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And click here for an eye-catching page
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by Hugh Gibbons:
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Over 120 people from dozens of church communities across the county attended the 2009 Forum of Churches Together in Berkshire at Abbey School, Reading, on Saturday 28th March.
The Forum was arranged by Honor Alleyne, Ecumenical Officer of CT Berkshire, and chaired by The Right Reverend Stephen Cottrell, Bishop of Reading, whose closing thoughts reflected the view of everyone that the day had been a remarkably successful and worthwhile.
“Justice, Mercy and Humility” was the theme of the day. So it was appropriate that the Forum started with a powerful keynote address from Dame Anne Owers, HM Chief Inspector of Prisons and Chair of Christian Aid.
In the morning and afternoon, local and national expert speakers led delegates in discussion and action workshops on a wide range of topics, including Restorative Justice, Spirituality in the Orthodox Church, Developing and Growing a Healthy Church, Medical Ethics, Update on Asylum Issues, Israel & Palestine, Mission Accompaniment, What Is Man, The Personal and the Global, and Holy Week in Seville.
There was also a Big Sing workshop – extended at lunchtime to many attending.
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Bishop Stephen Cottrell and the
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Some points from Dame Anne Owers' keynote talk
"Outsiders
– people on the margins of society”. This is a common thread linking
justice, mercy and humility with those in UK prisons and immigration
centres, and in the deprived communities of the world helped by Christian
Aid and other humanitarian agencies.
Outsiders are seen
as difficult or challenging – whether prophets, offenders, or simply the
deprived. But it’s important that we understand what they find difficult
about society or our way of life – and that what we do makes a real
difference not only to them, but inside our own communities too.
Prisons are good
mirrors of our society, reflecting what’s happening – or not – outside. So
we need to shine a light on what’s going on. The government’s focus is on
locking up more people. To make a real difference they should be spending
more time thinking about why people end up in jail. A high proportion of
offenders have a history of being in care, truanting, mental health
problems, and – increasingly – alcoholism.
The asylum system
also has problems. Many people working in detention centres do a remarkably
fine job, given that this is seen as difficult and stressful. But the
system tends to dehumanise, and people remote from the realities of the
centres often see individuals simply as case files or targets. And for many
immigrants, being released is not necessarily good news. It brings
uncertainty as they struggle to understand and cope with our society, which
can be unforgiving and increasingly unwilling to take risks. Our humanitarian aid agencies – which operate by funding local partnerships and projects – work to relieve the effects of poverty on millions of people marginalized within their own country and community. We need to increase awareness of their needs, and to provide help that is both lasting and makes a real difference to real people in real situations.
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Big Sing shows Berkshire's Got Talent!
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Affirmation: Amen?
Amen!
"Our affirmation uses a phrase I borrowed from the theologian Marcus Borg, who is thinking about the biblical concept of shalom - that is, a full-rounded wellbeing for all that he calls the ideal Dream of God. It goes something like this: you have been glad to be here today - Amen? Amen! So let us stand to make our affirmation of God's Dream for Humanity."
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WORDS ABOUT THE WORKSHOPS
Dr Hopkins - author, researcher, mediator and ex secondary teacher - is founding Director of Transforming Conflict, National Centre for Restorative Justice in Youth Settings, an organisation that, since 1994, has been offering training, consultancy and resources to educational and residential settings all over the UK and internationally. The workshop will be interactive, lively and thought provoking; participants will experience Circle Process, as well as discussing the benefits and challenges of working restoratively in schools and residential settings.
A WHOLLY DIFFERENT HOLY WEEK Hugh has many interests, including CAFOD and StandUps Against Poverty. The workshop will share his very visual experience of Holy Week in the city of Seville and a small town nearby, and offer opportunities for reflection and discussion.
MISSION ACCOMPANIMENT Janice is Secretary of Global Mission Network of Churches Together in Britain and Ireland. In these times when churches are constantly facing the need to develop and change, this workshop will address the issue of how change happens - and particularly the value of an informed outsider in such processes.
ORTHODOX SPIRITUALITY Bede is currently Ecumenical Officer for Oxfordshire. He is a Reader in the Orthodox Church and worships in the Church of the Holy Trinity and the Annunciation in Oxford. The workshop will look at spirituality in the Orthodox Church from a lay aspect. It will consider daily life, worship and reading and particularly look at the use of icons in worship and the reading of scripture.
HOW TO DEVELOP AND GROW A HEALTHY CHURCH Richard is Founder and Chairman of “Affirming Liberalism” and has a doctorate in Christian Ministry. His previous posts included Head of Religious Studies and Senior Chaplain at Wellington College, Crowthorne, Chaplain to Wycombe Abbey School in High Wycombe, Chaplain in the Royal Army Chaplains’ Department, and Parish Priest in London. Following the Healthy Church Handbook model for church growth, this seminar will explain how this proven and simple model for church health – and hence growth – can be adapted to benefit any congregation (whether large, medium or small), and of any churchmanship, (whether Liberal, Catholic or Evangelical).
ASYLUM ISSUES - AN UPDATE John has been appointed by the Department of Social Responsibility, Diocese of Guildford, to work as a honorary member of staff with refugees and asylum seekers. He is a retired Anglican priest. The workshop will include input from two Iranian brothers who escaped after torture from Iran; one now a Senior Research Fellow of the University of Surrey; the other after 5 years is still awaiting resolution of his asylum application by the Home Office. They will recount their experiences and reflect on them with members of the group.
MEDICAL ETHICS
led by The Right Reverend Dr Lee
Rayfield Before ordination Dr Rayfield taught and researched as an immunologist in London University Medical Schools. He has been very involved in recent years in thinking through theological and ethical responses to issues related to advances in medicine, especially genetics and embryology. Medical ethics is a very broad topic so Dr Rayfield will be focussing on issues associated with assisted-reproduction. There will be some choice in what we cover but potential areas include pre-implantation genetic diagnosis, Saviour siblings and the Church’s engagement with controversial technologies. It will be more seminar style than workshop.
ISRAEL/PALESTINE Gill Swain is a freelance journalist, writing features for national newspapers and magazines and a ghost writer of autobiographies. She also does human rights work and in 2007 spent three months in the West Bank working for the Ecumenical Accompaniment Programme in Palestine and Israel. The workshop will include a talk, illustrated with pictures about her time in the West Bank which describes life there under the Israeli military occupation and therefore gives the wider context behind recent events. There will also be opportunity for questions and discussions.
WHAT IS MAN? led by Reverend Richard Holroyd Richard has interests in art and music and has facilitated a number of Arts Projects with the people of St Luke’s Maidenhead. “What is Man?” is an exploration of issues of disposability, the fragility of our condition, and the mountains of rubbish we generate. The workshop will include the opportunity to create a “rubbish” art work from re-cyclable materials.
BIG SING In addition to the lunchtime Big Sing open to everyone, this workshop - only in the afternoon. Alison is a member of the Iona Community and was resource worker with the Wild Goose Resource Group - a project of the Iona Community which enables and equips congregations in shaping new and relevant worship and liturgy. The Big Sing workshop will focus on the Forum themes – Justice, Mercy and Humility.
THE PERSONAL AND THE GLOBAL The workshop focus will be on helping people to see how they may acquire vision to live at peace with humanity and with nature. Brother Samuel is the visionary behind the Hilfield Project – a project for peace, the environment and reconciliation.
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This page was written and designed by Hugh Gibbons of Just1 as a helping
hand to Churches Together in Berkshire. Hugh took the pictures, so if
you have any queries about these, just
get in touch. If
you have any questions about the Forum in general, contact the CT Berkshire
Ecumenical Officer, Mrs Honor Alleyne
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