Wednesday 12th August
1000–1015: Welcome and overview. James Priestman,
Festival Director.
1015-1115: Seminar. Dr Ahreum Kim: Vegetation in
the Gospel of Matthew
1115-1135: Music, coffee and biscuits
1135-1245. Seminar Part 1. Doctor Simon
Taylor: The Bible as a Story of Creation.
1245-1345. Lunch with music from The Chamber Music Collective: The seven last words of Christ on the cross (Haydn).
1345-1410. Seminar Part 2. Doctor Simon
Taylor: The Bible as a Story of Creation.
1415-1440. Seminar Part 1. Doctor Olga
Fabrikant-Burke: Beyond Stewardship: Humanity and Creation in Job and
Genesis.
1440–1500. Music, tea and biscuits. Submit questions for
plenary
1500–1610. Seminar Part 2. Doctor Olga
Fabrikant-Burke: Beyond Stewardship: Humanity and Creation in Job and
Genesis.
1610–1630. Poetry Recital. James Pendle: Voices crying in the wilderness. Poems that connect to the seminars in the festival.
1630-1650. Plenary. A panel will engage with
some of the points of interest that have arisen on the first day of the
festival.
Thursday 13th August
1000–1115: Seminar Part 1. Doctor Elizabeth R. Hare: “I, All-Creation, sing my song of praise”: Creation and Temple in Biblical Poetry and Prose.
1115-1135: Music, coffee and biscuits
1135-1245. Seminar Part 2. Doctor Elizabeth R. Hare: “I, All-Creation, sing my song of praise”: Creation and Temple in Biblical Poetry and Prose.
1245-1345. Lunch.
1345-1440. The embodiment of natural imagery in the Song of Songs. Rabbi Professor Deborah Kahn-Harris.
1440-1500. Music, tea and biscuits. Submit questions for plenary.
1500-1530. The Geology of Eden. Poetry reading by Philip Gross
1530-1545. Refreshment break
1545 – 1615. Voices crying in the wilderness. James Pendle.
1615 – 1630. Plenary. A panel will engage with points of interest.
1630 – 1700. Refreshment break
1700-1830. Poetry Workshop: Writing Nature. Anne Symons will encourage us to write about the beauty and rawness of creation.
Friday 14th August
1000–1115. Seminar Part 1. Doctor Ronan McLaverty-Head: Songbirds, raptors and feathered friends: natural and mythical birds of the Bible.
1115-1135: Music, coffee and biscuits
1135-1245. Seminar Part 2. Doctor Ronan McLaverty-Head: Songbirds, raptors and feathered friends: natural and mythical birds of the Bible.
1245-1345. Lunch. Music (musician TBC).
1345–1500. The Poetry of Eden. James Priestman.
1500 –1520. Music, tea and biscuits. Submit questions for plenary.
1520–1615. The Ecology of Eden. Poetry reading by Philip Gross.
1615–1650. Plenary. Evaluation forms will be given out.
Information on all the speakers and artists can be found on the Speakers and Artists page. The festival reserves the right to make changes to the programme.
The Chamber Music Collective: The Seven Last Words of Christ on the Cross. Haydn composed The seven last words of Christ on the cross in 1786 as an orchestral piece to accompany a Good Friday service in Cádiz. The work was so admired that Haydn was asked to create a version for string quartet. He was able to craft a chamber arrangement that preserved the expressive depth and clarity of the original music, whilst giving a new immediacy and intimacy. Heard in this form, each movement becomes a deeply personal reflection on stillness, drama, and ultimately, hope.
Philip Gross: The Ecology of Eden. “If a lion could speak,” said Wittgenstein, “we could not understand him.” Impossible, yes, but what can we learn by making the attempt? By reaching for another creature’s viewpoint – ant, bat, pot plant or bramble – can we outwit our own self-centredness? Philip Gross will read some of his recent poems, and James Pendle host a discussion, on the borders of the human, and beyond.
James Pendle: Voices crying in the wilderness. James has memorised over a hundred poems by over fifty different poets. Many of his own poems re-tell stories from the Bible. He will recite poems that are relevant to the seminars at this year’s festival.
Anne Symons: Writing Nature. Anne will run a poetry workshop celebrating interconnectedness within the natural world. She will share examples of the different ways that poets have written and are writing about nature. She will use photographs, twigs, feathers, stones and shells to encourage us to observe and then to write of and within the beauty and rawness of creation.
Reverend Doctor Olga Fabrikant-Burke. Beyond Stewardship: Humanity and Creation in Job and Genesis. In Genesis and Job, humanity finds itself radically de-centred and called to humility and wonder. Although the notion of stewardship has valuable insights for our relationship with the creation, it is an inadequate description of the radical vision we find in Genesis and Job.
Doctor Elizabeth R. Hare. “I, All-Creation, sing my song of praise”: Creation and Temple in Biblical Poetry and Prose. The poet Christina Rosseti’s vision of “I, All Creation” included whales and stars, doves and nebulae. Can the scope of the creation described in Genesis be found in descriptions of the ancient Israelite places of worship, such as Moses’s tabernacle and Solomon’s temple?
Rabbi Professor Deborah Kahn-Harris. The embodiment of natural imagery in The Song of Songs. The Song of Songs is an ancient Israelite love poem that contains many detailed descriptions of the natural world. What might be the poetic intent of these images?
Doctor Ahreum Kim: Vegetation in the Gospel of Matthew. Matthew’s Gospel contains mention of more plants than any other text in the New Testament. How does Matthew use vegetation to enhance his message?
Doctor Ronan McLaverty-Head: Songbirds, raptors and feathered friends: natural and mythical birds of the Bible. What kind of birds can be found in the Bible and what is their significance?
James Priestman: The Poetry of Eden. What is the meaning of Eden in the Bible, and how has the story of the Garden of Eden been used in English-language poetry from Medieval times until the present day? James will introduce works from a wide range of poets including John Milton, William Blake, AE Houseman and Sylvia Plath.
Doctor Jayme R. Reaves. “Lions and Lambs; Order and Chaos: The Prophetic Challenges and Visions of Creation in Isaiah”. The prophetic text of Isaiah both lodges indictments at the people for mishandling creation, as well as provides a radical vision for all the earth and its inhabitants as an inspiration to repent and put things right. What exactly are the failures and the consequences Isaiah talks about, and what insights might it offer for the future?
Reverend Canon Doctor Simon Taylor. The Bible as a Story of Creation. This seminar will show how creation permeates the Bible from Genesis to Revelation in a plethora of literary forms.
Part 1: The Hebrew Bible/Old Testament. The theme of Creation will be traced through the Prophets, the Writings and then the Law. Key Texts: Amos 5.6-9; Isaiah 65.17-25; Psalm 19; Proverbs 8.22-31; Exodus 26.26-37; Genesis 1.1-2.3.
Part 2: The New Testament. The theme of Creation will be traced through Paul’s letters, the Gospels and then in the Book of Revelation. Key Texts: Romans 8.18-27; Colossians 1.15-20; Mark 6.47-52; John 1.1-14; John 2.1-1; Revelation 8.1-13; 21.1-7
