August Update

If it's August it must be Greenbelt. 

Presence and Engagement did not have a stall this year but that doesn't mean we weren't there. Task Group member, Revd Bonnie Evans Hills, demonstrated Scriptural Reasoning with friends invited by the Coexist Foundation.
An Associate Partner of this year's festival, Coexist sponsored a number of talks and sessions on topics around inter faith relations. Read more about Scriptural Reasoning and the texts considered at Greenbelt 

And in other news..............
Taking advantage of the relative peace an quiet the PEN website has been under going a series of updates. So.....the place to look for NEWS is back on the webpage.

Headlines this month are

• New term New Courses and - loads of excellent talks to inspire and expand your little grey cells
• Update on the Census figures - You can now find figures for your parish via your Diocesan website
• London Boroughs Faiths Network's new home - and an invite to visit
• Launch of Sophia Hubs  
• MP launches Community Noticeboard for Constituents - why not get yours to do the same

EVENTS share the news page(scroll down) but now appear in easy to follow calendars, one for the next month and one for happenings further ahead. Do still check the blog from time to time for events that appear at short notice.

RESOURCES have an added heading - artefacts. At a recent 'Theology on a summer's Evening' session, in a series on Relationships and Marriage, contributions from Jewish and Muslim guest speakers were enlivened by an opportunity to look at a ketubah, demonstration of how a tallit is used for the wedding canopy and samples of wedding service booklets from ceremonies for three or four different faiths. The Croydon Faith Education Resources Library is the only featured resource in this section at present but if you have other suggestions please contact pen@theology-centre.org  

In Our Time

An Exploration of the Dynamic Relationship between Christian Ecumenism and Inter
Religious Dialogue, its opportunities and challenges in the 21st Century

Thursday 12 September 2013, 11.00-16.00 at Heythrop College, 23 Kensington Square, London W8 5HN

Speakers:  

Revd Dr Keith Clements;  
                                  Dr Anthony O’Mahony; 
                                                                 Professor Peter Riddell

The Ecumenical Movement “Oikumene” refers both to the unity of all Christians and also of the reconciliation of the whole created order. Christians are called to pray for unity, and work so that the prayer of Jesus might be fulfilled “that they may be one”. However, with some of the enthusiasm for Christian unity dimmed and with some theologians speaking of “an ecumenical winter”, there has been some suggestion that the ecumenical endeavour has moved on and inter religious dialogue has become the fresh urgency. This thinking, however, may be misplaced. Inter religious dialogue, far from replacing ecumenism, is in fact a dynamic expression of the ecumenical movement that seeks not only the unity of all Christians but the reconciliation of all creation to God.
In this day conference we shall be exploring this theme in greater depth. In particular we will consider the following questions:

• What is distinctive about Christian ecumenism and why does it matter?
• What does inter religious dialogue tell us about Christian (ecumenical) self-identity?
• How does current Christian thinking develop and resource itself in a context that is both religiously plural and ecumenical?
• How ecumenical approaches relate to bi-lateral dialogues between denominations and faiths.

For further information or to register your attendance, please contact Revd Peter Colwell peter.colwell@ctbi.org.uk 

Ramadan, Eid and Looking Ahead

Although the Holy month of Ramadan ended a week ago it's not too late to celebrate the festival of Eid, which marks its completion.

Saturday 17th August in Trafalgar Square 13.30 - 18.00 with food from a variety of Muslim cultures and a full on stage programme courtesy of the London Mayor.
Full details here

The Archbishop of Canterbury, the Most Reverend Justin Welby, issued his first message of Eid Greeting to Muslim communities on 7th August, describing the work of building Christian Muslim friendships as "joyful". The full text is on his website here

Meanwhile Professor Adam Dinham, Director of the Faiths and Civil Society Unit at Goldsmith's College, London, considers the possible effects of Ramadan coinciding with the Higher Education exam season for the next four years and whether and how academic institutions should respond. Full article here