Theology& seminar series at Newcastle Cathedral, Thursdays at 3.30-5.00pm.
Open to all – please email c.pacitti@newcastle.anglican.org to express an interest.
Continuing this popular series of talks exploring the intersections between theology and ‘other’ disciplines.
2025
6th November: Tim Bull: Theology& AI: Living as a Human in an AI World
Artificial Intelligence (AI) is transforming our lives and reshaping our future. It raises profound questions in the areas of ethics, truth, privacy, creativity and what it means to be made in the image of God.
Should we embrace this technology with open arms or approach it with caution? How should we live as Christian disciples in a world of AI? How might AI inform or challenge our faith?
Whether you’re a tech enthusiast or just curious – and whether you’re a believer or not – this session will open your eyes to new ways of thinking and give you plenty to ponder. We will be guided in our exploration by the Revd Canon Dr Tim Bull.
Tim is a true polymath with PhDs in both computer science and theology. Before ordination he worked as a chartered software engineer, and during his ministry he has taught in the areas of preaching, leadership and Christian ethics. He is a residentiary canon at St Albans Cathedral, a member of the Church of England's Mission and Public Affairs Council, and a founder of the AI Christian Partnership.
Tim’s talk on AI was “really accessible, brilliantly communicated, engaging and downright fun, and the students absolutely loved it. They have been talking about it ever since!" — A theological college principal
4th December: Ivor Moody – Theology& Pop Music: Finding the sacred in the secular: a conversation between theology and pop music
Surrounded by a society seemingly immersed in an ever increasing secularism Ivor takes famous, trans-generational secular songs, and sees how we might use them to throw new light on the scriptures, faith and church; it is an exploration of new ways to deepen our Christian understanding, not by turning our backs on secularism but embracing it, to see how modern ‘soundbites’ can throw fresh light on ancient truths.
Now retired, Ivor Moody has been Vice Dean and Canon Pastor of Chelmsford Cathedral since 2010. He was Chair of the Mid-Essex Inter Faith Forum and also Chair of Essex Mind and Spirit, a community voluntary organisation which seeks to promote positive relationships between faith and spirituality and mental health issues, and to challenge the stigma which often surrounds mental health. He also served as Chaplain to the Essex County Council.
8th January: Andii Bowsher – Theology& the work of Andy Goldsworthy
Andy Goldsworthy’s art is ephemeral, based in nature and often only known because it is recorded in pictures or film. It requires patience and a contemplative preparatory process. Andii has long been an admirer of the art produced and finds in it some theological touching points as well as thoughts of spirituality.
Andii works in Northumbria University as co-ordinator for Spiritual Care. They also work occasionally as a tutor with Lindisfarne College of Theology and volunteer as a trustee with Green Christian. They’re a grandparent and a husband and this year will have been in diaconal orders for 40 years.
6th February: Jay Hulme – Theology& Poetry
Jay Hulme is a poet, speaker, and theologian from Leicester, in the UK. His books for children have been nominated for some of the UK’s oldest and most prestigious writing and illustration awards. His books for adults are published by one of the UK’s leading Christian publishers and are widely reviewed and praised, with his poem ‘Jesus at the Gay Bar’ becoming an international sensation. Jay speaks and preaches at churches, cathedrals, and theological conferences, and is a regular contributor to the BBC’s Daily Service.
When he isn’t writing, speaking, or caring for the 1144 year old church where he serves as churchwarden, Jay enjoys exploring (and climbing up) the ancient churches and cathedrals that litter the British landscape, finding inspiration in their beauty, and in the faith which has been practiced there for centuries.
5th March: Ruth Harley – Theology& Gender Justice
“In Christ there is no male and female”, yet in the Church which is the body of Christ women have frequently encountered discrimination and, even with the appointment of a female Archbishop of Canterbury, sexism and misogyny persist. So what theological resources can we draw on to work for gender justice within and beyond the Church? And how can scripture, theology and liturgy enable the Church to speak prophetically into significant contemporary issues of sexism and misogyny: domestic abuse, FGM, violent pornography, the gender pay gap, and more?
Ruth Harley, parish priest and feminist theologian, will draw on her PhD research into the vocational narratives of older women to consider how our understanding of the vocation of the Church as the body of Christ can (and should!) be expanded and enriched by taking seriously the experience of women in the Church as a site of theological meaning-making. Gender justice is not a ‘women’s issue’, it’s an essential issue for the whole Church, so come and grapple together with how theology can be a force for good in the struggle against patriarchy.