VAGABONDS
THE VAGABONDS are a group of mainly Christian spiritual enquirers. We meet informally once a month in a pub close to St. James' to discuss a topic of interest. We take our name from William Blake's poem The Little Vagabond, a character who prefers the alehouse to the church (Blake was baptised at St James’). The topics of interest are spiritual in nature. We also visit each year other places of worship.
20 January
Seeking God in a Culture of Wealth
Are capitalism and affluence intrinsically good things and a blessing to the human family? This session will argue that it is but that some people are smaller than their money. It is those individuals that need enlightenment, not the system that should be scrapped. Our chair will argue that there is an awful lot of evidence in the Scriptures that business and abundance are good.
Chair – Christian Michel
Chair Leg – David Carter
Location: Captain’s Cabin Pub
17 February
Visit to the Buddapadipa Temple
Visit to the Buddhist Theravada Temple in Thai Style located in Wimbledon. This is one of only two in this style outside of Asia. There are excellent wall murals painted by Thai artists with one including Margaret Thatcher! We hope to arrange a discussion with one of the temple members during our visit. Note: For this session, we will meet at the Captain’s Cabin for lunch and then proceed straight to Wimbledon.
Chair – Margaret Schumann
Chair Leg– Cornell Jackson
Location: Buddhapadipa Temple, 14 Calonne Road, London SW19 5HJ
16
March
The God Delusion
In the past year, new aggressive form of atheism has emerged in the writings of Richard Dawkins, Christopher Hitchens and Sam Harris. We will be examining their arguments and asking are they just the secular versions of religious fundamentalists? Do they know what they are talking about? If so, why are they being attacked by other atheists?
Chair – Charles Hedley
Chair Leg – Cornell Jackson
Location: Captain’s Cabin Pub
20 April
The Kingdom of God
The Kingdom of Heaven How close can we get to what Jesus actually said about the kingdom of God? Why does Matthew's gospel generally refer instead to the kingdom of heaven? Is there one central idea in Jesus' teaching and what is the message of the kingdom for today? Chair – David Carter Chair Leg – Cornell Jackson Location: Captain’s Cabin Pub May 18th – Unconventional Wisdom Theology This session seeks to examine the areas of values and spirituality as expressed in the theology primarily in Europe and the USA. Following theorists such as Foucault, Belenky and Dorothy Smith a model for examining western culture and where the Christian traditions sit within it is set out. It looks at how various value systems become subjugated and that this process happens within both the self and society. The last half of the twentieth century has seen an attempt to unearth the hidden theological tradition. We will look at the rediscovery of subjugated value systems and what it might mean for ecclesiology.
Chair – June Boyce-Tillman
Chair Leg – Cornell Jackson
Location: Captain’s Cabin Pub
May 18th
Unconventional Wisdom Theology
This session seeks to examine the areas of values and spirituality as expressed in the theology primarily in Europe and the USA. Following theorists such as Foucault, Belenky and Dorothy Smith a model for examining western culture and where the Christian traditions sit within it is set out. It looks at how various value systems become subjugated and that this process happens within both the self and society. The last half of the twentieth century has seen an attempt to unearth the hidden theological tradition. We will look at the rediscovery of subjugated value systems and what it might mean for ecclesiology. Chair – June Boyce-Tillman Chair Leg – Cornell Jackson Location: Blue Post Pub (Upstairs Room) 6 Bennet Street LONDON SW1A 1RP
STOP PRESS - NEW VENUE FOR 18 MAY MEETING Location: Blue Post Pub (Upstairs Room) 6 Bennet Street LONDON SW1A 1RP Important!: Note we are using a new pub this month. This is on an experimental basis. We were having complaints about the noise level at the Captain's Cabin. To reach the Blue Post from St. James Piccadilly, leave by the Jermyn Street Exit and turn right to go west on Jermyn Street. Cross over St. James's Street and the little street continuing west is Bennet Street. You will find the Blue Post at the end of the street on the left hand side at the corner of Arlington Street.
From Green Park Station, walk back east on Piccadilly past the Ritz Hotel. You will find Arlington Street there. Turn right and you will find the Blue Post on the left hand side at the corner of Bennet Street. Call Cornell on 07968 317048 if you have any trouble finding the place.
15 June
Spirituality of Work
How does one integrate one’s work into one’s spiritual life? How do you infuse your work with your spiritual values? How do you do both of these when you are doing work that you do not consider to be your vocation? Finally, how does one find one’s vocation?
Chair – Cornell Jackson
Location: Captain’s Cabin Pub
20 July
The Life of C S Lewis
A look at the life, writing and theology of the prolific Christian writer, C. S. Lewis.
Chair – Christine Patton
Location: Captain’s Cabin Pub
17 August
Anger
We will be discussing the emotion of anger. What does Scripture actually teach? How have these teachings been interpreted throughout the ages? Can anger be used to encourage spiritual growth? We will explore these and other questions about anger during this session.
Chair – Lindsay Meader
Chair Leg: Cornell Jackson
Location: Captain’s Cabin Pub
21 September
The Jewish Temple and Creation
This session will look at how the design of the Temple at Jerusalem reflected the Jewish theology of creation.
Chair – Sara Mark
Chair Leg – Cornell Jackson
Location: Captain’s Cabin Pub
19 October
Visit to a Swedenborgian Church
This church was founded on the writings of Emanuel Swedenborg. Swedenborg was a Swedish scientist, philosopher, Christian mystic, and theologian. Swedenborg explicitly rejected the common explanation of the Trinity as a Trinity of Persons, which he said was not taught in the early Christian Church. Swedenborg also rejected the Protestant doctrine of salvation through faith alone, since he considered both faith and charity necessary for salvation, not one without the other.
Chair – Cornell Jackson
Chair Leg – Angela
Location: The New Church, 5 Pembridge Villas, London W11 3EN
16 November
Quantum Theology or The Spirituality Revolution
We will do one of the following topics. First, is Quantum Theology where Dairmuid O’Murchu attempts to create a theology based on the latest advances of quantum physics. Second, the Spirituality Revolution is based on a book by Australian David Tacey who argues that a bottoms-up spontaneous movement especially by young people to create a spirituality that fits their lives because traditional religion has failed to do so.
Chair – Dairmuid O’Murchu or Cornell Jackson Chair Leg – Jackie Ferriter Location: Captain’s Cabin Pub
21 December
Vagabonds Christmas Party & 2009 Planning Session
Come to the celebration with ideas for next year
Chair – Cornell Jackson
Location: Captain’s Cabin Pub
How our meetings work
We generally start our pub sessions with a lunch and fellowship time starting at 13:00. We usually split our sessions into two periods, although this may vary, with a break in between. Our session ends no later than 16:00.
Location - usually we meet at Captain’s Cabin Pub near Piccadilly Circus:
Captain's Cabin
4 Norris Street
London SW1Y 4RJ
Hope to see you there! |
