The 2013 Hook Lecture will be given by Giles Fraser, priest-in-charge at St Mary’s Newington in south London, former canon chancellor of St Paul’s Cathedral, columnist for the Guardian and frequently Radio 4 contributor.
The lecture is entitled Original Helplessness and will touch on questions such as:
- How do our experiences of birth and death affect the way we live?
- Do these times of helplessness leave us with a common experience of brokenness and a desire to be healed and find connection?
- If sex is an intersection of this vulnerability and desire – why has the Church often reduced it to a moral or punitive issue?
- What attitude should we have toward groups whose vulnerability is publically visible – children, the elderly and those marginalised because of their sexuality, ethnicity or economic status?
- Can an awareness of the wounds we carry from childhood become a strength – the very vehicle for love and connection itself?
The Hook Lecture is an annual event, which aims to stimulate debate around an issue of faith in the context of the city, shaping discussion and dialogue throughout the coming year. High profile speakers launch the conversation, drawing different communities together in Leeds Minster. The event is organised jointly by LCI, Leeds Minster and Theology and Religious Studies at the University of Leeds. Past speakers have included Baroness Warnock (2011) and Professor Mona Siddiqui (2012).
Click here to order tickets
Click here to read Giles Fraser’s Guardian article on Original Helplessness
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