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Event
Alastair McIntosh | Spiritual Activism, Climate Change and Liberation Theology for our Times
Friday, Feb 5, 7 8:30
Spiritual Activism Land, Soul and Agency in Social Change
In his main lecture, Alastair McIntosh speaks to what can sustain our activism for social, environmental or religious change. Drawing on principles from his latest book Spiritual Activism: Leadership as Service he will use a case study of community land reform in Scotland to explore community empowerment that has had a positive impact on tackling climate change. The land, he will argue, has been colonized because our hearts are colonized. The building of right relationships with the Earth and one another requires a profound decolonization, starting with the inner life that is the soul.
Saturday, Feb 6
9:00-10:30 am | Spiritual Experience as a Basis for Activism
It's all very well to talk about spiritual activism, but what basis do we have for thinking that the spiritual is 'real'? How can we deepen the inner life of the soul, hand in hand with making our outer life as activists more effective? This session will start with listening and sharing from the previous evening's lecture.
11 am 12 Noon | Climate Change as a Focus for Liberation Theology
Alastair sees liberation theology as theology that liberates theology to do the job that theology should be doing. What does theology have to say about the driving factors behind climate change, and how might it help us cope with come what may in the come to pass?
1:00-2:30 pm | Nonviolence in a Context of Engagement with the Military
Nonviolence as informed by the Quaker Peace Testimony is central to Alastair's work as an activist. For nearly two decades he has lectured regularly on this theme at military staff colleges across Europe. What is the spirituality of nonviolence, why does it matter, and how does he present the case to senior officers in the armed forces?
Sunday, Feb 7, 9:00-9:45 am | Christianity, the Cross and Activism Today
Is it time to dump the embarrassment of the Cross, to dump Christianity itself? Are these things past their sell by date, or have we hardly yet begun to appreciate what a spirituality of the Cross might offer to the world in this, the third millennium?
Alastair McIntosh is a Scottish writer, broadcaster and activist on social, environmental and spiritual issues, raised on the Isle of Lewis.
A Fellow of the Centre for Human Ecology, a former Visiting Professor at the University of Strathclyde, and an Honorary Fellow in the School of Divinity (New College) at Edinburgh University, and an Honorary Senior Research Fellow in the College of Social Sciences at Glasgow University, he holds a BSc from the University of Aberdeen, an MBA from the University of Edinburgh and a PhD in liberation theology and land reform from the University of Ulster.
His books include Hell & High Water: Climate Change, Hope and the Human Condition on the cultural and spiritual dimensions of climate change, Rekindling Community on the spiritual basis of inter-relationship, and Soil and Soul: People versus Corporate Power on land reform and environmental protection the latter described as "world changing" by George Monbiot, "life changing" by the Bishop of Liverpool and "truly mental" by Thom Yorke of Radiohead.
For the past 9 years he and his wife, Vérène Nicolas, have lived in Govan where he is a founding director of the GalGael Trust for the regeneration of people and place.
A Quaker, he lectures around the world at institutions including WWF International, the World Council of Churches, the Russian Academy of Sciences and the UK Defence Academy (on nonviolence). His driving passion is to explore the deep roots of what it can mean to become fully human, and use such insights to address the pressing problems of our times.
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LocationUniversity Congregational United Church of Christ (View)
4515 16th Avenue N.E.
Seattle, WA 98105
United States
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| Dog Friendly: No |
| Non-Smoking: Yes! |
| Wheelchair Accessible: Yes! |
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