Sea of Faith Network London Day Conference 2017
‘In the Beginning was the Word’ - Religion as
Poetry and Story?
with Mark Oakley
Dinah Livingstone Salley Vickers
Saturday 25 March 2017
10.30am – 4.30pm
St John’s Church Waterloo Road
London, SE1 8TY
www.sofn.org.uk/
St John's Church, Waterloo Road, is at the south end of Waterloo Bridge, adjacent to IMAX cinema. It is opposite Waterloo Station (BR main line and Northern, Bakerloo and Jubilee Under-ground lines). Coming by Jubilee, follow the Way Out sign for Waterloo NOT South Bank. At exit, turn left onto Waterloo Road. Bakerloo or Northern passen-gers follow the Way Out sign for Trains Not South Bank. Exit onto Main Line Station; take Exit 2 to Waterloo Road. Buses 1, 4, 26, 59, 68, 77, 139, 168, 171, 172, 188 and 381 stop nearby. Refreshments Coffee and tea will be provided during registration and the afternoon break. Lunch You may bring your own packed lunch and drink. There are cafes and pubs in the area where lunch can be bought.
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Speakers Mark Oakley ...the Rev Mark Oakley is Canon Chancellor of St Paul’s Cathedral, London. He is known for his interest in the ways literature and poetry explore theological themes, and for his preaching. Sir Andrew Motion says: ‘It's extremely unusual to meet anyone who isn't a specialist who has such a subtle feeling for language as he does’. Mo-tion has since added that he believes Oakley to be ‘the best sermoniser I've ever heard.’
In July 2016 Oakley published: “'The Splash of Words: Believing in Poetry” Dinah Livingstone …Dinah Livingstone is a published poet, writer, and editor of ‘sofia’, the Sea of Faith Network magazine. She has written a superb book on read-ing and writing poetry: “Poetry Handbook: For Readers and Writers”, and her most recent book, “Poetic Tales”, takes us deeply inside the poetic nature of the Bible and its theology. ‘I believe that the Christian epic story of salvation and the final coming of heaven on Earth is an imaginative portrayal
of a humanist project for justice and peace.’ Salley Vickers ...Novelist and poet, She lectures widely on many subjects, particularly the connections between, art, literature, psychology and religion. ‘Vickers is a novelist in the great English tradition of moral seriousness. Her characters suffer, they struggle to be true to both themselves and the promptings of the human heart. If you enjoy reading the work of Marilynne Robinson, Penelope Fitzgerald and James Salter you should be reading Vick-ers.’ MICHAEL DIRDA Washington Post
‘In the Beginning was the Word’ - Religion as
Poetry and Story? We thought we could build a conference around the idea
of humans' need for stories and poetry to shape and en-
rich our lives and how religions are built on this.
Dinah Livingstone has said:
‘If we regard God or gods and the whole supernatural realm
as the rich product of the human imagination, what value can
such poetic tales still have for us, once we have discarded the
supernatural? The surprising answer is as much as ever. Not
only does everyone, atheist or otherwise, need some theology,
without which so much of our history and culture remains
baffling, but when taken and sifted with what Coleridge called
poetic faith, those tales are found to contain treasures of wis-
dom.’
Rowan Williams says about Oakley ’s book “The Splash of Words:Believing in Poetry”: ‘Some writers have the gift of simply letting you know you can trust them. Mark Oakley has this gift in abundance: in this book we read in his company a succession of very diverse poems; we listen to his honest, careful, demanding reflections on them; and we recognise that this is a deeply authentic voice that can be relied on not to give us either clichés or indulgent ramblings. A very moving book, opening all kinds of doors into a more compassionate, more truthful understanding ’.
Programme
10.30 Registration & Coffee 10.55 Introduction by Chair: 11.00 Dinah Livingstone ‘Poetic Tales’ 12.00 Break 12.15 Mark Oakley ‘Believing in Poetry’ 13.15—14.15 Lunch 14.15 Salley Vickers ‘Religion as Poetry and Story?’ 15.15 Tea 15.30 Speakers’ Plenary Panel and Audience Questions 16.30 Close
SEA OF FAITH NETWORK started in 1984 as a response to Don Cupitt’s book and TV series of the same name. The Network explores religious faith as a human creation while affirming its continuing value. The Network has no creed and welcomes people from all faith communities and none.
www.sofn.org.uk/
Shami Chakrabarti (the Guardi-an) about Mark Oakley’s book: “The Splash of Words: Believ-ing in Poetry”: 'A wonderful exposition of the rela-tionship between faith, poetry and struggle.'
