34, Chepstow Villas, London, W11 2QZ
Tel 0207 313 8286
Email : sioncentrefordialogue@gmail.com
Website : www.sioncentre.org
SCDE AUTUMN PROGRAMME 2020
Our three sessions in September and the Cardinal Bea Lecture will be via Zoom or Webinar. If you would like a link to these events, please contact the Centre on Sioncentrefordialogue@gmail.com . The links to each session will be sent out a day or two before the event.
Thursday September 10th 14.00-15.30
Sr Therese Fitzgerald nds The Gifts of the Spirit – where can we find them?
An exploration of Biblical texts that invite us into God’s presence and out into the world.
Texts will include Isaiah 11:1-9, Galatians 5:22-26 and others.
Monday September 14th 14.00-15.30
Rabbi Dr Michael Hilton Why are the Jewish High Holydays so popular?
Rosh Hashanah (the Jewish New Year) gets very little attention in the Bible, and Yom Kippur (the Day of Atonement) was a day dedicated to Temple ritual. So how did they become the main occasions in the year for Jews to attend synagogue? The answer is bound up with the early history of Jewish-Christian relations.
Tuesday September 22nd 14.00-15.30
Rabbi Dr Michael Hilton The Jewish Festivals of Sukkot and Simchat Torah
Exploring the origins and themes of these festivals and how they are celebrated today.
50th Annual Cardinal Bea Memorial Lecture:
Wednesday October 7th 19.00-21.00
Professor Michael Barnes SJ and Jonathan Gorsky
Bea after 50 Years: Legacy and Inspiration
The occasion of the 50th Cardinal Bea Memorial Lecture provides an opportunity to celebrate the memory of this remarkable scripture scholar and man of the Church who did so much to shape the direction of the Second Vatican Council. As well as calling to mind his many achievements, especially in the sphere of Jewish-Christian relations, this lecture looks to the next fifty years. What would Cardinal Bea say about where we are now? And where would he like us to be in 2070?
Thursday October 15th 14.00-15.30
Rabbi Mark Solomon The Song of Creation
This study session falls during the week when Jews read the creation story in synagogue. We will be introduced to the ancient Jewish work Perek Shirah, A Chapter of Song, which ascribes songs of praise – mostly biblical verses – to every aspect of creation: heavenly phenomena, geographical features, plants, birds, animals and creeping things. It is usually attributed to the early Jewish “Chariot” mystics, and its meaning is much debated. For many of us, the Covid lockdown has been a time to refocus on nature, and our place within it, and this curious work helps us to hear the cosmic song of praise.
Tuesday October 20th 14.00 – 15.30
Rev Dr Anders Berquist “And the word of the Lord came to Jeremiah…”
Of all the prophetic books, the Book of Jeremiah is the one that is most consistently attentive to the experience of being a prophet. What is it like to hear God, and to have to pass on God’s word? What is it like when the message is one of defeat and disaster? How does the prophet charged with this message fit (or not) into the politics and society of their day? The later editors of the book have framed it so as to explore just these questions – which this study session will open up through a close reading of selected texts, including Jer. 1.1-19, 15.10-21, 17.14-18, 20.7-18, and 36.1-32.
Tuesday October 27th 14.00 – 15.30
Rabbi Rachel Montagu Jephthah’s Daughter: Who is the Troublemaker Here?
A look at what happened and what didn’t happen in the story of Jephthah’s daughter. Why did Jephthah make this foolish vow? What was its effect on him and on his daughter? How have artists interpreted the story and what moral can be drawn from it?
Wednesday November 4th 14.00 – 15.30
Rabbi Debbie Young-Somers The Biblical origins of Social Distancing
From leprosy to menstruation, understandings of public health discourse in the Hebrew Bible
Wednesday November 11th 14.00 – 15.30
Canon Christopher Jackson St Paul and his Jewish roots
In his letter to the Romans, St Paul writes warmly of the Jewish people – they are family. This session will consider whether chapters 9, 10 and 11 are an encouragement or a stumbling-block in Jewish-Christian dialogue.
Wednesday November 18th 14.00 – 15.30
Rabbi Alexandra Wright and Rev Kristina Andreasson
How biblical women have shaped, and still shape, the faith of Jews and Christians
Thursday November 26th 14.00 – 15.30
Dr Sean Ryan St Paul on prayer and thanksgiving in 1 Thessalonians
Prayer is central to the theology of St Paul. We will look together at St Paul’s consolatory letter to the community of believers in Thessalonica (1 Thessalonians). We will reflect on how he encourages his hearers to give thanks to God at all times, and pray without ceasing, so as not to lose hope, even when hope and joy seem to have disappeared. We will reflect on the rich theology of prayer that blooms in this little letter.
Saturday December 5th 11.00 – 15.00
Fr Richard Nesbitt Day of Prayer for Advent
Reflecting on the Advent themes of watching and waiting in this year when we have had to do so much watching and waiting!
Tuesday December 8th 14.00 – 15.30
Rabbi Sylvia Rothschild Healing of the Body, Healing of the Soul: Praying for Healing in Jewish Tradition
From Abraham onwards, Jews have prayed to God for healing. A look at some of the sources, some of the prayers, and some of the traditions from the Jewish world in the face of serious illness