At William Temple Foundation we are searching for radical hope in an era of polycrisis. We have located the search in the public square, and are considering specifically how this search relates to faith based organisations and their search for and proliferation of hope.
This is well trodden ground for the temple tradition. Two historic examples stand out: 1) In 1942, contributions by William Temple in Christianity and Social Order, through Temple’s articulation of middle axioms, or a suggested program of policy areas that might be explored as part of the welfare state. 2) from 1985, the Faith inthe City report delivered by an interdisciplinary board of commissioners which offered a much more specific set of policy prescriptions for ending poverty across the United Kingdom. Example one provided broad based agendas people, assumed to have a faith, might build a coalition around. Example 2 was highly specific and prescriptive about ways in which Christian’s should act in the face of post-industrial decline. These are two diverse approaches in the heritage of our Tradition about which there is discussion in series 2 episode 1 of the radical hope podcast.
But what of today? Crises are arguably more pronounced, the faiths landscape is more diverse, communications are much more nuanced and take place across public spaces that are more global in nature. A strength of William Temple was his consultative approach. One of myriad examples of this is that before publication, he referred his thinking on middle axioms to RH Tawney, William Beveridge and John Maynard Keynes – all global leaders of their time. Keynes even suggested that rather than their position in an appendix in Christianity and Social Order, they could be in the main text.
In this spirit of consultation with global leaders in their field, for our Communicating Radical Hope campaign, we have engaged with Vice President for Communications and Institutional Advancement at Virginia Theological Seminary, Alexandria and the General Theological Seminary New York, Nicky Burridge.
Two pillars of Nicky’s work cited by those who know here well are ‘authenticity’ and ‘intelligibility’. These are drawn from 25 years of experience communicating as a practitioner, first as a freelance journalist and second on behalf of respected faithbased organisations around the world. This experience in the UK, in Hong Kong, and in the United States, has provided a basis for excellence, responding to crises shaping the lives of millions of different faiths and none, in a way that is both data driven and offers a clear narrative, even under the most challenging of circumstances.
In April 2025 we made Burridge our keynote speaker at our pioneering international conference. Our subject was Communicating Radical Hope in an eraof poly-crisis, and we drew participation and engagement from Christian Muslim and secular stakeholders alike in the UK, US and around the world – the expertise Nicky showcased, effortlessly rendered individual and institutional support for alumni speaking truth to power, and astute strategic leadership and crisis communications in intractable conditions on the global stage. Burridge tracked parallel campaigns emerging in Virginia and Washington DC which responded to the sin of slavery rife in the roots of Virginia Theological Seminary itself, and then the rise of practices by the sitting US President which left many feeling marginalised and others, notably VTS alum and Bishop of Washington Mariann Edgar Budde, calling for the President to ‘have mercy’. The full paper by Burridge can be found in our new Temple Book Communicating Radical Hope in an era ofpoly crisis available for free from the William Temple Foundation website.
We knew the lessons delivered by Burridge were ripe with wisdom, but for another of our speakers, Professor Martyn Percy from St Joseph’s University, Macao, it was the roots of Nicky’s Communication’s practice which stood out. He said, “I want to go back to our keynote speech this morning from Nicky Burridge, whichspoke about hope, faith, trust and authenticity, and particularly emphasisingconsistency and transparency. And I think underneath that, there was a pulltowards honesty and integrity in public life… One thing that was missing, I think,from Nicky’s introduction, is that her first degree is in theology and I think it’s noaccident that the way that these things come together in her presentation, both asa skilled communications theorist and practitioner, with 25 years and more behindher, underneath that, there is a degree in theology, which actually, of course, isconcerned with truth and the eternal things, and not with short-termism”
Burridge’s blend of authentic content and intelligible narrative is modelling and leading change in Virginia and New York, and also offers us a guide for our own transformation at the Foundation in the United Kingdom, driven by the way we curate space for, and communicate hope to, others in 2025.
You can read and listen back to some of Burridge’s work on the William Temple Foundation Website
Editorial by Matthew Barber Rowell, who is the Northern Temple NetworkLead for the William Temple Foundation. Until July 31st 2025 Barber-Rowellwas Communications Officer at the William Temple Foundation. He is nowdeveloping their Authentic Communication Charter to guide the search forRadical Hope launched at the Inner Temple in April.
Dr Barber-Rowell speaking at the Inner Temple, London, in April 2025. This was as part of the Communicating Radical Hope conference organised in partnership with Virginia Theological Seminary.
A statement from Chair of the Board, Simon Lee:
In 2022, we rounded off a year of marking the 80th anniversaries of William Temple’s Christianity and Social Orderand of the Beveridge Report, with a conference in Blackburn Cathedral, the mother church of a diocese created out of the diocese of Manchester when Temple was the Bishop of Manchester. That conference was held in partnership with Liverpool Hope University. The then Bishop of Burnley, now the Bishop of Blackburn, participated. The proceedings were published in late 2023 in a special issue of the Journal of Church & State, co-edited by our trustee, Dr Yazid Said of Liverpool Hope University. In early 2024, the William Temple Foundation recruited new trustees across the North, joining existing trustees based in Liverpool and Yorkshire.
We are now well-placed to reflect on the centenaries of various events in the arc of William Temple’s journey across the North, from Manchester to York from the 1920s throughout the 1930s and into the 1940s, before his famous service in war-time as Archbishop of Canterbury. Most importantly, we wish to bring together social justice activists and theologians from diverse traditions and communities, indeed all who are interested in faith in the public square, to address the issues of our age in this part of the world.
So I am pleased to announce that Dr Matthew Barber-Rowell is becoming our Northern Temple Network Lead, developing our mission across the North as envisaged by, and in liaison with, those trustees. In particular, we look forward to joining in the celebrations of the centenary of the diocese of Blackburn and to deepening our partnership with Liverpool Hope University while seeking meaningful partnerships with other dioceses, communities, educational institutions and faith foundations. Other arrangements are being made to take forward the communications work that Matthew has led, and there is much else happening in the Foundation through the work of our Digital Learning Lead, Dr Katya Braginskaia, and our Director of Research, Professor Chris Baker, together with the wider trustee body, our research fellows and friends of the Foundation, as for example in recent roundtables and conferences in Cuddesdon, Sheffield and Limehouse.
On 30th April 2025 the William Temple Foundation gathered at the Inner Temple to establish a search for hope across the public square. The breadth of this search can be found in our initial reflections on the gathering here. There will be many more pieces to come in weeks and months to come. This search was rooted in what our keynote speaker Nicky Burridge characterised as authentic communication, and as our own Matthew Barber-Rowell put it, 5 spaces of radical hope. These spaces allowed us to explore radical hope as: 1) rooted in struggle, 2) an experiment for institutions, 3) found within our shared ecology, 4) cocreated and 5) democratic. Our search began with those gathered being given space to assemble hope, as they saw it, contributing to an installation over the course of the conference.
In a spirit of cocreation, delegates were given the earliest possible opportunity to share their own sense of what hope was or where it might be found. Our artist in residence and facilitator Francesca Bernardi PhD FRSA invited us to participate as follows:
“We will participate in a gentle offering of hope in our collective gathering today, sharing our individual sense of hope and meaning making in a way that might be assembled into a community of hope. You might want to doodle, or scratch on the paper, you might with to ‘mark make’ and there are mark making tools for that. Each piece of paper that we use will symbolise an individual contribution. The invitation is also that you might write something about hope, so that your understanding of hope in literal terms emerges. Or you might express hope through image making more abstractly. Those online are also welcome to share their meaning of hope, which will be translated into the room, dispelling the boundary and producing collectiveness across different spaces. This is an opportunity to symbolise meaning making, whether it is in a written form of visually in terms of what hope means. This is a chance to be experimental and co-creative, and what we hear in the room might come together with what has brought you here and might be expressed through what you produce”
Some expressions of hope is presented individually below. Then, a sense of the collective installation is also offered. As part of our search for hope, led by Research Fellow Dr Matthew Barber-Rowell, we will seek to communicate, curate and assemble many more expressions of hope in the weeks and months to come.
On Wednesday 30th of April 2025, the William Temple Foundation and Virginia Theological Seminary co-hosted a pioneering interdisciplinary conference at the Inner Temple, London. The conference, titled Communicating Radical Hope in an Era of Poly-Crisis, was organised and curated by Foundation Research Fellow and Communications Officer Dr Matthew Barber-Rowell, who was awarded a Dean’s Scholarship with Virginia Theological Seminary in summer 2024. This manifestation of our search for radical hope was inspired by Bishop George Bell’s 1940 volume Christianity and World Order, which recognised the degradation of society in the darkness of World War Two and the fact that, paradoxically, people participated in a ‘spatially united world’ (Bell, 1940, p13). Bishop Bell was a close friend and collaborator of Archbishop William Temple. Our search sought to consider a dynamic agenda which drew on a 21st Century expression of the Temple Tradition and responded to Bell’s work in the face of the many crises shaping our world today.
Our gathering was also shaped by the death of Pope Francis on the 22nd April, his Encyclical Laudato Si’ (Care for our Common Home) on the environment, the synodal process and the ‘Pilgrims of Hope’ theme of the Jubilee Year of 2025 declared by the late Pope Francis. These Catholic initiatives all find great resonance with contemporary expressions of the Temple Tradition and the recent work of the William Temple Foundation, including this conference.
Following on was our keynote speaker Nicky Burridge, Vice President for Communications and Institutional Advancement at Virginia Theological Seminary (VTS) and the General Theological Seminary in New York, for her keynote address. Nicky explored authentic communications and set out stories from both digital and physical spaces in the VTS context to evidence this case, from supporting VTS alumni Bishop Budde of Washington as she stood in Washington Cathedral and called for President Trump to ‘have mercy’, to the viral social media content that followed, to a pioneering reparations programme where VTS are returning to their own roots and seeking to respond to the sin of slavery which has shaped their history, as they look to the future of their institution.
An important aspect of the search for radical hope that Dr Barber-Rowell launched through his paper, is that each and every person has a part to play. To signify this, space was curated early on in the gathering and facilitated by Dr Francesca Bernardi FRSA for delegates to express for themselves what hope meant to them. This took the form of personal expression through mark making and annotation with card and coloured pens. These expressions formed an assemblage of hope, which was formed into an installation for delegates to reflect on throughout the day.
In session 2, we heard papers from Professor Simon Lee, Chair of the Trustees of the William Temple Foundation, and Dr Kerim Balci from the Hizmet Movement and Respect University in the USA, who set out diverse perspectives on the current context for faith-based organisations operating around the public square. The superb, new conference facilities of the Inner Temple enabled Simon Lee and others to use images to accompany their presentations, in his case of two themes in the full version of his paper which he was able to explain in answering questions from the floor, namely the concept of us as co-pilgrims, quoting Cardinal Basil Hume, and his wish to reclaim the concept of ‘icons’ for communicating as pilgrims of radical hope. In session 3 we heard papers exploring themes of integral ecology from Dr Emma Gardner, Director of the Laudato Si Centre in the Diocese Salford, freedom of religion and belief from Professor Mark Hill KC, Master at the Inner Temple, and propaganda and information warfare from Professor Emma Briant, Visiting Professor at University of Notre Dame. These papers were then set in dialogue with one another to begin exploring the conditions for radical hope. In session 4 we turned to case studies that we felt were already expressive of radical hope from Canon Grace Thomas, Canon Missioner at Manchester Cathedral, Julie Guegan President of the Global Collaboration Institute, and Dr Francesca Bernardi FRSA, Founder of the Antonio Gramsci Society UK.
Finally, in session 5 we were incredibly grateful to Professor Martyn Percy from University of St Joseph’s, Macao, and Bishop of the Catholic Diocese of Salford John Arnold who responded as critical listeners on the day.
Bishop John said,
“It has been very interesting to hear from so many with expertise and experience talking about reasons why we have to be so concerned with radical hope in our lives … I have been really pleased by the number of times that Pope Francis has been alluded to … we have heard the quote ‘everything is connected’ a number of times, which is so important for our understanding of the global context we are in from the environment, to refugees, to poverty, or even down to waste, all these things have an impact on everything else. We cannot take things in isolation [and] using that phrase of Pope Francis ‘each and everyone of us has our part to play'”.
Prof Percy said,
“[Today] we have had lots of samplings of intriguing and different ways of approaching politics and theology and the analysis of social and cultural life today. I think we have been able to savour each and every one of these … there has been a pull towards honesty and integrity in public life … those are the things we hunger for and we mourn their absence from political discourse at the moment and maybe even from ecclesiological discourse. … today we have heard a dialogue between despair and a word that is uncommon today which ‘respair’ [or] the recovery of hope. Can we recover hope after it has been smashed to pieces? There is evidence from the presentations and places people have come from today to show that there is a counter cultural move afoot”.
We concluded the day by joining evensong at Temple Church, following the hugely successful gathering at the Honourable Society of the Inner Temple. We wish to extend our thanks to the Master of Temple Church Robyn Griffith-Jones, and our sincere thanks most of all to Master Mark Hill KC who was our gracious host at the Inner Temple.
Reflecting on the day, Chair of the Board of the William Temple Foundation Simon Lee said,
“On behalf of trustees who were there in person or online, I would like to thank Matthew Barber-Rowell for organising such a stimulating day in partnership with VTS, Spaces of Hope, the Inner Temple and Temple Church. Thanks also to our colleague, Katya Braginskaia, for help on the day and to the Inner Temple team for their efficiency and warmth. From the prime movers in Matthew and Nicky Burridge of VTS in the first session, through to the respondents Bishop John Arnold and Professor Martyn Percy, we have been challenged but encouraged and uplifted. On a personal note, it was a joy for me that the conference was welcomed by a former student from my time at King’s College London, the distinguished Mark Hill KC, a Bencher of the Inner Temple, who is the doyen of lawyers arguing for freedom of religion around the world, and then to attend a moving Evensong with the Revd Robin Griffith-Jones, Master of the Temple Church. I was touched by the attendance of a fellow parishioner from Olney through to Public Theology students from the Diocese of Rochester, and a strong contingent from the North-West of England, in addition to the extraordinary effort by Nicky Burridge to fly in and out from the USA just ahead of Commencement at VTS. Matthew Barber-Rowell and all of us at the William Temple Foundation, with friends old and new, will continue to pursue this quest for radical hope”
In the coming weeks, we are excited to share outputs from the conference, with a full range of photos in addition to those above (produced by James Everett on behalf of Miranda Parry Photography) videos from the gathering, a podcast series, and a publication of conference proceedings. if you would like to know more about the work of the William Temple Foundation and specifically our Radical Hope campaign, please write to matthew@williamtemplefoundation.org.uk
The William Temple Foundation offers prayers, thoughts and thanks for the life of Pope Francis and condolences to all of those affected by the death of His Holiness on Monday, 20th April, 2025.
Given our focus on faith in public life, we have been given hope in recent years by the leadership of Pope Francis. His Encyclicals, from ‘Laudato Si ‘ in 2015 onwards, have opened up new frontiers for scholarship, social justice activism and spiritual engagement, in response to different crises across the world. We have taken great encouragement from that as a means of opening up spaces from which to pursue the common good.
In recent times, we have also seen the creation by Pope Francis of the synodal process across the Catholic Church, which has sought to engage all ordained and lay members of the church in dialogue. The purpose of this process has been to advance along a collective journey and ultimately for the church to be changed for the good of the Gospel. We recognise this spirit of dialogue across differences as one which is conterminous with the Temple tradition.
In this Year of Jubilee, we are especially encouraged by Pope Francis’s call to become Pilgrims of Hope. His own lifelong pilgrimage of hope is an exemplar for people of all faiths and beliefs.
During this period of mourning, we give thanks for the life of Pope Francis and for his courage and witness in recent months. We pray that he rests in peace and rises in glory.
We also pray for the guidance of the Holy Spirit in the coming Conclave and for God’s grace to uphold whoever is chosen as the successor of Pope Francis.
We have taken the decision to postpone our Northern Network gathering on Friday 4th April. We want to express our sincere thanks for the interest that we received in this. It is beyond doubt that the time is right for searching for hope and for developing a movement to which we can all contribute. However, we also feel that the time for launching a network to support this endevour in the north of England has not yet arrived.
Two resources that you might be interested in for now are as follows:
A new book – Curating Spaces of Hope: Transformational Leadership for Uncertain Times by Research Fellow Dr Matthew Barber-Rowell – out now and available here
A conference – Communicating Radical Hope in an era of poly-crisis – Inner Temple London – 30th April 2025 – we are running this gathering in partnership with Virginia Theologcial Seminary, where we will commence an international search for hope – register here
On the 4th April 2025 we are launching our Radical Hope Northern Network. The first gathering will take place in Ashton in Greater Manchester. In this gathering we will consider the causes of crises and uncertainty shaping citizen experiences, civil society institutions and the public square, and curate spaces of radical hope which respond and build resilience. Register free or on a pay as you feel basis, here.
On the 30th April 2025, we are hosting a one day conference at the Inner Temple, London, in partnership with Virginia Theological Seminary (VTS)*. This conference will launch an international search for Radical Hope and open up questions and debates relevant to faith based organisations in the public square and their response to poly-crises. The conference will be a hybrid gathering to reflect the conditions and spaces of engagement that make up the public sqaure in the 21st Century. The gathering will explore questions of freedom of religion and belief in the public square, truth and propaganda, and the role that dialogue can play in developing shared values in the public square. We are delighted to be joined by Vice President for Communications at VTS Nicky Burridge, Canon Professor Martyn Percy, Professor Mark Hill KC, Professor Emma Briant, representatives of the Hizmet Movement and a host of academic and practitioner contributors.
Registration is open now. Admissions are set at a flat rate of £20 which includes full conference access and hospitality throughout the day. The day will conclude with a gathering at Temple Church at 6pm which is free and open to all.
The William Temple Foundation is delighted to announce the publication of this new volume by Dr Matthew Barber-Rowell on the 31st March 2025, with SCM Press. Matthew completed his PhD with support from a Temple Scholarship (2019) and was recipient of the inaugaral Temple Postdoctoral Fellowship (2022) and now offers a new paradigm and methodology for Leadership in the Temple Tradtion. Endorsements have been provided by Chair of the Board of Trustees of the William Temple Foundation Professor Simon Lee, Dean and President of Virginia Theological Seminary (USA) The Very Revd Ian Markham who awarded Matthew and Dean’s Scholarship in 2024, and Government Minister for Social Security and Disability and Christian in Parliament for over 30 years, Sir Stephen Timms MP. Pre-order the book from SCM Press with 20% off now, and receive your copy on the 31st March 2025.
Throughout 2025 Director of the Foundation and William Temple Professor of Religion and Belief in Public Life Chris Baker, leads responses to the 40th anniversary of the Faith in the City Report.
2025 marks the 40th anniversary of the publication of the Church of England’s influential report on urban poverty called the Faith in the City Report. The Foundation will be hosting a series of events during the year to mark this prestigious anniversay. Director, Professor Chris Baker said
“One of the key consultants in the production of the Report was our then Director of Research, Canon John Atherton. We will be honouring John’s memory and the role of the Foundation in the production of this seminal research with a series of public events in partnership with Ripon College Cuddesdon, the Urban Theological Union (based in Sheffield) and the Church Urban Fund (and their Near Neighbours programme)”
The first event is a roundtable at Ripon College Cuddesdon on the 15th and 16th May 2025 with a prestigious line up of speakers. The second event will be a one day conference on the 12th July 2025 in Sheffield hosted with Urban Theology Union. Learn more here
