SPACE IN THE CITY

WINCHESTER

Spring 2014

The Power of Poetry:

illuminating the journey

Our speakers share their thoughts and experience of how poetry can accompany us on our pilgrimage of faith

Wednesdays 30 April and 7, 14, 21 & 28 May 2014
12:30 p.m.
at St Lawrence Church, The Square, Winchester

30 April The Splash of Words Mark OakleyThe Rev’d Canon Mark Oakley is Chancellor of St Paul’s Cathedral, London, and author of a book described as “a rich fare of poetry, prayer and human experience” entitled The Collage of God. As a Canon of St Paul’s he has special responsibility for educational work and engagement with the arts. He has also edited a book of John Donne poetry. Mark Oakley was born in Shrewsbury, went to King’s College, London and St Stephen’s House, Oxford for his ordination training. He was appointed a Deputy Priest in Ordinary to the Queen in 1996. The former Poet Laureate, Sir Andrew Motion, once wrote a poem dedicated to Mark Oakley called “In Winter” and said of him, “it’s extremely unusual to meet anyone who isn’t a specialist who has such a subtle feeling for language as he does.” Motion has since added that he believes Oakley to be “the best sermoniser I’ve ever heard. And he’s funny … he knows a lot, and he’s lived.”
  • The talk was introduced by Debbie Thrower.  To listen again, click the ‘play’ button (white triangle).
    For copyright and download information, see below.
  • Canon Oakley kindly provided the script for his talk, which can be read or downloaded here (PDF) †
    (Note that this script doesn’t include the texts of the poems that Canon Oakley read during his talk)
7 May Re-imagining the Psalms
Wrestling a 21st century spirituality from ancient texts: An exploration of the psalms as a poetic portal for Prayer and spiritual formation
Carla Grosch-MillerThe Rev’d Dr Carla A. Grosch-Miller, author of Psalms Redux: Poems and Prayers, is a United Reformed Church minister and theological educator working in the area of sexual-spiritual integration.
  • The talk was introduced by the Rev’d Amanda Goulding.  To listen again, click the ‘play’ button (white triangle).
    For copyright and download information, see below.
  • Dr Grosch-Miller kindly provided the script for her talk, which can be read or downloaded here (PDF) †
14 May (W)riting like a woman: in search of a feminist theological poetics Nicola SleeDr Nicola Slee is a poet and research fellow at The Queen’s Foundation, Birmingham. Her specialist field is practical feminist theology. Early in her career she contributed to Feminist Theology: A Reader, which was one of the earliest collections of its kind, edited by a former Space in the City guest, Ann Loades. Nicola Slee has published three volumes of her own poetry and liturgical material, with some prose reflections too. Her latest book, out this year and published by the Hampshire publishers Ashgate, is a reflection on the relation between theology and poetry written by five poet-theologians, and is called Making Nothing Happen: Five Poets Reflect on Faith and Spirituality.
  • The talk was introduced by Debbie Thrower.  To listen again, click the ‘play’ button (white triangle).
    For copyright and download information, see below.
  • Dr Slee did not use a script, so no text is available.
21 May Words into Silence: Preparing for Prayer with Poetry
Drawing on familiar poets such as George Herbert and R.S. Thomas, as well as recently-published work by less well-known voices, Philip Seal will explore how poetry can lead the attentive reader into contemplative stillness. How do poetic words lead us to a state of wordlessness? What kind of images and poetic forms lead us towards silent meditation? The talk will seek to ask these and similar questions, as well as leaving a short time in which we can be silent together.
Philip SealBorn in 1989, Philip Seal is currently reading for a doctorate in theology at Balliol College, Oxford. His work is focused on the prose writings of Thomas Merton. Philip hopes to suggest in his doctorate that the way Merton writes is just as important as the content he writes about. Philip is a keen meditator, and has the role of Young Persons’ Co-Ordinator for the contemplative community called WCCM (The World Community for Christian Meditation). He also writes poetry, and has had publications in a few UK-based journals.
  • The talk was introduced by the Rev’d Amanda Goulding.  To listen again, click the ‘play’ button (white triangle).
    For copyright and download information, see below.
  • Handout with texts of some of the poems read by Philip Seal. (PDF)
28 May John O’Donohue: Priest, Philosopher and Poet
‘Our God is the God of Heaven and Earth, of sea and river, of sun and moon and stars, of the lofty mountains and lowly valleys’ — St Patrick
These words John O’Donohue held in his mind, body and soul and imbued his writings. As a fellow Irishman, Kenneth Boyd Browne explores some of the poetry and writings of John O’Donohue which touch his soul and illustrate something of the Celtic Christian tradition.
Kenneth Boyd BrowneKenneth Boyd Browne is a former Director of the London Centre for Spirituality and was a psychotherapist for over 25 years. Kenneth is also a Spiritual Companion and distinguished keynote speaker on various aspects of Spirituality. He was born in Northern Ireland and his faith has been steeped in the love of nature. He is particularly enthusiastic about how living in a connected way to the Divine can be a liberating and fulfilling experience.
  • The talk was introduced by Debbie Thrower.  To listen again, click the ‘play’ button (white triangle).
    For copyright and download information, see below.

Wednesdays at 12:30
at St Lawrence Church, The Square, Winchester
Sandwiches available after each talk
Admission is free, but we rely on donations to fund expenses

© Copyright of each recording or text belongs to the speaker.  Recordings and/or texts are made available here, by kind permission of the speakers, for personal, non-commercial use only.  Texts are not transcripts of the talks.  Speakers often depart from their scripts to amplify, give examples or even add extra points, so the texts and the recordings may differ.
To download a MP3 file to your computer, click the portico symbol at the right-hand end of the player bar, then “Full Version at Internet Archive“.  This produces a new window with the talk’s page on the Internet Archive site.  In the list of files, the link to the MP3 file is the file size (e.g. “10.7 MB”) under the heading “VBR MP3”.  Right-click on that link and choose “Save Target As …”
The series recordings are available on three audio CDs on request to St Lawrence Parish Office, Colebrook Street, Winchester, Hampshire, SO23 9LH, with a cheque for £10 payable to “Winchester Space in the City”.

Series prayer:
Teach me, my God and King,
in all things thee to see;
and what I do in anything
to do it as for thee.
Amen.
George Herbert, “The Elixir” 

Space in the City is an ecumenical venture organised by lay, licensed, ordained and associate members of Winchester’s city churchesSt Bartholomew and St Lawrence with St Swithun-upon-Kingsgate, St Peter’s and the United Church.


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