Symposium – ‘Death, be not proud’ : Dying, Death and Destiny

We shall all die.  Yet modern society often sees death as a defeat – and many, even amongst Christian believers, spend little time preparing for it.  They also find it hard to envisage what (if anything) will come afterwards.  The contrast with primitive Christianity is stark.

What can Christians today believe with integrity?  How can we prepare for the inevitable, and what can we reasonably hope for?  This Symposium, to be held on Saturday 18 November 2023, will look at these questions. The venue will be the Abbey Centre at 34 Great Smith Street, Westminster, London, SW1P 3BU, from 10:30 am to 4:30 pm.

The Chairman will be Bishop Graham James. 

There will be four speakers: 

The Revd Dr Peter Anthony, Vicar of All Saints, Margaret Street.

The Revd Dr Charlie Bell, Assistant Priest at St John the Divine, Kennington, Doctor of Medicine and academic psychiatrist.

The Revd Dr Jonathan Jong, Rector of St Catherine of Siena, Cocking with West Lavington, and an experimental psychologist at Coventry and Oxford Universities.

The Revd Canon Angela Tilby, Canon Emerita of Christ Church Oxford, and Honorary Canon of Portsmouth.

After each contribution, a panel of the four speakers will discuss what has been said.  The Chairman will then invite contributions from the floor.  Each of these sections will last about an hour.  The whole day will be recorded, with a view to on-line publication in due course.

Places at this Symposium are free, but participants will be asked to contribute towards the cost of a light lunch, etc.  They must also register beforehand with the Secretary of the Society of the Faith (see Contact us), as the capacity of the Abbey Centre is limited to seventy.  Please register early to be sure of a place.  The deadline for applications is 10^th November (for catering).