I recently learned that an important spiritual leader and friend died a few weeks ago on Halloween. It was not unexpected, as he was suffering from serious Alzheimer’s at the end of his life, so in that sense his death was a blessing for him and his partner Peter Peltz, who was caring for him for the past five years.
Donald Reeves was rector at St. James’s Church Piccadilly in the heart of South London from 1980 to 1998. It was there that we met, since he invited me to lecture on numerous occasions. Under his leadership a very vital creation spirituality group formed, and did excellent work in networking, putting out newsletters, setting up a book resource, and sponsoring excellent talks and gatherings around creation spirituality for the English and the greater Europe scene.
Donald had a very bright mind and wit and a no-nonsense soul. He was fun to be with and was deeply unafraid. The obituary in The Guardian—which I recommend*—tells how he was attacked by Margaret Thatcher who called him a “very dangerous man,” and yet they also developed a friendship of sorts. Indeed, he took her lively phrase and used it as the title of his memoir several years later. I am sure he chuckled deeply when he did so. Not sure whether Ms. Thatcher did. A peace activist, he often criticized Thatcher’s policies, joining a demonstration in Hyde Park against the Falklands War.
When a journalist criticized him in the Daily Telegraph, Donald’s response was to invite him out for lunch after which they became friends. He criticized the Anglican church for embracing an evangelical bent that he called “Happy-Clappy” and “Mickey Mouse religion.” The conservative Daily Telegraph in their obituary called him “a deeply caring priest who gave endless time to individuals in trouble, and reserved his fiercest public utterances to criticism of the injustices that cause suffering.”**
St. James’s Church was designed by Christopher Wren, and I was told William Blake was baptized there—though it was probably the last time he was in a church. Reeves set up a daily market and a café on the church grounds as well as sponsoring regular lectures. The liturgy was described as “dignified informality” filling the church for Sunday services that included body prayer, dialogue sermons, and much involvement of the laity. Those who could not read were encouraged to memorize the Bible passages so they could lead the Scriptural readings.
Donald was a friend to scientists, artists, business people, feminists and more, whom he invited to speak at the church. He was very taken with my book Original Blessing—it was on reading it that he invited me to St James for the first time. In addition to solo lecturing there on a number of occasions, I also did dialogs with scientist Rupert Sheldrake, environmentalist Jonathan Porritt, business leader Anita Roddick, and others. Donald was eager to shake up the frozen church and not afraid to do so.
Dr. Una Kroll was a deaconess on Donald’s staff, “a leading feminist who stood for Parliament,” who contributed substantially to the ordination of women to the priesthood in the Anglican church. She testified about Reeves and his influence on her life this way: “We often fought like cat and dog, something I have never been able to do in such a creative way with any other vicar.”
Donald underwent a kind of conversion experience when on a sabbatical at the Urban Mission Training Center in Chicago in 1968 (the year I was in class in Paris with Pere Chenu who named the creation spirituality tradition for me). He told me that his experience in Chicago radicalized him and changed his life. One practice he underwent was to live for three days and nights with only change in his pockets on the streets of Chicago. And then theologize about it later.
On returning to England, Donald applied that practice to some London clergy, several of whom found it a “terrifying experience.” It was important to Donald. The Guardian reports that his time in Chicago resulted in his becoming “an evangelist for ethnic and gender equality, women’s ordination, and gay rights in the church.” It is said his politics and homosexuality “precluded advancement in the Church of England,” even though previous rectors at St. James included five archbishops, two bishops, three deans, etc. Donald received no such “promotions.”
When he first arrived at St James, it was a “moribund church” not at all interested in Donald’s emphasis on social activism. Most parishioners fled, but were replaced by a vibrant and activist and younger crowd that was interfaith and welcoming to all, including the homeless who came to get out of the cold.
To be continued.
*Stephen Bates, The Rev. Donald Reeves Obituary, The Guardian, November 13, 2024.
**Donald Reeves, radical Rector of St. James’s, Piccadilly, called “a dangerous man” by Mrs. Thatcher, The Telegraph, November 15, 2024.
See Matthew Fox, Original Blessing: A Primer in Creation Spirituality.
And Fox, Creation Spirituality: Liberating Gifts for the Peoples of the Earth.
And Fox, Prayer: A Radical Response to Life.
And Fox, The Coming of the Cosmic Christ.
To read the transcript of Matthew Fox’s video meditation, click HERE.
Banner Image: St. James’s Church, designed by famed architect Christopher Wren, opened in 1684. Photo by Paul Farmer. Wikimedia Commons.
Queries for Contemplation
Does hearing Donald Reeve’s story inspire you some to continue to fight for institutional reform, whether in religion or politics or business or media or art or all of the above?
Recommended Reading
Original Blessing: A Primer in Creation Spirituality
Matthew Fox lays out a whole new direction for Christianity—a direction that is in fact very ancient and very grounded in Jewish thinking (the fact that Jesus was a Jew is often neglected by Christian theology): the Four Paths of Creation Spirituality, the Vias Positiva, Negativa, Creativa and Transformativa in an extended and deeply developed way.
“Original Blessing makes available to the Christian world and to the human community a radical cure for all dark and derogatory views of the natural world wherever these may have originated.” –Thomas Berry, author, The Dream of the Earth; The Great Work; co-author, The Universe Story
Creation Spirituality: Liberating Gifts for the Peoples of the Earth
Fox’s spirituality weds the healing and liberation found in North American Creation Spirituality and in South American Liberation Theology. Creation Spirituality challenges readers of every religious and political persuasion to unite in a new vision through which we learn to honor the earth and the people who inhabit it as the gift of a good and just Creator.
“A watershed theological work that offers a common ground for religious seekers and activists of all stripes.” — Frederic and Mary Ann Brussat, Spirituality and Practice.
“I am reading Liberating Gifts for the People of the Earth by Matt Fox. He is one that fills my heart and mind for new life in spite of so much that is violent in our world.” ~ Sister Dorothy Stang.
Prayer: A Radical Response to Life
How do prayer and mysticism relate to the struggle for social and ecological justice? Fox defines prayer as a radical response to life that includes our “Yes” to life (mysticism) and our “No” to forces that combat life (prophecy). How do we define adult prayer? And how—if at all—do prayer and mysticism relate to the struggle for social and ecological justice? One of Matthew Fox’s earliest books, originally published under the title On Becoming a Musical, Mystical Bear: Spirituality American Style, Prayer introduces a mystical/prophetic spirituality and a mature conception of how to pray. Called a “classic” when it first appeared, it lays out the difference between the creation spirituality tradition and the fall/redemption tradition that has so dominated Western theology since Augustine. A practical and theoretical book, it lays the groundwork for Fox’s later works. “One of the finest books I have read on contemporary spirituality.” – Rabbi Sholom A. Singer
The Coming of the Cosmic Christ: The Healing of Mother Earth and the Birth of a Global Renaissance
In what may be considered the most comprehensive outline of the Christian paradigm shift of our Age, Matthew Fox eloquently foreshadows the manner in which the spirit of Christ resurrects in terms of the return to an earth-based mysticism, the expression of creativity, mystical sexuality, the respect due the young, the rebirth of effective forms of worship—all of these mirroring the ongoing blessings of Mother Earth and the recovery of Eros, the feminine aspect of the Divine.
“The eighth wonder of the world…convincing proof that our Western religious tradition does indeed have the depth of imagination to reinvent its faith.” — Brian Swimme, author of The Universe Story and Journey of the Universe.
“This book is a classic.” Thomas Berry, author of The Great Work and The Dream of the Earth.
5 thoughts on “Donald Reeves, Friend, Spiritual/Religious Pioneer and Prophet”
It all depends on whether we want to be a lover or fighter? The article quotes Reeves and ‘adversaries’ developing friendships despite differences on many levels. Deep love brings forth change and transformation that leads to justice. The ‘sphere of reality’ is best observed from many different angles from both in inside and outside. — BB.
Thanks very much for sharing the passing of Donald Reeves and the accompanying obituary in The Guardian. I lived and worked in London throughout that period and was very familiar with the church and it’s work. I was active for the nearby church, St. Martin in the Fields in Trafalgar Square led by Rev. Austen Williams, a similar refuge for the homeless.
Yes! Thank you Matthew for introducing us to your recently deceased friend, Donald Reeves, another spiritual warrior ancestor in HEAVEN, a member of Our Communion of Saints praying and supporting Us from the Spiritual Realms on GOD’S Journeys with-in Our Eternal Souls towards Her~His Queendom~Kingdom of LOVE~TRUTH~PEACE~JUSTICE~BEAUTY~JOYFUL CREATIVITY~COMPASSION… on earth as It Is in HEAVEN, in the SACRED PROCESS of the ETERNAL PRESENT MOMENT… COSMIC CHRIST CONSCIOUSNESS….
What a wonderful model of loving action! I prefer to work for justice and peace, as fighting just riles me up. This is a time for action, like answering this call from the American Friends Service: https://click.everyaction.com/k/97268233/512855867/1869945215?ms=EMA25AA1115OPPA&&nvep=ew0KICAiVGVuYW50VXJpIjogIm5ncHZhbjovL3Zhbi9BRlNDL0FGU0MvMS81NzE0OCIsDQogICJEaXN0cmlidXRpb25VbmlxdWVJZCI6ICJjNjVlOTBjNi1iZGE1LWVmMTEtODhkMC02MDQ1YmRkNjJkYjYiLA0KICAiRW1haWxBZGRyZXNzIjogInNzdWUxOTk1QGdtYWlsLmNvbSINCn0%3D&hmac=KLiPgYRht7Rqwvpw2WousO7pED1EN0gCF_NH4civAEM=&emci=c6eca7c7-84a3-ef11-88d0-6045bdd62db6&emdi=c65e90c6-bda5-ef11-88d0-6045bdd62db6&ceid=902038 If the link does not work, it is to contact reps and senators to ask that H.R. 9495 be voted down, as it would penalize organizations that work for human rights.
Yes, it does inspire me to do something after the election. I’ve already begun my “mission of choice” to try to begin a small group of middle-of-the-road Democrats and Republicans in our city to talk about issues we are concerned about and can come to some agreement on. The object is to teach what it means to live in a democracy with people we don’t always agree with. My goal is that people will point to us and say, “Look what they’ve done in Indianapolis. Let’s try that.” We can be “the city on the hill.”