| Journey to Jerusalem |
This Lent join Christian Aid on a virtual pilgrimage through the Holy Land. From Bethlehem to Nazareth to Jerusalem, go beyond hearing about the people of the region and hear from them instead. From 25th Feb
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| 2009 Ecumenical World Development Consultation |
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 Partnership for development Working together with agencies, business, campaigning groups, governments and producers. High Leigh Conference Centre, 18-20 March 2009
Click here for more |
| Books from the Ekklesia bookshop |
Faith and Politics After Christendom by Jonathan Bartley here
Threatened with Resurrection
by Simon Barrow here
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| Our Partners
Ekklesia is an independent member of the Root and Branch Network which includes the following organisations |
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| Events |
Convention on Modern Liberty
28th February
'Faiths and Freedoms' seminar
Mohammed Aziz (Muslim commentator, Faithwise), Vaughan Jones (Praxis CEO, URC minister), Savi Hensman (equalities adviser, Christian commentator) and Keith Kahn-Harris (New Jewish Thought). Chair: Simon Barrow (Ekklesia). Institute of Education, London
'Body & Soul'
28 Feb -1 Mar (Bristol)
7-8 Mar (Birmingham)
Sponsored by Ekklesia and run by our patner Workshop Living by values explores Christian ethics and lifestyle from the perspective of spiritual freedom and responsibility, taking on the hard questions about sex, gender, orientation, marriage and relationships as practical case studies.
'Peace & Power'
14 -15 March (Leeds)
21-22 March (London)
Sponsored by Ekklesia and run by our partner Workshop this weekend looks at spirituality and activism: a biblical understanding of peace (shalom) and the challenge of political and social power engaging in the areas of ecology, church and state, peace and war, crime and justice.
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| Ekklesia Events |
7-8 Mar (Birmingham)
Sponsored by Ekklesia and run by our patner Workshop Living by values explores Christian ethics and lifestyle from the perspective of spiritual freedom and responsibility, taking on the hard questions about sex, gender, orientation, marriage and relationships as practical case studies.
'Peace & Power'
14 -15 March (Leeds)
21-22 March (London)
Sponsored by Ekklesia and run by our partner Workshop this weekend looks at spirituality and activism: a biblical understanding of peace (shalom) and the challenge of political and social power engaging in the areas of ecology, church and state, peace and war, crime and justice.
Church Planting and Urban Mission
14th March (London)
A seminar exploring some of the the complexities of engaging with Urban Mission, at the London Mennonite Centre
more here
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| More Ekklesia Bulletins |
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Last week's Convention on Modern Liberty, which ran in six locations throughout the UK, attracted thousands of participants and a good deal of media coverage. Concerns about Britain becoming too much of a security and database state are being expressed across the political spectrum. The event exceeded all expectations in its size and impact.
Ekklesia's contribution was a session on 'Faiths and Freedoms'. We hope the video of this will be available shortly. More articles and a report will be available through us. One of the speakers was URC minister Vaughan Jones, who works in an inter-faith and cross-culture project concerned with the rights and dignity of displaced people. His powerful reflection on what 'liberty' means from a non-conformist Christian perspective is one of our two feature articles this week.
The other is a version of Jonathan Bartley's Guardian Comment-is-Free piece looking at a different kind of perspective on liberty - one where some Christians increasingly see themselves as 'victims' of a more plural, less institutionally religious society. Jonathan argues that these fears are being exploited and exaggerated by both pro- and anti-religion lobbies. What we need are mediators to help all sides negotiate a significant shift in the place faith in the social order, he says - not more anger and ammunition from the antagonists.
The indivisibility of "the good we secure for ourselves" and the good we seek for others is central to biblical concern for the neighbour. It is rooted in the hope that comes from experiencing God as the eternal sustainer of a good that goes beyond our human investments in competitive difference. Our quotations are reminders of this.
In terms of research, we are drawing attention to an innovative new doctoral programme on religion and contemporary society. The impact of spirituality on wellbeing and the search for peace in a conflicted world is the focus of 'thinking in action' - a lecture and discussion in Edinburgh. The highlighted event is International Women's Day 2009.
Our book recommendation through our online bookshop in partnership with the London Mennonite Centre also has a global remit: Wes Avram's 'Anxious about Empire: Theological Essays on the New Global Realities'. |
| Ekklesia works on a not-for-profit basis, and deliberately maintains its independence from large institutions and their funding. If you value this bulletin please consider making a donation to keep it going and support Ekklesia's work. You can do it through PayPal here |
| Humanity and justice are 'modern liberty' for Christians |
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By Vaughan Jones
Faith groups don't need special privileges, says the CEO of Praxis. They need to be free to be the communities they are and to ensure that all members are treated as full human beings with full rights. The litmus test of our conception of liberty is what it does about vulnerable humanity, such as those seeking refuge, and how it lives out the Christian message in practice - alongside those inside and outside the community. Read the whole article here |
| We need mediators not agitators |
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By Jonathan Bartley
Some Christians are crying 'persecution' when conflicts over belief arise in public life, says Ekklesia's co-director. The way to halt this juggernaut of paranoia is to bring a lot more mediatory light, and far less antagonistic heat to the situations involved.
Read the whole article here |
| Quota |
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Sayings from the week and wisdom from the tradition
"The good we secure for ourselves is precarious and uncertain until it is secured for all of us and incorporated into our common life."
- Jane Addams
"If there truly is a faithful God to whom we can commit ourselves, then we have a hope that whatever we try to do, however successful or unsuccessful in various ways it may be, is not lost effort. Nothing good is ever lost."
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| The week that was |
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 Your sixty second roundup
Free Church leaders added their voices to the Church of England and the Church of Scotland's in reminding the PM that not acting urgently at the Copenhagen climate conference would be a "moral failure". The Archbishop of Canterbury Dr Rowan Williams also warned that the financial crisis could make the UK more vulnerable to political extremism and the rise of parties like the British National Party.
New research suggested that faith schools should be stripped of their power to choose pupils. Some secondary schools it said, were flouting new rules designed to prevent middle-class pupils dominating the best comprehensives.
Welsh Churches urged the Welsh Assembly to follow Scotland's example, and introduce a minimum price per unit of alcohol after Scottish government announced plans on Monday to clamp down on low price alcohol sales.
In the US, on the tenth anniversary of the treaty banning antipersonnel landmines, the US Campaign to Ban Landmines called on President Barack Obama to work for Senate ratification of the treaty this year.
The only known functioning ecumenical church grouping in Zimbabwe said Mugabe's Zanu-PF party was showing " bad faith" in relation to a unity government formed with the Movement for Democratic Change party last month For more on all these and other stories our News Briefing (http://ekklesia.co.uk/content/news/news.shtml) contains the full archive of daily UK and international news, including all those above, plus features and columns. The page also tells you how you can get Ekklesia's running news on your web site in seconds.
If you value this service please support Ekklesia's news production through PayPal here |
| The week ahead |
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Next week's agenda
Lib Dem Spring Conference Debate on faith schools
Sunday
Second Sunday in Lent
Global Day of Prayer for Burma
International Women's Day
Lib Dem Conference Zimbabwe Debate
Monday
Commonwealth Day
Jewish: Feast of Esther
Pope visits Rome, accepting invitation from mayor and local council
Tuesday
Purim: Jewish festival commemorating deliverance from Persian Empire
Parliament: Joint Committee on Human Rights meets
Wednesday
No Smoking Day
House of Commons: International Development Select Committee looks at Sustainable Development in a Changing Climate
House of Commons: Public Administration Select Committee looks at Leaks and Whistleblowing in Whitehall
Friday
Red Nose Day - Comic Relief
Want a more detailed news agenda for the next four weeks? You can get one here |
| Ekklesia has launched a new subscription service giving a detailed, inside track on the news agenda for the coming 4 weeks. Suitable for church leaders, campaign groups, local government and anyone working in or with the media, it is already taken by the Times newspaper and the BBC. Find out more here |
| Research Focus |
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Religion and Contemporary Society
It has been confirmed that the Faculty of Lifelong Learning at Birkbeck, University of London, can now offer an Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC) funded PhD studentship in Religious Studies to run for three years from 2009-10, based at the Centre for Religion and Contemporary Society. The Centre is able to offer inter-disciplinary supervision for research projects on the social, cultural and psychosocial study of contemporary religion, and has particular expertise in religion in the West. It is particularly interested in projects that explore the formation and performance of religious and secular subjectivities, the inter-sections between religion, media and popular culture, religion and young people, religion and the culture industries, and religion and sites of conflict. Applications on other areas of religion and contemporary society are also welcome, however. Doctoral students at the Centre for Religion and Contemporary Society normally undertake empirical work as part of their projects. The Centre is able to offer training in quantitative methods, but has particular strengths in training and supervising in qualitative methods such as ethnography and narrative interview methods. Interests in visual and internet-based research would also be supported. Applications for this studentship should be submitted to Prof Gordon Lynch, Centre for Religion and Contemporary Society, 26, Russell Square, London, WC1B 5DQ. Applications should contain a completed College application form (which can be downloaded from here), copies of two academic references, copies of relevant academic transcripts, and a separate research proposal (up to 2000 words) setting out the context, aims and proposed methods of the project. Research proposals will need to demonstrate a good understanding of research literature relevant to the proposed subject. Applications should be submitted to Prof Lynch by Wednesday 11 March. Interviews will be held the following week. The Centre regrets the incredibly short lead-time, but is seeking to have this expanded. Successful applicants will need to have a very good undergraduate degree in a relevant discipline (normally a high 2:1 or 1st), and will also normally have a relevant Masters' degree. Anyone interested in applying for this studentship is recommended to contact Prof Lynch (g.lynch@bbk.ac.uk) for an informal discussion about his or her proposed research before submission of the thesis. Information about eligibility for AHRC studentships (including residency requirements) can be downloaded here. |
 Sign up to Amnesty International's Stop Torture campaign here |
| Media and web debate |
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 Ekklesia in the news this week
Ekklesia's call for engagement with issues of faith and freedom has been picked up in the UN Observer and elsewhere. We were mentioned in relation to the Convention on Modern Liberty in the Guardian, the Independent and a range of news blogs. Associated Press quoted us and used our research facilities for an article on renegade Anglicans and the Catholic Church. The Economist interviewed Simon Barrow for a forthcoming podcast feature on the churches' response to the Darwin celebrations. A Telegraph columnist wrote a rancorous diatribe against Jonathan Bartley's article ' We need mediators not agitators'. The Christian Science Monitor (US and international) quoted Ekklesia in relation to 'Some British Christians feel oppressed in the public square', and we responded to one misunderstanding of what was said through the correspondence columns. Inspire magazine used our analysis on 'Mixed picture of British attitudes to religion in public life'. News service Crosswalk also cited us on Christian Aid's 'virtual pilgrimage' to Jerusalem. Keep up-to-date with Ekklesia's Comments on Twitter
Ekklesia works on a not-for-profit basis. Please support Ekklesia's work with the press and other media by donating through PayPal here |
| Event: International Women's Day |
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The International Women's Day (IWD) was born one hundred years ago from the National Women's Day (USA) as one response by women to their reality of oppression and inequality in economy and suffrage. As a vibrant movement for change, it has since spread to all the corners of the world. A century later IWD remains an occasion in which women and men celebrate women's contributions and achievements while identifying the challenges women continue to face. Women in the churches have, in many parts of the world, joined in celebrations with other women's groups to mark this day. It has provided a time for Christian women to celebrate their gifts to the churches, to call on the churches to become even more inclusive and to recognize the significant role women play in their work, action and witness. More information from IWD itself:
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| Thinking in Action |
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Spirituality, Health and Healing
The Edinburgh International Centre for Spirituality and Peace was founded in December 2007 to provide educational opportunities and an international forum for understanding, experiencing, and participating in the rich diversity of the world's spiritual traditions - and applying this learning to work for peace, for example in the Middle East. On 11 March 2009, the Rev Prof Stephen G. Wright, who is a good friend of Ekklesia, will be reflecting on 'The Waste Land: Spirituality, Health and Healing'. Among other things he will be exploring how Western capitalist civilisation has emptied our language and our everyday consciousness of the depth and significance of the essence of what it is to be human - including "soul," "spirituality" and other key concepts. The talk (followed by a Forum on Spirituality, Health, Wellbeing and Healing, with particular reference to Scotland and the Middle East, including discussion and questions among an expert panel and audience) will take place from 19.00 - 21.30 at Augustine United Church, Edinburgh. Cost: £5/£3 (concessions) on the door on the night.
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Reading Allowed |
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Anxious about Empire: Theological Essays on the New Global Realities by Wes Avram
 This is a collection of powerful essays by "ecclesially committed" theologians, political theorists, biblical scholars, and pastors. It offers a response to the "new American empire". The contributors - who come from various ecclesial backgrounds, including Catholic, Episcopalian, Presbyterian, Baptist and Mennonite - address issues such as the trans-national nature of the church, loving neighbours in a globalised world, the use of scripture in imperial rhetoric, the current challenges of pastoral leadership, and Christian worship as a response to global violence.
ISBN: 9781587431197 (Braznos Press, 2004) 224pp.
For more information and to purchase through Ekklesia click here | |
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