The legal charity and social-conservative advocacy group Christian Concern have made the headlines again as they throw another vulnerable family into the dog pit of public scrutiny. But before we throw stones perhaps we should consider how common this advocacy strategy is? To begin with, the case that Christian Concern have brought against the Church … Read more
Social Constructs are kind of “magic”. We conjure new realities by weaving our stories together and making new sacred texts to map what we call “common sense” but to others is even beyond imagination. I seem to hear a lot about “social constructs” these days. Often this is in relation to gender activism. “Gender is … Read more
UTU is a member-led organisation but it is accountable to its members in different ways. Our Staff organised and Direct the charity but the vital work of trustees has always been key to the health of the charity. There is a lot changing at the Urban Theology Union as we adapt ourselves to new challenges … Read more
On the 10th to 12th July 2017 we had our Summer School led by John Vincent and organised by the Ashram Christian Community. Members of both communities came together to give papers and discuss the theme of ‘Intentional Community’ in the New Testament and to hear about contemporary examples. Ian Wallis gave us a thorough … Read more
We are delighted to announce the appointment of Helen Coates as UTUs new Office Manager. Helen will join us from September 2017. Welcoming Helen to the team, UTU Director, Keith Hebden, said, “Helen has already begun to get to know the staff and some of our members and clearly is going to bring a lot … Read more
A big thank you to Ashram and UTU member Alice McGregor for writing an obituary for Grace Vincent which has been published in the Guardian here.
11th July 2017 12:30 pm At the Urban Theology Unit, S1 2JB “The Servant of God in Practice” is the latest in a series of books by Deo Publishing on ‘practice interpretation ‘ and we’re delighted to be able to launch it at our UTU Summer School. Other books in the series can be found … Read more
Wednesday 12th July 2017 12:30 pm At the Urban Theology Unit, Sheffield, S1 2JB “Mission with: Something out of the ordinary” by Paul Keeble is a remarkable book that comes out of many years of intentional Christian presence in inner-city Manchester by the founder of Urban Presence who followed God’s call from his Northern Irish … Read more
We met with students of the final Birmingham University cohort together for the last time this week; a chance to reflect on the many changes we had been through together. One of the students had made her regular trip from Hamburg (losing 10 degrees centigrade in process weather-wise), another appeared after a break of three … Read more
We are really sad to be saying ‘Good bye’ to two of our staff members at UTU: Kate Thompson and Rachel O’leary. We are a small and close knit team and will feel the loss both personally and professionally. However, both insist that they aren’t ‘going’ anywhere as they are still members of UTU! Kate … Read more