Sarah Bachelard visit to Bath Abbey (evening)
Sarah Bachelard speaking in Bath on Wednesday 12th June (evening)
We are delighted to be hosting Sarah Bachelard as part of her UK tour in Bath Abbey to give her talk “Soul in the System” on Wednesday 12th June 2024. Sarah describes her talk as:
Meditation or mindfulness practice is often promoted as a way of helping us cope better with the demands of daily life. Meditation is said to build resilience and reduce anxiety, and so it does. But at what point does ‘coping’ become ‘colluding’? If we’re asked to work in unjust systems, or to live in an inhuman way, should we be learning to adapt ourselves to such demands? This talk explores the notion of ‘mysticism as resistance’ and asks how contemplative practice and community might empower souls to transform, and not simply survive, the system.
To reserve your seat, please book via Eventbrite or by phone 0117 462 1117.
A poster for promoting this meeting is available here and a flyer available here.
Revd Dr Sarah Bachelard – UK Speaking Tour – June 2024
We are delighted that Rev Sarah Bachelard is coming to the UK in June this year for the annual WCCM gathering at Minsteracres, Consett, Northumberland. While Sarah is in the UK she is keen to meet as many people as possible so we are organising a tour which will work its way down the country ending at the Meditatio Centre in London on Saturday 15th June.
Briefly these talks will be Soul in the System which Sarah describes as:
Meditation or mindfulness practice is often promoted as a way of helping us cope better with the demands of daily life. Meditation is said to build resilience and reduce anxiety, and so it does. But at what point does ‘coping’ become ‘colluding’? If we’re asked to work in unjust systems, or to live in an inhuman way, should we be learning to adapt ourselves to such demands? This talk explores the notion of ‘mysticism as resistance’ and asks how contemplative practice and community might empower souls to transform, and not simply survive, the system.
A second talk will be Poetry, Contemplation and the G-word and is described by Sarah as:
Many people today seek spiritual wisdom and strength to navigate the challenges of our world. Yet for many, the word ‘God’ feels difficult to say; the reality it points to seems doubtful at best. Do we really need it? Can we go on, spiritually speaking, without it? Drawing on the wisdom of poets, Scripture and contemplation, this talk reflects on the meaning of the G-word and its significance for contemporary experience.
The theme of the day at the Meditatio Centre is: Shouting, Cancelling, Signalling: Christ and the Anxieties of Speech.
The possibility of dialogue, questioning and honest disagreement seems often unattainable, so sensitised are we to certain verbal cues and so charged is our political atmosphere.
Can the Christ who broke down the ‘dividing wall’ between Jew and Gentile redeem our (un)civil discourse? How might
contemplative practice make possible different forms of exchange and allow us to inhabit our words anew?
Sarah is a highly regarded and published theologian with a passion for contemplative practice that she eagerly shares with others. I hope you are inspired to meet Sarah either or both at the gathering and the tour. Below is the itinerary that is in the planning with the help and generosity of willing WCCM hosts up and down the country.
- Thursday 6th June Sarah will meet the brothers at The College of the Resurrection, Mirfield, Huddersfield before travelling to Minsteracres.
- Monday 10 June – Leeds Minster, Kirkgate, Leeds LS2 7DJ
14:00-16:00 Soul in the System. Suggested donation £10. http://tinyurl.com/Soulinthesystem.
19:00-21:00 Poetry, Contemplation and the ‘G-word’.
Suggested donation £10.
http://tinyurl.com/PoetryandGword
Contact: paul.maybury@leedsminster.org
- Tuesday 11 June – St George’s Church, Birmingham B15 3DQJ
18:00-19:00 Soul in the System.
19:30-20:30 Poetry, Contemplation and the ‘G-word’.
Donations welcome.
Contact: vicar@stgeorgesedgbaston.org.uk
- Wednesday 12 June – St Mary’s Priory Church, Chepstow, NP16 5HU13:30-15:30 Poetry, Contemplation and the ‘G-word’.
Donations welcome.
Contact: frchris2@icloud.com
- Wednesday 12 June – Bath Abbey BA1 1LT
19:00-21:30 Soul in the System.
Suggested donation £15.
Booking through Eventbrite or by phone 0117 462 1117.
- Thursday 13 June – Sarum College, Cathedral Close,Salisbury SP1 2EE
14:30-16:00 Soul in the System.
Suggested donation £10.
19:00-20:30 Poetry, Contemplation and the ‘G-word’.
Suggested donation £10.
Contact: nigel.done@salisbury.anglican.org
- Saturday 15 June – Meditatio Centre, St Marks Church, Myddelton Sq, London EC1R 1XX
10:30-16:00. Shouting, Cancelling, Signalling: Christ and the Anxieties of Speech.
£40/£20/ £25 online.
Contact: kate@wccm.org
There is a strong sense among many people of faith that God is at work and spiritual renewal is beginning to shine in the world. So we can be optimistic about the future of the church opening ourselves to and being available for God’s work in and through us.