Liverpool: 2008 European Capital of Culture

clansmanchrisSun 27/04/08 19:35

It is perhaps appropriate that Liverpool has been chosen as the 2008 European Capital City of Culture. With its fine Gothic architecture, historic connection with the Beatles, Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, two association football clubs (Everton and Liverpool), close proximity to Wales and its ferry crossing to Northern Ireland, it has all the trappings of a vibrant community deeply steeped in cultural, musical, racial and sporting diversity, easily accessible from all parts of the United Kingdom.

Of course to Liverpool's Protestant Community the citadel of Liverpudlian culture is the Orange Institution. Founded in Ireland in 1795 the Institution – otherwise known as the Orange Order – organised itself in England shortly afterwards, and Liverpool has been the hub of English Orangeism (largely on account of the mass migration to/from Ireland via Liverpool) ever since. The present Grand Master of the Grand Orange Lodge of England, Ron Bather (pictured left) is himself a Former Provincial Grand Master of the Liverpool Provincial Grand Orange Lodge and continues to live in the Garston district of Liverpool. Orangeman's Day – the Twelfth of July – is as a colourful and enjoyable occasion in Liverpool and neighbouring Southport as it is on the streets of Belfast, with a wide variety of bands – accordion, flute, pipe and silver – and lodges walking behind an assortment of brightly-coloured banners and bannerettes (depicting Biblical figures and scenes, famous soldiers and statesmen of yesteryear, churches and other historic buildings) reflecting the rich diversity of culture and tradition in the Protestant Community alone. When added to the cultural activities of the local Roman Catholic community, other ethnic minorities, cultural, music and sporting organisations, as well as the local gay and lesbian community, the activities and demonstrations of the Liverpool Provincial Grand Orange Lodge contribute significantly to the diverse pattern of Liverpudlian life which collectively forms a rich tapestry of interwoven and interacting communities united in celebrating their city's claim to fame.

It is no less significant that 2008 also marks the United Nations' International Year of Languages and the 41st Anniversary of the 1967 Welsh Languages Act (which gave some rights to use the Welsh language in legal proceedings in Wales and gave the relevant Minister the right to authorise the production of a Welsh version of any documents required or allowed by the Act). God-fearing, law-abiding Orangemen often cite the creation and expansion of either the United Nations and/or the European Union as being a Latter-Day fulfilment of Biblical prophecy contained in Genesis Chapter 11 which foretells the building of the Tower of Babel. Indeed, an earlier EU poster actually takes its title 'Many Tongues, One Voice' from the words used in Scripture to denote the confusion of tongues at Babel, whilst many Liverpudlian Orangemen honour the Non-Conformist tradition of their Welsh brethren in voting for Centre-Left political parties (i.e., the Liberal Democrats and New Labour) committed to maintaining the Union of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland: conscious no doubt that the Union is itself underpinned by the 1689 Bill of Rights and 1701 Act of Settlement secured by the Williamite victory in the Battle of the Boyne they commemorate on 12 July each year.

Liverpudlian Protestantism and Welsh Non-Conformism may, at first, appear dwarfed today by the appearance of vocal Roman Catholics – particularly as, unlike the Church of Rome, the various Protestant Churches sadly speak with different voices on great ethical and moral issues of the day such as the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Bill (now before Parliament) which seeks to legitimise the creation of hybrid (i.e., part-animal/part-human) embryos – but the influence of Non-Conformism should not be underestimated in shaping the policy of the Labour Party. On Merseyside, as in the North-East of England – akin to large parts of Scotland and Wales – where the Labour Party is strong, the Non-Conformist Churches (particularly the Methodist Church) have historically been the Labour Party at prayer just as much as the Church of England has historically been the spiritual home of bourgeois Conservatives. Moreover Gordon Brown (unlike his predecessor as Leader of the Labour Party) has, to date at least, remained loyal to his Scottish Presbyterian roots and has not bowed his knee to the Holy See!

Writing in his foreword to 'The Protestant Revolution: From Martin Luther to Martin Luther King Jr' (published in 2007 by BBC Books) Tristram Hunt claims '… the cultural fabric of Protestantism – its essential moulding of Britain's intellectual, religious and creative life – seems to have been sidelined. The Reformation and the heroic split from Rome have been reduced to history. Yet, despite the obituaries, its legacy lives on. Even in an age of nonchalant secularism, what this book and the accompanying television series show is the continuing impact of Protestantism in moulding our modern world. From literature to science, from gay marriage to the ‘war on terror', a vibrant struggle for Protestant principles remains alive in Britain, America and the developing world. Unbeknown to millions, the Protestant vision continues to shape their work life, home life, even their sex life. If we are to appreciate both the crafting of our own complex, national identities as well as some of the religious passions dictating modern geo-politics, we desperately need a continuing understanding of those epochal events of the Reformation.

'… Despite the talk of obituaries and eulogies, the energy and ambition of global Protestantism still thrives. It not only remains the faith of millions of Christians, but is also an essential part of our cultural inheritance and contemporary social landscape. And it is evolving with the problems of the day: from the politics of debt relief to inter-faith relations, the battle over contemporary sexuality and the limits of scientific inquiry, the place of Protestantism in our nominally secular society continues to be enormously influential. It behoves us to understand its complexities – its theology, its controversies, and its sense of purpose. To know our own culture, to appreciate the geo-politics of America or the trajectory of the developing world, we need to get to grips with the faith that drives hundreds of millions of people. Almost five hundred years after Martin Luther sparked the Reformation, its legacy continues to shape much of our modern world. Its almost unique ability to change with the age makes it ever more challenging to decipher'.

I commend these words as, in 2008, we celebrate the 318th Anniversary of the Battle of the Boyne, the 100th Anniversary of the creation of the Territorial Army (originally known as the Territorial Force, formed by the former Secretary of State for War, the late Sir Richard Haldane, KT, OM, PC, FRS, FSA, the son of Robert Haldane and grandson of the Scottish evangelist James Alexander Haldane), and the 90th Anniversary of the creation of the Royal Air Force (from an amalgamation of the Royal Naval Air Service and the British Army's Royal Flying Corps under the command of the eminent Scot, Lieutenant-General Sir David Henderson KCVO, DSO, LLD).

Through English Orangeism's celebration of the Battle of the Boyne on the streets of Southport on 12 July 2008

clansmanchrisSun 27/04/08 19:37

we would do well to capture not only a microcosm of the rich diversity of Protestant culture but remember the significant role Protestantism has played in creating, and sustaining, the institutions and values of the British Nation and Family of Nations which we know today as the British Commonwealth, be it the Monarchy and the Royal Household, the Church of England, parliamentary democracy and the rule of law, our armed forces, etc: all of which are under attack, as never before, from a reconstituted Holy Roman Empire, masquerading as an 'international free trade organisation' called the European Union (EU).

Lack of space prevents me from amplifying on how and why the EU threatens to destroy our Protestant Throne and Constitution. Suffice to say that, believing that 'the only thing necessary for evil to triumph is for good men to do nothing', we will not be found wanting in our defence of civil and religious liberty for all and special privileges for none. May the meditations of our hearts and the words of our lips echo the claim of William III in proclaiming 'the Protestant Religion and the Liberties of England, I will maintain'.

NB The Grand Orange Lodge of England will be holding a Special Parade on Saturday 10 May to celebrate the City of Liverpool's status as 2008 European Capital of Culture. For information about membership of, and/or parades organised by, the Loyal Orange Institution of England, please write to the Grand Secretary, Grand Orange Lodge of England, 108 Everton Road, Liverpool, L6, or visit www.gole.org.uk.

For further information about Non-Orange activities and events in Liverpool to mark its status as 2008 European Capital of Culture please write to the Liverpool Culture Company, PO Box 2008, Municipal Building, Dale Street, Liverpool, L2 2DH, or visit www.liverpool08.com.

deleted:bitterdrinkerSun 27/04/08 20:17

Relating to Liverpool City of Culture 2008... apologise if this is a slight diversion, but it is related.

The is a poster on one of the bins in Sefton Park, which informs that Liverpool City Council and contractors are in the process of applying for a license to destroy nests, chicks, and eggs of wildlife. This is because the scheduled "improvement" of Sefton Park was delayed into the summer season.

Naturally the park currently looks like a bomb site, and why they took down the trees which looked perfectly healthy I will never know.

If this application for a license is true, I think people should know about it. I've written to Louise Ellman MP for Liverpool Riverside and would encourage others to do so if they feel so moved.

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I refer to a poster I saw in Sefton Park this evening, which informs that Liverpool City Council and Contractors are in the process of applying for a license to destroy nests, eggs and chicks with regard to the wildlife there... simply because the schedule of works fell behind and into the wrong season.

If this is true, I think it's absolutely gross, along with the felling of lots of trees, many of which appeared to be perfectly healthy and natural. I cannot see how anyone could regard lots of bare space and chopped stumps as an improvement.

I do hope that what I read is not true, and that Liverpool City Council would not consider doing anything so wicked, especially in a day and age when we are learning once again to respect wildlife, and the natural ecological balance of our planet.

Yours sincerely,