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: 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’
Regular – Weekly
- Tuesdays: 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.
Autumn Lecture Series – We Have a Dream: We are Such Stuff as Dreams are Made on: Theatre and the Imagination, Nicholas Hytner. Monday 1 November, 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.
Replanting our Communities: Friday 5 November, 14:00-15:30 GMT, Zoom. Register at https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/replanting-our-communities-tickets-195752169007. What would our communities look like if we worked with ecology rather than in competition with it? If we helped in small and large ways to grow locally, naturally and organically we could see a thriving eco. system that would transform the atmosphere, increase well being and multiply the beauty and sustainability in and for our communities. Let’s dream together and see what’s possible, from the smallest planted seed to the largest tree, let's grow together and see our communities transformed. The event will be facilitated by Simon Thomas who is director and founder of the City to City Network (www.citytocity.org) which is a catalyst for conversation, innovation and transformation to inspire individuals and organisations to help re-shape cities. Simon is a Co- Founder of Habitat for Humanity Homes UK, a housing charity that works with individual and corporate volunteers, to build and renovate homes, nationally and internationally. He runs a low cost eco. housing company with two partners to provide housing solutions for those on low income 18-35 and has recently helped start a retreat farm with an organic ecological emphasis to help re- think elements of small scale farming. He lives in inner city Peckham and lives in a self-build house which is part community with his wife Paula. With participation from: Andy Atkins - CEO of A Rocha UK - Andy has been described as ‘one of the leading environmentalists’. He most recently led Friends of The Earth. Andy previously worked with Catholic international development charities CAFOD and Progressio, then set up Tearfund’s policy and campaigns work. He was a founder of the 2005 Make Poverty History campaign. Deborah Colvin- Deborah began life as a farmer and agricultural scientist in Australia. She has worked in education for many years as a teacher and school leader, and in curriculum development and community engagement. Deborah is energised by action at the nexus of faith, environment, and science, and is currently Churchwarden at St James's Piccadilly, a Gold Award Eco Church.
Theology Reading Group: Sunday 7 November, 20:00 (GMT). Register at https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/theology-reading-group-tickets-167228640365. The St Martin-in-the-Fields and HeartEdge Theology Reading Group meets termly to discuss a book together. For this next session we will be exploring and discussing Thomas Merton's The Seven Storey Mountain with Revd Dr Sam Wells, St Martin-in-the-Fields congregation and HeartEdge partners. The Seven Storey Mountain tells the story of Merton's search for faith and peace in a world which first fascinated and then appalled him. It is written with the profound insight of a man who has seen himself clearly.
Autumn Lecture Series – We Have a Dream: A Dream for a New Social Order, Sam Wells and Liz Adekunle. Monday 15 November, 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.
Communion and Community: The Pandemic’s Refining Fire - HeartEdge/CEEP Transatlantic conversation – Tuesday 16 November, 20:00 GMT, zoom. Register at https://www.eventbrite.com/e/communion-and-community-the-pandemics-refining-fire-tickets-198653015517. It was in its most bewildered hour that Israel in exile found who God truly was. The pandemic has been our chance to discover what God being with us really means. None of us would for a moment have wished this crisis on anybody, let alone the whole world. But our faith teaches us that we only get to see resurrection through crucifixion; that we see God most clearly in our darkest hour. So, what have we discovered? What have we learnt? In particular, our gathering online for worship and community. What has our experience of virtual church revealed theologically and pastorally about communion in all its many and varied forms. How we do communion well online and how do we understand what we are doing online theologically? Panelists include: Sally Hitchiner - Associate, Vicar for Ministry, St. Martin-in-the-Fields; London; Andrew McGowan - Dean, Berkeley Divinity School at Yale; New Haven, Connecticut; Winnie Varghese - Rector, St Luke’s Atlanta; Sam Wells - Vicar, St. Martin-in-the-Fields; London; Manoj Mathew Zacharia - Rector St Ann’s Annapolis, Maryland.
Creation Care Course Week 4: Thursday 18 November, 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 4: Taking Action – Caring for the Environment, Caring for People (18 November 2021, 19.30-21.00), we will hear about various options for climate change mitigation and adaptation that we can take as individuals, as parishes and as a Christian community. 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.
Culture Clinic: Monday 22 November, 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.
Inspired to Follow Advent Course: The Four Last Things – Friday 26 November, 16:30-17:30 GMT, Zoom. Register at https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/inspired-to-follow-advent-course-the-four-last-things-tickets-197923122387. Inspired to Follow: Art and the Bible Story uses fine art paintings from the National Gallery, along with Biblical stories, theological reflection and conversation with others, as a way to explore big questions that we all wrestle with. All are welcome. As part of our Advent preparations, this new programme of hour-long gatherings on Zoom explores the Four Last Things – death, judgement, heaven and hell:
- 26 November Death - Mark 15:33-45 / ‘The Lamentation over the Dead Christ’ Rembrandt
- 3 December Judgement - Revelation 12:7-17 / ‘Saint Michael’ Carlo Crivelli
- 10 December Heaven - Revelation 21:1-5, 9-11, 22-27, 22:1-5 / ‘Christ Glorified in the Court of Heaven; central predella panel’ probably by Fra Angelico
- 17 December Hell - Luke 16:19-30 / ‘The Rich Man being led to Hell’ David Teniers the Younger
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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Delirious? - Deeper.
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