I refer to Emily Barbaro Sant's letter (June 5) about Richard England's international winning design for a church in Hal Farrug. She claims that she "is not being cynical but honest".
Not being cynical means not being "pessimistic, contemptuous, disparaging, detracting, mocking..." Yet the good lady claims that according to her first glance the proposed Hal Farrug church seems like a cruise liner. I hope erudite readers would be able to grasp her deep-seated modern symbolism of a church like a boat to salvage souls from troubled waters. I must admit the simile of a cruise liner to symbolise the church is quite original.
Ms Barbaro Sant makes various unverified statements. She is wrong with regard to the finances involved, the commissions and fees. She is mistaken in her judgements and evaluation. Simply the facts do not tally with her claims. She is particularly uninformed when she writes: "From the financial point of view, I wonder how the rector of the proposed church, if this design is finally approved, plans to overcome the heavy burden of paying for it. I feel it's already a lot for the 70 families or so to fork out the professional fees or commissions."
At present there are 350 families in Hal Farrug (the Housing Authority already approved and designed 150 more units) - a little more than 70 families. Prof. England conducted various meetings with the residents. He proved once more his generosity and openness when he offered his services free of charge. He brushed aside his professional fees and any commissions. The "church of our times" includes the construction of catechism classes, office, library, assembly hall and accommodation to witness a preferential choice of the poor besides rooms for conferences to promote a holistic approach to life.
She misses the forest for the tree - and the tree for the bark! The Church is not the building - it is the living community that expresses itself in the building. It's not the empty church that forms the community but the living community that is housed in the church. Hal Farrug, indeed, throughout the years, and with the support and help of various parish priests, has produced a series of committed Catholics who give their free time and talent to better the community. Prof. England epitomised the dreams and aspirations of a growing community: the hard-working catechists who every day teach catechism classes from kindergarten to post-confirmation young people, the youth development programme, the home visits, the Project to Help the Hidden Poor, sports, music ministry, etc. Under various parish priests the sacramental life of the community was catered for from baptism to daily mass. Water Services Corporation workers and Sedqa's Alcohol and Drug Rehabilitation Services located just behind the proposed Hal Farrug Community Centre are catered for. Prof. England's church did not create the community but the community created his plan.
The government itself, various MPs including Charles Mangion, Clyde Puli and Joseph Muscat MEP and Martin Pillow of Space Frames and architect Louis Muscat, Prof. England's right-hand man, the hard-working Luqa mayor John Schembri have actively contributed to the building of the Hal Farrug Community Project. The local council itself unanimously approved Hal Farrug as a hamlet - with all that means for an emerging village. Shops, groceries, a stationer's, ironmongeries, over 100 small and medium enterprises, etc are among the physical features of Hal Farrug today. Ms Barbaro Sant would witness personally all this.
The official South Malta Local Plan - Public Consultation Draft April 2005 refers continuously to Hal Farrug's "expanding" community - "HF has now grown into a full blown settlement and is still to grow in view of the Housing Authority's projects in the area." (SMLU 04)
The British government left a hefty sum for the reconstruction of Hal Farrug church demolished to make room for the Malta International Airport runway. The published photo of a commemorative plaque in the sacristy of Gudja with the emblem of Hal Farrug shows where and how these funds were channelled.
Prof. England is not alien to controversy. His Manikata church is another case in point. He has a knack to visualise and concretise a perception of the sacred that is unique. His architecture exhumes spirituality. His religious structures are a sign of hope - from the Millennium Chapel (which too had its share of critics-proved-wrong) to Hal Farrug church. He succeeds to quench the thirst for the sacred of modern man seeking a sacred place. Once one grasps this concept - that everything leads to The Sacred - building contours, composite structures become a means to an end. There is no "proper" way to express The Sacred or enter into communion with God. Dancing with the Lord is to let Him take the initiative. On our part we have only to create The Sacred Space to allow Him to initiate The Dance. Millennium Chapel church-goers attest to His presence after they become aware of the gentle shock of the composite structures! The Hal Farrug "church of our times" has won not only international recognition but won the hearts and minds of many who are able to dream and see far and wide because they feel secure on the shoulders of their giant among us (Mt 18:20).