27: Practical Catholic Service

Episode 27: Gerry shares that, for him, prayer is action. 'If I can help someone I will.' He explains how his significant stammer led him to becoming an engineer who was privileged to help people all over the world, as well as closer to home. While working in the film industry, he describes how his faith 'helped me to stay focussed.'

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HCPT Lourdes Pilgrimages
Volunteer Missionary Movement background

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Transcript

You are listening to All Kinds of Catholic with me, Theresa Alessandro. My conversations with different Catholics will give you glimpses into some of the ways, we're living our faith today. Pope Francis has used the image of a caravan. A diverse group of people travelling together. On a sometimes chaotic journey together. That's an image that has helped shape this podcast. I hope you'll feel encouraged and affirmed and maybe challenged at times. I am too in these conversations. 

So welcome listeners, thanks for tuning in again this week, and I'm delighted to be joined by Gerry. Hi, Gerry.

Hello. Good morning. It's wonderful to be on your podcast. 

Good. Why don't we dive in, Gerry? Why don't we start at the beginning of your life? Tell us about how things began for you. Well, I was, brought up on the Isle of Wight. I was born in Fareham in Portsmouth. I was, brought up in a traditional Catholic family. There were 5 children. My mother looked after us very well. My father was a policeman. That's where I grew up, on the Isle of Wight. 

So you were born into a Catholic family, were you? You were baptised as a baby? 

I was. I was, baptised. Yes. All of us were all baptised. My mother was very traditional. We would go to Mass every Sunday, Holyday of Obligation. We would also be saying the rosary a couple of times a week. I can still remember it today where I would be turning around in the sofa and a sharp head in that corner of the seats and the upright and going through the rosary. 

Okay. So you said the rosary together in the living room?

 Yes. Yes. There was a bit of arm twisting, but we did as mother and the 5 children. My dad was always working. He was a policeman, so he had a lot of shift work. So it was my mother that was core to the family. 

And what was faith like for you as a child? Were you really into it? Did it mean something to you? Was it important?

I don't think as a child, it was particularly important. But as I grew up, because I have an extremely bad stammer. So as a child, I had about 50% of what I said people wouldn't understand. And that sort of pointed me in a direction in a way I didn't expect it to happen because of that disability. I then started to realise there was more going on as I was growing up than just being brought up in a Catholic family. The Catholic family gave me the starting point, the ethos. As a young man, I did stop going to church for a while, but I found my way through that because as I grew up, I was an apprentice electrical engineer, and I was always looking for something. And I remember I started to go to Lourdes as somebody with a disability. I was invited to go as a 11 year old to Lourdes with the HCPT, which was a wonderful experience. I've been going with them now for nearly 60 years. So, I've been involved all my life. So that sort of directed me in a way. I was very, what's the word, a practical relationship to, the church and to prayer. And I would say I'm a practical Catholic, i.e.  I worked as a volunteer. I went out as a VMM, a volunteer missionary, to Zambia in the mid seventies as an engineer. So I installed electricity, water pumps, generators. You name it, I did it. Anything with a wire, I'd fix it or install it. 

There's a lot to unpack there. Just a moment now. I'm interested in, as somebody who was a speech and language therapist, I'm interested in where your stammer is now because, you know, I wouldn't have known that about you, listening to you talking now. So what happened to the child who stammered?

Well, you can imagine back in the fifties, that's when I was brought up, anybody with a disability, you were treated differently. I was always the one in the class that would get skipped over when I was spelling because I would take the ages to get the word out. So it got worse. So when I was about 12, I would say 50% of what I spoke, you wouldn't understand. The other 50% would be stammering. As I grew up, I just used to - it was part of me. It was who I was. It was good and it was bad. The good part is it directed me to where I am now and to what I've done in my life. But the worst part was the teasing, the laughing, and being told you're stupid because as a young man, I was never very academic until I left school at 15. How I controlled my stammer? On one of my many volunteer trips overseas, I met a Catholic doctor who said, Oh, you've got a good stammer there, Gerry. And I said, Yes. I said, I would love to control that. And he invited me on a 3 month training course in Oxford, free of charge. You don't fix a stammer, but what you do with the stammer, you manage it. And now where I am for example, now I'm a magistrate, so I can manage a court with 20 people, fluently. It's taken its time, but I got there. A lot of praying involved, a lot of going to Lourdes. I never went to Lourdes about miracles. I went to Lourdes because I like, you know, working with young people who had difficulties. I had a special relationship to them because I had the difficulties, and I wanted to share how I got over it. 

Yeah. That's wonderful. That's an amazing testimony. Thank you, Gerry. But prayer was part of that then? 

Prayer was, but my prayer was action. As I told you at the beginning, I'm a practical Catholic. So service, fixing a generator or a water pump in the middle of the Luangwa Valley in Zambia, or helping out during COVID vaccination and helping people get through that period. Working with Catholic People's Week or the National Justice and Peace Conference. All of these things; practical. My prayer was service and I got back much more from that than I ever gave. I got loads back. 

Okay. Yeah. You're somebody where making a difference practically speaks to you. 

That is who I am. 

Tell us a bit more about VMM then for people who don't know. 

Right. So the VMM is the Volunteer Missionary Movement. It's now no longer. It was the equivalent to what VSO, Voluntary Service Overseas, but it was Catholic. How I've got to know VMM, there was a Mill Hill Father came down to our parish in Shanklin on the Isle of Wight where I was growing up, he was talking about his experience in Africa. And I thought, yeah, I can do that. So I went up to him after Mass, told him who I was and off I went. He introduced me to the VMM. And the VMM is for young Catholics who want to go out and be of service. I was an electrical engineer, electronics, so there was a vacancy for somebody that could install generators. I know all about boreholes and water pumps because I installed water pumps and electricity. And I was humbled by being there because I was from this First World and I was working with people that had to walk miles to collect water. Never had light in their village after the sun went down. And I was able to deliver electricity and water. And it was just an amazing privilege to be able to do that. It helped me find my faith again because out in Africa, multiple faiths inter-denomination big time. So I've had services in the Catholic church, the Protestant church, the Methodist church. I met the Quakers. I never ever even heard of the Quakers. I never held a chalice in my hand to share wine. So it was all sorts of things. And that really, really steered me on my direction and gave me great faith and helped me on the straight and narrow. 

Yeah. And I think the wonderful thing about being a practical person is you can see the difference you're making. You know, there wasn't water, and now there is water. There wasn't electricity, and now there is electricity. And it gives you a great sense of achievement, I guess. You can see the way that you're helping people.

I can. I got involved. I met Cafod out in Africa, Oxfam, Save the Children Fund. And then after my service in Zambia, I came back to the UK and I met Ellen. And in between meeting Ellen and going back out to Africa again with Ellen because I wanted Ellen to experience what I experienced  - because she would have got all really bored with me keep saying about Africa. So I persuaded her. So after we got married, we went back out to Nigeria this time. But in the meantime, I had worked with Cafod. I was in the original Cafod building in Saint Patrick's Church in Soho Square, sticking stamps on envelopes. And because I was an engineer, I had met various people, and they asked me to help with some of their projects. So I worked for Cafod, Save the Children, in places like Sudan, Eritrea, Ethiopia. During the famine of the mid-eighties, I'd be there and I would install radio communication. So the big thing there was talking to people. But those countries were huge. The only way to talk to people is by radio. So as an engineer with wires, I was asked to set up a radio communications network. And I did that. And that helped Southern Sudan talk to Northern Sudan. And that also helped Cafod to talk back to the UK because in those days, there was no mobile phone. It was telex machines or shortwave radio. 

Wow. You're a really useful person to know, Gerry. Are there things that you look at differently from people who haven't had that experience of supporting people in Africa who actually need electricity and a way to communicate? Do you look at life differently, do you think, from other Catholic people when you look around?

Well, my way of looking, if I can help somebody, I will. It's all about service. Again, I practice my faith by getting involved. I'm retired now. I'm 71. I'm still working with the HCPT. I'm still working with my local surgery to help older people get their head around the NHS app. My background now is a lot of IT. I'm still collecting prescriptions from the local chemist to take it to somebody if they can't get out. It's all about that. So I just feel very lucky and privileged to be able to have had that life. I've got 3 wonderful children. I've got 2 wonderful grandchildren. It's wonderful. And also I'm able to help and support Ellen in her work because I do the audiovisual support at the conference. 

We've talked about your faith being very practical. Is there something in the gospel that speaks to you, that when you hear that particular bit of the gospel, you think, yeah, that's me. That's what I'm doing. That's the bit that speaks to me. 

I don't think at that depth. All I can say is, if I can do one good thing each day, then I'm on the right track. But I also have a very, what what's the word? I've been in very difficult, dangerous situations in my life working overseas. I've worked in Somalia for Oxfam. I've worked in the Sudan for CAFOD. It's dangerous. And I've always been looked after. So God has been up there keeping a special eye on me so I can do my work. That's it. I'm not a reader because, as I said before, because of my stammer, my education was very poor. Reading and writing as a young man was zilcho. Anything that I could think of, I'd heard. I'll just repeat that it's about service. You asked a question, was there any elements in the Bible? No, I don't think so. It's just if I can help somebody, I will.

And you mentioned that you feel that the Lord has kept you safe in difficult situations. 

Absolutely. 

Do you feel the presence of God while you're being of service to people? Do you feel the presence of God around you?

I do. I do because I feel I'm acting on, on the behalf. I'm using my skills to bring support to people. I can give you an example of being looked after. In the Sudan, it was dangerous. And I was supposed to be somewhere when there was an explosion and a bomb went off. And I wasn't there because I was asked to go somewhere else. Now that tells me somebody up there definitely looking after me.

Okay. And I think sometimes I've kind of thought, don't know how to say it exactly, but there are things the Lord wants you to do and you get led to those things and moved away from things that aren't on the right path. So that sounds a little bit like the Lord is kind of navigating a bit for you around the things that will stop you from fulfilling his plans for you.

Yeah. I think so. If the Lord has got something he wants you to do, you'll be doing it. You have no choice. And one of those things is, as a young man, my mother always wanted a priest in the family. I was the obvious choice at the time. And I said to her, I said, No, that isn't me. I'm destined for something else, practical work. She sent me once as a 15 year old on a retreat to see if it was the right thing. Well, I went there at about 4 o'clock on Friday afternoon. By 8 o'clock on the Friday afternoon, I was back home. So definitely wasn't the right thing for me. But I've done well, and I hope I've helped people over the years. 

Oh, I'm sure you have. And so you have a sense then of feeling who you are and what the Lord is calling you to do to help build the kingdom. And therefore, you can spot something that isn't gonna fit that, much as your mother may have wanted it to. 

Well, I would say that, I'm not quiet. If I feel there's something wrong, I will say it. It's gotta be fair. There's gotta be justice. And to do the right thing, can't be done for any other reason. So fairness, I've always tried to be fair and upfront and straight speaking. 

I'm wondering if in all those situations that you were of service to people in Africa, I'm wondering if you made some friends there that are still friends today. 

Well, it's more than that. It's a lifestyle. I've met so many good people all across all the areas that I've worked in. And so when Ellen and I came back from Nigeria, for example, back in ‘81, we invited 2 or 3 of our fellow volunteers. And we sort of almost had a - it wasn't a community. We were all living together, but we shared everything together. So I did stay in contact. And that directed me to work for people like Oxfam, Christian Aid, and Save the Children because of the experience I had. But also, it triggered me and directed me to my paid career. So I became an engineer working in the film industry. So I worked in the film industry for over 30 years, and that was a direct result of the work that I did as a volunteer in Africa. I also, after retirement from the film industry, because the film industry was a -  it would gobble up all your time, so you'd work all sorts of hours. And then I got into education for about 14 years, you know, looking after IT in a secondary school. But again, in the school I worked at, there was a few stammerers. So I had a little, support pastoral care, of some young people that had stammers. And I was able to, I can't fix the stammerer, but I was able to share with them. It will get better. 

I'm just in awe, Gerry. You've characterised yourself as someone who is of service and so much you've been able to achieve supporting other people by just being there and doing what needs doing all these years. It's very moving. 

What goes around comes back to you tenfold. 

I'd like to know a little bit more about your work in the film industry. But just before we talk about that a little bit, I'm interested in the ecumenical element that you mentioned of working in Africa and some of the organisations you've mentioned supporting who are, you know, not just Cafod, the Catholic Overseas Aid Agency, but other agencies. And I'm interested in you finding some richness in being in services in other churches and things while you were out there. Just tell us a bit more about that. Has that shaped your friendships and how you look at, I don't know, a Catholic parish since? 

Well, the thing is, when I worked as a volunteer during my VMM period in Africa, I was working with all sorts of churches, faith communities. But when I was being brought up, it was Catholic, Catholic, Catholic.  And up until I went out overseas, Hang on, you know, there's more in life than this. There's lots of other things and everybody can offer different things. I mean, I was so in awe to meet a Quaker. I'd never heard of a Quaker when I was 21. Probably get chucked out of the church now, but I never experienced sharing a service with a Methodist minister. I was still a Catholic and I wasn't going to change, but it made it nicer because there's lots of other different variations out there. And it just made the whole thing. Then I would then say I'm a Christian and I'm a Catholic. So you can be Christian in any other denomination. That's how I saw it.

I think that's helpful. I think you've explained that really well, Gerry. There's a, there's a richness, isn't there, about recognizing the other Christians who are here with us trying to follow Jesus where we are. 

And everybody's good. Everybody I work with and met were there for the right reason. There was kindness. There was love. There was just compassion. And I felt I was in the right place. I was extremely lucky. And that's why when I came back from overseas and met Ellen, I wanted her to experience that. And she was influenced in what we did in Nigeria. And then she went off on the work she does now through Cafod, through the Columban Fathers, through the NJPN. And I think that was perhaps me influencing her. So I'm quite proud of that. I'm affecting other people as well. 

Yeah, absolutely. It's a kind of evangelising, isn't it? 

Well, it is, you see, practical. That's what I think it all started like that before politics got too involved. And so I'm not a scholar in the Bible, but I think that that's what it was all about at the beginning. And I think in some respect, we've lost a little bit because it's got too organised and put in too many different boxes. 

Okay. And I'm interested in your work in the film industry then. Gerry. Was that a place where you were able to bring your faith while you were working in, I'm guessing, with people from all sorts of backgrounds?

So I got into, a bit of freelance work, and I ended up working in a company, firm, in London in the film studios. And I eventually became Head of Engineering. Started off, as I always do, always start off at the bottom. I was a Christian. I was practical. I was married. I had a family. I went to church every Sunday. So if I was working on Sunday, I’d go off to Saint Patrick's in Soho Square. People started to recognise. Because in the film industry, lots of money, lots of drugs, lots of alcohol. So you could easily have gone astray. My faith helped me stay focused. It was a high profile, long hours, very difficult. But because of my faith and having the family and having the church and everything else, it kept me on the straight and narrow. I was very, very fortunate. And I was able to help colleagues because as an engineer, when colleagues struggle, especially when you're young, you've got all this money, all this film stuff and people, a bit out of control. You sort of don't understand. And I was able to pull them back. I was the work dad to quite a few of my colleagues. I could pull them back in and help them. I would help them by giving them time off. So if we were in the middle of a big movie, and I did work on some big movies. And we hadn't seen our families for a long time. We could give them a day off, go home, spend a bit time with your family. And I was able to bring that.

It's a different kind of service, isn't it? Helping people to keep in touch with their roots. 

It's all service, trying to keep colleagues on the straight and narrow because it is difficult. But when you're in that sort of a high profile position, it's easy to stray. 

Really interesting, Gerry. Thank you. One of the things I would say, Gerry, is that while you were speaking, you know, when I asked you about, you know, is there a bit in the gospel? It's hard when we're having a conversation to also be thinking of, trying to run through the gospels in my mind. I'm gonna go away and think about this because there will be one of the apostles or one of the parables that is who you are somehow. 

Carpenters. That's all I can say. 

True. 

Carpenters are practical.

It's a good place to start. I'm gonna give that some thought and see what else. And I'd encourage listeners also to give that a bit of thought and see where they can see Gerry in the gospels because you'll be there. Thanks, ever so much, for joining me. It's been really lovely to talk. And, you know, I've been very moved by just you at the age of 71, knowing who you are and what you've brought to the world, you know, how God has been present in your life and how you've shared that with other people, with the gifts that you have. It's a very moving faith journey, actually. So thank you so much for sharing that with us. 

My last comment is always just do one good, kind thing each day. 

That's good advice. 

Thank you very much. It's been an absolute pleasure.

And listeners, do drop me a message if you can see where Gerry is in the bible or in the gospels and you want to tell me about it. And I can share answers in future episodes. 

Thanks so much for joining me on All Kinds of Catholic this time. I hope today's conversation has resonated with you. A new episode is released each Wednesday. Follow All Kinds of Catholic on the usual podcast platforms. Rate and review to help others find it. And follow our X/ Twitter and Facebook accounts, @KindsofCatholic. You can comment on episodes and be part of the dialogue there. You can also text me if you're listening to the podcast on your phone, although I won't be able to reply to those texts.

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