SEPTEMBER 2016 Luther King House Newsletter Dear Friends Welcome to our September Newsletter and the start of our new Academic Year! We'd like to offer a warm welcome to our new students and offer greetings to our returning students! Scroll down for events at Luther King House, including a schedule of Open Lectures and Day Workshops as part of our Open Learning Programme for 2015-16. Our website contains full details of all events and courses taking place at Luther King House, along with information on how to apply for our degree programme. Simply go to www.lutherkinghouse.org.uk and see for yourself! All of our collaborative colleges have their own websites too, with the new design for Northern Baptist College going live over the summer - check out their new site at www.northern.org.uk Open Lecture Series 2015-16 We are pleased to announce the dates of our Open Lectures taking place in the 2015-16 Academic Year. Our season begins with: Gethin Abraham-Williams - Book Launch & Lecture Monday 5th October - 6.30pm start 'Thomas - The Neglected Disciple' Thomas deserves a better press! He's the Apostle of the Enquiring Mind, and has much to teach us about the importance of a faith forged in the furnace of doubt. This lecture will explore why: 'The minute you begin to speak with certitude about God, he is gone' (poet, Christian Wiman). Refreshments and the launch of Gethin's new book: Why the Gospel of Thomas Matters, will begin at 6.30pm followed by his lecture at 7.30pm. Further information can be found here. Further lectures and dates will be: Monday 2nd November Margaret Goodall - Based on her research into dementia care; sponsored by MHA. Monday 7th December Chris Ellis - From Prayer to Theology and back again; the interface of theological reflection and prayer. Monday 22nd February Francis Brienen - Sponsored by Northern College to celebrate 30 years based at Luther King House. Monday 14th March
Joshua Searle - The annual Whitley Lecture sponsored by Northern Baptist College Monday 18th April Paul Beasley-Murray - Sharing his recent work on leadership. We offer a series of monthly theological lectures which are free of charge and are open to all. No need to book in advance for these just turn up on the night. Open lectures take place from 7.30pm 9.00pm, with opportunities to buy refreshments in the dining room or bar after the lecture if you want to continue the conversation in the lounge. Meals and hot drinks are available to buy before the lecture if you wish. For a programme list of our 2015-16 Open lecture series, download our 2015-16 Open Lecture Programme. Day Workshops Open Learning Programme 2015-16 We are also pleased to announce the dates for our programme of Day Workshops for the 2015-16 Academic Year. Our workshops are offered throughout the year on a range of topics. These practical workshops and retreat days explore a wide range of issues, all with particular relevance for local church life, which are open to people of all backgrounds and experience. They are generally held on a Saturday and cost 20 (including teas and coffees). Saturday 10th October Healing in Today's World - A creative writing workshop led by Andrew Pratt How do we speak of healing in the light of medical and technological advances? What does healing mean in the context of broken societies and communities? Andrew Pratt will lead this workshop in writing for the Hymns for Healing project and a forthcoming publication. Further workshops and dates are; Saturday 14th November Rebekah Turner & Niall Cooper - The Churches' Role in a Good Society Christian Aid & Church Action on Poverty Saturday 12th December Jan Berry - 'A Blue Christmas' - Quiet Day/Retreat for Advent Saturday 23rd January Linda Hopkins & Sandra Crawford - Intergenerational Workshop Saturday 13th February Linda Rayner & Mike Walsh - Fresh Expressions & Cafe Culture Saturday 19th March Graham Adams - Interfaith Workshop Saturday 7th May Rosalind Selby & Team - Using the Visual in Worship (part of our annual Lay Preachers Conference, but also available as a stand-alone day)
Further details, information and how to book can be found on the Events page on our website - http://lutherkinghouse.org.uk/news-events/events/ Explorations Guided Reading Scheme Independent study with tutorial support Luther King House is pleased to offer EXPLORATIONS - a guided reading scheme that gives you an opportunity to research a subject area of your choice whilst enjoying the superb facilities at Luther King House. Registering for Explorations gives you; 6 months' free membership of our library, including access to computer facilities and permission to borrow books A minimum of two tutorials with a member of academic staff who will be able to guide your research The cost of registering for Explorations is 100 for six months. If you require any further information about our Explorations scheme, please visit our website or contact the Registry Office on 0161 249 2504 or by e-mail learning@lkh.co.uk NoCo A Pearl of Great Price Saturday 19 th September 2015 It s just over 30 years (a Pearl Anniversary) since the Luther King House Educational Trust came together, and the colleges that formed it, and have been part of it in other ways since, value what we have here. We are all proud to be part of the life and learning and worship of this educational community, and of the contextual theology which, as one of the governors of Northern College said, has a good bit of northern grit that has made this pearl what it is. Northern College (United Reformed Church and Congregational Federation, and in close friendship with the Moravian Church) moved into these premises in the summer of 1985, and they are having a special celebration at their annual college service on Saturday 19 th September. If anyone who has been a part of Northern College in any way would like to attend that service, please contact the Principal, Revd Dr Rosalind Selby, at rosalind.selby@lkh.co.uk Rewording Worship: What Happens When Progressives Meet? Wednesday 23 rd September 2015 One of the most common pleas heard from progressive Christians is for more progressive worship materials. Rex Hunt is an Australian author, naturalist and theologian who is best known as a writer of new hymns, prayers and liturgies. He has also been a major source of inspiration for progressive Christian worship leaders and preachers from across the world. His talk will reflect his latest book; When Progressives Meet Together, which considers Baptism, Communion, and the Lord s Prayer from a progressive viewpoint. The event will begin at 7.30pm at Grove Lane Baptist Church, Cheadle Hulme. Full details on this event, including information on Rev. Rex Hunt can be found on the Progressive Christianity Network website. Book Launch & Theological Lecture - Canon Andrew Shanks Manchester Catherdral
Thursday 8th October - 7pm-9pm Andrew Shanks: 'Xenophilia as a fundamental Christian virtue. How ought Christians to approach other religious traditions?' Along with his new book (Hegel versus 'Inter-Faith Dialogue - Cambridge, 2015), Andrew's lecture will explore how xenophilia can enhance the relationship between different faiths. Further details can be found on the Manchester Cathedral website. Theme Study - February 2016 Migration We are making an important innovation to our teaching programme for 2015-16. We will use our February support week to do community learning all together, suspending the usual timetable to study and reflect around the theme of Migration. Recent news headlines have made us aware of vast numbers of refugees on the move trying to escape the horrors of war. Some within the LKH community have personal experience of having to leave home in search of safety. Our theme study will explore what our faith has to say about this issue and how we as Christians might respond. Our theme study will take place on Tuesday 2nd & Wednesday 3rd February. Each day will begin at 9.30am and end at 5.00pm. Full details of the programme for the two days will be made available in the near future. Latest Book Releases Books by Richard Kidd and David Goodbourn are now available from Luther King House. Richard Kidd's latest book, Poets and Painters, is a collection of poetry (or wordscapes) offering a vision of freedom in God's beautiful but broken world. Copies of Richard's book are available from Graham Sparkes, priced at 8, with all proceeds going to Freeset. A Strange Time is a printed collection of David Goodbourn's last sermons and articles, (published after his memorial service in June 2015) with a preface supplied by Gethin Abraham-Williams. Copies of David's collection are available from Glen Marshall. External Membership to the Luther King House Library Anyone with an interest in theology and religious studies is able to join the library. You may benefit from library membership if you are studying at another institution, or you may simply want to join for general interest or to help with church ministry. Bed and Breakfast guests and conference delegates are welcome to use the library for reference purposes for the duration of their stay, but are not permitted to remove any material. There are 2 levels of membership: To use the library for reference purposes only, the fee is 20 for 12 months ( 12 for retired/unwaged persons but not for students. To use the Library in order to borrow material (6 books for a period of 3 weeks), the fee is 40 for 12 months ( 25 concession).
If three or more people from the same church or organisation wish to join the library, half price membership applies from the third membership onwards. If you are interested in joining the library, please contact the Library Staff on 0161 249 2509 or e-mail library@lkh.co.uk to arrange a visit. The online downloadable form is available on our website. The form can either be returned by email or post. Please note that payment by cash or cheque will be required on your first visit. Great Value Day or Residential Conference Facilities Don t forget here at LKH we have a range of meeting rooms available to hire, accommodating 2 to 100 delegates. Autumn special offers are available day delegate rate only 23.00 per person (reduced from 32.00) and residential delegate rate only 82.00 per person (reduced from 90.00). Rooms can also be hired per session from as little as 50.00. If you or anybody you know requires a meeting room, please contact Beverley in the Conference Office on booking@lkh.co.uk for further information Sign up to our Facebook Page! We also have a presence on Facebook! Why not like us on Facebook and keep abreast of our news and events on a regular basis? Just click here to be directed to our page, or click the link at the top of this newsletter! Spread the word about Luther King House! We have a selection of leaflets for all our courses and events (degrees, short courses, modules, day events & theological lectures) to give out to churches and other organizations, and we really appreciate your help in letting your wider networks and local churches and communities know about us. Please take as many leaflets as you like from Reception while you are visiting, or ask for a larger bundle from Clare and Paul in the Registry Office. We re also happy to post or deliver a bundle of leaflets to you anywhere in the country if you re not in the area. To request leaflets from us, e-mail us at learning@lkh.co.uk or phone us on 0161 249 2504. Thanks for your support in getting the word out more widely! Best Wishes