The William Temple Foundation is a research and ideas hub, shaping the debate on religion in public life. Through research, teaching and training we connect academics, religious institutions and community activists. Working with faith-based and secular thinkers, we exist to promote the economic, social and political wellbeing of society.
In recent years, victims of church-related abuse have complained bitterly about their treatment by the church. What has gone so badly wrong, and how could the church do better? Falling Among Thieves seeks to outline a theological understanding of church-related abuse, and the church’s role in ‘re-dressing’ the victim—drawing insights from the story of the Good Samaritan. The text is preceded by a Foreword from Stephen Cottrell, Archbishop of York, who both applauds and responds to Graystone’s words.
Andrew Graystone comments:
“I’m haunted by the scores of people I have met whose lives have been wrecked by their encounters with Christian leaders. In almost every case, the way the church has responded has caused as much harm—and often far more—than the original abuse. Over the years that I have been walking this road, the leaders of the contemporary church have failed to deal with this reality.
Abuse happens in every hierarchical institution—but there is no excuse for the church responding to its victims in such damaging and destructive ways. I hope that Falling Among Thieves will go some way to helping the church think deeply about the damage it has done, and how it might begin to respond more appropriately.”
Chris Baker, Director of Research at the Foundation comments:
“The William Temple Foundation is honoured to publish this important piece of theology by Andrew Graystone that is both a call for justice and a call for reconciliation around the topic of church-based abuse. We hope it will make a positive and substantive contribution to this serious issue.”
In this special blog for Eastertide, Stephen Cottrell, Archbishop of York, explains the Church of England’s new vision for the 2020s.
Easter is a time of great hope. It is the season when Christians remember Jesus’ death on the cross, his victory in resurrection, his ascension into heaven and the disciples receiving the gift of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost. That gift nearly 2000 years ago is the reason why Christianity continues to this day and why Easter is such an important celebration in the Christian calendar.
It is with this same Easter hope, rooted in the good news of Jesus Christ that the Church of England has embarked on its vision for the 2020s. It was William Temple, when appointed Archbishop of York, who wrote to a friend to say, ‘It is a dreadful responsibility, and that is exactly the reason why one should not refuse’ (letter to F. A. Iremonger, August 1928). Shortly before I was appointed to follow in his footsteps, albeit 91 years later, I had been asked to give some thought to what the Church of England’s vision for the 2020s might look like and, if I am honest, similar words to those of Temple went through my mind.
However, as I embarked on this task, I was clear on two things. This should never be about my vision, but about discerning God’s vision for God’s church in God’s world—and therefore I should not attempt to find it on my own. Over the next 9 months, various groups were gathered together, representing a huge, and usually younger, diversity of voices. After much prayer and discernment a vision emerged which we felt was God’s call on us for this time. Consequently, there is now a clear Vision and Strategy that the governing body of the Church of England and the Diocesan Bishops have agreed—and the whole Church is shifting and aligning to this new narrative.
Except, it isn’t that new. The Church of England’s vocation has always been to proclaim the good news of Jesus Christ afresh in each generation to and with the people of England. In our vision for the 2020s, we speak about this as being a Christ-centred Church, which is about our spiritual and theological renewal, and then a Jesus-Christ-shaped Church, particularly seeing the five marks of mission as signs and markers of what a Jesus-Christ-shaped life might look like. It is therefore a vision of how we are shaped by Christ in order to bring God’s transformation to the world. Three words in particular have risen to the surface: we are called to be a simpler, humbler, and bolder church.
From this, three priorities have emerged, and parishes and dioceses are invited to examine and develop their existing strategies and processes in the light of these ideas.
To become a church of missionary disciples. In one sense, this is the easiest to understand, re-emphasising that basic call to live out our Christian faith in the whole of life, Sunday to Saturday. Or, as we speak about it in the Church of England, Everyday Faith.
To be a church where mixed ecology is the norm. This has sometimes been a bit misunderstood. Mixed ecology reflects the nature of Jesus’ humanity and mission. It is contextual, ensuring churches, parishes, and dioceses are forming new congregations with and for newer and ever more diverse communities of people. It is about taking care of the whole ecosystem of the Church and not imagining one size can ever fit all. In the early church, in the book of Acts, we see this mission shaped by the new humanity that is revealed in Christ, made available and empowered by the Spirit. Therefore, mixed ecology is not something new—it is actually a rather old, and well-proven concept. After all, every parish church in our land was formed once. So, mixed ecology doesn’t mean abandoning the parish system or dismantling one way of being the Church in favour of another. It is about how the Church of England will fulfil its historic vocation to be the Church for everyone, by encouraging a mixed ecology of Church through a revitalised parish system. We hope that every person in England will find a pathway into Christian community.
To be a church that is younger and more diverse. Professor Andrew Walls writes, ‘The Church must be diverse because humanity is diverse, it must be one because Christ is one […] Christ is human, and open to humanity in all its diversity, the fullness of his humanity takes in all its diverse cultural forms.’ (The Cross-Cultural Process in Christian History, p. 77) We need to look like the communities we serve in all areas of age and diversity. For the Church of England that means believing in and supporting children and young people in ministry; facing up to our own failings to welcome and include many under-represented groups, particularly people with disabilities and those from a Global Majority Heritage; and committing ourselves to the current Living in Love and Faith process and our already agreed pastoral principles so that LGBTQI+ people are in no doubt that they, along with everyone, are equally welcome in the Church of England. It also means putting renewed resources into our poorest communities.
Whilst some have questioned why we only have three priorities, they are, I believe, vital for the Church of England in the 2020s as we continue to serve Jesus in the power of the Spirit through his Church.
In 2 Corinthians, the apostle Paul writes, ‘if anyone is in Christ, there is a new creation.’ Our desire is to reach everyone with the good news of Christ, and especially those who in the past may have felt excluded. That is why the work with racial justice, a new bias to the poor, and an emphasis on becoming younger are so important.
Ultimately, this vision flows from the joy we find in the risen Christ. It is an Easter message. A message of transformation for the world, as a church that is renewed and re-centred in Christ and shaped by God’s agenda for the world will be good news for that world. It will bring God’s transformation to the hurt, confusion, weariness, and despair we see around us—that Church existing for the benefit of its non-members as Temple so memorably put it.
Professor Chris Baker, Director of the William Temple Foundation, speaks on Easter Sunday with Shaun Ley of BBC World News about Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby’s recent criticism of the Rwanda asylum seekers plan.
“[Justin Welby, the Archbishop of Canterbury] is reminding British society and British establishment of core principles, which are around the Christian values of hospitality, providing refuge, support, and working for the well being and development of all humankind.”
Justin Welby criticises UK’s Rwanda asylum seekers plan | BBC World Interview with Chris Baker
The conference will examine the historical and continuing significance of William Temple’s 1942 Christianity and Social Order on the 80th anniversary of its publication. This short work was a key text in the development of the welfare state and Christian social ethics. The conference will seek to examine a series of new themes and issues in relation to Temple’s influential 1942 work and explore its lasting influence. Papers will explore the history and context of the work and new critical themes, such as gender, environment, race and public policy today.
Speakers include: Kenneth Fincham, Simon Lee, Elaine Graham, Jeremy Carrette, Robin Gill, Sanjee Perera, Chris Baker and Stephen Spencer.
This event is jointly organised by the Centre for Anglican History & Theology, University of Kent, and the William Temple Foundation.
The conference fee includes a two-course lunch and refreshments.
Comments Off on Temple Fellows’ Award Recipient Announced
It has been announced that Dr Matthew Barber-Rowell FRSA is the first recipient of a William Temple Foundation Fellows’ Award. This award is for early career academics who demonstrate significant impact through their PhD research.
The Fellows’ Award has been developed using a legacy from Len Collinson, former Deputy Lieutenant of Merseyside, Honorary Professor of the University of Central Lancashire, and business leader in northwest England. Collinson recognised that enterprise and interdisciplinary partnerships were central tenets of a flourishing society.
Barber-Rowell’s PhD research offers a new paradigm for Faith-Based Organisations (FBOs), called Spaces of Hope. Spaces of Hope was co-produced through networked gatherings, engaging over 900 people and 70 organisations across public, faith, and community sectors—as well as ethnographic research in the northwest of England. Spaces of Hope redefines FBOs for a 21st century context and serves social policy by reframing understandings of assets and partnerships. In this way, Spaces of Hope offers a new generation a set of tools to address existing interdisciplinary problems.
The COVID-19 pandemic has created liminal conditions, leaving people vulnerable to unemployment, financial loss, hunger, and other social ills. Government measures have aimed to address issues of unemployment and basic income, but the national response has also been heavily reliant on civic, community, and faith-based organisations, as evidenced in the Keeping the Faith Report (2020) and the Kruger Report (2019), which considered the future of civil society in a post-Brexit policy context. The post-COVID context that we are emerging into raises questions about what a ‘new normal’ looks like for society and the aspirations of new generations of British citizens who are engaging in policy and practice.
Barber-Rowell’s work will consider implications for Spaces of Hope within this post-COVID and post-Brexit context in the UK by:
developing a new Spaces of Hope participation network
testing and expanding the Spaces of Hope approach to developing assets and alliances
a monograph focussed on post-COVID leadership and shared values
Professor Simon Lee, chair of Trustees at the Foundation said:
A core part of the Foundation’s work has been supporting William Temple Scholars as they pursue their doctoral studies at Goldsmiths, University of London. Trustees have now committed to encouraging Scholars, once they have been awarded their PhD, to apply their research in society. Congratulations to Matthew on leading the way.
Professor Baker, who supervised Barber-Rowell’s PhD and will be Principal Investigator for the post-doctoral work being developed using the Fellows’ Award Fund said:
This research is timely, capturing as it does the grassroots search for connection and meaningful living as a response to years of austerity, neo-liberalisation, individualism and the existential questions posed by COVID-19 and climate emergency. This search is increasingly rooted in values and beliefs, and crosses over previous divides predicated on ideology, secularity and religion in the search for joint approaches to address key local issues.
For more information, contact Matthew at matthew@spacesofhope.co.uk
Comments Off on New Assistant Communications Officer
We are delighted to welcome Ryan Haecker to the William Temple Foundation as our new Assistant Communications Officer.
Prior to joining the Foundation, Ryan managed the publicity and social media for several academic conferences and symposia. He has also worked for many years as a librarian, administrator, and private tutor.
He previously studied history, philosophy, and theology at the University of Texas, the University of Würzburg, and the University of Nottingham—and he recently submitted and defended his PhD dissertation in Theology under the supervision of Rowan Williams in the Faculty of Divinity at Peterhouse, University of Cambridge.
Ryan has hosted many public forums for the Cambridge Festival of Ideas, addressing themes of proofs of the existence of God, angelology, and theological interpretations of computing. He has contributed a radio interview with BBC Cambridgeshire on theological interpretations of artificial intelligence. And he is also a frequent contributor to the Foundation’s ‘Ethical Futures’ project.
Director of Research, Professor Chris Baker commented:
“We are thrilled to welcome Ryan Haecker to the Foundation, given his deep knowledge and expertise in religion, politics, and media. He will bring a cutting edge to our thinking and output as the Foundation negotiates a very busy year—one that will also clearly witness momentous economic, social, political, environmental, and religious change.”
William Temple Scholar Yasmin Khatun Dewan reflects on the significance of a recent exhibition in Qatar.
I have just got back from Doha, Qatar. I was visiting the Gulf nation for its arts festival ‘Qatar Creates’—a summit of celebration for the creative industries. The event saw the launch of a range exhibitions, showcasing the country’s arts venues and heritage. It also served as a platform for various conversations, including one between the Qatari royal driving the arts initiatives—Sheikha Al-Mayassa bint Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani, sister of the current emir and chairperson for Qatar Museums—and American pop culture artist Jeff Koons.
At the event, co-hosted by The New York Times, an engaging conversation ensued between the Qatari princess and the American artist. Koons recounted his sources of inspiration and his childhood, which is often referred to in his works. For example, he spoke about the cartoon Popeye, and spinach as his source of strength. Koons uses this motif in his work, explaining that spinach is analogous to art, in that they are both sources of power that we feed off.
I asked the royal what she hopes to gain from the arts drive in the country, and she gave a long answer, focussing on the importance of empowerment through the arts—particularly, she hoped, for Qataris as well as those from afar.
Beyond the headline exhibit by Koons—titled ‘Lost in America’—Qatar Museums is also hosting a newly updated ‘Christian Dior: Designer of Dreams’ exhibit—the first such fashion extravaganza of its scale in the region—and various constructions by innovative fashion designer Virgil Abloh. Abloh’s presence among the others makes for a powerful statement. The young, black, American designer has been hailed as a visionary, with his works challenging conventional trends.
In the days that have passed since I viewed the exhibition late last month 41-year-old Abloh passed away from cancer. His passing makes the viewing of his final exhibit, which he launched in Doha himself just weeks ago, even more poignant.
Both images above evoke the designer’s own gaze as a Black American man in the fashion world.
The event celebrated local and regional initiatives through its museums and support programmes. But the festival also included the showcasing of a permanent collection in the Arab Museum of Modern Art by French Algerian artist Kader Attia. His exhibition was an incredibly powerful rendition of Algeria’s colonial history through the telling of individual and collective trauma.
More than 4000 ancient texts, maps and documents are showcased as part of a collection at the National Library. For example, the image below is of an ancient Ottoman map, and if you look closely, you can see Noah’s ark on Mount Jud.
The creative minds behind the exhibition hope it signals the beginning of a new chapter for the Gulf nation that will not only draw in crowds from afar but assist in the empowerment and growth of their own society. Most of the exhibitions will go on until March 2022.
The arts drive in the country is a significant move not just for Qatar but for a region that has historically shied away from provocation and arts that go beyond traditional formations. It comes alongside further investment in literary festivals and Fashion Trust Arabia, which makes clear that Qatar’s focus on fashion goes beyond the acquisition of luxury brands. The inclusion of historical documents and texts from the Ottoman period and the travels of famed figures in Islamic history such as Ibn Battuta at Qatar National Library, alongside a captivating re-telling of colonisation in the Arab Museum of Modern Art, as Koons and Abloh launched was innovative but clear in its messaging. Qatar Creates presented a reframing of the Gulf, of Arab culture, and of Islamic history—with the aim to learning from collective histories and individual stories whilst also giving cause to be inspired.
Assistant Communications Officer for the William Temple Foundation
0.2 FTE (7.5 hours per week)
One year fixed term post in the first instance
£4,309 per annum (pro rata £21,547.50 per annum i.e. £11.05 p/h)
Starting 17th January 2022
Context
The William Temple Foundation is an innovative and ground-breaking research and ideas hub, shaping debate on religion in public life. Founded in 1947, it seeks to connect Christian social concerns to the realities of the secular world by generating ideas about the impact of religion on civil society, wellbeing, politics and economics, and urban change.
Through these ideas we contribute to understanding:
key social concerns through original research, publications and training
curating local and national networks to share experience, thinking and practice
developing practical agendas for changes for church, public policy and academia.
The Foundation currently has 20 Trustees, Associate Research Fellows, and William Temple Scholars. The Foundation, during the next phase of its development over the next 3 – 5 years, needs to ensure the current high level of communications and social media interface with its key as well as general audiences.
Job description
The postholder will be responsible for delivering the following areas of the Foundation’s mission, under the direction of the Director of Research, Professor Chris Baker, and in close collaboration with Dr Tim Middleton, our current Communications Officer.
Production of the Foundation’s blog output including recruitment, engagement with authors, selecting licensed images, and editing.
Assist (and also take occasional responsibility for) creating Eventbrite pages and producing publicity for future webinars and face to face events hosted by the William Temple Foundation.
Responsibility for generating news stories and also ensuring information on the website is up to date (e.g. Ethical Futures Group pages).
Establish and grow a presence for the Foundation on Instagram.
Maintain our regular output on Twitter and Facebook, both promoting our own work, but also seeking to interact with other users and grow our network via questions, polls etc.
Assist in the management, organisation and publicity around our anniversary events in 2022 (Toynbee Hall, Balliol College, and University of Kent).
Design and produce some short pieces of video content for the Foundation’s social media channels.
Person Specification
Essential
Proven knowledge and expertise in developing social media and website function
Ability to be self-motivated and flexible
Ability to multi-task and take on new challenges
In complete sympathy with the ethos, aims and objectives of the Foundation, irrespective of personal beliefs, values or worldviews
A good understanding of the current policy and wider debates around religion and belief in the UK
Desirable
Postgraduate experience in publication and research in the field of religion, belief and public life
Media training and media work
Experienced communicator via blogs, articles etc.
Experience in editing both academic and non-academic texts
Experience in fundraising and writing bids
Available for some meetings in London
Familiarity with WordPress and Canva tools
Terms and Conditions
The post is fixed term for one year
Probation period of three months
NI and sick leave cover
Timeline
Send a two page (max) application outlining your suitability for the post in terms of your vision and fit to the post and the role of the Foundation, relevant experience to date and skills, together with a short CV.
Interviews will be held online on 14th December 2021. For further enquiries please contact Professor Chris Baker on chris AT williamtemplefoundation.org.uk or the Chair of Trustees, Professor Simon Lee on profsimonlee AT gmail.com.
Following the launch of the Foundation’s Urban Tractsseries, Research Fellow Greg Smith has been working with Paul Keeble and a number of others to develop a new website for people interested in urban mission and ministry at urbanmissionuk.net.
The aim of this site is to provide a one stop gateway to all of the best resources and ideas for urban mission and ministry in the UK in the 21st Century. The website includes material and organisations working from a wide range of theological perspectives from the conservative evangelical to the radical and Catholic. Users can also subscribe to the blog page to receive news and updates by email as they are posted, and join what is hoped will become a significant, large and lively discussion group.
Greg Smith comments:
As a portal site to a huge range of urban mission material, it will never be complete, and we hope it will be constantly expanding. If you know of important organisations, literature or other resources that we have missed please use the contact form to send details to us and we will endeavour to add them as soon as possible. We would also love to hear from you with comments and reactions to this site – feedback positive or negative will help us to improve it. Please help us promote the site by sharing the link on social media and relevant email lists.
As we develop the site we would also like to recruit a small team of volunteer web editors, who could update material and help us improve the appearance and functionality of the site. If you are interested in helping, involved in urban mission, and have some web design or editing skills please get in touch via the contact form at the bottom of the home page.
The William Temple Foundation is delighted to announce the launch of a new series of Temple Tracts entitled Urban Tracts.
As Greg Smith, editor of the new series, comments:
“It is now 40 years since the summer of 1981 when Britain’s inner cities were shaken by street disturbances which brought the neighbourhoods of Brixton, Toxteth and Handsworth to public attention. Government responded with public enquiries led by Lord Scarman, and the Church of England by the Faith in the City report. Four decades later, how much has changed? Has urban ministry and all the mission project work that flowed from this time made any significant impact? Was the idea of Urban Priority Areas ever able to make such neighbourhoods a true priority in the life of the church and wider society, or are they once more neglected and forgotten? What, if anything has been learned?”
To mark the anniversary, the William Temple Foundation is commissioning and publishing this new series on urban mission and ministry. Our aim is to produce three or four tracts each year in the lead up to the 40-year anniversary of Faith in the City in December 2025. The tracts are aimed at practitioners and church leaders, offering reflection and experience from authors who have been involved in urban mission and ministry. We aim to highlight resources and lessons that are relevant for contemporary Christians in urban areas and renew the challenge to the churches.
Today, we launch the first tract by series editor and Associate Research Fellow, Greg Smith. This tract offers an overview of urban ministry since the early 1980s and draws out some important lessons from the last 40 years.
Director of Research at the Foundation, Professor Chris Baker says:
“We are thrilled to be able to publish this inaugural e-book in our Urban Tracts series, which so vividly captures the early days of the church’s response to urban deprivation, and its somewhat mixed legacy since then. We are really looking forward to providing a platform for theological and missional exploration from both new and experienced voices from the scene—and we hope that this provides an invaluable resource for future thinking in urban theology.”
All of our Urban Tracts and other e-books are free to download here.
