2019

‘Theology in the Flesh: How Might our Embodied Experience Shape our Answers to Life’s Ultimate Questions?’

‘Embodied theology is rooted in personal experiences in our individual bodies. At the same time, we all live in a relational world, shaped by social and historical events and forces that are shared.’

– Carol P. Christ

How might our experience of life, our world-view, and our theological outlook be shaped by factors related to our bodies: our gender, sexuality, race, dis/ability, appearance, age, state of physical and mental health, neurological architecture, etc.? In this year’s summer school we will explore the ways in which our bodily experience interacts with our spiritual understanding. How do we connect with God – or with meaning, depth, and purpose – through our bodies and our physical senses? How do material realities – social, historical and environmental events in the world around us – shape our faith journeys? And how might our theological understanding shift through exposure to a wider range of embodied perspectives?

Engagement Groups

A: ‘Sex and the Spirit’ with John Harley and Mark Stewart

A creative exploration of the interplay between our sexual selves and our spiritual selves. Our sexual identities are such complex, yet vital parts of ourselves - but how much do we get the chance to share and make sense of the connection between our spirits and our bodies - as experienced through our sexual desires, assumptions and fantasies? How do we bring our embodied selves to our Unitarian spiritual practice and our everyday lives? We will use a spectrum of approaches to sensitively and playfully consider this subject together - including art, writing, movement, drama, music, poetry, discussion and disco!

B: ‘Let Your Body Call You Home’ with Sheena Gabriel and Catherine Coyne

‘Let your body call you back into your most deeply embodied self…find the crumbs that lead back home.’ ~ Cheryl Pallant. Together we’ll explore the ‘blessings’ and ‘curses’ of being ‘embodied’ through a variety of activities. Reflecting on the messages of society, culture, psychology and religion - and drawing on insights from myth, literature, the arts, nature and spiritual practice - we’ll share our personal stories of health & sickness, wellness & limitation, healing & wholeness, through the changing seasons of life - and seek to cultivate a deeper compassion for ourselves as embodied creatures, uncovering the wisdom 'housed in clay'.

C: ‘The Beliefs that Ground Us’ with Celia Cartwright and Sue Woolley

Our beliefs and how we reflect on them can have a direct effect on how we speak, act, and are in the world, because we are all made up of body and spirit. In our group, we will gently explore how the things we believe about God / the Divine / the Sacred give shape, purpose and meaning to our lives, and vice versa. Using various spiritual and practical exercises we will experience different ways of understanding the integration of our religious/spiritual beliefs and values in our everyday lives.

D: ‘Sacred the Body’ with Sarah Tinker and Danny Crosby

Daniel Gottlieb writes ‘Part of the reason I'm at peace with my life is that I take care of the part of the universe I'm responsible for. I haven't made it bigger or better. I haven't changed it. But I have cared for it.’ Using personal stories of our precious, wounded lives, along with the approaches of philosophies and religions throughout the ages, our group will explore how best to honour and care for the material realm of bodies, of ‘things’ and of the earth.

E: Children’s and Youth Programme (with Claire Maddocks, Jim Blair, Nicola Temple with Jennifer Canfield

Claire writes: ‘The young people’s group will be looking at ways that they could help save our planet, and considering what their world would look like, if they could design their own. Over the course of the week, we are going to be exploring our theme through discussions, art, crafts and music along with time outside exploring the countryside too. We look forward to meeting you all and exploring our surroundings and considering what our ideal worlds would include.’ Jim adds: ‘During this week we will focus on having fun, caring for each other and exploring a range of ecology issues. Using the underlying themes of earth care, people care and fair share, we will look into how we reduce, reuse, recycle plastics and other items. After exploring the extent of the problems we will discuss how we can personally make a difference and educate others. The local woods and open spaces will provide a practical learning space, where we shall have lots of fun and play. I am excited and look forward to seeing you.’