Online Launch of Seeking Paradise

Part of 'Being Together: A Three Day Virtual Gathering for Spiritual Connection' (7-9 April 2020)

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/events/3903470056344901/
Website: https://www.unitarian.org.uk/beingtogether

Join Jo James in conversation with author and pioneer minister Stephen Lingwood to discuss his new book 'Seeking Paradise: A Unitarian Mission for Our Times'.

What might the future of the Unitarian movement look like? That depends, this book argues, on how its members envision – and enact – its mission. Stephen Lingwood urges that Unitarians can evangelise, with a message of hope for a “beloved community” in this world: the Paradise of the title.

He proposes the possibility of a mission to revive Unitarianism not only numerically, but also spiritually. He takes the reader through the progressive stages of this idea and illustrates theory with examples from his practical experience as a Unitarian minister. He also presents new ways of thinking about the Kingdom (or “Kindom”) of God, and sources of hope in a world that desperately needs it.

Each chapter ends with questions for reflection by individual readers and discussion by small congregational groups.

Stephen Lingwood serves as the Minister of Cardiff Unitarians / Undodiaid Caerdydd, and is engaged in pioneer ministry in the inner-city community there. He was previously the Minister of Bank Street Unitarian Chapel in Bolton. He holds degrees from the University of Birmingham, Boston University (USA), and Manchester University.

"I believe that Unitarianism will flourish only if the work of each of us is driven by a clear personal mission, and with a sense of loving generosity rather than institutional self-preservation. Stephen Lingwood paints a picture which I hope readers will find inspirational." – Elizabeth Slade (Chief Officer, The General Assembly of Unitarian and Free Christian Churches)

You can pre-order the book here: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Seeking-Paradise-Unitarian-Mission-Times/dp/0853190941/

Zoom Link: https://zoom.us/j/497173737 Everyone welcome.

Comments

Swords into Ploughshares

"They shall beat their swords into ploughshares, and their spears into pruning hooks; nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more." Isaiah 2:4 Palestine Action are doing just this: beating swords into ploughshares i.e. putting weapons out of use. In doing so they are fulfilling this biblical mandate. They are expressing God's peace as expressed in the Jewish tradition and the Christian tradition. God desires that our swords shall be beaten into ploughshares, that we should unlearn war. That the government wants to make this action illegal has to be confronted in the strongest terms. To rush to condemn attacks on weapons but not attacks on children is perverse. To call attacks on weapons terrorism but not attacks on children is perverse. When government comes to such an extreme position - legislating that peace is war, that weapons need more protection than children - then they have fundamentally gone wrong. This is the definitio...

Art Lester

I've just heard the extremely sad and shocking news of the death of Unitarian Minister Art Lester. It shocked me even more as I was emailing him a few days ago as he spontaneously emailed me thanking me for my book and offering to send me a copy of his latest one (pictured above). I already feel like I've missed the opportunity to get to know him better, as he's the kind of person I would really have liked to have been a mentor as he always seemed wise and spiritually rooted, in a mischievous, not-taking-himself-too-seriously way (which is a good sign of spiritual maturity I think). He ended his email with, "I attach a portion of a sermon I’ll be giving at the Paris Fellowship next month. It’s my 29th service over the past 27 years and possibly my last. I wouldn’t normally bore a colleague with my scribbles, but I think you might like this one." I do. I do like this one. And as he now won't deliver this at Paris Fellowship I thought it was worth shar...

Is humanism theologically tolerant?

OK, well this might be controversial, but I feel the need to say it. Is humanist tolerant? Please note I'm not asking about humanism within society. Clearly humanism certainly believes in tolerance within society and I'm forever glad they are often the only people in the media calling for a separation of church and state. No, what I'm talking about is descriptions of Unitarianism like this and adverts like this , discussed at Peacebang here , which say that humanism is one option, Christianity is another, God is one option among many. The trouble is, humanism, by definition is theologically opposed to theism. This is very different from the relationship between Christianity and Buddhism. These two traditions may be vastly different, but Buddhism, by definition , is not opposed to Christianity, and Christianity, by definition , is not opposed to Buddhism. But humanism is consciously defined in opposition to Christianity and theism. So to say that humanism and theism can bot...

Reignite

Search This Blog