The Current features a monthly series exploring some of the spiritual wisdom representing the Benedictine tradition.
This past spring, Christopher Jamison, Abbot President of the English Benedictine Congregation, teamed up with British production company CTVC to create an online platform addressing concerns stemming from the pandemic. In “Alone [Together],” Abbot Jamison discerns within the monastic tradition tools that may prove helpful to those trying to cope with the adaptations imposed by the pandemic. In presenting this wisdom, he has drawn on a range of sources, both from within the Christian monastic tradition and from a range of other perspectives.
Abbot Christopher Jamison (back row, third from left) visiting Portsmouth
This is not Abbot Jamison’s first foray into media projects. He has undertaken a variety of initiatives to make available monastic wisdom, making the Benedictine tradition better known in the United Kingdom and around the world. Hailing originally from Melbourne, Australia, Abbot Jamison moved to England as a young child, attending Downside School and graduating from Oriel College, Oxford University, majoring in Spanish and French. He later studied philosophy and theology at Heythrop College, London, in preparation for ordination to the priesthood. As a monk of Worth Abbey, he taught for many years at Worth School before serving as the school’s headmaster, later heading the International Conference on Benedictine Education (ICBE). In 2005, he put together with the BBC a program called “The Monastery,” which traced the journey of five men exploring monastic life. In 2010, he was featured in “The Big Silence,” a documentary tracing his efforts to teach five people the value of meditation. Also involved with vocations for England and Wales, Abbot Jamison developed a familiar media presence, coming to be known as the “Media Monk.” Since 2017, he has served as Abbot President of the EBC, helping to oversee all of its affiliated houses.
Abbot Jamison brought all of this media experience to bear on his response to the experience of “lockdown” associated with the global pandemic. His response was, in effect, to reach outward to the many who have had to turn inward because of the many protocols and restrictions. “Alone [Together]” was the byproduct, offering a response to the coronavirus pandemic and now exists as a resource for those who face periods of isolation in their lives. For others, it may be a useful reflection of a challenging time where much was learned.” While the website is now “archived” and thus closed to additional updates, it continues to be available to provide interesting and helpful information and wisdom. The site moves through a range of advice, suggestions, and insights concerning the experience of “lockdown,” or life restricted by the pandemic.
Alone [Together] Website
One of the first themes the site presents is the Benedictine sense of structuring the day. In “Shaping the Day,” Abbot Jamison points to the traditions of monastic life: “... a bell rings and monks go to pray. Pillars of this routine are morning, noon, and night.” Whether in monastic life or independently, finding “the natural rhythm of the day” can assist in making it more meaningful and manageable. One can recreate a rhythm to add color to the day and avoid monotony. Jamison starts appropriately with getting up in the morning, suggesting “maybe a little strictness,” a routine, starting with finding a sense of gratitude and the avoidance grievances. He moves on, making reference to “the noonday demon” of the desert fathers and the value of taking “a breather,” breaks from work, deep breaths to draw more life back in. And finishing the day, it is invaluable to stop and look back over day.
Other videos and articles expand on experiences and stories of how different people have found meaning in a more contemplative or isolated experience. The site’s array of stories traces “A Day in the Life of a Buddhist Monk.” It also recounts the experiences of Roberto Canessa and Mario Sepúlveda . Canessa was one of one of sixteen survivors of a plane crash in the Andes mountains in 1972. Sepúlveda was a miner who spent sixty-nine days trapped in a collapsed gold and copper mine in northern Chile in 2010. The site notes: “their experiences contain lessons that people can apply during the strange and uncomfortable weeks in quarantine, cut off from almost all social interaction — and what life looks like after a life-altering event...” (Karla Zabludovsky). “Alone [Together]” also turns to poetry. One finds “In the Deep: Lockdown Poem by Sam Davidson” which explores “the bittersweet feelings we may share.” In “Helpful Reflections” the site draws on poetry by Benedictine monk, Father Luke Bell of Quarr Abbey, including "You Can’t Look Forward.” The site turns to “Doreen’s War” on life during the blitz in World War II, from Truetube. It also helps us to learn from several prisoners, such as Babher Amed, an activist and blogger who spent the Islamic month of fasting for Ramadan in solitary confinement, as well as from Terry Waite, who had been held captive in Beirut.
Abbot Jamison Speaking on “Shaping the Day”
The general message of the site is to “unpack some of the questions” people have about the pandemic experience, including making this wisdom available to young people, particularly through its “In Conversation” series. This is supplemented by the “How To...” section, designed to offer practical advice “how to work through some of the challenges thrown at us during lockdown...” Sr. Gemma Simmonds CJ, Ph.D., for example, develops her sense that in these times she has been “invited to live in relationship with the God of little things.” Father Anselm Brumwell, sub-prior of Downside Abbey, also offers reflections on overcoming fearful thoughts, remembering loved ones, and coping with social distancing.
As noted, “Alone [Together]” was not Abbot Jamison’s first effort in creating a media presentation on touching on monastic experience. One can explore some of his media outreach in his highly popular program called “The Monastery,” (see Wikipedia article) produced for BBC 2 in 2005. The three-part series follows the life of five men exploring life in the monastery, living out Benedictine life at Worth Abbey, of which he was abbot at the time. The journey of the five men encompasses “forty days and forty nights” offering an “intense, challenging, emotional experience.” A sequel was produced the following year, “The Monastery Revisited,” in which the men are invited back for a weekend retreat. In 2006 a program modeled on this same plan was made by the Discovery Channel and aired on the “The Learning Channel,” filmed at Christ in the Desert monastery, a community founded by former Portsmouth monk Aelred Wall in 1964 (Episodes can be found on Vimeo). Two books written by Jamison ensued on the basis of this endeavor: Finding Happiness: Monastic Steps for a Fulfilling Life and Finding Sanctuary: Monastic Steps for Everyday Life. The site is currently viewable on YouTube (Episodes One, Two, & Three). A discussion on silence by Abbot Jamison can be found on here on YouTube.
In all of these endeavors, we find the recurring interest in a kind of evangelization from within monastic life. Abbot Jamison continues to trust that Benedictine life and wisdom are not only for those within the confines of the cloister. His work with “Alone [Together],” as his preceding ample media outreach, bears witness to the effectiveness of those efforts.