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Certificate
Programme:
credit
bearing
courses from
the
University
of Cambridge
St Albans Centre for Christian Studies is a local centre for the
University of Cambridge’s Institute of Continuing Education. The Certificate Programme in Theological Studies comprises
four core modules and a variety of optional modules. The certificate is awarded when students have successfully completed the core modules and two additional modules. No
prior
experience
or study is
required.
The
programme is
a level 1
university
course (i.e.
equivalent
to the first
year at
undergraduate
level).
Students on
certificate
programme
course are
required to
complete a
written
assignment
for each
module. For
full details
of the
Certificate
programme
please
follow this
link:
Certificate
in Theology
Saturday
Study Days
Study days
aim to open
up areas of
interest and
provide a
basic
introduction
to a topic
which might
be studied
more deeply
on other
courses or
by private
reading.
Designed for
busy people
the days are
intended to
be
comprehensive
and clear.
Each day
includes a
break for
morning
coffee
(provided)
and for
lunch
(please make
your own
provision).
Rejoicing
in the Old
Testament: a
fresh look
at the OT
and
spirituality
(including
the hard
bits)
Saturday
18 September 2010
Much of the
Old
Testament is
hard for
21st century
people to
accept
(hard-to-believe
stories and
blood-thirsty
episodes),
but can be a
rich
spiritual
resource. It
faces issues
such as
love,
suffering,
fear,
failure,
success,
death,
birth, and
many other
still
relevant
themes. To
leave the OT
at Sunday
School is to
lose an
important
resource we
can rejoice
in. The two
tutors come
from
different
backgrounds
and
traditions,
but share an
interest in
making the
OT
accessible
and
enriching
for people
of faith
today.
Tutor:
Roy Gregory, StACCS tutor
in
Spirituality
and Ysmena
Pentelow
Venue:
Ashley
Church,
Ashley Road,
St Albans
AL1 5DA
Date:
Saturday, 18
September 2010
Time:
10.00 am to
3.30 pm
Cost:
£18
including
tea and
coffee
Follow this
link for
directions
to Ashley
Church.
There is a
car park at
Ashley
Church which
you are
welcome to
use,
however,
space is
limited and
you should
allow time
to find
parking on
nearby
streets if
the car park
is full.
Hot drinks
will be
available,
but please
bring a
packed
lunch.
Giotto in a
day
Saturday
9 October 2010
For centuries the work of the artist
Giotto has
been
regarded as
a turning
point in the
history of
western art.
This study
day takes an
in depth
look at all
his
surviving
work
examining
what is new
and
exploring
the
significance
of the
changes in
terms of
Christian
spirituality
and the
historical
context.
Tutor:
Iain Lane
Venue:
The Chapter
House Crypt,
St Albans
Cathedral
Date:
Saturday 9
October 2010
Time:
10.30 am to
3.30 pm
Cost:
£18
including
tea and
coffee
The
architecture
of
contemporary
faith
Saturday
6 November 2010
It is often said that architecture has
lost the
importance
it had in
society at
large and in
the Church:
people no
longer
expect
buildings to
communicate
shared
ideals or
understandings
of life.
Some
architects
have
effectively
retreated
into a
private
world in
which their
profession
is best
represented
by
theoretical
projects
which will
never be
built.
Others still
try to work
with clients
and
communities
to make real
spaces which
are not
merely
pragmatic
but also
expressive.
This morning
will explore
a number of
church
buildings,
small and
large, built
in the last
30 years by
major
architects
like Rafael
Moneo, Tadao
Ando and
Alvaro Siza.
We will see
how a modern
building can
speak of
faith and
engender
spirituality,
and also
draw
parallels
between the
practice of
contemporary
architecture
and theology
as
activities
within the
community of
faith. Much
more fun
than it
sounds!
Tutor:
Iain Lane
Venue:
The Chapter
House Crypt,
St Albans
Cathedral
Date:
Saturday 6
November 2010
Time:
10.00 am to
1.00 pm
Cost:
£12
including
morning
coffee
Atonement
and grace in
children's
fantasy
literature
Saturday
13 November 2010
This study morning will explore the ways in which
the
Christian
themes of
atonement
and grace
are evident
within the
Narnia
Chronicles,
the Harry
Potter
books, the
Lord of the
Rings and
other
children's
stories.
The tutor,
Revd Dr
Howard
Worsley, is
a long term
researcher
into
children's
spirituality
(as well as
an Anglican
priest, a
theological
researcher
and the
Director of
Education
for the
Diocese of
London). He
is
interested
in exploring
how,
implicitly
or
explicitly,
authors with
or without
any owned
Christian
faith may
present the
embedded
Christian
narrative
through
their
writings. Dr
Worsley is
the author
of
A Child sees
God,
Children
talk about
Bible
stories,
and is
currently
publishing
some
overview
research
into how
children
handle the
Bible as
seen within
a wider
corpus of
English
literature.
The morning
is being
held at
St Stephen's
Church, St
Albans:
there is a
large car
park and the
hall, which
is
accessible
and has
toilet
facilities,
is attached
to the
church.
Tutor:
Revd Dr
Howard
Worsley
Venue:
St Stephen's
Church Hall,
Watling
Street, St
Albans
Date:
Saturday 13
November 2010
Time:
10.00 am to
1.00
pm
Cost: £12 (including morning coffee
& biscuits)
For
directions
to St St
Stephen's
Church
please
follow this link.
What is
spiritual
direction?
Is it for
me?
Saturday
20 November 2010
Spiritual direction has become increasingly
popular and
it is
certainly a
phrase that
you will
have heard;
but what is
it all
about?
Perhaps you
have
wondered
whether it
might be for
you? It is
certainly
not just for
some
'spiritual
elite' (if
such a thing
ever really
existed) and
it can fit
well into a
busy
Christian
life in the
secular
world. It
isn't
something
which is
only for
Christians
from certain
traditions
or
denominations
and
increasing
numbers of
people are
finding it
useful to
set aside
time with a
trained
person to
see where
God might be
and what
clues there
are to
progressing
in their
spiritual
life.
This workshop allows you to explore these
questions
and
possibilities.
In the
morning you
will be able
to hear from
a number of
different
people who
act as
spiritual
directors:
they will
talk about
their work
and what it
means. In
the
afternoon
you will be
able to
experience a
half hour
'taster
session'
with one of
the team and
experience
yourself
what
spiritual
direction is
like. The
afternoon
will also be
an
opportunity
to
experience a
'quiet
space' and
have
available
various
suggested
ways of
praying and
finding God.
Roy Gregory,
StACCS tutor
in Christian
Spirituality,
will be
facilitating
the day and
he will be
supported by
a team of
spiritual
directors
coming from
a variety of
Christian
traditions.
Directors
will include
Pia Buxton,
Anne Strach,
Philip Mader-Grayson,
and Anthony
Curran.
The workshop
is held at
Ashley
Church
in St
Albans,
which has a
small car
park and on
street
parking
available
nearby. Hot
dinks will
be available
during the
day, but
please bring
a packed
lunch.
Facilitator:
Roy Gregory,
StACCS tutor
in Christian
Spirituality
Venue:
Ashley
Church,
Ashley Road,
St Albans
AL1 5DA
Date:
Saturday 20
November 2010
Time:
10.00 am to
5.00
pm
Cost: £18 (including morning coffee
&
afternoon
tea)
There
will be a
lunch break,
please bring
a packed
lunch.
For
directions
to
Ashley Hall
Church please
follow
this link.
Ignatian
spirituality
workshop
Saturday
27 November 2010
The day will explore the distinctive features of
Ignatian
spirituality,
a way of
approaching
Christian
life and
prayer
established
by St
Ignatius of
Loyola
(founder of
the Society
of Jesus) in
the 16th
century.
There will
be practical
instructions
on the
Ignatian way
of praying (Examen
and
Spiritual
Exercises)
as well as
opportunity
to pray
using these
techniques.
In the
afternoon Br
Patrick will
extend the
Ignatian way
by exploring
the
spirituality
and
practices
developed by
Anthony de
Mello.
The day will
be led by
Canon Dennis
Stamps,
Ministerial
Development
Officer for
the Anglican
Diocese of
St Albans
and StACCS
tutor in New
Testament
Studies, and
Brother
Patrick
Moore,
Scholar-in-residence
in
Spirituality,
Sarum
College,
Salisbury.
Br Patrick
is a De La
Salle
brother and
has taught
in
California,
Cambridge
and London.
He is a
regular
speaker here
in St Albans
and will be
with us
again in
January
2011.
Tutor:
Canon Dennis
Stamps and
Br Patrick
Moore
Venue:
The Chapter
House Crypt,
St Albans
Cathedral
Date:
Saturday 27
November 2010
Time:
10.30 am to
3.30
pm
Cost: £18
including
morning
coffee &
biscuits
For
directions
to St Albans
Cathedral
please
follow
this link.
Short
courses
Many people
find evening
classes
difficult to
attend: the
hectic pace
of modern
life makes
it difficult
to get to
ten
consecutive
Tuesday
evenings,
and after a
long day at
work energy
levels can
be low.
However, a
short course
of two or
three
evening
sessions is
often more
accessible,
so each term
we offer a
small number
of short
courses on a
variety of
themes.
Six great
medieval
thinkers
Tuesdays
5, 12 and 19
October 2010
For many years Christians tended to regard the
'middle
ages' as a
dark period
containing
little of
interest:
theology of
any merit or
worth was
done in the
early church
and came to
life again
in the
debates of
the
sixteenth
century and
the rise of
Christian
humanism.
However, in
recent years
our view of
this
fascinating
period has
undergone a
major
revision.
Far from
being a time
of
superstition
or futile
speculation
(angels and
pinheads)
this was the
time in
which the
foundations
of the
modern
European
world were
laid and
important
ideas
debated.
This short
course will
focus on the
high middle
ages, 1000
to 1300, and
introduce
the thought
of six key
figures. In
week one we
will meet
Anselm and
Peter
Lombard; in
week two,
Bonaventure
and Thomas
Aquinas; and
in week
three, John
Duns Scotus
and William
of Ockham.
In each case
a brief
biography
will lead
into an
outline of
their
contribution
to European
intellectual
life:
philosophy,
theology and
the
beginnings
of empirical
science will
all be seen
in a context
of dialogue
with
Orthodox
Christianity,
Islam and
the ideas of
the pagan
past.
Tutor:
Iain Lane
Venue:
The Chapter
House Crypt,
St Albans
Cathedral
Date:
Tuesdays 5,
12 and 19
October 2010
Time:
8.00
pm
Cost:
£24
The Book of
Isaiah
Tuesdays
16, 23 and
30 November 2010
The Book of Isaiah speaks very strongly to the
situations
in which it
arose, but
has also
spoken
strongly in
subsequent
centuries.
Christians
in
particular
have found
within it
prophecies
pointing to
both the
birth and
death of
Christ, and
passages
from it are
read
throughout
Advent,
Christmas
and Holy
Week. It is
therefore
perhaps not
surprising
that it is
sometimes
referred to
as the
'Fifth
Gospel'.
More
recently,
scholars
have
identified
different
parts to the
book and
even
different 'Isaiahs'.
All agree
that it
contains
some of the
most
profound
imagery of
the Bible.
This short
course aims
to open up
some of
these
aspects of
this rich
book.
The course
is led by
Canon Kevin
Walton,
Canon
Chancellor
of St Albans
Cathedral,
who is an
Old
Testament
scholar with
a particular
interest and
expertise in
the Book of
Isaiah.
Tutor:
Canon Kevin
Walton
Venue:
The Chapter
House Crypt,
St Albans
Cathedral
Date:
Tuesdays 16,
23 and 30
November 2010
Time:
8.00
pm
Cost:
£24
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