The Art of Curating Worship: What happens next
A session exploring the work of several well-established worship curators working in the fields of community, transitional and guerilla worship. Mark Pierson is the founding pastor of Cityside...
Faith and the Benefit of the Doubt
Churches tend not to do doubt very well. Some make certainty – blessed assurance – their hallmark. Others nurture doubt so much that they cease to be sure of anything. There's a balance to...
Speaker(s): Mark VernonPower in the People
Few of us realise how powerful we can be in changing public policy and accelerating the end of extreme poverty. In this session the director of Christian Aid describes the changing face of poverty...
Speaker(s): Loretta MinghellaChristianity & Contemporary Politics: Beyond the Big Society
What do the Franciscans, Calvin and ancient Roman Law have to do with contemporary social policy? Luke Bretherton explores how the churches can look beyond arguments about the good society or the Big...
Speaker(s): Luke BrethertonHIV and new ideas of family and belonging
An examinination of the impact of HIV – physical, psychological and social – on individuals, families and communities. Though thousands die every day and those living with HIV face great stigma...
Paradise lost, Paradise restored? Why the conservation movement has it all wrong
From planting trees to breeding programmes for endangered animals, humans have been interfering with nature, but are these approaches really helpful? A challenging exploration of the conservation...
Whose home is it anyway? Tribalism versus diversity
The tribe is not a uniquely human characteristic, but is an important aspect of many species of animal on the planet. Yet diversity is also an essential aspect of life. How can these two apparently...
Difficult Discussions: Building peace in diverse communities
Diversity and peacebuilding are often celebrated as goals in their own right. What happens, though, when celebration isn't enough? When it prevents us from grappling with deeper, unsettling...
Finding Hope for Peace Amid the Palestinian Israeli Conflict
Jonathan Herbert spent three months living in the Palestinian village of Jayous and experienced at first hand the cruelty and injustice of the Israeli occupation. In this session he will tell of how,...
Parish as Abbey: Third space and spiritual place for mission
“Third place perichoresis” describes an approach to engaging mission that involves the re:imagining of old church buildings into fresh, open, public spaces. Karen Ward talks about how the love...
Esther in Exile: Lessons for Leadership
Exile is not only a geographical place; it can also be a state of mind, heart and spirit. This can be debilitating. Kate Coleman considers how Esther's story of exile provides keys to greater...
Wake Up!: Radical politics and economics
John Papworth argues that the fundamental cause of our current woes lies in the monstrous scale of our political and economic institutions. Something has died in the soul of man, he says – it has...
Taking it to the Streets
You don't believe in the latest war and you can't accept the cuts. Politicians are out of touch and out of reach. But will marching on Westminster make any difference? Is direct action a vital...
Speaker(s): Niall CooperThrough The Eye Of A Needle
The true story of a man who went searching for meaning and ended up making his own Y-fronts. John-Paul Flintoff is a writer and broadcaster. His book, Sew Your Own, argues that the way we look at...
Is There Such a Thing as Christian Bioethics?
Modern biological and biomedical science raises many issues that people may find disturbing or controversial, from designer babies to stem cells. Using case studies from genetics and embryology, John...