In the run up to the General Election, two Lent courses in Leeds want to uncover the truth about the lives of those living in poverty and the radical response to which the Gospel calls us (which some claim the Church has lost sight of).
Both courses involve author David Rhodes whose book Faith in Dark Places explores the idea that God’s love is being spoken by the homeless and the poor (and was written partly as a tribute to those living in poverty in Leeds).
The first Lent event is a one-day workshop in Roundhay, the second a course comprising five evenings in central Leeds:
Myths and Lies about Poverty
Saturday 21 February 10am-3pm at St Edmund’s Roundhay.
Speakers: Paul Morrison, author of ‘Truths, Myths and Lies about Poverty’, David Rhodes, author of ‘Faith in Dark Places’ and Ann Morisey, theologian and practitioner.
Workshops: Child poverty, debt, homelessness in Leeds, asylum seekers, welfare and work, food banks – are they enough?
Admission free. A free light lunch will be served. Donations welcome. More details here.
Faith in Dark Places
Five Tuesdays, beginning 24 February, 5.30-7pm at Leeds Church Institute.
Led by author David Rhodes
Recent research by the University of Lancaster indicates that half the churchgoers in Britain believe that benefit cuts are not only appropriate but should go deeper. Are those views formed from the Gospel, the newspapers – or self interest?
Jesus lived as a poor peasant among an oppressed people and was engaged in something more radical than many today appreciate.
In this series we’ll discover the political implications of the Lord’s Prayer, the fury that familiar phrases like ‘the first shall be last and the last shall be first’ caused, how women have been air-brushed out of the Gospel story and how the parable of the prodigal son may give us a completely new image of God.
('Faith in Dark Places' by David Rhodes is available at http://tinyurl.com/k2fw87g. Jean Vanier, founder of the L’Arche community, says, “This book reveals a mystery so hard for us to hear, that we are healed by the broken as they reveal to us the presence of Jesus.”
David’s blog is at www.turbulentbooks.co.uk http://tinyurl.com/nz9xdxl.)
To book, call 0113 3917928 or email
Leeds Church Insitute, 20 New Market Street, LS1 6DG.