Ebor Lectures

29/10/2020

Irish diplomat and scholar Philip McDonagh gives the latest reflection video as part of the co-sponsored by the Carmelites, York Minster, York St John University, Yorkshire North & East District of the Methodist Church, and the C & J B Morrell Trust.

https://youtu.be/ubdYhYr6mOY

29/10/2020

Philip McDonagh is the latest eminent figure to share his "2020 Vision" assessing today's world as part of the Ebor Lectures video reflections. As a diplomat in the Irish Foreign Service, McDonagh was involved in the Good Friday Agreement.

https://youtu.be/ubdYhYr6mOY

23/10/2020

The latest Ebor Lectures reflection on life during the pandemic and Black Lives Matter movement is by Lord Indarjit Singh, journalist and broadcaster, prominent British-Asian active in Sikh and interfaith activities, and a member of the House of Lords. https://youtu.be/5xjP2G59b68

09/10/2020

A study at University College London is investigating how Covid-19 has changed the practice of religious worship in the UK. The study also wants to understand how much aerosol is generated when speaking, chanting, or singing in religious worship and how much that changes when a person wears a face mask. This information might help scientists work out the risk of transmitting Covid-19 when people sing or chant in religious worship. If you'd be interested in taking part, visit

How has COVID affected worship in the UK and can face masks make a difference?

06/10/2020

We're delighted to announce that we have a new website for the Ebor Lectures. Go have a look!

http://www.eborlectures.org/

15/09/2020

Christopher Lamb is the Rome Correspondent for "The Tablet". In his Ebor Lectures reflection he suggests four characteristics of the Catholic Church that it must aspire to if it is to respond effectively to the Covid-19 crisis.

https://youtu.be/TLGdyz3wVrE

First, the Church must be missionary. Even if pandemics prompt the closure of its buildings, the Church as a people can never close. The Church’s mission is to bring Jesus’ Gospel to the world. Pope Francis speaks of the importance of a Church that is missionary, not self-referential and obsessed with itself. Some buildings and structures will have to change to focus better on mission.

The second characteristic is a Church much more focussed on the poor. Christians must bring the Gospel to the margins. The pandemic has had a huge impact on the economy and employment. The Church needs to help those in financial and spiritual need. Again, it needs to be a nimbler institution, clearer in its priorities.

The third is a renewed relationship to the natural world, and science. Churches have followed scientific advice during the pandemic, showing there is no opposition between faith and science. The world is our common home and there needs to be a spiritual dimension to ecology.

The fourth mark of the Church during and after the pandemic must be liturgical and pastoral creativity. This has been seen through virtual services online and the popularity of digital interaction. Real life interaction will always be primary, but digital channels will be essential to the future. The Church will need to become more creative in how it serves people.

The theme of this series of reflections is “2020 Vision: Sharpening our Focus”. With the Covid-19 pandemic, the year 2020 presents a significant opportunity for individuals and societies to look again and see what and who we might have overlooked, and to gaze towards the horizon of the future.

15/09/2020

In her teaching at the University of Cambridge, Revd. Dr. Jane Leach employs an "embodied pedagogy". As she explains in her reflection for the Ebor Lectures, the human body is a repository of wisdom, and essential for learning and communicating.

https://youtu.be/9ztXt5IQo2E

Covid-19 has "disembodied" teaching, pushing students and teachers to use the medium of online communication. During video conversations, Jane Leach has encouraged her students to find ways of using signs and gestures (such as giving a "high-five" to camera) to remind them that they're not just "talking heads" on screen. As a Christian, Leach believes in an embodied theology of the Incarnation, and argues that using our bodies is essential. Looking to the future, human interaction on screen is here to stay, and this may benefit the planet through a reduced global carbon footprint. However, digital technologies can also cut us off from our deepest wisdom as human beings, and we will need to find ways to connect as bodies and communities if we want to flourish and not just survive. High-five!

Revd. Dr. Jane Leach is the Principal of Wesley House, Cambridge, and the President of the Cambridge Theological Federation. She teaches and supervises in practical theology. She is a member of the British Methodist Conference and the Faith and Order Committee of the British Methodist Church. She broadcasts regularly on Radio 4's "Thought for the Day". She is the managing editor of the online peer-reviewed journal "Holiness". She was the founding chair of the British Association of Pastoral Supervisors and Educators.

The theme of this series of reflections is “2020 Vision: Sharpening our Focus”. With the Covid-19 pandemic, the year 2020 presents a significant opportunity for individuals and societies to look again and see what and who we might have overlooked, and to gaze towards the horizon of the future. www.eborlectures.org

15/09/2020

"We’ve been living through apocalyptic, visionary, revealing times. We’ve had our eyes opened."

So says William Willimon, one of America's best-known and respected preachers, in a stirring video for the Ebor Lectures:

https://youtu.be/sz2L04mWy_U

Willimon is Professor of the Practice of Christian Ministry at The Divinity School at Duke University in Durham, North Carolina. He is a bishop in the United Methodist Church. He has authored some 70 books which have sold over a million copies.

To see things properly, to truly perceive the realities around us, requires some disruption and refocussing. 2020's Covid-19 pandemic and "Black Lives Matter" protests against racism have disrupted our lives and opened our eyes. A virus has revealed how fragile and interconnected we all are. The filming of George Floyd's killing has exposed the evil of racism and prompted outrage. William Willimon asks: When "all this is over", do we want to go back to our “normal routine”, or is this a momentous turning point in history? Could this be an "apocalyptic" moment? The word "apocalypse" means “unveiling” or “revelation”. We are certainly seeing the world through newly-opened eyes at the present moment. Will we change for the better as a result? We will see.

The theme of this series of reflections is “2020 Vision: Sharpening our Focus”. With the Covid-19 pandemic, the year 2020 presents a significant opportunity for individuals and societies to look again and see what and who we might have overlooked, and to gaze towards the horizon of the future.

The Ebor Lectures in Theology and Public Life were established in 2006 in the northern English city of York. This prominent series of lectures, and related events, promotes a conversation between theology and public issues, offered free-of-charge to the general public. www.eborlectures.org

09/09/2020

Dr. Richard Vautrey is the Chair of the British Medical Association's (BMA) General Practitioners Committee, and a GP in Leeds. He is the latest person to offer a video reflection in the Ebor Lectures "2020 Vision(s)" series.

https://youtu.be/JZ6tTJCt_qM

The coronavirus pandemic has radically changed the way general practice operates, and these changes may be long-lasting. Since the outbreak of Covid-19 doctors, other medical staff, and patients have faced new realities: remote triage and diagnosis by phone or video; the shortage of PPE (personal protective equipment); changing advice about shielding at home; and a growing backlog of cases and routine care. The outbreak has exposed the particular vulnerability of BAME (black and minority ethnic) patients and staff, and the pandemic has had a major impact on mental health. Pending challenges include the annual winter outbreak of influenza, and the risk of health inequalities for those without access to technology. Doctor Vautrey says that despite continual adaptation, those with a "calling" to provide medical care will remain constant in their commitment to serve.

The theme of this series of reflections is “2020 Vision: Sharpening our Focus”. With the Covid-19 pandemic, the year 2020 presents a significant opportunity for individuals and societies to look again and see what and who we might have overlooked, and to gaze towards the horizon of the future.

The Ebor Lectures in Theology and Public Life offer a space where theology can dialogue with a range of communities such as educational institutions, public interest groups, religious movements, secular society, and anyone with an interest in contemporary issues.

The Ebor Lectures series is an ecumenical project jointly sponsored and organised by York Minster, York St John University, The Order of Carmelites, The Yorkshire North and East District of the Methodist Church and The C. & J. B. Morrell Trust.

www.eborlectures.org

09/09/2020

The switch to online learning prompted by Covid-19 has frustrated many students, but in his “2020 vision” reflection, Sixth-Former AJ Coates sees the pandemic as an opportunity for such learning to lift people in Kenya out of poverty.

https://youtu.be/B6dQ4AhXkR8

The theme of this series of reflections is “2020 Vision: Sharpening our Focus”. With the Covid-19 pandemic, the year 2020 presents a significant opportunity for individuals and societies to look again and see what and who we might have overlooked, and to gaze towards the horizon of the future.

The Ebor Lectures in Theology and Public Life were established in 2006 in the northern English city of York. This prominent series of lectures, and related events, promotes a conversation between theology and public issues, offered free-of-charge to the general public. Theology is the systematic study of the nature of the Divine and of religious belief. The Ebor Lectures offer a space where theology can dialogue with a range of communities such as educational institutions, public interest groups, religious movements, secular society, and anyone with an interest in contemporary issues.

The Ebor Lectures series is an ecumenical project jointly sponsored and organised by York Minster, York St John University, The Order of Carmelites, The Yorkshire North and East District of the Methodist Church and The C. & J. B. Morrell Trust.

17/07/2020

The second of our "2020 vision(s)" reflections has been given by Fr. Timothy Radcliffe, a Dominican Friar at Blackfriars Hall in Oxford, and former Master General of his Order. Tune in to hear this leading theologian's thoughts on the pandemic and the importance of community 👇

The theme of this series of reflections is “2020 Vision: Sharpening our Focus”. The year 2020, and the situation we are going through, presents a significant...

07/07/2020

We're delighted to publish the first reflection in a new series offered in place of our planned lectures for 2020.

The theme of this series of reflections is “2020 Vision: Sharpening our Focus”. The year 2020, and the situation we are going through, presents a significant...