimentality shouldn’t go in the final draft. Sacramental confession is not compulsory in our church. Does obligatory sacramental confession devalue the confession in the Liturgy? This is a moot point. The older version of the Rule said ‘according to conscience’. It is difficult for some Companions to find confessors nowadays
The draft does not mention having a special intention at the Eucharist to pray for CR, so this former connection is lacking, although the recommendation to visit Mirfield regularly helps to maintain a connection
The old green Rule book went into more detail about the different elements of daily prayer. This was very helpful. In this respect, the new draft seems to be a dilution. It only mentions the Office and not other aspects
The worship in the local community, involvement in a secular organisation and almsgiving are separate elements of the Rule
Is stewardship a more popular concept than almsgiving? However, at the end of the day there has to be a handing over of money!
Involvement in a secular organisation is particularly important, lest we become too ‘churchy’!
Meeting with other Companions is very important too, as we can help and encourage one another. However, those who are unable to attend meetings should be ‘excused’
The study aspect of the Rule is a bit vague as stated at present. It should probably mean study of the Bible, books about Christian history, the Church Fathers, other aspects of the Christian life and devotional books. We should begin with areas that we are naturally interested in and not feel duty bound to trawl our way through large, dry, dusty tomes! However, we should try to be thoughtful Christians
It would be helpful to separate clearly those aspects of the Rule which are considered essential for everyone and those aspects which are just advisory
A retreat of some kind’ perhaps needs clarification, but there must be flexibility. 36 hours (two nights away) might be a good minimum but would not necessarily be feasible for everyone, e.g. if they have responsibilities as carers
Perhaps
a little more detail is needed about fasting. We are told that fasting
should be done in secret, so it is rather difficult to discuss but each
individual must do something. It might be better
to talk about self-denial. We could fast from TV or magazines, perhaps.
It is a pity that the draft Rule does not mention living simply:
‘to live simply that others might simply live’
The requirement to report on one’s keeping of the Rule is now a bit vague and confusing. People are not very sure about the ‘commitment cards’. (We haven’t all seen one yet.) Would it be a good idea to suggest that Companions should report annually to their local branch chaplain on their keeping of the Rule?
Why did the Rule need to be rewritten anyway? (Many still value the little green book.)
NB I have attempted to record all points raised in quite a long discussion, which is why some concepts might sound a bit contradictory. We hope the above will be useful.
Vanessa Dixon 6 February 2010