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Church Times Insert
October 26th 2007
Pdf files of the insert: Additional material
Page 1: Gene Robinson ‘delighted’ to address MCU conference. Proud to be liberal, aware that we’re fallible; If God turns you on but rigid beliefs turn you off the MCU might be just what you’re looking for, Jonathan Clatworthy.
Page 2: The search for a truth that no-one can own, John Saxbee; Who's who in the MCU; Questions can open our minds, Steven Shakespeare.
Page 3: Struggle is on for the Anglican soul - the 2008 MCU Conference; A still, small voice in a global storm, Paul Bagshaw.
Page 4: Converted to Christ - but not often by Christians - Ray Gaston at All Hallows Church, Leeds; A smart church with a radical message - ‘people matter’ - Charles Hedely at St James' Church, Piccadilly, Betsy Grey.
Page 5: Adrian Alker at St Mark's Church, Sheffield - Above the floods but not the fray; ‘Through openness, struggle, laughter and prayer we discover the sacred’ Maggie Butcher at St James' Church, Piccadilly, Betsy Grey.
Page 6: If religion doesn’t want to
be seen as part of the
problem it must work to be
part of the solution, Alan Race; Yes, there are liberal
Christians on campus, Liam Purcell;
Page 7: Strident atheists are the new fundamentalists says Richard Harries; Beware of the Bible: It’s the key to our understanding of Jesus. But he used scripture intelligently and so should we, says Keith Ward; Back with a vengeance, the curse of creationism, Paul Badham.
Page 8: MCU Conferences - Strong views, good friends,and healthy debate, Rosalind Lund; The nocturnal prowl of the professor in striped pyjamas, Joan Dorrell reviews a history of theologocal education at Cuddeson by Mark Chapman.
The full text as a single file is here (.pdf file - 9.7MB)
Betsy Grey,
MCU publications officer and editor of the MCU Church Times insert.
Only Connect:
The MCU stands ready to
contribute a liberal voice to the
mission of God in the world, which is
Biblically based whilst remaining
open to what the Spirit is saying to
our Churches through the
contemporary contexts in which we
live, work, worship and witness.
John Saxbee, Bishop of Lincoln and President of the MCU
Some articles had to be abbreviated for publication, the full accounts are here:
Adrian Alker
As floods of biblical proportions devastated low-lying areas of Sheffield in the summer, parish priest Adrian Alker had every reason to be thankful his house was on a hill. More precisely, on Broomhill, in the area west of the city once famously described by John Betjeman as “the prettiest suburb in England .” ... (Word, .pdf)
Maggie Butcher
Maggie Butcher's brief is to preach the sermon at the eucharist on a typical Sunday morning at St James's, taking as her text the church's mission statement. As it happens she's not impressed with mission statements as a concept, associated as they are with image-making and branding in the commercial world.
“I'm allergic to them,” she admits. ... (Word, .pdf)
Ray Gaston
Just before we meet, Ray Gaston reveals in his church newsletter that he has done his theological profile on the web-based Subversive Christianity ‘blogspot'. This is how he looks:
Catholic 79 per cent, Neo orthodox 71 per cent, Emergent/Postmodern 54 per cent, Evangelical Holiness/Wesleyan 50 per cent , Classical Liberal 39 per cent, Charismatic/Pentecostal 29 per cent, Reformed Evangelical 25 per cent, Modern Liberal 18 per cent, Fundamentalist 0 per cent.
Which is interesting, not to mention a bit depressing, because I thought I was going to meet a modern, liberal, Anglican priest. ... (Word, .pdf)Charles Hedley
When it's time for the notices during the Sunday eucharist at St James's Church, Piccadilly, there's the usual list of parish happenings to report. Tickets for a forthcoming concert are now on sale, proceeds to be shared between Christian Aid and the church restoration fund; volunteers and contributions are needed for the summer bazaar; the patronal festival looms, at which there'll be a bring-and-share lunch in the garden “weather permitting.”
So far, so very Church of England. ... (Word, .pdf)