'Living God’s Future Now’ is our mini online festival of theology, ideas and practice.
We’ve developed this in response to the pandemic and our changing world. The church is changing too, and - as we improvise and experiment - we can learn and support each other.
This is 'Living God’s Future Now’ - talks, workshops and discussion - hosted by
HeartEdge. Created to equip, encourage and energise churches - from leaders to volunteers and enquirers - at the heart and on the edge.
The online programme includes:
- Regular weekly workshops: Biblical Studies (Monday’s fortnightly), Sermon Preparation (Tuesdays) and Community of Practitioners (Wednesdays)
- One-off workshops on topics relevant to lockdown such as ‘Growing online communities’ and ‘Grief, Loss & Remembering’
Find earlier Living God’s Future Now sessions at
https://www.facebook.com/pg/theHeartEdge/videos/?ref=page_internal.
Regular – Weekly or FortnightlyTuesdays: Sermon Preparation Workshop, 16:30 (GMT), livestreamed at
https://www.facebook.com/theHeartEdge/.
Wednesdays: Community of Practitioners workshop, 16:00 (GMT), Zoom meeting. Email
jonathan.evens@smitf.org to register.
Fortnightly on Mondays: Biblical Studies class, 19:30-21:00 (GMT), Zoom meeting. Register in advance:
https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZMrcOmgrTgsHt2ceY7LepLhQYqQxS1G1ix9. 2021 dates - Gospels & Acts:
- 11 Oct: Lecture 19 John's Gospel The Book of Signs 1
- 25 Oct: Lecture 20 John's Gospel The Book of Signs 2
OctoberHeartEdge Youth Conversation: Heritage – Sunday 3 October, 14:00 BST (15:00 CAT), livestream. Livestreamed at
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCm7v53KPweMpx2IPQnvE3tw. Following successful HeartEdge Lent conversations the HeartEdge hub for Southern Africa is holding a second series of conversations in October 2021. These will feature young people from the Cathedral of St Mary the Virgin, Johannesburg. The first topic / theme is Heritage / Culture, September being Heritage month in South Africa. Panel members for this topic will be Fr. Guma, Jason, a member of the diaspora community, and Fr. Richard Carter from St Martin-in-the-Fields.
Autumn Lecture Series – We Have a Dream: The Dream and the Journey, Neil MacGregor, Issam Kourbaj, Ruth Padel and Lucy Winkett. Monday 4 October, 19:00 – 20:30 (GMT). Tickets:
www.smitf.org/lectures. "After the ravages of the pandemic, it’s time for church and society to learn to dream again. Dr Martin Luther King Jr, had a dream of racial equality and social justice. Inspired by his dream, we’re gathering a chorus of dreamers from different walks of life to inform and shape our dreams for the years to come." (Revd Dr Sam Wells) We have a dream, the Autumn Lecture Series at St Martin-in-the-Fields for 2021 brings together an inspirational group of speakers. It invites them to dream again on the vital issues of our nation and planet, after a pandemic that has changed the way we live and relate to one another and the world. Drawing on Martin Luther King Jr’s famous words, we aim in this series to address for today some of the essential choices and needs and hopes facing our precious and yet wounded world. Who are the prophetic voices for our time, and how can the church answer that challenge? How do we respond to the crucial issues reshaping our world like migration and those seeking sanctuary and safety through their journeys? How does racialised justice and ‘Black Lives Matter’ confront our history, our present inequalities and the way we live our future? What is the threat to our planet and the danger of extinction, and what is so crucial at the COP26 Global Summit? What is the place of theatre and the creative arts in the way we learn to understand our world and live our dreams? What is the vision of St Martin’s, at the heart, on the edge, seeking a vision of faith that can find God’s abundance even in scarcity that can inspire people to dream again even in the face of adversity? These lectures will be live, in person, at St Martin-in-the-Fields, and will also be live-streamed online. There will be a chance for questions from the audience, and we hope to gather with the speakers afterwards at a reception. We ask those booking tickets to make a donation of £10 towards the cost of the series, but it is also our aim to make the lectures open to all, so limited free places are available. Those who can give more are invited to pay for a free place for someone else to make sure this programme is available for all.
HeartEdge Spotlight – Suburbia: Thursday 7 October, 14:00-15:30, zoom. Register at
https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/spotlight-suburbia-tickets-174182302957. With Revd Justin Dodd, St Barnabas, Ealing. Interactive walking tour of this suburban location. Our new SpotLight series builds practitioner networks across similar geographical locations. Are you working in a suburban setting? This event is for you. SpotLight is a new HeartEdge initiative seeking to build supportive practitioner networks focusing upon particular geographical locations. SpotLight: suburbia, SpotLight: city centre, SpotLight :rural and SpotLight: coastal are experiments in being with God and sharing experience of using the HeartEdge 4 C’s in distinctive locations. In a 90 minute session on Zoom, one practitioner will tell their story with a livestream walking tour of their location in the first 20 minutes. This practitioner will seek insights from the group on one particular aspect of their mission or ministry relating to their context. Participants will listen and reflect together sharing joys and challenges of their work, and offering their own hard won wisdom. HeartEdge staff specializing in the 4Cs will collaborate too. These SpotLights will take place on a termly basis, each time livestreaming from a different location.
Creation Care Course Week 1: Thursday 7 October, 19:30-21:00, zoom. Register at
https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZAkcu6opz4rEtFamJIs6M2cAlvzTQmJT0a_. This 4-week Creation Care Course is a unique collaboration between Chester Diocese, HeartEdge, Melanesian Mission UK and Southampton University. The environment is God’s gift to everyone. We have a responsibility towards each other to look after God’s Creation. Tackling climate change is a vital part of this responsibility. In a recent address to faith leaders on 4th February, ahead of the Glasgow conference on climate change in November 2021, the Archbishop of Canterbury said: “To think climate change is a problem of the future rather than a scourge of the present is the blind perspective of the privileged. We look around and see that Mozambique has been hit again by tropical storms. In Nigeria, desertification has contributed indirectly to conflict between people competing for dwindling resources. Floods and cyclones have devastated crops in Melanesia, risking poverty and food insecurity.” In this 4-week Creation Care Course, we will provide you with vital information about climate change, its impacts on people, and reflect on our role as Christians in taking practical climate action. In Week 1: Caring for Creation (7 October 2021, 19.30-21.00), we will take a theological perspective on creation care and tackling climate change, using bible studies and a wide range of theological resources. Biography of Principal Contributors: Marie Schlenker is a PhD candidate at the University of Southampton, researching climate change impacts in Solomon Islands. Marie conducts her research in close collaboration with the Anglican Church of Melanesia and the Melanesian Mission UK. She holds a BSc in Geosciences, a MSc in Environmental Physics and a Postgraduate Certificate in Disaster Management. Catherine Duce is the Assistant Vicar for Partnership Development at St Martin-in-the-Fields. She works for HeartEdge – a movement for congregational renewal in the broad church.
https://www.heartedge.org/. There will be further input from members of Melanesian Mission UK and wider organisations promoting church engagement on this vital topic as we journey towards COP 26. To get the most out of this consecutive course, we highly recommend attending all four sessions. However, individual bookings will be possible as well.
Ideas and inspiration for All Souls, Remembrance, Funeral Ministry and times of grieving: Saturday, 9 October 2021, 11:30 – 15:45 BST, Sacred Trinity Church, Chapel Street, Salford M3 5DW. Register at
https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/music-and-liturgy-for-times-of-loss-and-lament-tickets-169429798087. This half day will be perfect for clergy, church musicians and lay leaders to find inspiration for the times when we want to grieve with others. We will be introducing new songs, hymns and chants, giving some tips on liturgy, sharing resources and hearing from one another. This is organised by HeartEdge and will be led by Andrew Earis, Director of Music at St Martin-in-the-Fields and Andy Salmon, North West Coordinator of HeartEdge and Rector of Sacred Trinity. The communal music-making will be supported by the new Manchester HeartEdge Choral Scholars. The day costs £5 and we will supply plenty of tea, coffee and cake but you need to bring your own lunch. Please note that there are very limited parking spaces outside the church but it is a short walk from Manchester Victoria and Salford Central and on many bus routes. There are car parks near by. The day will finish with a public concert of about 40 minutes, which is part of the new Great Sacred Music series run by HeartEdge Manchester.
HeartEdge Youth Conversation: Vaccinations – Sunday 10 October, 14:00 BST (15:00 CAT), livestream. Livestreamed at
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCm7v53KPweMpx2IPQnvE3tw. Following successful HeartEdge Lent conversations the HeartEdge hub for Southern Africa is holding a second series of conversations in October 2021. These will feature young people from the Cathedral of St Mary the Virgin, Johannesburg. The second topic / theme is Vaccinations. Panel members for the vaccination topic will be an already vaccinated young person, a young person reluctant to vaccinate and a medical doctor. In addition, the Revd Catherine Duce, from St Martin-in-the-Fields, will speak about the spiritual aspects of vaccination.
Reconciling Mission: Healing the Earth: Tuesday, 12 October, 14:00 (BST), zoom -
https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/healing-the-earth-reconciling-mission-tickets-139537379057. What contributions can Christians and Anglican Churches make to addressing the global environmental crisis, and what it might mean for us to play a part in healing the earth, instead of exploiting it? Alastair McKay (facilitating), Executive Director, Reconciliation Initiatives, Ali Angus, Leader of Eco Church, St Leonard’s Streatham, Alex Hilton, Head of Sustainability, HM Revenue & Customs, and Rachel Mash, Environmental Coordinator, Anglican Church of Southern Africa.
Commerce event: Wednesday 13 October 2021, 10.00 am - 3.30 pm, at Belle Vue Baptist Church, Southend-on-Sea SS1 2QZ. Lunch included. To book email Nicky Snoad at
nicky.snoad@stbbc.org.uk. A day exploring creatively extending mission and generating finance through commerce, enterprise and hospitality.
Creation Care Course Week 2: Thursday 14 October, 19:30-21:00, zoom. Register at
https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZAkcu6opz4rEtFamJIs6M2cAlvzTQmJT0a_. This 4-week Creation Care Course is a unique collaboration between Chester Diocese, HeartEdge, Melanesian Mission UK and Southampton University. The environment is God’s gift to everyone. We have a responsibility towards each other to look after God’s Creation. Tackling climate change is a vital part of this responsibility. In a recent address to faith leaders on 4th February, ahead of the Glasgow conference on climate change in November 2021, the Archbishop of Canterbury said: “To think climate change is a problem of the future rather than a scourge of the present is the blind perspective of the privileged. We look around and see that Mozambique has been hit again by tropical storms. In Nigeria, desertification has contributed indirectly to conflict between people competing for dwindling resources. Floods and cyclones have devastated crops in Melanesia, risking poverty and food insecurity.” In this 4-week Creation Care Course, we will provide you with vital information about climate change, its impacts on people, and reflect on our role as Christians in taking practical climate action. In Week 2: Understanding Climate Change (14 October 2021, 19.30-21:00), we will look at climate change, its drivers and impacts from a scientific perspective. Biography of Principal Contributors: Marie Schlenker is a PhD candidate at the University of Southampton, researching climate change impacts in Solomon Islands. Marie conducts her research in close collaboration with the Anglican Church of Melanesia and the Melanesian Mission UK. She holds a BSc in Geosciences, a MSc in Environmental Physics and a Postgraduate Certificate in Disaster Management. Catherine Duce is the Assistant Vicar for Partnership Development at St Martin-in-the-Fields. She works for HeartEdge – a movement for congregational renewal in the broad church.
https://www.heartedge.org/. There will be further input from members of Melanesian Mission UK and wider organisations promoting church engagement on this vital topic as we journey towards COP 26. To get the most out of this consecutive course, we highly recommend attending all four sessions. However, individual bookings will be possible as well.
(Still) Calling from the Edge: Saturday 16 October, 10:00-16:30, zoom. Register at
https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/still-calling-from-the-edge-tickets-164001249151. (Still) Calling from the Edge is the 10th annual conference on Disability & Church. It's a partnership between St Martin in the Fields and Inclusive Church, hosted online by HeartEdge. Since 2012 these conferences have held space for disabled people to gather, to resource each other and the church. They are uniquely for rather than about disabled people, who are a majority of planners, speakers and delegates. In this year's conference we explore call as challenge, lament and vocation. Through art, music, story and theology, in plenary talks, small groups, workshops and liturgy. It's a cry for justice that marks a milestone: 10 years of calling from the edge. ''Disabled people have a distinct prophetic ministry to the church. In order for the church to fulfil its prophetic ministry to society, it needs disabled people.” John Hull (Opening the Roof, 2012)
Culture Clinic: Monday 18 October, 11:00-12:00, zoom. Register at
https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/culture-clinic-tickets-165198654623. Culture Clinic is for anyone and everyone looking to develop their church cultural activity. Stuck? Ideas? Check in for 1:1 support. Culture Clinic is the new monthly offer for anyone and everyone looking for support in developing their church cultural engagement - from setting up a gallery space, developing space gigs, hosting comedy or movie nights. The clinic offers 'how to'... helps. Space to share your stories, experience, ideas... Space to find support. Culture vulture - but stuck? Or have ideas to share? Or looking for a fellow conspirator? Why not check into the clinic? Always practical, useful, full of ideas and tactics. The clinic is monthly 1:1 support with Sarah Rogers - HeartEdge Culture Development coordinator.
Autumn Lecture Series – We Have a Dream: The Dream and Racialised Justice, Robert Beckford, Chine McDonald and David Lammy MP. Monday 18 October, 19:00 – 20:30 (GMT). Tickets:
www.smitf.org/lectures. "After the ravages of the pandemic, it’s time for church and society to learn to dream again. Dr Martin Luther King Jr, had a dream of racial equality and social justice. Inspired by his dream, we’re gathering a chorus of dreamers from different walks of life to inform and shape our dreams for the years to come." (Revd Dr Sam Wells) We have a dream, the Autumn Lecture Series at St Martin-in-the-Fields for 2021 brings together an inspirational group of speakers. It invites them to dream again on the vital issues of our nation and planet, after a pandemic that has changed the way we live and relate to one another and the world. Drawing on Martin Luther King Jr’s famous words, we aim in this series to address for today some of the essential choices and needs and hopes facing our precious and yet wounded world. Who are the prophetic voices for our time, and how can the church answer that challenge? How do we respond to the crucial issues reshaping our world like migration and those seeking sanctuary and safety through their journeys? How does racialised justice and ‘Black Lives Matter’ confront our history, our present inequalities and the way we live our future? What is the threat to our planet and the danger of extinction, and what is so crucial at the COP26 Global Summit? What is the place of theatre and the creative arts in the way we learn to understand our world and live our dreams? What is the vision of St Martin’s, at the heart, on the edge, seeking a vision of faith that can find God’s abundance even in scarcity that can inspire people to dream again even in the face of adversity? These lectures will be live, in person, at St Martin-in-the-Fields, and will also be live-streamed online. There will be a chance for questions from the audience, and we hope to gather with the speakers afterwards at a reception. We ask those booking tickets to make a donation of £10 towards the cost of the series, but it is also our aim to make the lectures open to all, so limited free places are available. Those who can give more are invited to pay for a free place for someone else to make sure this programme is available for all.
Fast Futures: Thursday 21 October, 19:00-20:30 (BST), zoom. Register at
https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/fast-foward-tickets-163532577341. Foresight is the ability to think effectively about how the future might be different, so you can prepare for anything, and start to make changes in your own life, in ministry, and in society, for the better. Fast Futures is TryTank’s foresight training and is led by Lorenzo Lebrija. Fast Futures is a 90-minute, introductory-level learning experience that will teach you how to get started with your own creative foresight. This course is for you if: You’re curious about foresight, but don’t know anything about it yet! You want to learn a few habits that can help you spot changes faster, so that you can act faster and adapt faster. You’re excited to stretch your imagination. You want to take away practical skills you can share with others, to help them think faithfully about the future more creatively and optimistically.
Creation Care Course Week 3: Thursday 21 October, 19:30-21:00, zoom. Register at
https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZAkcu6opz4rEtFamJIs6M2cAlvzTQmJT0a_. This 4-week Creation Care Course is a unique collaboration between Chester Diocese, HeartEdge, Melanesian Mission UK and Southampton University. The environment is God’s gift to everyone. We have a responsibility towards each other to look after God’s Creation. Tackling climate change is a vital part of this responsibility. In a recent address to faith leaders on 4th February, ahead of the Glasgow conference on climate change in November 2021, the Archbishop of Canterbury said: “To think climate change is a problem of the future rather than a scourge of the present is the blind perspective of the privileged. We look around and see that Mozambique has been hit again by tropical storms. In Nigeria, desertification has contributed indirectly to conflict between people competing for dwindling resources. Floods and cyclones have devastated crops in Melanesia, risking poverty and food insecurity.” In this 4-week Creation Care Course, we will provide you with vital information about climate change, its impacts on people, and reflect on our role as Christians in taking practical climate action. In Week 3: Living Climate Change – Stories from Melanesia (21 October 2021, 19.30-21.00), we will learn about the effects of climate change on people and draw upon examples of climate impacts and human responses in Melanesia. Biography of Principal Contributors: Marie Schlenker is a PhD candidate at the University of Southampton, researching climate change impacts in Solomon Islands. Marie conducts her research in close collaboration with the Anglican Church of Melanesia and the Melanesian Mission UK. She holds a BSc in Geosciences, a MSc in Environmental Physics and a Postgraduate Certificate in Disaster Management. Catherine Duce is the Assistant Vicar for Partnership Development at St Martin-in-the-Fields. She works for HeartEdge – a movement for congregational renewal in the broad church.
https://www.heartedge.org/. There will be further input from members of Melanesian Mission UK and wider organisations promoting church engagement on this vital topic as we journey towards COP 26. To get the most out of this consecutive course, we highly recommend attending all four sessions. However, individual bookings will be possible as well.
Making UK Connections: Voices of the Pacific – Pacific arts & culture – Thursday 21 October - online 20:00 BST / 7am Pacific Time (22/10), zoom. Register at
https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/making-connections-voices-from-the-indigenous-pacific-tickets-173884562407. A panel of artists and performers talk about Pacific arts and culture plus the impact climate change has had on artist livelihoods in the Pacific. A celebration of Pacific arts and culture in the lead up to COP26, a three-week festival (9-30 October 2021) is being produced by Pacific Island Artists Connection and hosted by the iconic St Martin-in-the-Fields in London's Trafalgar Square. This inaugural event brings together communities from Fiji, Vanuatu, Solomon Islands and Papua New Guinea who are based in the Pacific region as well as in the UK's large Pacific diaspora. The festival is free to enter and includes an art exhibition curated by the talented Sulu Daunivalu (Director, Museum of Pacific & Oceanic Art, Latvia), heritage arts and products, panel discussions, interactive activities and more. Showcasing both heritage and contemporary arts, including a wide variety of visual art that has never been on show before now, the exhibition will take visitors on a journey across the Pacific region whilst highlighting the impact climate change is having on these small island nations and how Pacific communities are fighting back.
Autumn Lecture Series – We Have a Dream: The Dream for Our Planet, Rt Revd Nicholas Holtam, Dr Emily Grossman, Dr Austen Ivereigh. Monday 25 October, 19:00 – 20:30 (GMT). Tickets:
www.smitf.org/lectures. "After the ravages of the pandemic, it’s time for church and society to learn to dream again. Dr Martin Luther King Jr, had a dream of racial equality and social justice. Inspired by his dream, we’re gathering a chorus of dreamers from different walks of life to inform and shape our dreams for the years to come." (Revd Dr Sam Wells) We have a dream, the Autumn Lecture Series at St Martin-in-the-Fields for 2021 brings together an inspirational group of speakers. It invites them to dream again on the vital issues of our nation and planet, after a pandemic that has changed the way we live and relate to one another and the world. Drawing on Martin Luther King Jr’s famous words, we aim in this series to address for today some of the essential choices and needs and hopes facing our precious and yet wounded world. Who are the prophetic voices for our time, and how can the church answer that challenge? How do we respond to the crucial issues reshaping our world like migration and those seeking sanctuary and safety through their journeys? How does racialised justice and ‘Black Lives Matter’ confront our history, our present inequalities and the way we live our future? What is the threat to our planet and the danger of extinction, and what is so crucial at the COP26 Global Summit? What is the place of theatre and the creative arts in the way we learn to understand our world and live our dreams? What is the vision of St Martin’s, at the heart, on the edge, seeking a vision of faith that can find God’s abundance even in scarcity that can inspire people to dream again even in the face of adversity? These lectures will be live, in person, at St Martin-in-the-Fields, and will also be live-streamed online. There will be a chance for questions from the audience, and we hope to gather with the speakers afterwards at a reception. We ask those booking tickets to make a donation of £10 towards the cost of the series, but it is also our aim to make the lectures open to all, so limited free places are available. Those who can give more are invited to pay for a free place for someone else to make sure this programme is available for all.
Making UK Connections: Voices of the Pacific: New solidarity-our faiths – Thursday 28 October – 10:00 BST (9pm Pacific Time), zoom. Register at
https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/making-connections-voices-from-the-indigenous-pacific-tickets-173888614527. A panel of faith and climate mitigation leaders including His Excellency The Most Rev. Dr Peter Loy Chong DD, Archbishop of Suva, discuss what pacific island communities most need from Cop26 and how communities of faith can connect anew to amplify the calls for urgent action. A celebration of Pacific arts and culture in the lead up to COP26, a three-week festival (9-30 October 2021) is being produced by Pacific Island Artists Connection and hosted by the iconic St Martin-in-the-Fields in London's Trafalgar Square. This inaugural event brings together communities from Fiji, Vanuatu, Solomon Islands and Papua New Guinea who are based in the Pacific region as well as in the UK's large Pacific diaspora. The festival is free to enter and includes an art exhibition curated by the talented Sulu Daunivalu (Director, Museum of Pacific & Oceanic Art, Latvia), heritage arts and products, panel discussions, interactive activities and more. Showcasing both heritage and contemporary arts, including a wide variety of visual art that has never been on show before now, the exhibition will take visitors on a journey across the Pacific region whilst highlighting the impact climate change is having on these small island nations and how Pacific communities are fighting back.
See
www.heartedge.org to join HeartEdge and for more information.
Are we missing something? Be in touch with your ideas for development.
Want to run an online workshop or series with HeartEdge? Don't keep it to yourself. Be in touch and let's plan.
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