Two New Resources to check out

The Archbishop of Canterbury's Building Bridges Seminar for Christian and Muslim ScholarsThis annual gathering, hosted by the Archbishop has been running since 2002. Details of the participants, publications arising from the meetings and details of dates and venues are now all on a one stop website run by the Berkley Center, Georgetown University.

Sharing the Gospel of Salvation
Following a General Synod debate in February 2009, the House of Bishops was asked to produce a report on their understanding of the uniqueness of Christ in Britain's multi-faith society. Sharing the Gospel of Salvation is that report which is now freely available on the Church of England website
On Thursday 2nd September, Dr John Azumah, Director of the Centre for Islamic Studies, London School of Theology will give a keynote address responding to the report and a panel of guests including The Revd Mark Poulson and The Revd Canon Dr Jane Freeman will share their reactions and all will respond to questions from the floor. This PEN event will be held in the Gary Weston Library, Southwark Cathedral, at 6.30pm. There will be a nominal charge of £5. To reserve a place or for more information please contact the PEN Coordinator via pen@theology-centre.org or 020 7780 1600

Advance notice of major conference

As part of the Contextual Theology Centre, PEN is organising a major conference in November.  Seek the Welfare of the City: Hopeful imagination & prophetic practice for urban mission and ministry will be held on 25th and 26th November.  The first day will be at Holy Trinity Brompton, and the second day will include a keynote address by the Rt Revd John Inge (Bishop of Worcester) and a roundtable discussion on Luke Bretherton's new book on Christianity and Contemporary Politics involving David Ford and Nigel Biggar.

Full details of speakers, venues and how to book will be posted in the summer.

UPDATE: The venues have been confirmed as Holy Trinity Brompton for 25th and St Paul's, Hammersmith for 26th.  Bookings will open later in the summer.

New MA in Christian Muslim Relations

New for September/October 2010 at the Centre for Islamic Studies, London School of Theology. The programme aims at equipping students with the academic, theological, exegetical and practical tools to be active and confident participants in the field of Christian Muslim relations.

The MA can be studied full-time over 12 months or part-time over 24-36 months. Taught study is arranged in 2 semesters per academic year, each 15 weeks. The compulsory core module Engaging with the World of Islam will run throughout the year. (The over all cost of the MA is under £6,000)

The uniquness of this MA programme is a minimum 2 hours per week placement with a Muslim institution such as a mosque or college. Similarly students will undertake placement with selected Christian ministries and interfaith organisations to observe various approaches in Christian engagement.

For more details go to the LST website or contact Lisbet Diers lisbet.diers@lst.ac.uk

Two for June at St Mary-le-Bow

'Power to the People? A reflection on the general election in City and Nation'is the title of the next Cheapside Debate. Speakers will be Professor Peter Hennessey (Attlee Professor of Contemporary British History, Queen Mary, University of London) and Sir David Clementi (former Deputy Governor of the Bank of England, Chairman of the Prudential plc, Warden of Winchester College). Tuesday 22nd June at 1.05pm

The next JustShare Lecture on Christian Social & Political Thought will be given by the Revd Dr Paul Oestreicher (founding Chair of Amnesty International); his topic will be 'Is peace a delusion?' Wednesday 30th June at 6.05pm

Read all about it...

The Bridge, the newspaper of the Diocese of Southwark, has a centre spread on PEN this month - with examples of good practice from multi-religious contexts and suggested resources.  It's a great introduction to what 'Presence and Engagement' is all about - you can read it here.

Pilgrimage for Peace

The 25th Annual London Multi-faith Pilgrimage for Peace will be held this Saturday (5th June) - beginning at Westminster Cathedral at 9am.  You can download a leaflet with the full range of venues and events and a booking form (it is possible simply to turn up on the day, but booking in advance will help those organising - particularly if you wish to come to the lunch and/or afternoon tea).  The pilgrimage is sponsored by Westminster Interfaith, an agency of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Westminster.