May 10 2012
May 2012 Newsletter
Sea of Faith – DunedinExploring Spirituality, Religion and Ethics
Newsletter May 2012
From the Chair
What’s in a word? Continue Reading »
Archive for the 'Newsletters' Category
Sea of Faith – DunedinApr 12 2012
April 2012 Newsletter
Sea of Faith – DunedinExploring Spirituality, Religion and Ethics
Newsletter April 2012
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The Annual General Meeting held on 22nd March brought only one change in that Continue Reading »
Mar 07 2012
March 2012 Newsletter
Newsletter
March 2012
Dunedin
1. Annual General Meeting
2. Discussion and ideas forum: Where are we going?
Three members gave a brief introduction, giving their ideas of where they would like Sea of Faith to be in five years time. Continue Reading »
Feb 11 2012
February 2012 Newsletter
Newsletter
February 2012
Dunedin
Our good friend and Newsletter Editor, Don Feist, is having a brief respite for some bodily repairs. Please accept apologies for any errors or omission in this publication.
(Alan Jackson)
Programme: The Spirit Level (led by Alan Jackson) Continue Reading »
Nov 14 2011
November 2011 Newsletter
Newsletter
November 2011
Dunedin
Programme:
Favourite Sayings
For our last meeting of the year we shared 2 or 3 of our favourite sayings, with a brief comment on where we read or heard them and why they are favourites. We could speak for up to 4 minutes, but felt free to pass. [If we brought our saying or quotation on paper, the Editor would aim [no promises] to collate them [anonymously] and circulate them in February.] Continue Reading »
Oct 18 2011
October 2011 Newsletter
Newsletter
October 2011
Dunedin
Programme:
Professor Alan Musgrave discussed the question:
Are we free to choose what we believe?
He wrote:
Continue Reading »
Sep 11 2011
September 2011 Newsletter
Newsletter
September 2011
Dunedin
David Kitchingman spoke on:
The Rise and fall of fossil fuels – physical and spiritual
He wrote:
Aug 18 2011
August 2011 Newsletter
Newsletter
August 2011
Dunedin
Programme:
“How can anyone bring in theology
in talking with someone as self-consciously secular
as the average Kiwi?”
Professor Andrew Bradstock opened the evening by looking at this question. There was plenty of time for question and comment.
Andrew would also like to hear back from us about what we think the Centre for Theology and Public Issues has achieved in its short life so far.
Andrew Bradstock holds the Howard Paterson Chair in Theology and Public Issues and is Director of the Centre for Theology and Public Issues, which was set up when he arrived at Otago in January 2009. He studied Theology and Politics at the University of Bristol before completing his PhD in Political Theory at the University of Kent at Canterbury. He has extensive teaching experience and has been heavily involved in working with UK politicians to develop links between Parliament and the churches and other faith communities. Continue Reading »
Jun 13 2011
June 2011 Newsletter
Newsletter
June 2011
Dunedin
Kia Ora,
Programme:
Pulling us Back from the Brink:
Economics? Science? Religion?
This is the theme for the national conference in October (more details below). Continue Reading »
May 16 2011
May 2011 Newsletter
Programme:
Religion and Violence : What is the connection ?
Donald Feist opened up discussion by outlining the argument of a recent book: “In the Name of God” by John Teehan. Teehan writes:
“The position I will defend is that violence done in the name of religion is not a perversion of religious belief, as many apologists would like us to believe, but flows naturally from the moral logic inherent in many religious systems, particularly monotheistic religions, and that this moral logic is grounded in our evolved psychology…..”.
Mar 14 2011
March 2011 Newsletter
Newsletter
March 2011
Dunedin
Programme:
This month we had a triple bill:
3. “ … stop worrying and enjoy life”
In small groups we tried to come up with an ad suitable for the end of a bus, which reflects a view on religion/spirituality that is consistent with the tenor of Sea of Faith discussions.
Last year a UK Atheist group ran big ads on buses that stated: “There is no God, so stop worrying and enjoy life”. The Uniting Church in Canada responded with printed and on-line ads: “There probably is a God, so stop worrying and enjoy life”. This was accompanied by invitations to come along to café discussions.
A letter to local ministers said, “ Clearly as Christians we most definitely believe there is a God , but such a direct statement probably wouldn’t be heard by the questioning people the ad hopes to reach and invite along for discussion.”
Feb 14 2011
February 2011 Newsletter
Newsletter
February 2011
Dunedin
Programme:
This month, we invited Jim Neilan to speak to us and open up discussion.
He had given us the title:
“SPIRITUAL BUT NOT RELIGIOUS”
Jim was a Catholic priest for twenty years, resigning from the ministry in 1983. He is an active member of the North East Valley parish and has been involved with the independent Catholic magazine Tui Motu since it began in 1997 – some of his writing has been very critical of current Church leadership.
Nov 15 2010
November 2010 Newsletter
Newsletter
November 2010
Dunedin
Programme
“When I was twenty ……”
Once again this month, we invited everyone present to contribute to the programme. We asked each to speak for up to three minutes, in two paragraphs. The first should begin, “When I was twenty ….” and the second begin with “Now I ….”.
Oct 18 2010
October 2010 Newsletter
Newsletter
October 2010
Dunedin
Programme:
Richard Egan made the case that:
Spirituality is a Public Health Issue.
Richard Egan has been researching ‘spirituality’ on and off for 20 years. He recently finished his PhD looking at spirituality in end-of-life care in New Zealand. Richard teaches health promotion at the Dunedin School of Medicine and is a research fellow focusing on psychosocial-spiritual support care in cancer.
Elaborating on his title, Richard says:
Sep 13 2010
September 2010 Newsletter
Newsletter
September 2010
Dunedin
Programme:
Bruce Spittle briefly introduced Lloyd Geering’s latest, prize-winning book:
Such is Life! A close encounter with Ecclesiastes
as a lead in to our discussing some of the issues it raises. A copy of the introductory comments and the questions to be considered has already been posted on our website – click to see The book has also been reviewed by Don Feist in the national Sea of Faith Newsletter, number 88, May 2010.
[If you would like to read beforehand what Bruce is going to say, and cannot access the website, you may ring me and I will post you a copy – Ed.] Continue Reading »