Dean of St Paul's Cathedral gives PEN lecture

The Dean of St Paul's, The Very Revd Dr David Ison has delivered the latest PEN lecture in the splendid yet intimate setting of St George the Martyr, Borough High Street SE1.
Entitled Guardian or Gatekeeper? Faith in the Public Space and the Role of the Church: Combining the task of relating to our neighbours of all faiths and none with a civic profile......... the Dean introduced the topic by saying how much his thinking on the topic chimed with the speech given by Her Majesty the Queen at an inter faith gathering marking the beginning of her Jubilee year.
Explaining how previous experience in Bradford and recent sabbatical travels had led to his own refelctions he unpacked aspects of the title; what sort of Guardian, what sort of Gatekeeper - welcoming access provider or bouncer for the Christian faith?; How are we defining faith and what do we mean when we say church or Church. The lecture went on to explore issues of vision, identity and shared experience as Church of England and with a broader definition of church in mind.
He suggested three key tasks for the church:- Serve the whole community; Building a strong identity for people of all faiths in order to enable strong relationships with the other; Help other faith groups to be shaped by encounter with the Gospel.
He concluded by saying "Let us work together to enable the Church to be the right kind of gatekeeper, not driven by power and control but working to protect the vulnerable and open up the doors of life to those excluded and unjustly treated. For at the end of the day, the Church will get no favours: we will win followers for Christ, not by right, but by loving service and by guarding a challenging gospel where the challenge begins with us."

The full text of the lecture can be read and downloaded here ; the whole text of the Queen's speech is included as a footnote. A podcast of the event is available here.

February Update

EVENTS

Saturday 16th February St Paul’s Institute Value and Values: Ethics in the City 3.30pm (tickets £10) with Sir Tony Baldry - MP for North Oxfordshire; The Right Reverend Dr Peter Selby; Anne Kiem - Chief Executive of the Institute of Financial Services and David Rouch - a partner in a leading City law firm. This event is being held as part of The Bloxham Festival of Faith and Literature see link for details.

Monday 18th February two PEN events:- Making Sense of the Census 2 - 4.30pm, Trinity House, 4 Chapel Court, Borough High Street, London SE1 1HW. Also the PEN lecture - Guardian or Gatekeeper: Faith in the Public Space and the role of the Church given by the Very Reverend Dr David Ison, Dean of St Paul’s 6.30 for 7.00pm St George the Martyr Borough High Street SE1 1JA (opposite Borough tube station) More details and booking pen@theology-centre.org

Tuesday 26th February Cheapside Debate ‘Can We afford immigration?’ 1.05pm at St Mary-le-Bow EC2V 6AU with Prof David Metcalf (LSE) and David Goodhart (DEMOS)

Tuesday 7th March Redbridge Faith Forum Quiz night to celebrate International Women’s Day 2013 6.00 – 8.00pm Ilford Islamic Centre, 54-56 Albert Road, Ilford IG1 1HW To book your tickets (£10 for RFF members £12 non), please contact:
Shamshi or Saira at Redbridge Faith Forum on 020 8708 2478 or email: faith.forum@redbridge.gov.uk  

RESOURCES

The Contextual Theology Centre has added to its resources around money and justice issues a video on how and why to hold a ‘Money Talk’. Watch the video or find out more in the News section of the CTC website (click link above) from where you can download a written guide to holding ‘Money Talks’ – a tool for congregations to engage with the wider community on the impact of the financial crisis locally.

Thought for the Day on January 29th by the Rt Revd James Jones had an environmental theme and highlighted a common thread in Bible and Qur’an. Click the link above to listen to the podcast.

VACANCY

The Three Faiths Forum has a vacancy for a schools officer. They require an experienced individual to join their growing team to: Develop and deliver their education programmes in schools; Develop and facilitate high-quality interfaith and intercultural training; Support a growing cohort of freelance facilitators to deliver their education programmes and oversee strategy for recruiting and retaining Volunteer Speakers for their education programmes. They welcome applications from people of all backgrounds – people with non-religious or religious beliefs. More info and application details.