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Cambridge Theological Federation

A Particular Place: Theology for the Future of Parish Ministry

This conference took place at Westcott House, Cambridge 16-18 September 2009

Conference presentations are now available below.

The Church of England – from urban centres to rural villages – is deeply shaped by its call to be a Church for everyone in the local parish. In turn, for many people the parish church is tied to their sense of place, community, the fabric of society – and God. For the Church of England, the breadth and inclusivity of its mission have historically been achieved by being rooted in a particular place.

But while some today remain strongly connected to locality, others increasingly inhabit dispersed, mobile cultures detached from any geographic location – and this while the Church’s resources and the parish system are under severe strain. The Church has been responding with new questions about its structure and methods of mission. But, as important as these questions may be, are there others we should be asking? In particular, are there fresh theological and sociological questions to ask about the nature of place and what that means for parish ministry?

This conference brought together leading theologians, sociologists and practitioners.

Topics included:

  • What is the relationship between the universal and the local?
  • How might a theology of place shape our parish ministry?
  • How can we be a Church for all when understandings of place are changing?
  • What is the relationship between a congregation and its location?
  • Are there new ways of thinking about nongeographical ministries in relation to parishes?

Keynote Speakers

Stanley Hauerwas

Stanley Hauerwas is the Gilbert T. Rowe Professor of Theological Ethics at Duke University. Named by Time magazine in 2001 as "America's Best Theologian", he is the author of over 25 books, including A Community of Character, named one of the 100 most important books in religion in the 20th century. An Anglican, he co-edited the ground-breaking Blackwell Companion to Christian Ethics, and is currently writing his memoirs, Hannah's Child.
Sarah Coakley

Sarah Coakley is the Norris-Hulse Professor of Divinity at the University of Cambridge, and was previously Professor of Theology at Harvard University. She has written on feminist theory, patristics, and systematic theology. A priest in the Church of England, she recently co-chaired a Templeton symposium on spiritual healing, and co-edited the book, Praying for England: Priestly Presence in Contemporary Society. At Westcott House she leads a weekly hour of silent prayer for ordinands and staff.
Grace Davie

Grace Davie has a personal Chair in the Sociology of Religion in the University of Exeter. She was previously president of the American Association for the Sociology of Religion and has an honorary degree from Uppsala where she has served as a visiting professor. She is the author of numerous books including Religion in Britain since 1945, Europe: the Exceptional Case and The Sociology of Religion. She is a Lay Canon of the Diocese of Europe and has served on the Doctrine Commission.
Edmund Newey

Edmund Newey is Vicar of Saint Andrew's, Handsworth in Birmingham, a multi-cultural parish with a broad mix of religious faiths. He has also been a parish priest in Manchester and Newmarket. His doctoral research focused on the theological understanding of the child, and he has published articles in various journals such as Modern Theology and the Anglican Theological Review.