17 - 19 Mar 2017
The Hayes Conference Centre, Swanwick, Derbyshire

The Word in the World

Friday 17 March – Sunday 19 March 2017
Reading the Scriptures in hard times
Facilitated by Pádraig Ó Tuama and Susan Docherty
The Liturgy will be facilitated by Regula Hug accompanied by Rosemary Sefton
at The Hayes Conference Centre, Swanwick, Derbyshire.

Keynote Speakers

We welcome two main speakers to this year’s conference. They both offer interesting ways into our theme, ‘The Word in the World: Reading the Scriptures in Hard Times’, but from very different backgrounds and angles.

Pádraig Ó Tuama is a poet and theologian and, since 2014, leader of the Corrymeela Community, Ireland’s oldest peace and reconciliation community. In the past he has developed community– and school–based resources exploring conflict, the uses of story, grief, anger, forgiveness and reconciliation. In his recent theological work he has focused on interpersonal encounters in the gospels as a guide to practice, especially in conflictual and contentious situations. His book of biblical reflections, In the Shelter: Finding a Home in the World, was published in 2016. More information about Pádraig can be found at www.padraigotuama.com.

 Susan Docherty is especially interested in ways in which different communities, both Jewish and Christian, receive and interpret the Old Testament in relation to their own lives and times. Against that background we are looking forward particularly to her reflections on reading and assimilating the Book of Exodus in the midst of experiences of ‘exodus’ in today’s world. Susan is Professor of New Testament and Early Judaism at Newman University in Birmingham and more information about her can be found here.

Booking information is available here.