Barry Banks

This is a series of questions posed by Michael Tutton to Barry Banks, who plays the Cornet in church, is a spiritual care specialist who works among those with a psychiatric illness and who has performed in a number of Christ Church plays.

Tell me about your lay ministry, and your music, how do they tie together?

I am a Registered Spiritual Care Specialist and a Teaching Supervisor for IPT/CAPPE. My primary work site is East Coast Forensic Hospital. My ministry is with people who have a psychiatric illness and in that context have broken the law. Their psychiatric concerns make it difficult for them to appreciate what they have done and so they remain with us until they are able to return to the community. Much of my work is in the area of psychotherapy. Here, people are wrestling with deep and often painful realities. These are spiritual concerns such as grief, guilt, anger, profound sadness, loss of family, loss of self, wondering where God is. As they come through these things then it can be about such things as reclaiming family, moving from hopelessness towards hope, building new life and believing in themselves again. I have learned much from these courageous souls who find the resilience to move forward sometimes against all odds.

Ministry is about soul (theirs/mine). Music is about soul. The patient and I are a team. Music is about team. In music dissonance is still music. In therapy dissonance and growth share the same space. Music, for me, is passion…so is ministry. For me music is as natural as breathing; so it is with my calling to ministry.

What started you with the cornet? Why do you love its sound?
 
I was raised in the Salvation Army. A rite of passage in that organization was that boys would be taught how to play a brass instrument…in my case I was 7 years old and the instrument was the cornet. Interestingly, at that time only boys were given this privilege. Girls were not allowed and so they were streamed into the junior choir. It wasn’t until the 1960’s that this reality changed. Because the Salvation Army followed the British Brass Band tradition there were no trumpets; only cornets were allowed. I have become involved in other musical venues and will use a trumpet from time to time but I do prefer the cornet sound. For me, it is more laid back, relaxed, sweet, haunting. I believe the cornet has the ability to cause the listener to lose sight of the performer and be drawn into the sound the instrument produces.

Tell us about your musical group?

Approximately two years ago a number of us who shared a passion for brass bands came together to form “Brass Impact.” We started with 14 and now have 25 members. We have a repertoire that includes spiritual/sacred, pop, classical transcriptions, swing, and novelty and movie themes. I can say that in all my years this is the most talented group of folk I have performed with. We are committed to making a space for youth and so two thirds of the band is under the age of 30. The rest of think we are thirty. We are also committed to community service so much of our playing is to help groups to raise funds for a variety of charities. One of the things I enjoy is that we have expanded the “traditional” idea of a brass band by broadening the kind of music we play, how it is presented and using instrumentation not common to a brass band from time to time.

What have been some of the highlights of the group and its ties to Christ Church?

We have had a couple of Christmas concerts here which have gone well. Also, friendships have evolved between some members of the band and of Christ Church. The other thing is that it is I have deep feelings for my church and for Brass Impact. It is very exciting for me to have opportunities to bring these two passions together.

When might we see them again?

All we need is an invite. I would like to see the band return to Christ Church at a time outside of Christmas so we can feature a broader array of music. As I said earlier, part of our mandate is community service so the band would be excited to do something for the church in this regard.

You've already contributed in many ways through your music to Christ Church. What attracts you to the parish and sustains you?

 I came to Christ Church at a time when I was looking for something different from the experience of church. I joke with friends sometimes where I say that although I was raised within the evangelical tradition and was an ordained parish minister for 13 years within that tradition I have always known that I was a “closet Anglican.” Here I experience a theology that celebrates human potential, that we are loved by God not because of what we do but because we are God’s. From the day I first arrived I experienced people as welcoming and genuinely interested in me. All these things serve to sustain my spirit. One last thing, I was raised in a tradition where the Eucharist was not celebrated. I can say that every time I receive this it is a deeply emotional experience for me. It is such a privilege to participate in such a blessed moment. In this I am sustained daily.

Can you talk about the idea of how music and prayer relate?

Both are of God. (Romans 8:26, 27) “We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groans that words cannot express. And he who searches our hearts knows the mind of the Spirit.” For me, music originates from a place deep within, as does prayer. The other thing is that no matter what style of music I am playing it is, like everything else about me, somehow connect to my relationship with God.

Can you talk about inner transformation a little bit. How are events like Haiti impacting on us?

So, here’s the thing. The events in Haiti are jarring. In a single moment of time the instantaneous images that come because of technology can overwhelm the senses. Then after a short commercial break the theme music for the Simpson’s chimes in and we melt into a very different kind of experience. Everywhere I go there are boxes to receive spare change for Haiti relief. In church we will say prayers or maybe have conversations about what is occurring. Now, all of this is about growing awareness but I’m not convinced that it is transformative in the deepest sense of that experience. I believe inner transformation happens as I draw whatever is jarring to the soul close to me. And the closer that event is to me as a lived reality the more open I am to inner transformation. When I am personally troubled the event that brings this on cannot be distracted by the Simpson’s or whatever may be calling out to me. All these things are set aside in order for me to give my fullest attention to that which jars my sensibilities. Why? Because I am in the process of inner transformation.

What can transform people, the process, the metanoia or opening of the heart that Jesus asked for? Do you have some ideas on that?

Jesus said: “The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full. (John 10:10)  Paul would later write “For in Christ all the fullness of the Deity lives in bodily form, and you have been given fullness in Christ (Colossians 2:9,10) We are transformed as we embrace the fullness of life that Christ imagined for us. This is about feeling the fullness of what it means to be friend, what it means to love, feeling the fullness of what it means to laugh, to party, feeling the fullness of what it means to worship, love God and on I could go to name whatever we might name. This is also about feeling the fullness of our suffering, our pain, feeling the fullness of our grief, feeling the fullness of lost relationships, our sadness and feeling the fullness of our anger to name a few. As our model for life and living his heart was opened as he lived feeling the fullness of this transformative process. We see it in the gospels; we know the stories. There are thieves that seek to steal, kill, and destroy these things I have mentioned. Thieves that seek to distort love, life, laughter, worship, friendship; thieves that seek to minimize and disqualify pain, suffering, grief and anger; thieves that seek to rob us of feeling the fullness of life that Jesus wants for us, whether that means incredible joy or intense sorrow. Jesus invites us to feel the fullness of life, whatever and however that might be for us as individuals and in so doing be transformed.

You’ve enjoyed theatre at Christ Church? What role is it playing in our parish? When the troupe joins hands and says a prayer before a performance, what significance does that have?

We are a team, period. Not always easy to live that out, not without issues but here is a place of lived community where we do the hard work of becoming as excellent as we can be. I have enjoyed this. My first play was “Meet me in St Louis” and here is where I truly came to know and kindle relationships. The play brings people together providing the opportunity to share a common dream and passion. Also, look at the age spread. It is truly wonderful that folk from this span of years and varying life experiences are together in this way.  Prayer is what holds it all together. This is a lived symbol before each performance. I believe it is lived truth from the moment the play is conceived in the minds of those who make the choice of what the production will be.

Is there anything you'd like to add about Christ Church and what our blessings and challenges are?
 
There are many blessings I have already named. To this I would add the dynamic and long history of the parish, the possibility and potential that is held here and the wide array of ministry that happens. As for challenges there is always change to consider otherwise we will become stagnant. So, a challenge is asking important questions around what may need to change and how will go about this. The way of “being the church” is different today and it will be different again tomorrow. How are we going to keep pace without losing the essential sense of who we are as a parish? What might we be about that will draw people into our fellowship?