Aberdeen Methodist

COP26: Fullness of Life for All? A Conversation about creation, climate, the theological role & challenges for faith communities. How are religious communities around the world engaging with the care of the creation and climate? What is the relevance of COP26? How does it respond to the global reality and needs? How to contribute at a global, regional, local level? How to reconcile activism theologically? With these and more questions, Join us for a night of conversation with: 1. Revd. Matthew Laferty, Director of the Methodist Ecumenical Office in Rome and representative of the World Methodist Communion in the Vatican. 2. Revd. Chris Ferguson, former General Secretary of the World Communion of Reformed Churches, with huge intercultural experience in bilateral & multilateral dialogues towards peace and reconciliation. 3. Laurent Vernet, Methodist Minister in British Methodism engaging with eco-Diakonia within the United Kingdom. Borderlands: conversations between church and city is associated with the Aberdeen Methodist Church. The group seeks to bring theological reflection in dialogue with public issues. Connect with us on Facebook. Moderation by Revd. Sam Murillo, World Methodist Council Officer for Youth and Young Adults, visiting minister at the Methodist Circuit in the North of Scotland. Doctoral candidate in Systematic Theology as part of the divinity school at the University of Aberdeen. His research focuses on a Public Theology from the Margins; engaging with the necropolitical reality of enforced disappearances in Mexico.

The Pastor as Manager, The Church as Business. Exploring leadership from a theological perspective. Join us for a night of conversation with Rahel Siebald as she reflects on relevant questions in relation to leadership in the church and society. Abstract: We live in a time, where it has become normal to look at activities inside and outside the church from the viewpoint of efficiency. We are used to talk about “Self-Management,” to build up “leadership skills” and “teamwork,” and to ask for the best and most efficient method to do things – in order to reach more people in less time, to make the most out of our resources. This way of thinking didn’t stop at the doors of the church. But what does happen to the church, if we think the pastor needs to become a better leader and churches should be managed like the business next door? Together we want to take time to understand the origins of our time as the age of management and ask how that has shaped and changed our understanding of being church. HOW TO ENGAGE IN CONVERSATION: 1. As the first section of this encounter, you can listen to Rahel Siebald introduction and talk on her topic, provided on the following podcast: 2. Then, come and join our live session (Tuesday, September  28th, 19:30 UK time) where you can listen more from our guest speaker and interact directly in an open conversation. You can find more information by following our social media @AberdeenMethodist Borderlands: conversations between church and city is associated with the Aberdeen Methodist Church. The group seeks to bring theological reflection in dialogue with public issues. Connect with us on Facebook. Rahel Siebald  is a doctoral student in Christian Ethics as part of the divinity school at the University of Aberdeen. Her research is focused on theological and philosophical thought on public narratives of leadership, management and production. This event will be held over Zoom. The event is free, but registration is required. We look forward to the conversation. *The zoom link will be sent through email 48 hours before the event and a second reminder 1 hour before the event.

Resistance and Hope within the struggle. A Conversation with Mexican families that search for our beloved missing ones. Join us for a night of conversation with Sam Murillo and Mexican families that claim for memory, justice and truth after experiencing enforced disappearances, and now the developing search for our beloved missing ones. HOW TO ENGAGE IN CONVERSATION: 1. As the first section of this encounter, you will receive a short podcast a week before our live session (Tuesday, July 20th). By doing this, information will be provided about the context and experiences from Mexico, together with some possible questions on how to support or build community even from outside Mexico. 2. Then, come and join our live session (Tuesday, July  27th, 19:30 UK time) where you can listen more about experiences and testimonies, and interact directly on this open dialogue between the church and society. You can find more information by following our social media @AberdeenMethodist Borderlands: conversations between church and city is associated with the Aberdeen Methodist Church. The group seeks to bring theological reflection in dialogue with public issues. Connect with us on Facebook. Sam Murillo is a doctoral student in Systematic Theology as part of the divinity school at the University of Aberdeen. His research is focused on aesthetics and memory in the Mexican necropolitical context of enforced disappearances. This event will be held over Zoom. The event is free, but registration is required. We look forward to the conversation. *The zoom link will be sent through email 48 hours before the event and a second reminder 1 hour before the event.

Borderlands: Conversations between church and city craftivism Craftivism.com defines Craftivism as, “a way of looking at life where voicing opinions through creativity makes your voice stronger, your compassion deeper & your quest for justice more infinite.” It is that compassion and quest for justice that will be explored in this talk. This month we will be trying a slightly different format with Borderlands. You are invited to watch a 'Wes Talk' produced by the New Room in Bristol. The talk will be on Monday 17 May, 7.30-8.30pm; or you can download the talk to watch here: https://www.newroombristol.org.uk/product/wes-talks-craftivism-how-can-you-gain-a-political-voice-through-craft/ Borderlands will meet on Tuesday 25 May at 7.30 to discuss this talk on Craftivism and to engage with the issues that it raises. At the Wes Talk, nationally recognised campaigner, Katy Styles will speak on her experience as founder of the We Care Campaign. Katy will be joined by Revd. Rachel Parkinson, who has a passion for building community through collaborative craft and Revd. Michaela Youngson, a glass-fuser with a passion for social justice. As well as sharing case studies, their conversation will include a discussion on how much of an impact can be made through the use of craft.

Stairway to Heaven: A Conversation about Christian Spatial Imaginations and the Production of Disabilities Guest Speaker: Rev. Topher Endress Abstract: In the wake of COVID-19, the virtual turn undertaken by a vast majority of churches highlights the ways in which Christian space changes over time. Given that one commonly held conception of ‘disability’ from within critical disability studies is how embodiment fits in relation to one’s spatial environment, it is worth asking the question of how Christian spatial practices and imaginations intersect with and help produce current understandings of what a disability is - and therefore, what it means. In this talk, I will highlight how the broad genealogy of disabilities can be understood as an expression of Christian space. This will be done first through an overview of the replacement of leper’s colonies with poor houses and ‘madhouses,’ and second, through an analysis of how the spatial logics inherent to Christian theology have produced and enforced particular relationships between bodies and God. This becomes important for the Church today when seeking ethical action regarding how to best address questions of practical and virtual spaces which disproportionately impact disabled bodies. Borderlands: conversations between church and city is associated with the Aberdeen Methodist Church. The group seeks to bring theological reflection in dialogue with public issues. Connect with us on Facebook. Rev. Topher Endress is an ordained minister from the United States, currently tutor at the University of Aberdeen and PhD candidate in Christian Ethics.

The Breadth of Salvation. A Conversation rediscovering the Fullness of God's Saving Work. Join us for a night of conversation with Professor Tom Greggs as he reflects on relevant questions in relation to faith and God. Borderlands: conversations between church and city is associated with the Aberdeen Methodist Church. The group seeks to bring theological reflection in dialogue with public issues. Connect with us on Facebook. Professor Tom Greggs, FRSE is head of divinity and holds the Marischal Chair (1616) of Divinity at the University of Aberdeen. He is founding co-director of the Aberdeen Centre for Protestant Theology and has written several articles and books, including Dogmatic Ecclesiology.

What we have to do with providence?  For Borderlands Second Session, Marty Phillips leads a conversation about goodness, hope, faith and love: The God who wills all things. Join us for a night of conversation with Marty Phillips as he reflects on relevant questions in relation with faith, church, the city and God.  Borderlands: conversations between church and city is associated with the Aberdeen Methodist Church. The group seeks to bring theological reflection in dialogue with public issues. Connect with us on Facebook. Marty Phillips is a doctoral student in Systematic Theology as part of the divinity school at the University of Aberdeen. His research is focused on theological and philosophical thought during the XVIII century, mainly Methodist and Wesleyan Theology.

For Bon Accord Theologique's inaugural session,  Julie Land will lead a conversation on the Eucharist,  friendship, and disability. The disruptive abundance of the Eucharist. Disability and 1 Corinthians 11.17-34 Join us for a night of conversation with Julie Land as she reflects on what the Eucharist shows us about how we might relate to one another. Here's a description of the evening's paper: The Eucharist (or Lord’s Supper) challenges developments in society that judge the worth of persons on their ability to meet society’s prized values of achievement, consumption, and production. When persons do not meet these aims, they are identified as problems.  Against these problematic norms, this paper draws on Paul's letter to the Corinthians to argue that people with profound intellectual disabilities, who are often placed on the social margins of both church and society, have much to teach the church about the Eucharist, about what it means to gather and be with one another. Bon Accord Theologique is associated with the Aberdeen Methodist Church. The group seeks to bring theological reflection in dialogue with public issues. Connect with us on Facebook, Instagram or Twitter @AbdnMethodist.  Julie M. Land is a doctoral student in divinity at the University of Aberdeen. Her research develops a theology of friendship grounded in the Eucharist. Marty Phillips is a doctoral student in divinity at the University of Aberdeen.  #BonAccordThéologique - Team