BCDD Annual lecture - Richard McCallum on Evangelicals responding to Muslims

April Update

NEWS

If you missed the ‘Making Sense of the Census’ seminar check the previous PEN blog for key points and links.
The Christian Interfaith Practice in Action CIPA has cancelled its annual conference which was to be next month.

EVENTS
Wednesday 15th May 6.05pm JustShare welcomes Will Crouch, co-founder and President of 80,000 Hours to discuss “Professional Philanthropy: How to save thousands of Lies without leaving the City at St Mary le Bow, Cheapside, EC2V 6AU Registeror email justshare@stmarylebow.org.uk  

Tuesday 21st May 6.30-8pm Embrace the Middle East annual lecture Christians and Politics in Egypt The Transformation of a nation: an Egyptian perspective, by His Grace Bishop Thomas – El Qussia & Mair Coptic Diocese, Upper Egypt at St James’s Church, Piccadilly all welcome but please pre register via www.embrace.org/lecture  or phone 01494 897950

RESOURCES
Catriona Robertson has 15 years of experience working with local faith and community groups and recently presented at the Faith Based Regeneration AGM on “knowing your patch”. Her blog sitegives examples of her work. Also, a social audit checklist, the hand out from the AGM, is available via PEN or direct from Catriona. She is available to train those wanting to undertake their own audit and is happy to discuss paid or pro bono work at no obligation. Email or Telephone 07903 682 142

The Contextual Theology Centre has created 'Money Talks', a resource to help churches listen and respond to the impact of the current economic situation on their local community. Money Talks are a simple facilitated conversation which gather testimony, find potential leaders and identify the issues that people have a passion to work on. David Barclay is available to (or help others to) hold a Money Talk in individual churches contact him at davidb@theology-centre.org  or Telephone 020 7780 1600 Also see the Money Talk download on the CTC website

The Church Urban Fund has announced some new pieces of research; a Guide to Welfare Reforms 2010-2017 and It all adds up: the cumulative impact of welfare reform both can be downloaded from the research pageof their website.

The Christian Muslim Forum added an interesting discussion starter to its website recently, Inter faith for the cautious and their Director, Julian Bond, contributed to the Tablet blog with Can Christians and Muslims Pray Together
 
ADVANCE NOTICE
The Council for Christians and Jews is running its annual 10 day seminar at Yad Vashem, Jerusalem from 28th October to 7th November 2013 contact Fiona Hulbertfor details.

Making Sense of the Census

Earlier in 2013 PEN hosted an afternoon around the 2011 census data; what it does and doesn't tell us and what to do with the information. We are very grateful to Louise McFerran from the Church of England's Research and Statistics Department who gave of her time and experise. For those who weren't able to attend here are the key points:-

• Understanding the community we serve is key to ministry and mission; it requires a mixture of observation and background research.


• Headline statistics can be found on the Church of England website (this link opens on the page with a download of provisional parish figures).

• The dip in those identifying as Christian is not as large as it was feared it might be. There is a significant increase in ‘no religion’.

• When looking at  the stats remember that Parish and Deanery boundaries are rarely coterminous with eg Borough Wards so ‘mind the boundaries’

• The Church of England is producing parish profiles for every Parish giving census information feedback and they will be creating some Deanery profiles too. Diocesan headlines are available on request.
• Longer term the national Presence and Engagement website will have a postcode tool to look at faiths breakdown integrated with the CUF poverty indicators tool.

• Other handy sources -  Tear Fund Inside out course  and the Contextual Theology Centre has produced a resource for parishes called ‘Mercy, Justice and Evangelism’ which enables congregations to engage with some of the issues raised by the census material. Please note this is a draft document and we would like feed back from parishes that use the resource so as to improve it. Email pen@theology-centre.org or telephone 0020 7780 1600 xtn 3 and speak to Susanne Mitchell



 

The Good Death

The Open Forum initiative launched by St Barnabas church in Dulwich last autumn aims to bring together people in the area from different churches, other faith communities and people with no religious affiliation to discuss topics of common interest, taking a different overall theme each year.The theme of the first series of meetings is Wellbeing, Health and Wholeness.

The next meeting will be at 8.00 pm on Thursday 18 April. The topic will be The Good Death. Baroness Julia Neuberger DBE, is the Senior Rabbi of the West London Synagogue and a former Chief Executive of the King’s Fund, a health ‘think tank’. She is also a well-known broadcaster and author. She will be speaking about some of the themes in her most recent book, Is That All There Is ?, including ‘what will be our legacy – our mark on the world?’ She will help us explore the significance that a good death can mean for living well - and that a full life can contribute to a good death. In addition, Canon Vernon White, Canon Theologian of Westminster Abbey, will offer some reflections on the concept of an after-life, drawing on his series of lectures on this subject at the Abbey in the spring of 2012.

Everyone will be most welcome at the meeting. St Barnabas church is in Calton Avenue, SE21 7DG.

   

PEN would be pleased to hear of (and publicise) similar events in other areas of Greater London.

March Update

REMINDER.......Wednesday 13th March Just Share Panel Discussion at St James Piccadily 6.30pm part of the Enough Food for Everyone IF Ruth Valerio, Jo Stead, Andrew Emmott & Esther Hougee deVet discuss food justice.

By the way this (11th - 17th March)  is Islam Awareness Week

EVENTS........
Thursday 14th March  Faith in Five Minutes 11.30 - 1.30, St Martin's Community Centre Abbots Park Road, Tulse Hill SW2 3PW. Could you present your faith in five minutes? Come and  hear five speakers from five faiths show how its done; or may be think about organising something similar in your neck of the woods? Thanks for the invite (which includes lunch)from Faiths Together in Lambeth. Contact Saleha 07939126653 or Ruhamah 07857120676 to book.
Wednesday 20th March  Islington Faith Forum 9.30 - 3.30, Islington Town Hall, Best Practice and Networking Conference: Mental Health and Poverty Details or Programme  or Register
Monday 25th March St Bride's Fleet Street EC4Y 8AU 6.30pm Syria: A Personal Response a unique opportunity to hear what is happening from three people whose work takes them there. Tickets (Including drinks reception) are £10 in aid of Hand in Hand for Syria. Enquiries 020 7932 1141 book

NEWSThe PEN Lecture  is now available as a podcast see earlier blog for transcript
The Awarenss Foundation has new premises at Lodge House, 69 Beaufort Street London SW3 5AH Tel 020 7352 4446The University of Bristol's Centre for the Study of Ethnicity and Citizenship recently published research in to Muslim Participation in Contemporary Governance  In May the department is launching a new on-line oublic forum for the discussion and dissemination of research nto faith and public policy . Look out for http://publicspirit.org.uk going live or email info@publicspirit.org.uk for more details/join the mailing list.

TRAINING
Conflict and Change  based in Newham, have announced latest training dates - 19th & 20th March  for the Mediation Course and 26th & 27th March  for the Introduction to Facilitiation Skills. Use the link above to visit their website, contact Tanya or Zakir on 020 8552 2050 or training@conflictandchange.co.uk

ADVANCE NOTICE

If you can't get to the Mental health event this month then Essex Mind and Spirit (EMS) is holding a Conference to Explore the Faith/spirituality contribution to Mental Health Service in Chelmsford Cathedral on Wednesday 24th April contact the Secretary of EMS Sidra Naeem essex.mindandspirit@yahoo.com or see details on the booking site
As the weather warms up ??!? the walking season is almost upon us. To celebrate it's 40th birthday the Religious Education Council is organising a series of sponsored walks; 11th May in Brent, 17th May in Spitalfields use the link to visit their website or email sponsoredwalk@religiouseducationcouncil.org.uk for information.
Even further ahead the Westminster InterFaith's Multifaith Pilgrimage for Peace takes place this year on Saturday 8th June. This their 28th annual walk takes place in Hertfordshire with transport to the start by coach for £12. Bookings are requested by Sunday 24th March  via Jon Dal Din:  075 2775 8729 / 020 7228 2795 or jondaldin@rcdow.org.uk 

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.