Category Archives: Events

Science is not as straightforward as some people think it is

Hosted by Stig Graham
Dates: 18 March 2025
Time: 7 PM London
The theme of the evening lacks a good title as yet (please send it to me if you think of one) but the premise is that science is not as straightforward as some people think it is, This stems from the number of conversations I have had over the years with people who insist they are atheists, and don’t do religion, because they believe in science, they trust data and facts. How I respond professionally as scientist, chaplain and priest is one thing, but inside my head is another thought stream altogether.
One embedded assumption seems to be that science flexes and changes with new data and new understandings whereas, clearly to them, religion does not. To me neither is a given.
Hopefully, it will be fun to explore how we change our minds or resist doing so either scientifically or theologically, or any other context that seems relevant.
Max Planck suggested that science advances one funeral a time, and “a new scientific truth does not triumph by convincing its opponents and making them see the light, but rather because its opponents die, and a new generation grows up that is familiar with it.”
Humboldt didn’t help with his observation that, “There are three stages of scientific discovery: first people deny it is true; then they deny it is important; finally, they credit the wrong person.”
Zoom details TBD, contact Stig Graham for information.

God and the Machine: God, Tech, and the Care of Creation

Hosted by Lee Barford
Dates: 23 November & 7 December 2024
Time: 6 PM London | 1 PM EST | 10 AM PST
Humanity is called to be stewards of the Earth, not rulers. Over the past 200 years,
technology has enhanced human flourishing but at great environmental cost.
This two-part event explores the interplay of theology, environmental science, and
technology to address how humanity can reduce its environmental impact while
continuing to thrive. Our panelists will discuss key questions such as
– Can technology help reduce our environmental footprint?
– What can we expect from the already irreversible impacts of our past choices?
– How does our Christian duty to care for the Earth fit into our faith and practice?
– What more can we do?
Registration: http://www.sswsj.org/god-and-the-machine-2024.html

Southern Chapter October 2024

1 October 2024

Speaker: The Reverend John Kerr
St Stephen’s Rochester Row

Coffee at 11am
Talk 11.30am
Eucharist 12.30pm, presiding, Revd. Graham Buckle
Lunch 1.30pm
Close 2.30pm
Optional pub

The Genesis Distortion: agnosticism and creation

SYNOPSIS: We engage in the so-called “culture wars” on an entirely mistaken premise; that there is one Biblical creation account “The Biblical Creation story”, and it is found in the first couple of chapters in Genesis. On that false assumption, a vast inverted pyramid of doctrine is balanced. There are at least seven vastly different Biblical creation accounts in the Hebrew Bible (the Old Testament, as some still call it). In today’s brief presentation and discussion, we shall examine perhaps three of them, and see how our teaching has been skewed by the Genesis distortion.

Southern Chapter September 2022

23 September 2022

Speaker Revd Dr Mark Siddall
St Stephen’s Church, Rochester Row, London

11.15 Arrival and Coffee

11.30 -12.30 Presentation 

12.30 -13.30 Sandwich Lunch (a donation of £5)

1.30 – 14.30 Questions and discussion

2.30 – 15.30 Eucharist followed by tea

Mark spoke about the climate crisis from the perspective of the Prodigal Son referencing a recent article he wrote for Theology, vol 125 (3) 197-204.