Welcome to The Chapel of Unrest, a beacon of hope, protest and progressive thought. Nestled in the unnatural beauty of Rockaway Park.
The story so far from Mark Wilson:
Some years back, we were visited by the business rates department at the local authority. They were of the opinion that this building at Rockaway (The Church) was an industrial unit and subject to business rates. I replied that it was a church, because at that point, we'd only ever used it for a wedding, and thus it was almost certainly exempt from business rates. They then said that in order to be a church, you must first have a recognised religion. This, in short, is how many of my conversations with authority have gone over the years, and I accepted the challenge.
As usual in these situations, I consulted our old friend Google and the first thing I discovered was that a recognised religion needed to have at least 60,000 followers. Subsequent investigation revealed that this was not in fact true, which suited me because when did facts ever get in the way of religion?
I liked the 60,000 figure. I realised that if I found 60,000 potential followers and each of them donated £10 to the church, we would soon have £600,000. If we created a church membership with a unique t-shirt, screen printed here using ethically sourced materials, and charged £20, we would raise over a million. We would then be in a position to create an incredible church, adorned with beautiful things, made by amazing artists and creatives - many of whom we already know and work with. People could call in from time to time and commune with 'the congregation of agitation.'
It's a no brainer, I thought - let's build a church! A living, breathing monument to the things we've lost, or the people we may have lost. A statement that we haven't given up on our dreams of a better world, in spite of the relentless attacks from our leaders. It says that we don't agree with your analysis and we want life to be good for people everywhere because we're capable of so much more. A 'Chapel of Unrest.'
I thought more and more about this religion business and started to realise that all this nonsense I'd been spouting actually made a lot of sense. My daughter suggested I should stop ridiculing religion and acknowledge I was actually quite a spiritual guy. She lent me a book about science and belief, and there were a few things in there that jumped out at me. Such as the fact that humans need places of pilgrimage and meditation; places where they can commune with each other and the natural world; spaces to come together and sing.
I'm the first to admit this started off as a ridiculous idea, and there are far more important things that need doing in the world. But only £10 will make a difference (it already has.) It will encourage dialogue and debate and provide a place for people to think outside the box. It's a little sanctuary in a sea of madness and will hopefully inspire others to realise we're not hopeless; we are capable of amazing things.
For avoidance of doubt, this is an inclusive 'religion.' I haven't got the slightest interest in telling you how, why, who or when you need to worship... Do what you like as far as I'm concerned. Just be kind and respectful to each other. We won't have a lot of rules - in fact that might be the only one!
Eventually, aside from being a chapel and a place of pilgrimage, the chapel will function as a cinema with a projector screen, as well as a dining hall, yoga and meeting space. It's also ideal for spoken word events and plays because of the interesting acoustics that the shape of the building allows.
People often ask if there is a way that they can chip in or contribute in some way to what we do here at Rockaway, and we're always happy to hear from anyone, on any level, with a view to getting involved. We don't charge an admission fee (apart from at gigs) and this Chapel project is a simple way that you can lend your support, as well as let us know that we're on the right track.
You can become a member of our 'congregation of agitation' by donating £10 to the Chapel funds and receiving a hand-printed membership card, a patch and a badge.
OR
You can go for a £20 membership, which includes a Chapel of Unrest t-shirt from sweatshop free brand No Sweat, using Permaset water-based inks.
There's a lot more to follow for our congregation, such as regular content and updates, including new imagery, podcasts and videos, as well as other goodies...
So, watch this space, and thank you for being a part of it!
www.rockawaypark.co.uk
