Jewels in His Crown the National Event

Following the Day Conference in London in January there will be a Jewels in His Crown Weekend Conference: Which Way the UK Asian Church? at The Hayes, Swanwick 25-27 June 2010 This is an all-age conference for everyone engaged in ministry amongst British Asians and Asian Churches and it will look as different ways for worship, such as - Multicultural Church, Asian Fellowships, Youth Culture, Christ Followers, House Church, Satsang, Traditional Church, Yesubhaktas and Followers of Isa Al-Masih. Speakers Pastor G I Ebenezer, Kumar Rajagopalan, Clive Thorn. Details and postal booking http://www.jewelsinhiscrown.co.uk/ Online booking: www.globalconnections.co.uk/jihc

Election 2010

Archbishop Emeritus, Desmond Tutu once said "When people say the Bible and politics don't mix, I don't know which Bible they are referring to. It's not the one I've been reading." Which suggests that to ignore politics altogether on the grounds that we are far too busy (Bible reading) is not an option. How might we encourage ourselves and congregations to engage positively with the General Election in the face of media overkill? There are number of resources available:
Faith in Politics: Preparing Churches for the General Election 2010 (on the CTBI website) is a good place to start. From there you can download a guide to planning a hustings meeting or explore how to phrase questions to candidates on the doorstep.
King's College London's Faith & Public Policy Forum runs a series of seminars. The next is on Tuesday 13th April 2010, entitled Muslim Londoners:Tackling Terrorism and Islamaphobia with speaker Dr Robert Lambert MBE. Click link for more dates and details and transcripts of previous seminars.

If books are your thing there are a number of recently published topical titles:-

Richard Harries (former Bishop of Oxford, now Lord Harries of Pentregarth) offers Faith in Politics? Rediscovering the Christian Roots of our Political Values
(Darton Longman and Todd ISBN 978-0-232-52787-2)
From the same publishers comes
Faithful Citizens: A Practical Guide to Catholic Social Teaching
and Community Organising by Austen Ivereigh
(ISBN 978-0-232-52789-6)
Nick Spencer and Jonathan Chaplin's God and Government is published by SPCK, with foreword by the Archbishop of Canterbury (ISBN 978-0-281-06071-9)
Also from SPCK Votewise Now! - helping Christians Engage with the Issues, edited by Rose Lynas with foreward by Joel Edwards

For a shorter read visit the Diocese of St Alban's website and read Bishop Alan Smith's article Don't be apathetic:vote! which concludes with a topical prayer

Archbishop Rowan on uniqueness of Christ

In a lecture given in Guildford Diocese earlier this month, Archbishop Rowan reflected on, and reaffirmed, Christian belief in 'the uniqueness and finality of Jesus Christ':

We are very rightly suspicious of proselytism, of manipulative, bullying, insensitive approaches to people of other faith which treat them as if they knew nothing, as if we had nothing to learn and as if the tradition of their reflection and imagination were of no interest to us or God. God save us from that kind of approach. But God save us also from the nervousness about our own conviction which doesn't allow us to say that we speak about Jesus because we believe he matters. We believe he matters because we believe that in him human beings find their peace. Their destinies converge and their dignities are fully honoured. And all the work that we as Christians want to do for the sake of convergent human destiny and fullness of human dignity has its root in that conviction that there is no boundary around Jesus – that what he is and does and says and suffers is in principle liberatingly relevant to every human being; past, present and future.

The full lecture is here

Up and Coming in April & May

The Numbers Game: Britain's Changing Demographic and its Implications for Christian-Muslim Relations Saturday 24th April Centre for Islamic Studies, London School of Theology, Green Lane, Northwood, Middlesex, HA6 2UW. Speakers: Ben White - "Britain's Changing Demographics: Discerning Facts from Fears"; Dr Jenny Taylor - "The impact of Immigrant religious Activism and Government Policies on Interfaith Relations"; and Dr Jabal Muhammad Buaben "The Numbers Game: A Muslim perspective on Immigration and Integration. Registration at 9.30 and the conference finishes at 15.30. The cost is £20 to include cooked lunch (£10 for senior citizens or for groups fo 6 or more). The day will be chaired by The Rt Revd Michael Nazir-Ali. For further information or to book contact Lisbet Diers on 01923 456160 or lisbet.diers@lst.ac.uk

BOOK LAUNCH

Bridgebuilders: Workplace chaplaincy - a history, by Malcolm Torry. Monday 26th April 6.00pm at Trinity House, 4 Chapel Court, Borough High Street, London SE1. Published by Canterbury Press it will cost £20 but is available for £15 on the night.If you would like to attend contact Revd Malcolm Torry on 0208 858 3006 or malcolm@torry.org.uk

Test of Faith THE TOUR comes to London on Wednesday 19th May. Presented by Paternoster and the Faraday Institute for Science and Religion the Test of Faith explores the science-faith debate. Scientists and theologians unpack key issues. The London venue is the London Institute of Contemporary Christianity, St Peter's Vere Street, London W1G 0DQ. Tickets, £5 from www.faraday-institute.org/pentecost or 01223 741 281