Latest Posts
“And there was no more sea” Hannah Stone’s weekly reflection
Thinking again about refugees, I’m very struck by the portrayal of the Mediterranean sea on the cover of the booklet, Refugee Realities in Church Art (it’s from the St Nicholas window in Christ Church, Upper Armley).The sun is glinting on it, and the waves look like...
A Matter of Life and Death
In this podcast Dr Lynn Bassett explores the ways our approach to death, dying and bereavement has changed in the context of the global COVID-19 pandemic. This recording was made as part of a series of online events in Autumn 2020 to help us see dying as...
The Lord commanded the storm
This week our Poet Theologian in Virtual Residence, Hannah Stone, considers how the imagery of storms can convey many difficult emotions and upheavals and, with Leeds Church Institute's recent exhibition 'Asylum in Art' in mind, shares a moving poem by Carolyn...
They had no reason to keep me
Hannah Stone writes "In the last couple of weeks, LCI has provided some marvellous opportunities to engage with creative responses to the experiences of refugees and asylum seekers, first through a zoom launch of the Refugee Realities in Church Art pamphlet (an...
Ethical and legal
This week Hannah Stone, our Poet Theologian in Virtual Residence, turns her attention to Ninian Smart’s ‘dimensions’ of religion – ethical and legal, and asks us to watch out for the opportunities to "act on the spirit of the law, and cherish it, being warmed by acts...
Narrative and mythic
In the context of Leeds being in 'local lockdown' our Poet Theologian, Hannah Stone, considers how we can be nourished by the narratives of whatever faith we hold to, knowing that in reading and thinking about them we are sharing in a wider community and shares her...
Leading from behind
Leeds Citizens and Leeds Church Institute work together to employ a local Community Organiser, Becky Howcroft. In the third in a series of theological reflections related to the work of Leeds Citizens, Becky considers a Biblical model of leadership and asks whether...
Religion: Experiential and Emotional
This week Hannah Stone, our Poet Theologian, is focusing on pilgrimage, as an example of the ‘experiential and emotional’ dimension mentioned by Ninian Smart, though it contains elements of the ritual, material and other aspects of religious practice. I...
Practical and Ritual
Hannah Stone, LCI's appointed Poet Theologian, shares some thoughts about the practical and material dimensions of religion, not just of Christianity but other world religions, and asks us to share in our hearts the rituals and celebrations of our fellow human beings,...
How Pentecostal Christians pray through the pandemic
LCI member Carol Tomlin, an academic and Pentecostal Christian, is interviewed by Professor Robert Beckford on the BBC World Service programme Heart and Soul on How Pentecostal Christians pray through the pandemic. Throughout the pandemic, the message of healing...