Living God's Future Now - w/c 5 September 2021

'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 focal event in ‘Living God’s Future Now’ is a monthly conversation where Sam Wells explores what it means to improvise on God’s kingdom with a leading theologian or practitioner.

The online programme includes:

• Regular weekly workshops: Biblical Studies (Mondays 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’
• Monthly HeartEdge dialogue featuring Sam Wells in conversation with a noted theologian or practitioner

Find earlier Living God’s Future Now sessions at https://www.facebook.com/pg/theHeartEdge/videos/?ref=page_internal.

This Week

Biblical Studies class, Monday 6 September, 19:30-21:00, Zoom meeting. Register in advance: https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZMrcOmgrTgsHt2ceY7LepLhQYqQxS1G1ix9.  Gospels & Acts: Lecture 17 The what, why and where of the Fourth Gospel. With Rev Simon Woodman, Minister, Bloomsbury Central Baptist Church.

Sermon Preparation Workshop, Tuesday 7 September, 16:30 (BST), livestream. Join here https://www.facebook.com/theHeartEdge. Discussion of preaching and the lectionary readings for the coming Sunday with Sam Wells and Sally Hitchiner. 

Community of Practitioners workshop, Wednesday 8 September, 16:00 (BST), Zoom. Email jonathan.evens@smitf.org to register. A gathering for church leaders, lay and ordained, with opportunities for reflection on experience and theology.

Living God's Future Now conversation – Ben Quash: Thursday 9 September, 18:00 – 19:00 BST. Register for a Zoom invite at https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/myevent?eid=162702913795. At 6.00 pm (GMT) on Thursday 13 May 2021, Sam Wells and Ben Quash will be in conversation to discuss how to improvise on the kingdom. Ben Quash is fascinated by how the arts can renew people’s engagement with the Bible and Christian tradition, and is directing a major 7-year project to create an online Visual Commentary on Scripture.

Called to the Feast art workshop: Friday 10 September, 16:30-18:00, zoom. Register at https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/called-to-the-feast-art-workshop-tickets-164816778421. This pre-conference workshop for (Still) Calling from the Edge, the 10th annual conference on disability and Church in partnership between St Martin-in-the-Fields and Inclusive Church, will help create an exhibition of images and words for an inclusive Last Supper.

Theology Group: Sunday 12 September, 19:00 (BST). Register at https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/theology-group-tickets-167228024523. A monthly opportunity to reflect on issues of today and questions of tomorrow together with Sam Wells. 

Check out

Recordings from our Mission Summer School and also Telling Encounters: Stories of Disability, Faith, Church & God 2020 are now available.

The Mission Summer School was a week aimed at practitioners wanting to engage more deeply with the theology of mission and explore how it relates to their own practice. Also for those already studying, providing an opportunity to be immersed in the theology and practice of mission. Register at https://bit.ly/3sTjSYT for the opportunity to access recordings from the Mission Summer School (£10 fee).

Telling Encounters: Stories of Disability, Faith, Church and God was our 9th annual conference on disability & church in partnership between St Martin in the Fields & Inclusive Church. Recordings of sessions from the conference can be viewed here.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Telling Encounters - Path Through the Woods.

Mission Summer School recordings

The Mission Summer School was a week aimed at practitioners wanting to engage more deeply with the theology of mission and explore how it relates to their own practice. Also for those already studying, providing an opportunity to be immersed in the theology and practice of mission.

Register at https://bit.ly/3sTjSYT for the opportunity to access recordings from the Mission Summer School (£10 fee).

Participants said:

• “Thank you so much for such a rich and brilliantly put together Summer School. It is so helpful and opening of the mind that when we finish I am not sure where to begin!!”
• "Each passing day has been richer than the last."
• "Rich insights and stories that challenged and enlightened."
• "All Theology Colleges should include training like this for all students."
• "To learn in a multi national / future way brings a breadth and depth that you do not always get in theological college."

The Summer School was structured around the 4 Cs of Commerce, Culture, Congregation and Compassion from the book ‘A Future Bigger than the Past’ by Sam Wells. Each morning Sam taught on each of those areas providing the framework for the day. Participants encountered churches/groups/organisations with a particular focus on the day’s theme. This included viewing activities, meeting people involved, hearing testimonies from the work, and engaging with some of the challenges and complexities involved.

Each evening we invited people to be part of a conversation about the theme of the day. We opened-up these conversations about practice and theology to include participants in discussion.

The Mission Summer School came from a partnership between HeartEdge and St Augustine’s College of Theology which provides in-depth and experiential engagement with the theology and practice of mission.

Register at https://bit.ly/3sTjSYT for the opportunity to access recordings from the Mission Summer School (£10 fee).

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Wovenhand - Good Shepherd.

The mission of Being With

Here's the reflection I shared in tonight's Bread for the World service at St Martin-in-the-Fields:

The Mission Summer School is a new initiative from HeartEdge and St Augustine's College of Theology exploring mission using the 4 Cs of commerce, culture, compassion and congregation and enabling a deeper engagement with the theology of mission by exploring how it relates to participant’s own practice.

Each morning of the Summer School we are using this passage (Luke 10.1-12) for our sessions of Dwelling in the Word. With Dwelling in the Word we stay with the same passage throughout our time together on the basis that we can always go deeper into the passage and that our shared reflection, inspired by God's Spirit, will always bring new insights.

The passage we have chosen is one which in the church traditions among which I grew up was used as a rallying cry for mission, a call to go forth and tell the good news because the harvest is plentiful, but the labourers are few. The challenge was always for you or I to swell the ranks of those scarce labourers by sharing the gospel with others, whether here or overseas.

I now think that the emphasis such appeals placing on telling the good news to others is an example of the way in which we often overlay our preconceptions on Bible passages and see what we expect to see instead of paying attention to what is actually there. There isn't actually a lot of telling in Jesus' instructions to his disciples, instead there is a whole heap of being with.

So, let's journey with the disciples for a moment through the directions that Jesus gives for their mission. First we should note that he asks them to travel lightly taking nothing unnecessary with them, not being distracted by small talk along the way, welcoming hospitality when they receive it but simply moving on to the next place and the next person whenever they were not made welcome. So, no distractions, just a clear focus on their task.

By sitting light to possessions and by accepting hospitality as it was offered to them they also imposed as little as possible on the people, villages and areas through which they travelled. In our society, since the advent of the Industrial Revolution, we have done anything but. Our footprint has been heavy on our world as we have exploited its resources for our own gain and we are only now beginning to realise the consequences. So, for ourselves, we will do well to reflect deeply on powerful slogans, such as ‘live simply that others might simply live’ and ‘touch the earth lightly,’ which challenge us about the footprint we leave on the earth and its inhabitants.

Travelling light didn’t mean travelling alone. Jesus sent his disciples out in pairs. 'By travelling together we bear one another’s burdens, share joys, and lighten the load of our journey.' Jesus’ expectation was also clearly that his disciples would find open doors and receive hospitality in many of the places to which they travelled. So, Jesus envisaged an evolving mission where they would knock on doors and enter wherever those doors were opened to them.

A key aspect of this approach was to find people of peace in the places to which they travelled. He asked this of his disciples in a context of hostility and challenge where they would be going out like lambs among wolves and yet, among the wolves, he was confident that they would find people of peace. Jesus also calls us to look outside our group or congregation to find people of peace within wider society. He calls us to do this however fractured or secular our communities may be because he is confident that such people can always be found. Ultimately, that is because God is always at work through the Spirit in the world and our task is to see where that is happening in our communities and networks and get involved.

In my previous parish in East London we found allies in those who were lobbying for improved facilities in the local area and those who were interested in setting up green businesses. Through those relationships we brought a library back to the area and step-free access to a local station but also drew new groups into hiring and use of the church centre and set up a social enterprise support service in that same centre. Finding people of peace in our area and joining with them brought much benefit to our church and the wider community.

What Jesus asked next of his disciples was that they spend time being with the people of peace they found, including sharing meals with them. Here at St Martin's, we have much experience of being with others in this way through our Sunday International Group which offers hospitality to those who have no recourse to public funds. In the International Group people are either hosts or guests but the distinction becomes increasingly blurred with guests becoming hosts as both groups come to know each other and as hosts receive insights from and understanding of those who have come as guests. At St Martin's many of those who first came as guests to the Sunday International Group have become treasured members of our community, congregation, Nazareth Community, PCC, volunteers and staff team. We have been renewed, revived, challenged and changed by their presence with us. It has truly been a case of renewal from the edge. The basis for this has been sharing a meal together.

When he introduces the concept of being with, Sam, our Vicar, often uses the example of a soup kitchen where all the time and effort goes into preparing the meal to the extent that those doing so never sit and eat with those for whom the meal is prepared. That ignores the deep need that each of us have for connection and the extent to which shared meals, being signs of heaven, enable us to live God's future now.

When we experience a depth of relationship over a shared meal not only are relationships deepened but misunderstandings and hurts can be healed, and a greater sense of integration and wellbeing can come into existence. That is why Jesus can then, in this passage, speak of healing occurring at this stage in his missional process. In thinking about healing it is vital to remember that, in the society of which Jesus was part, healing was the route to inclusion for many who had been excluded from the social and spiritual life of his society. It is that focus on inclusion and integration as the source of wellbeing that we need to mirror and emulate today, rather than notions of supernatural healing or cure.

When all this has happened - the recognition of people of peace, the being with people of peace, the sharing of meals, the welcome and integration of all - then we have something to say. What can then be said is that the kingdom of God has come near. That in our relationships, sharing and mutuality we have experienced together a taste of heaven. That is not something that we have brought or that is about something only we can offer to others. Instead, it is about real communion, a real sharing, a mutual sharing of selves that is welcoming and inclusive one of the other. In heaven there is only relationship with God, with ourselves, with one another and with the whole creation. It is only as we enter into real and deepening relationships with those who are other than ourselves that we anticipate heaven in the present and live God's future now.

All the talk in my past experience, of church of going forth to tell good news to others who were in need of the news that only I could bring to then if they were to be saved and go to heaven only served to obscure the relational mission to which Jesus called his disciples when sending out the 70 and to which he calls each one of us.

It's not a guilt inducing call that makes the salvation of others reliant on our response. It's a relationship affirming call to live in community, to form partnerships, to deepen relationships, to experience communion, and to live God's future now. As Rachel Held Evans once said, “This is what God's kingdom is like: a bunch of outcasts and oddballs gathered at a table, not because they are rich or worthy or good, but because they are hungry, because they said yes. And there's always room for more.” 

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The Brilliance - See The Love.

Living God's Future Now - w/c 11 July 2021

'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 focal event in ‘Living God’s Future Now’ is a monthly conversation where Sam Wells explores what it means to improvise on God’s kingdom with a leading theologian or practitioner.

The online programme includes:

• Regular weekly workshops: Biblical Studies (Mondays 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’
• Monthly HeartEdge dialogue featuring Sam Wells in conversation with a noted theologian or practitioner

Find earlier Living God’s Future Now sessions at https://www.facebook.com/pg/theHeartEdge/videos/?ref=page_internal.

Regular – Weekly or Fortnightly

Tuesdays: Sermon Preparation Workshop, 16:30 (GMT), livestreamed at https://www.facebook.com/theHeartEdge/. Please note there will be no Sermon Preparation workshop on Tuesday 6 April.

Wednesdays: Community of Practitioners workshop, 16:30 (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.

• 12 Jul: Lecture 13 Parables and The Kingdom of God
• 26 Jul: Lecture 14 Parables and The Kingdom of God

Monday-Friday

Mission Support School – HeartEdge and St Augustine’s College of Theology
Zoom
Monday 12 July- Friday 16 July
Register here.
If you have enjoyed the HeartEdge programming this last year and want to get a hands-on feel for how it works out in practice this summer school is for you. There will be mix of teaching and conversation with leading scholars and practitioners including Dupe Adefala, James Butler, Andrea Campanale, Revd Heather Cracknell, Professor Maggi Dawn, Revd Jonathan Evens, Rev Richard Frazer, Shannon Hopkins, Revd James Hughesdon, Zaza Lima, The Ven. Rosemarie Mallett, Professor Anthony Reddie, Dr Cathy Ross, Rachel Summers, Revd Dr Sam Wells, and Revd Erica Wooff, among others. There will also be a number of examples from American International Church, Bloomsbury Central Baptist Church, Forest Church, Notre Dame de France, Sacred Space Kingston, St Barnabas Ealing, St John’s Waterloo, St Martin-in-the-Fields, St Paul’s Marylebone, and The Table Southall, among others.

Monday

Biblical Studies class Zoom
Monday 12 July
Register here.
Lecture for all levels, with handouts and plenary session at the end. Lecture 13: Parables and The Kingdom of God.

Tuesday

Sermon Prep Sally Hitchiner and Sam Wells
Livestream
Tuesday 13 July, 16:30 (GMT)
Live streamed on the HeartEdge Facebook page here.
Discussion of preaching and the lectionary readings for the coming Sunday with Sam Wells and Sally Hitchiner.

Wednesday

Church-Related Community Work - Tactics, Ideas and Approaches
Zoom
Wednesday 14 July, 15:30-17:00 (GMT)
Register here
What is church related community work, how is it vital for your church in a post-pandemic world - and how do you deepen your community work? For HeartEdge, church related community work is an essential part of Christian living - it's what we do! And church related community work is even more significant in a post-pandemic world. How do we deepen your community work? What are the skills and tactics - the approaches that deepen church in community? And what makes it so essential? Join a collective of experienced church-related community workers, for stories, ideas, tactics and encouragement.

Community of Practitioners
Zoom
Wednesday 14 July, 16:00 (GMT)
Email Jonathan Evens at jonathan.evens@smitf.org to take part.
This is open to all, including ordinands and lay leaders. Church leaders join in community, share and reflect together on their recent experiences in the form of wonderings with one of the HeartEdge team and book discussions.

Don't miss ...

New (G)race podcast with Azariah France-Williams, Winnie Varghese plus singer, songwriter, activist Samantha Lindo on faith, climate emergency & activism.

Singer and activist Sam Lindo joins Azariah and Winnie to talk God, race, and finding home. "I spent my whole school trying to minimise my difference..." This episode Sam talks connecting faith to activism, getting arrested and ending up in court. "I was asked to move, and I didn’t… I got to proclaim that truth… Speaking to power literally was the path my faith had led me on… " Stories and inspiration - including tips on cheeky, playful, non-violent resistance... and a song!

Listen at https://anchor.fm/heartedge/episodes/6-Speaking-truth-to-power-was-the-path-my-faith-led-me-on-Sam-Lindo-e144a5tx.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The Weather Station - Precious Angel.

Living God's Future Now - w/c 4 July 2021

'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 focal event in ‘Living God’s Future Now’ is a monthly conversation where Sam Wells explores what it means to improvise on God’s kingdom with a leading theologian or practitioner.

The online programme includes:

Regular weekly workshops: Biblical Studies (Mondays 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’
Monthly HeartEdge dialogue featuring Sam Wells in conversation with a noted theologian or practitionerFind earlier Living God’s Future Now sessions at https://www.facebook.com/pg/theHeartEdge/videos/?ref=page_internal.

Regular – Weekly or Fortnightly

Tuesdays: Sermon Preparation Workshop, 16:30 (GMT), livestreamed at https://www.facebook.com/theHeartEdge/. Please note there will be no Sermon Preparation workshop on Tuesday 6 April.

Wednesdays: Community of Practitioners workshop, 16:30 (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.

12 Jul: Lecture 13 Parables and The Kingdom of God
26 Jul: Lecture 14 Parables and The Kingdom of God

W/c 4 July 2021

Sunday

God’s Unfailing Word
Zoom
Sunday 04 July, 19:00 (GMT)
Register here.
The final conversation in a three-part series of conversations on the nature of Christian-Jewish relations in the 21st century. With Rabbi Daniel Epstein (Western Marble Arch Synagogue) and Revd Dr Sam Wells (St Martin-in-the-Fields). Based on the recently (2019) published God’s Unfailing Word (https://www.churchofengland.org/sites/default/files/2019-11/godsunfailingwordweb.pdf).

Tuesday

Sermon Prep Sally Hitchiner and Sam Wells
Livestream
Tuesday 06 July, 16:30 (GMT)
Live streamed on the HeartEdge Facebook page here.
Discussion of preaching and the lectionary readings for the coming Sunday with Sam Wells and Sally Hitchiner.

Art in Worship
Facebook premiere
Tuesday 06 July, 19:00 (GMT)
On the HeartEdge Facebook page here.
A lecture by Jonathan Evens exploring approaches to and understanding of the relationship between art and faith. This lecture highlights different facets to this relationship from the fourth century to the present demonstrating ways in which the intimate linkage which exists between the visual arts and Christianity was forged and sustained. Within this story, he explores the sacramental nature of art in worship over the years.

Wednesday

Community of Practitioners
Zoom
Wednesday 07 July, 16:00 (GMT)
Email Jonathan Evens here to take part.
This is open to all, including ordinands and lay leaders. Church leaders join in community, share and reflect together on their recent experiences in the form of wonderings with one of the HeartEdge team and book discussions.

Thursday

Creation Care Course
Zoom
Thursday 08 July, 4.00-5.30 pm (GMT)
Register here.
The environment is God’s gift to everyone. 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. Week 4: Caring for the Environment, Caring for People (8th July 2021, 16:00-17:30), 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.

Living God’s Future Now conversation – Anthony Reddie
Zoom
Thursday 08 July, 6.00pm (GMT)
Register here.
The focal event in 'Living God's future now' is a monthly conversation in which Sam Wells explores what it means to improvise on God’s kingdom with a leading theologian or practitioner.Sam Wells and Anthony Reddie will be in conversation to discuss how to improvise on the kingdom. Dr Anthony Reddie is Director of the Oxford Centre for Religion and Culture. His main research interests lie at the intersection of Black liberation theology and Practical theology. His more recent books Include Theologising Brexit: A Liberationist and Postcolonial Critique (Routledge, 2010), and the republished 'Is God Colour Blind?' Insights from Black Theology for Christian faith and Ministry (SPCK, 2020) and Intercultural Preaching [co-edited with Seidel Abel Boargenes and Pamela Searle], (Regent’s Park College, 2021).

Miranda Threlfall-Holmes and Sam Wells | How to Eat Bread
Zoom
Thursday 08 July, 8-9.00pm (GMT)
Register here.
Launching her new book ''How to Eat Bread - 21 Nourishing Ways to Read the Bible', Miranda Threlfall Holmes joins Sam Wells for some lively conversation on 21 nourishing ways to read the bible.

Last Chance

Mission Summer School - 12 – 16 July 2021
Zoom
12-16 July 2021
For more details and to reg click here
An opportunity to engage more deeply with the theology of mission and to explore how it relates to your own practice.Input structured around the four Cs of Commerce, Culture, Congregation and Compassion. A mix of teaching and conversation with leading scholars and practitioners including the Revd Dr Sam Wells, Professor Anthony Reddie, Dr Cathy Ross, and Revd Heather Cracknell, among others. Workshops to engage with the themes and issues presented. Encounters with churches, organisations and projects (HeartEdge and Fresh Expressions) to get a hands-on feel for how it works out in practice.

For more information please have a look at this video of Sam Wells telling us more, here.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Low - Knockin' On Heaven's Door.

Mission Summer School

 

Mission Summer School

12 - 16 July 2021

Engage more deeply with the theology of mission and explore how it relates to your own practice.

Register at https://bit.ly/3pHkwWE

Programme

• Input structured around the four Cs of Commerce, Culture, Congregation and Compassion.
• A mix of teaching and conversation with leading scholars and practitioners including Dupe Adefala, James Butler, Andrea Campanale, Revd Heather Cracknell, Professor Maggi Dawn, Revd Jonathan Evens, Rev Richard Frazer, Shannon Hopkins, Revd James Hughesdon, Zaza Lima, The Ven. Rosemarie Mallett, Professor Anthony Reddie, Dr Cathy Ross, Rachel Summers, Revd Dr Sam Wells, and Revd Erica Wooff, among others.
• Workshops to engage with the themes and issues presented.
• Encounters with churches, organisations and projects (HeartEdge and Fresh Expressions) to get a hands-on feel for how it works out in practice including: American International Church, Bloomsbury Central Baptist Church, Forest Church, Notre Dame de France, Sacred Space Kingston, St Barnabas Ealing, St John’s Waterloo, St Martin-in-the-Fields, St Paul’s Marylebone, and The Table Southall, among others.

A week aimed at practitioners wanting to engage more deeply with the theology of mission and explore how it relates to their own practice. Also for those already studying providing an opportunity to be immersed in the theology and practice of mission.

Structured around the four Cs of Commerce, Culture, Congregation and Compassion from the book ‘A Future Bigger than the Past’ by Sam Wells, each morning Sam will teach on each of those areas providing the framework for the day. Participants will encounter churches/groups/organisations with a particular focus on the day’s theme. This might include viewing activities, meeting people involved, hearing testimonies from the work, and engaging with some of the challenges and complexities involved.

Each evening we will invite to people to be part of a conversation about the theme of the day. We will open-up these conversations about practice and theology to include participants in discussion. The evening programme is also offered as a stand-alone strand for those unable to join the main summer school.

The mission summer school comes from partnership between HeartEdge and St Augustine’s College which provides in-depth and experiential engagement with the theology and practice of mission.

Covid restrictions

Due to current Covid restrictions the week will be delivered online.

Registration

£70 – Mission summer school (Monday – Thursday, 9.30am-12.30pm, a variety of afternoon tasks taking a couple of hours, 7.30pm-9.00pm, and Friday, 9.30am-4.00pm).

£10 – Evening programme only (Monday – Thursday, 7.30pm-9.00pm).

Register at https://bit.ly/3pHkwWE.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Al Green - Love & Happiness.

Living God's Future Now - w/c 27 June 2021

 

'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 focal event in ‘Living God’s Future Now’ is a monthly conversation where Sam Wells explores what it means to improvise on God’s kingdom with a leading theologian or practitioner.

The online programme includes:

• Regular weekly workshops: Biblical Studies (Mondays 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’
• Monthly HeartEdge dialogue featuring Sam Wells in conversation with a noted theologian or practitioner

Find earlier Living God’s Future Now sessions at https://www.facebook.com/pg/theHeartEdge/videos/?ref=page_internal.

Regular – Weekly or Fortnightly

Tuesdays: Sermon Preparation Workshop, 16:30 (GMT), livestreamed at https://www.facebook.com/theHeartEdge/. Please note there will be no Sermon Preparation workshop on Tuesday 6 April.

Wednesdays: Community of Practitioners workshop, 16:30 (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.

W/c 27 June 2021

Sunday

Theology Group - Sunday 27 June, 19:00 (BST), Zoom. Register at https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/theology-group-tickets-155515644479. The St Martin-in-the-Fields and HeartEdge Theology Group provides a monthly opportunity to reflect theologically on issues of today and questions of forever with Sam Wells. This month Wendy Quill of the St Martin' PCC will be chair and be asking questions about Jesus, racism and anti-racism.

Tuesday

Sermon Preparation Workshop: Tuesday 29 June, 16:30 (BST), livestreamed at https://www.facebook.com/theHeartEdge. Discussion of preaching and the lectionary readings for the coming Sunday with Sam Wells and Sally Hitchiner.

Wednesday

Community of Practitioners workshop: Wednesday 30 June, 16:00 (BST), Zoom meeting. Email jonathan.evens@smitf.org to register. A gathering for church leaders, lay and ordained, with opportunities for reflection on experience and theology.

Thursday

Creation Care Course - Week 3: Living Climate Change – Stories from Melanesia: Thursday 01 July, 16:30-18:00 BST, Zoom. Register at https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/4-week-creation-care-course-tickets-145829458837?fbclid=IwAR0GX9eziBXIu-maafuP_nAMtoHRdbBthqoV9J-PI83mpQ_Yq46SftYMfb4. The environment is God’s gift to everyone. 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. Week 3: Living Climate Change – Stories from Melanesia, we will learn about the effects of climate change on people and draw upon examples of climate impacts and human responses in Melanesia.

Coming Up

Mission Summer School: 12 - 16 July 2021

Engage more deeply with the theology of mission and explore how it relates to your own practice.

Register at https://bit.ly/3pHkwWE

Programme

• Input structured around the four Cs of Commerce, Culture, Congregation and Compassion.
• A mix of teaching and conversation with leading scholars and practitioners including Dupe Adefala, James Butler, Andrea Campanale, Revd Heather Cracknell, Professor Maggi Dawn, Revd Jonathan Evens, Rev Richard Frazer, Shannon Hopkins, Revd James Hughesdon, Zaza Lima, The Ven. Rosemarie Mallett, Professor Anthony Reddie, Dr Cathy Ross, Rachel Summers, Revd Dr Sam Wells, and Revd Erica Wooff, among others.
• Workshops to engage with the themes and issues presented.
• Encounters with churches, organisations and projects (HeartEdge and Fresh Expressions) to get a hands-on feel for how it works out in practice including: American International Church, Bloomsbury Central Baptist Church, Forest Church, Notre Dame de France, Sacred Space Kingston, St Barnabas Ealing, St John’s Waterloo, St Martin-in-the-Fields, St Paul’s Marylebone, and The Table Southall, among others.

A week aimed at practitioners wanting to engage more deeply with the theology of mission and explore how it relates to their own practice. Also for those already studying providing an opportunity to be immersed in the theology and practice of mission.

Structured around the four Cs of Commerce, Culture, Congregation and Compassion from the book ‘A Future Bigger than the Past’ by Sam Wells, each morning Sam will teach on each of those areas providing the framework for the day. Participants will encounter churches/groups/organisations with a particular focus on the day’s theme. This might include viewing activities, meeting people involved, hearing testimonies from the work, and engaging with some of the challenges and complexities involved.

Each evening we will invite to people to be part of a conversation about the theme of the day. We will open-up these conversations about practice and theology to include participants in discussion. The evening programme is also offered as a stand-alone strand for those unable to join the main summer school.

The mission summer school comes from partnership between HeartEdge and St Augustine’s College which provides in-depth and experiential engagement with the theology and practice of mission.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Linda Perhacs - Winds Of The Sky.

Living God's Future Now - July 2021

 

'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 focal event in ‘Living God’s Future Now’ is a monthly conversation where Sam Wells explores what it means to improvise on God’s kingdom with a leading theologian or practitioner.

The online programme includes:

• Regular weekly workshops: Biblical Studies (Mondays 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’
• Monthly HeartEdge dialogue featuring Sam Wells in conversation with a noted theologian or practitioner

Find earlier Living God’s Future Now sessions at https://www.facebook.com/pg/theHeartEdge/videos/?ref=page_internal.

Regular – Weekly or Fortnightly

Tuesdays: Sermon Preparation Workshop, 16:30 (GMT), livestreamed at https://www.facebook.com/theHeartEdge/. Please note there will be no Sermon Preparation workshop on Tuesday 6 April.

Wednesdays: Community of Practitioners workshop, 16:30 (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:

• 12 Jul: Lecture 13 Parables and The Kingdom of God
• 26 Jul: Lecture 14 Parables and The Kingdom of God
• 9 Aug: Lecture 15 The Quest of the Historical Jesus
• 23 Aug: Lecture 16 Christological Titles in the Synoptic Gospels

July

Creation Care Course: Thursday 1 July, 16:00-17:30 BST, zoom- https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/4-week-creation-care-course-tickets-145829458837?fbclid=IwAR0GX9eziBXIu-maafuP_nAMtoHRdbBthqoV9J-PI83mpQ_Yq46SftYMfb4. 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. Week 3: Living Climate Change – Stories from Melanesia (1st July 2021, 16:00-17:30), we will learn about the effects of climate change on people and draw upon examples of climate impacts and human responses in Melanesia.

God’s Unfailing Word: Sunday 4 July, 19:00 (BST), zoom. Register at https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/gods-unfailing-word-tickets-154549695299. A three-part series of conversations on the nature of Christian-Jewish relations in the 21st century. With Rabbi Daniel Epstein (Western Marble Arch Synagogue) and Revd Dr Sam Wells (St Martin-in-the-Fields). Based on the recently (2019) published God’s Unfailing Word (https://www.churchofengland.org/sites/default/files/2019-11/godsunfailingwordweb.pdf).

Art in Worship: Tuesday 6 July, 19:00 (BST), facebook premiere at https://www.facebook.com/theHeartEdge. A lecture by Jonathan Evens exploring approaches to and understanding of the relationship between art and faith. This lecture highlights different facets to this relationship from the fourth century to the present demonstrating ways in which the intimate linkage which exists between the visual arts and Christianity was forged and sustained. Within this story, he explores the sacramental nature of art in worship over the years.

Creation Care Course: Thursday 8 July, 16:00-17:30 BST, zoom- https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/4-week-creation-care-course-tickets-145829458837?fbclid=IwAR0GX9eziBXIu-maafuP_nAMtoHRdbBthqoV9J-PI83mpQ_Yq46SftYMfb4. 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. Week 4: Taking Action – Caring for the Environment, Caring for People, 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.

Living God’s Future Now conversation – Anthony Reddie: Thursday 8 July, 6.00 pm, Zoom. Register at https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/living-gods-future-now-conversation-anthony-reddie-tickets-154141971787. ‘Living God’s Future Now’ describes a series of online seminars, discussions and presentations hosted by HeartEdge. They are designed to equip, encourage and energise church leaders, laypeople and enquirers alike, in areas such as preaching, growing a church, shifting online, deepening spirituality in a congregation and responding to social need. The focal event in 'Living God's future now' is a monthly conversation in which Sam Wells explores what it means to improvise on God’s kingdom with a leading theologian or practitioner. Earlier conversations have included Walter Brueggemann, John McKnight, Chine McDonald, +Rachel Treweek, Stanley Hauerwas, Barbara Brown Taylor, Kelly Brown Douglas, Steve Chalke, and Presiding Bishop Michael Curry, among others. At 6.10 pm (GMT) on Thursday 8 July 2021, Sam Wells and Anthony Reddie will be in conversation to discuss how to improvise on the kingdom. Dr Anthony Reddie is Director of the Oxford Centre for Religion and Culture. His main research interests lie at the intersection of Black liberation theology and Practical theology. His scholarly work has focused on developing a Participative model of Black theology that seeks to impact on the consciousness of ordinary Black people, particularly, those living in inner city, poor communities in Britain. His more recent books Include Theologising Brexit: A Liberationist and Postcolonial Critique (Routledge, 2010), and the republished Is God Colour? Insights from Black Theology for Christian faith and Ministry (SPCK, 2020) and Intercultural Preaching [co-edited with Seidel Abel Boargenes and Pamela Searle], (Regent’s Park College, 2021).

Miranda Threlfall-Holmes and Sam Wells | How to Eat Bread: Thursday 8 July, 20:00-21:30 (BST), zoom. Register at https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/miranda-threlfall-holmes-and-sam-wells-how-to-eat-bread-tickets-160452611079. Launching her new book ''How to Eat Bread - 21 Nourishing Ways to Read the Bible', Miranda Threlfall Holmes joins Sam Wells for some lively conversation on 21 nourishing ways to read the bible. Join in the discussion via this live event on Zoom. 'How to Eat Bread' - available here.

Mission Summer School: 12 – 16 July 2021

An opportunity to engage more deeply with the theology of mission and to explore how it relates to your own practice. Input structured around the four Cs of Commerce, Culture, Congregation and Compassion. A mix of teaching and conversation with leading scholars and practitioners including Andrea Campanale, Revd Heather Cracknell, Revd James Hughesdon, Professor Anthony Reddie, Dr Cathy Ross, Rachel Summers, Revd Dr Sam Wells, and Revd Erica Wooff, among others. Workshops to engage with the themes and issues presented. Encounters with churches, organisations and projects (HeartEdge and Fresh Expressions) to get a hands-on feel for how it works out in practice including: American International Church, Bloomsbury Central Baptist Church, Forest Church, Notre Dame de France, Sacred Space Kingston, St John’s Waterloo, St Martin-in-the-Fields, St Paul’s Marylebone, and The Table Southall, among others. A week aimed at practitioners wanting to engage more deeply with the theology of mission and explore how it relates to their own practice. Also for those already studying providing an opportunity to be immersed in the theology and practice of mission.

Register at https://bit.ly/3pHkwWE.

Church-related community work - tactics, ideas and approaches: Wednesday 14 July, 15:30-17:00 (BST), zoom. Register at https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/church-related-community-work-tactics-ideas-and-approaches-tickets-160596373075. What is church related community work, how is it vital for your church in a post-pandemic world - and how do you deepen your community work? For HeartEdge, church related community work is an essential part of Christian living - it's what we do! And church related community work is even more significant in a post-pandemic world. How do we deepen your community work? What are the skills and tactics - the approaches that deepen church in community? And what makes it so essential? Join a collective of experienced church-related community workers, for stories, ideas, tactics and encouragement.

Reconciling Mission: Building Bridges across Europe: Tuesday, 20 July, 14:00 (GMT), Zoom. Register at https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/building-bridges-across-europe-tickets-155781728343. The viral pandemic has provoked an increase in tensions between nations, and a stronger focus on defending national interests. Within the UK, this has been exacerbated by the country’s exit from the European Union. In this webinar, we will explore how Christians might contribute to overcoming current tensions by building bridges across some of the boundaries within Europe. Participants: Alastair McKay is director of Reconciliation Initiatives, and delivers learning and development programmes for Anglican church leaders in Britain and Ireland. Brother Matthew is part of the Taizé Community in France, helps with the formation of new brothers, and has travelled in Russia, Estonia, Latvia and Sweden. Cornelia Kulawik is a pastor in Berlin-Dahlem, who is on the board of the Community of the Cross of Nails, Germany. John Witcombe is the Dean of Coventry, who carries responsibility for the overall leadership of the Cathedral’s ministry both locally and internationally. Robert Innes is the Bishop of Gibraltar in Europe, with pastoral care of Anglican congregations in 42 countries across Europe, plus Russia, Morocco, and Turkey.

How to Try: Design Thinking and Church Innovation – Tuesday 20 July, 19:00 BST, zoom. Register at https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/how-to-try-design-thinking-church-innovation-tickets-161061243515. What if tried and true methods from the corporate world could raise your ministry’s probability of success by a considerable margin? Lorenzo Lebrija, director of TryTank, a lab for church growth and innovation, has developed a straightforward framework for experiments in new ministry based on research and interviews. With only three steps, this framework can have a lasting impact on any church that uses it. You can even start innovating today, using this specific and actionable process within your church community. Scripture is full of examples encouraging us to try new works in the name of God. This book gives the exact tools and templates for how to do just that, and to find God in the failures as well as the successes. Lorenzo will be in conversation with Jonathan Evens and Andy Turner.

Reimaging church spaces: Thursday 22 July, 19:00 (BST), zoom. Register at https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/reimagining-church-spaces-tickets-160327595153. What are the implications of the HeartEdge 4 Cs for church buildings? How can our buildings be used as places of worship, a resource for community development, spaces for cultural expression, and sites for commercial enterprises? What place should concepts such as ‘Living Heritage’ and ‘Heritage for All’ play in thinking about the use of church buildings? With input from Phillip Dawson, Consultant for Fraser Brown Mackenna Architects (https://www.fbmarchitects.com/about-us/people/), Kathryn Harris of Nick Cox Architects (https://www.nickcoxarchitects.co.uk/kathryn-harris), and Nigel Walter, founding director of Archangel (https://www.archangelarchitects.co.uk/spirit/nigel-walter/). Phillip is a member of the HeartEdge Steering Group and an ordinand at St Augustine’s College of Theology. Kathryn is Cathedral Architect for Birmingham Cathedral, the Church Architect for St Martin-in-the-Fields, and sits on the London Diocese Advisory Committee. Nigel is a Specialist Conservation Architect, member of the Church Buildings Council, has set up the Church Build website (http://www.churchbuildingprojects.co.uk/) and is co-author of ‘Buildings for Mission’ (Canterbury Press 2015).

Jesus Is Just Alright: A Rock Agape – Friday 23 July, 16:30 BST, zoom. Register at https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/jesus-is-just-alright-tickets-161194792965. We will aim to further demonstrate the potential for use of pop music in mission and ministry by extending the series and offering an experimental rock Agape in Zoom. The Agape meal is a Christian fellowship meal recalling the meals Jesus shared with disciples during his ministry and expressing the koinonia (community, sharing, fellowship) enjoyed by the family of Christ. It is not the same as Holy Communion or the Eucharist. Please have bread and wine with you when you join the Zoom room for this Agape meal.

August

Theology Group: Sunday, 8 August 2021, 19:00 – 20:00 BST, zoom - https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/theology-group-tickets-155516023613?aff=erelpanelorg. The St Martin-in-the-Fields and HeartEdge Theology Group provides a monthly opportunity to reflect theologically on issues of today and questions of forever with Sam Wells. Each month Sam responds to questions from a member of the congregation of St Martin-in-the-Fields who also chairs the session and encourages your comments and questions.

St Martin-in-the-Fields and HeartEdge Theology Reading Group: Sunday 15 August, 19:00 (BST), zoom - https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/theology-reading-group-tickets-155516364633. Explore and discuss Dante’s The Divine Comedy with Revd Dr Sam Wells, St-Martin-in-the-Fields congregation and HeartEdge partners. Join this journey through Inferno, Purgatorio, and Paradiso - the greatest single work of Western literature – ending in this session with the Paradiso.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Deacon Blue - Riding On The Tide Of Love.

Mission Summer School

12 - 16 July 2021

Engage more deeply with the theology of mission and explore how it relates to your own practice.

Register at https://bit.ly/3pHkwWE

Programme

• Input structured around the four Cs of Commerce, Culture, Congregation and Compassion.
• A mix of teaching and conversation with leading scholars and practitioners including Dupe Adefala, James Butler, Andrea Campanale, Revd Heather Cracknell, Professor Maggi Dawn, Revd Jonathan Evens, Rev Richard Frazer, Shannon Hopkins, Revd James Hughesdon, Zaza Lima, The Ven. Rosemarie Mallett, Professor Anthony Reddie, Dr Cathy Ross, Rachel Summers, Revd Dr Sam Wells, and Revd Erica Wooff, among others.
• Workshops to engage with the themes and issues presented.
• Encounters with churches, organisations and projects (HeartEdge and Fresh Expressions) to get a hands-on feel for how it works out in practice including: American International Church, Bloomsbury Central Baptist Church, Forest Church, Notre Dame de France, Sacred Space Kingston, St Barnabas Ealing, St John’s Waterloo, St Martin-in-the-Fields, St Paul’s Marylebone, and The Table Southall, among others.

A week aimed at practitioners wanting to engage more deeply with the theology of mission and explore how it relates to their own practice. Also for those already studying providing an opportunity to be immersed in the theology and practice of mission.

Structured around the four Cs of Commerce, Culture, Congregation and Compassion from the book ‘A Future Bigger than the Past’ by Sam Wells, each morning Sam will teach on each of those areas providing the framework for the day. Participants will encounter churches/groups/organisations with a particular focus on the day’s theme. This might include viewing activities, meeting people involved, hearing testimonies from the work, and engaging with some of the challenges and complexities involved.

Each evening we will invite to people to be part of a conversation about the theme of the day. We will open-up these conversations about practice and theology to include participants in discussion. The evening programme is also offered as a stand-alone strand for those unable to join the main summer school.

The mission summer school comes from partnership between HeartEdge and St Augustine’s College which provides in-depth and experiential engagement with the theology and practice of mission.

Covid restrictions

Due to current Covid restrictions the week will be delivered online.

Registration

£70 – Mission summer school (Monday – Thursday, 9.30am-12.30pm, a variety of afternoon tasks taking a couple of hours, 7.30pm-9.00pm, and Friday, 9.30am-4.00pm).

£10 – Evening programme only (Monday – Thursday, 7.30pm-9.00pm).

Register at https://bit.ly/3pHkwWE.

Living God's Future Now - w/c 18 April 2021

'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 focal event in ‘Living God’s Future Now’ is a monthly conversation where Sam Wells explores what it means to improvise on God’s kingdom with a leading theologian or practitioner.

The online programme includes:

• Regular weekly workshops: Biblical Studies (Mondays - 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’
• Monthly HeartEdge dialogue featuring Sam Wells in conversation with a noted theologian or practitioner

W/c 18 April 2021

Sunday

St Martin-in-the-Fields and HeartEdge Theology Reading Group
Zoom
Sunday 18 April, 18:00-19:00 (BST)
Register here.
Explore and discuss Dante’s The Divine Comedy with Revd Dr Sam Wells, St-Martin-in-the-Fields congregation and HeartEdge partners. Join this journey through Inferno, Purgatorio, and Paradiso - the greatest single work of Western literature – beginning in this session with the Inferno.

Monday

Building for the Future: A Zoom conference to consider strategies for churches and church buildings
Zoom
Monday 19 April, 15:00 – 16:30 (BST)
Register by emailing mission@urc.org.uk with ‘Building for the Future’ in the subject line.
During the pandemic churches have questioned the ways in which our buildings play a part, for better or for worse, in God’s mission and in local communities and neighbourhoods. General Secretary, John Bradbury, of the URC will give a keynote address and HeartEdge will share about support in the use of your building. An opportunity for conversation and a listening exercise to hear the questions that you have, the challenges that particular churches face, and positive ideas and news.

Tuesday

Sermon Prep Sally Hitchiner and Sam Wells
Livestream
Tuesday 20 April 16:30 -17:30 BST
Live streamed on the HeartEdge Facebook page here.
A live preaching workshop focusing on the forthcoming Sunday's lectionary readings in the light of current events and sharing of thoughts on approaches to the passages.

Wednesday

Community of Practitioners workshop
Zoom
Wednesday 21 April 16:00-17:00 BST
Email Ben Sheridan here to take part. This is open to all, including ordinands and lay leaders. Church leaders join in community, share and reflect together on their recent experiences in the form of wonderings with one of the HeartEdge team.

Thursday

Book Launch: Wizards, Muggle Crust and the Human Purpose of Business
Zoom
Thursday 22 April, 19:00 (BST)
Reg here
In our lifetimes the purpose of business is being reformed. But on the human and social side purpose of business our language is lacking (argues Douglas Board). Douglas will draw on his book ‘Elites: can you rise to the top without losing your soul?’ to propose that the human purpose of business is to create places (organisations, systems, communities) of extraordinary achievement in which ordinary lives matter. In this HeartEdge workshop Douglas will explore these issues with Jo Hill, Monisha Shah, Professor David Grayson CBE, Richard Goold and Revd Dr Sam Wells.

Sunday

Theology Group
Zoom
Sunday, 25 April 2021, 18:00 – 19:00 (BST)
Reg here 
The St Martin-in-the-Fields and HeartEdge Theology Group provides a monthly opportunity to reflect theologically on issues of today and questions of forever with Sam Wells. Each month Sam responds to questions from a member of the congregation of St Martin-in-the-Fields who also chairs the session and encourages your comments and questions.

Coming Up

Mission Summer School - 12 – 16 July 2021
Zoom
12-16 July 2021
For more details and to reg click here
An opportunity to engage more deeply with the theology of mission and to explore how it relates to your own practice.Input structured around the four Cs of Commerce, Culture, Congregation and Compassion. A mix of teaching and conversation with leading scholars and practitioners including the Revd Dr Sam Wells, Professor Anthony Reddie, Dr Cathy Ross, and Revd Heather Cracknell, among others. Workshops to engage with the themes and issues presented. Encounters with churches, organisations and projects (HeartEdge and Fresh Expressions) to get a hands-on feel for how it works out in practice.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Nick Cave & Warren Ellis - Lavender Fields.