What's On

This calendar lists events by SoF or other organisations where the focus is on exploring progressive or non-traditional approaches to religion and interfaith dialogue. Please email  the webmaster  if you would like to suggest other events that should be listed here.

Sea Of Faith Activities


Sea of Faith National Conference 2017

Tuesday 25th July to Thursday 27th July 2017, Leicester University

"BEING HUMAN"

Speakers: Abby Day, Dilwar Hussain and Richy Thompson

Can our feelings of compassion, empathy, ethics, mortality, survive in the face of the increasing and seemingly dehumanising pressures and demands of the IT age?

Click on this link for further details and booking form


Sea Of Faith Local Groups

Alton Group

The Alton Group is part of the Hampshire Hub which runs local meetings jointly with 'pcn britain'.

click this link for details of the next Alton Group meeting.

See Hampshire Groups below.

Convenor: John Stubbington
01420 562722
john.stubbington@btinternet.com

"At the last two meetings, we have been venturing slightly outside the more normal Sea of Faith topics for discussion, and John has led us expertly through some of the current potential difficulties, dangers - not to mention horrors - of what appears to be a cyber war. And, helpfully, a few of the actions we can take to remain at least fairly safe in this uncertain world."


Birmingham Group

Convenor: David Belcher
01902 750903
david.lambourn@blueyonder.co.uk
0121 242 3953

All meetings will be on the third Thursday of each month, with evening meetings (7.30p.m.) on even numbered months and lunchtime meetings (mid-day) on the odd numbered months.

"Our next meeting has been left clear of any topic - the general election results will obtrude, whatever topic we might otherwise have decided upon!"

For more information, contact David Lambourn.


Cambridge Group

For details of future meetings, contact Andrew Brown

Contact details:

Revd Andrew Brown

http://andrewjbrown.blogspot.com/

Minister
Memorial Church (Unitarian)
Emmanuel Road
Cambridge
CB1 1JW
01223 576952
07950 184421

http://www.cambridgeunitarian.org/


Croydon Group

At our meeting on 26 April the group (minus Pat and Bennie) held a lively discussion of the first chapter of Shirley du Boulay's book 'A Silent Melody'.

Our next meeting will be on Monday 22 May at Colin Edgerton's house (Pastones, Outwood Lane, Chipstead) at the usual time of 10.15 am when we will be discussing Chapters 2 and 3 of our study book (Pages 18 to 46) entitled 'The Still Centre' and 'Cauldron of Spiritualities'.

Provisional dates for subsequent meetings are Tuesday 20 June at Bennie's house;
Wednesday 26 July at Bryn's house;
August Summer Lunch (date to be decided) hosted by Ann and Marcus.

For details and addresses of our meetings, please contact Colin Edgerton

Email Colin for more details: colin.edgerton@ntlworld.com

A past meeting at Julian and Ann's home in South Croydon, was a fascinating report on their 'Tanzania Development Trust' charity. Do have a look:

http://www.tanzdevtrust.org/home


Hampshire Group - Hampshire Hub

The A27 Book Club has concluded its discussion of Lloyd Geering's 'Reimagining God' (Polebridge 2014). We have not yet decided on a new title for the next academic year. In the meantime we shall be looking at some of the chapters in Roland Ashby's 'A Faith to Live By' (DLT 2012) that we did not cover in 2014/5.

Four of us greatly enjoyed the London Conference on 25 March and are looking forward to hearing Salley Vickers in person in Winchester on 24 May, 12.30 (St Lawrence Church, The Square, Winchester).

The Southsea Group has been discussing papers relating to Gretta Vosper's on-going heresy inquiry. As a change, in February one of our members introduced us to A.N. Whitehead's Process Thought.

For SoFers and others west of Southampton Water, the West Hampshire local group of the Scientific and Medical Network have been discussing 'Greening the Desert', 'Truth in Relativism', and 'Is Altruism a waste of time and effort?'

The Hampshire Group - Hampshire runs local meetings jointly with 'pcn britain'. Click this link for full details of the Hub and the different Group meetings

Convenor: Martin Godfrey

Location: Hampshire

Region: South East England

Phone: 023 8076 6312

Email: martin.godfrey@pcnbritain.org.uk


Ipswich Group, now the Suffolk Group

The Ipswich group is now called the Suffolk Group (see 'Suffolk Group', below, for details)

All meetings at 7.30 pm


Ireland Group

St. George's, High Street, Belfast.

The last meeting of the Northern Group of the Open Christianity Network took place on Monday 24 April at 6.30pm in St George's, High Street, Belfast.

Some of us met at 5pm for a meal at the Morning Star, Pottinger's Entry. All welcome.

For more details, contact Peter Gibson email:mandpgibson @ yahoo.co.uk


Leicester Group

The Leicester Group has re-launched with a smart new venue in the centre of Leicester. We now meet on Saturday afternoons in the Garden Room at the Unitarian Great Meeting Chapel in East Bond Street (LE1 4SX). We 'gather' at 2.00 when drinks are available, with the meeting running from 2.30 - 4.30.

Our next meeting is on Saturday 24th June, 2017

For details click on our blogsite link below.

Convenor: Allan Hayes
Secretary: Janet Carpenter
Leicester Group blogmaster: Peter White

Contact details are found in the following blogsite:

Blogsite http://sofn-leicester.blogspot.com


Merseyside and North Wales Group

Contact: Penny Mawdsley 11 Banc y Chwarel, Bodfari, Denbigh, LL16 4DJ 01745 710464 penny.mawdsley@btinternet.com

The date for our next meeting is June 24, 1 - 4.30pm, at apartment 906, One Park West, 31 Strand Street, Liverpool 1 8LP. All welcome.

We plan to share our ideas, great and small, "For a Better World".

Our March meeting could be described as a 'magazine' happily overturning the planned agenda in favour of wide-ranging conversation including a discussion about the underground network of mycelia hyphae... all sparked off by Ros Werner's book recommendation to the group: "The Hidden Life of Trees: What they feel, How they communicate - Discoveries from a Secret World" by Peter Wohlleben (Greystone Books, 2016).

Other books warmly recommended by members were "The Noise of Time" by Julian Barnes, about the life of Dmitri Shostakovich;
"Do not say 'We have nothing' " by Madeleine Thien, about the Chinese Cultural Revolution;
Owen Sheer's fourth novel, "I saw a man" (male bereavement, grief and guilt)
and Sir Patrick Leigh Fermor's travel trilogy: "A Time of Gifts", "Between the Woods and the Water" and "Broken Road".


North East England Group

Contact Bobbie for details:

Convenor: Bobbie Stevens Wright
59 Olympia gardens, Morpeth, NE61 1JQ
01670 519458
bobbie@olympiag.freeserve.co.uk


North West England Group

Future Meetings

The North West England Group is taking a Sabbatical until further notice.

Convenor: Ann Eggboro
32 Victoria Avenue, Grappenhall, Warrington, WA4 2PD

ann.eggboro@hotmail.co.uk


North London Group

Our next North London Sea of Faith meeting will be at 61 Fordington Road, London N6 4TH
Saturday, 15 July, 2017, 11.00am

A discussion on the talks that we heard at our London Conference, which will soon be published in the June edition of Sofia, so we can refresh our memories by reading them before the meeting.

Please, also bring anything else you would like to discuss, either from Sofia or your own reading.

We will have a shared lunch after the meeting, so please bring a contribution to the lunch.

Convenor: Janet Seargeant
020 8883 8595
jseargeant3@gmail.com


North Oxfordshire Group

Monthly meetings, 7.30pm at Hugh & Rosemary's home

We will be continuing our exploration of how we might help to create a more compassionate society.

further details from Oliver, sofn.northoxford@gmail.com

Blogsite http://sofnorthoxon.blogspot.com


Norwich Group

The Norwich group continues to meet monthly with a regular attendance of about 10.
Members' thirst for new insights and enthusiasm for lively debate remains as keen as ever.

One of our next meetings will be on 'Atonement'. Contact Carol for when and where.

Convenor: Carol Palfrey
Solar Vis, Happisburgh, Norwich, NR12 0QU
01692 650442
c.palfrey@keme.co.uk


Oxford Group

The Sea of Faith in Oxford usually met at the Friends Meeting House 43 St Giles. The Group is currently taking a Sabbatical.

Blogsite http://sofn-oxford.blogspot.com


Suffolk Group

Our May meeting will be on Tuesday 23rd at 7.30pm, at Gavin and Charlotte's house, Cherry Trees, in Lower Holbrook, when David Barklem and his Philosophy Group will debate the issues of "The Individual and Society".

"A nation state is a type of state that joins the political entity of a state to the cultural entity of a nation from which it aims to derive its political legitimacy to rule and potentially its status as a sovereign state." David Barklem will lead us.

For the 'when' and 'where',contact Helena or Charlotte

News Contact: Helena Woddis
Helenawoddis025@btinternet.com

Convenor: Charlotte Stewart
01473 328039
charlottestewart716@gmail.com

Further details from Charlotte Stewart:
charlottestewart716@gmail.com


Wessex Group, Bath

Convenor: Jane Howarth
01672 515670

Our next meeting will be on 24 September, when there will be an account of the Annual Conference, following which Kevin Tingay will lead a discussion on whether non-realist rituals would help to give meaning to life events.

Subsequent meetings will be on the following dates: 26 November 2017, 11 March and 13 May 2018

Please note our new meeting place:

Quaker Meeting House, 1 Whiteheads Lane, just off Silver Street, Bradford-on-Avon BA15 1JU at 2.30 for 2.45pm

Car parks and a station are within about 10 minutes walk.

For more details and directions to the Friends' Meeting House, please contact Jane, the Wessex Group co-ordinator, by e-mail: sofn.wessex@gmail.com


Yorkshire Group

Sat 10 Jun: Sharing our Latest Inspirations - at Settle Quaker Meeting House

We convene from 2.30pm onwards for a 3pm meeting (we can stay till 5pm if we wish). Those present will be encouraged to share things that have proved INSPIRATIONS to them.

The address of the Meeting House is Kirkgate, Settle, North Yorkshire, BD24 9DX

Sat 9 Sept: Believing Scientists - Carol Sherrard will open discussion on what seems (to her) the strange phenomenon of scientists with belief in the supernatural.

  Sat 4 Nov: Celebrations - What and Why?

All dates are Saturdays, the sessions opening at 1.30 for 2pm. Apart from the 10 June meeting at Settle, all sessions will be in the Heart Centre, Bennett Road, Headingley, Leeds LS6 3HN (in the Granby Room, ground floor usually - but check in Reception on the day).

Contact: Carol Sherrard
1 Carnoustie Grove, Bingley BD16 1QF
01274 560283; Mob & Text 07810 682266

c.sherrard@btopenworld.com

Blogsite http://sofn-yorks.blogspot.com


Other Events (non-SOFN)


Progressive Christianity Network Britain

An interesting programme of events


Free To Believe

Another interesting programme of events


The British Humanist Association

Another interesting programme of events


Conway Hall Ethical Society

Another interesting programme of events


Faversham Stoa

Faversham Stoa is a pub philosophy discussion group. We meet the 3rd Tuesday of every month from 7.30 to 9.30pm in the The Bull in Tanners Street, Faversham, Kent,

Faversham Stoa's programme of events


Registered charity number 1113177
© All Sea of Faith material is licenced under a Creative Commons Licence