Suzanne Winder
Profile
Suzanne Winder is a rarity in our congregation: a Unitarian born and bred. She is descended on her father’s side from a long line of distinguished Unitarians, including John Relly Beard (1800–1876), a pioneer of education reform in Manchester. Her mother, born a Roman Catholic, is descended from Lithuanian refugees who came to England in the 1880s. Suzanne’s parents encouraged their children to think for themselves in all matters, including religion. There was no Unitarian chapel in their home area (Bushey, in Hertfordshire), but from an early age Suzanne chose to get involved in activities at ‘Flagg’, the converted stone barn in Derbyshire that was bought by her Great-Great-Aunt Annie and presented to the FOY Society (originally the Fellowship of Youth, now an association for Unitarians of all ages).
Suzanne was the first pupil from her State school in Watford to win a place at Oxford University. She began reading for a degree in physics at St Hilda’s College six years ago, attending Sunday services in Manchester College chapel, but spending most of her spare time doing unpaid work for ‘Oxygen’, Oxford’s student radio station. She helped to run the station’s science programme, with the aim of making science and technology accessible to non-specialists, and is proud of the fact that they broke the story of Dolly the cloned sheep 24 hours before the BBC broadcast it.
At the start of her second year at Oxford, in November 1997, Suzanne was attacked without provocation by a gang of youths late one night in Cowley Road. The head injuries that she received impaired her memory and concentration, and made reading difficult for her. She had to withdraw from her physics course and has only recently – after four years of recuperation – resumed her studies. During her long struggle to reclaim her life, she lost most of her friends from school and college, became homeless, and suffered depression. She says that her Unitarian identity and her membership of the Chapel Society meant a great deal to her during this time, and she goes so far as to say that the attack and its aftermath were necessary for her spiritual development. "Prayer never had any meaning for me before. But whenever my situation got really bad during the last four years, things would happen – things beyond my control – which seemed like an answer to prayer."
She was allocated a rent-free flat and began to rebuild her life, studying at the College of Further Education for ‘A’ Levels in French, German, and computing (to keep her mind active) … making the most of music (especially important when she could not read books): playing the piano, clarinet, and guitar, attending local rock concerts and contemporary classical recitals … making new and lasting friendships at residential retreats at Flagg … representing the Chapel Society at the General Assembly meetings in 2001 and serving as our representative on the Midland Union committee … and getting involved in the International Religious Fellowship (a liberal religious movement for young people), attending IRF conferences in Germany, Switzerland, and Hungary, and helping to organise the next one (in Scotland), as a way of giving back something to a group which has given her great support.
Without a wheelchair or a white stick or a hearing aid, Suzanne finds that her disability is frequently unrecognised. But, as she says with a grin, "Life gives you these challenges, and you have to make the best of what you’re given." Catherine Robinson January 2003