Our Conference: 18th and 19th September 2015
Please note that these pages are no longer being updated. Further information can be found at http://www.dioceseofcoventry.org/DEG/RaWP
‘Reconciling a Wounded Planet’ was a two day conference where Christians came together to consider ‘stories of hope’ in the midst of the growing environmental crisis that the world is experiencing.
Together, we explored how we could work towards finding solutions and creating a lasting legacy that will protect the planet for generations to come.
With speakers, including keynote speaker Sir Ghillean Prance FRS VMH, Professor Richard Bauckham, Revd Margot Hodson and Bishop James Jones, and a number of discussion stream speakers, we had plenty of opportunities to share and discuss ideas, and to look for creative consensus together. For the main speakers and their biographies click here.
The two day conference took place at Coventry Cathedral, a centre for reconciliation, whose story began on the morning of 15th November 1940, following the destruction of the old cathedral by fire bombs the night before, when the Provost prayed 'Father Forgive', instead of laying up a legacy of revenge. We met in the Nave of the new Cathedral; small group meetings took place in the Cathedral Nave and Chapter House and some also gathered in St Michael's House and in the Holy Trinity Church Centre.
Conference Plus: In addition to the main programme, we screened a film at 7pm on the evening of Thursday 17th September called Scarred Lands and Wounded Lives: the Environmental Footprint of War, followed by a discussion led by a distinguished panel.
On the evening of Friday 18th September 'Baked Alaska', a play by the Riding Lights Theatre Company was performed in the Nave as part of the Conference and also for visitors.
One of the principal motivations of this conference was to bring people together to learn, understand and be challenged in a safe environment. Our aim was to continue the legacy of the conference by:
- Initiating a network of partnerships to continue dialogue and establishing new projects arising from the conference.
- Stimulating the church, in particular the Church of England, and its members, through better theological understanding of God’s reconciling work in Christ to become more actively involved in a gospel that is rooted in God’s earth.
- Providing a young people’s forum, to build these ideas into their future.
We hope that Reconciling a Wounded Planet has achieved this and we were delighted to work together with our many speakers, conveners and participants in what was a good and lively event. To get the feel of the event, click here to see the Tweets assembled on Storify.
Click here for a participant's report.
"So if anyone is in Christ, there is a new creation: everything old has passed away; see, everything has become new! All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ."
2 Corinthians 5
Our Main Speakers
