CATHEDRALNEWS

What is Prayer?

‘The will to pray is the essence of prayer’ wrote Thomas Merton, and ‘the secret of prayer is a hunger for God’. Stephen Cottrell describes himself as ‘an experienced beginner’ at prayer who has never got much beyond this, but says his long apprenticeship has taught him that the beginning and end of prayer is the longing to know God and to be known by God. But for many people profound questions remain.  Is God really listening?  Does what we pray affect what God does?  Also, why is it that everyone struggles with prayer; shouldn’t it be easy? Stephen Cottrell will reflect on what prayer is and how we might begin, or begin again, to pray more authentically.  The Rt Revd Stephen Cottrell is the Bishop of Chelmsford. He has written widely on evangelism, spirituality and discipleship, and is the author of numerous books including How to Pray: Alone, with Others, at Any Time, in Any Place (Church House Publishing, 3rd edition 2010).

The Gate of Heaven: God at the Crossing Place - Tricia Hillas (2018)

We all have crossing places in our lives - moments on which our life turns.  A new baby, leaving home, a bereavement, a new job or country, a medical diagnosis. These ‘liminal’ times – thresholds between one life and another – are often times of uncertainty, waiting and not knowing, but are also precious because they can open us up to a new closeness to God.  Richard Rohr has called them ‘a unique spiritual place where human beings hate to be but where the Biblical God is always leading us’. Tricia Hillas says crossing places are where we have to relinquish control and because of that they can be places of profound liberation. In this talk she will explore the challenges, lessons and joys that can come from meeting God at the crossing place. Canon Tricia Hillas is the Canon Pastor at St Paul’s Cathedral, overseeing pastoral care, outreach and interfaith relationships. Prior to ordination she was a social worker, specialising in working with people with HIV/Aids, and has recently completed an MSc in conflict resolution and mediation.

My Soul Glorifies the Lord: Jesus' Female Disciples

The traditional story of the birth of Christianity is dominated by men.  It is often thought that Jesus only chose men to be his disciples and apostles, but evidence suggests that this is really only half the story. Were female disciples in fact crucial to the Jesus movement?  Profoundly scandalous at the time, the idea remains highly controversial 2,000 years later. Two distinguished early church historians will present research that shows as many as half of Jesus’ disciples were women.  They say the evidence shows that women were integral to his mission and only if we see men and women working together do we see the whole story, revealing the early church as far more radical than we thought. And they will also explore what this means for us today.  Can it teach us new things not only about women and men’s ministries and roles, but also about the radical, transformative way of Jesus? Professor Helen Bond is Professor in Christian Origins at the University of Edinburgh. Her books include Jesus:  A Very Brief History and The Historical Jesus:  A Guide for the Perplexed.  She was historical consultant for the History Channel's miniseries The Bible and for BBC 1's The Nativity. Professor Joan Taylor is Professor of Christian Origins at King’s College, London.  She is the author of What Did Jesus Look Like? and has edited The Body in Biblical, Christian and Jewish Texts and Jesus and Brian: Exploring the Historical Jesus and his Times via Monty Python’s Life of Brian. She was historical consultant for the 2018 film Mary Magdalene. Their documentary Jesus' Female Disciples (Minerva Productions) screened on Channel 4 in April this year. The evening will be chaired by Andrew Carwood, Director of Music at St Paul’s Cathedral, and include plenty of time for questions and answers.

Jesus and the Promise of Peace

After the Resurrection, Jesus says to the disciples Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. We tend to think of peace as the end or absence of war but Nadim Nassar says that Jesus is talking about something far more radical than that: a whole culture of peace.  It is about how we bring up our children, how we flourish in our homes, workplaces and churches, and ultimately about a call to a self-giving culture of love in which we see the reflection of God’s image in the other. Father Nadim Nassar, the Church of England’s only Syrian priest, was born and raised in a Christian family in Syria and studied in Beirut during the Lebanese civil war.  He is now the Director of The Awareness Foundation, seeking to counter intolerance and mistrust and to build understanding between faiths.  His first book, The Culture of God, is published this autumn by Hodder.

Buying God: Consumerism and Theology - Eve Poole

Many people are deeply concerned about global capitalism and rampant consumerism, but many of us also lack the tools to be able to engage confidently in the debate about its future. Eve Poole is a theologian who has worked in the financial services industry, and she argues that the Church has crucial things to say about the economy and a vital role to play in redeeming the marketplace both at home and abroad. 

An interview with the artist Hughie O'Donoghue (2018)

The Revd Canon Mark Oakley, Chancellor of St Paul's Cathedral, interviews the artist Hughie O'Donoghue about his new painting of St Martin of Tours, installed in the chapel of the Imperial Society of Knights Bachelor in the crypt of St Paul's Cathedral in July 2018. Interview recorded 10 July 2018.