This year’s Whitley lecture “Gospel, Church and Social Transformation: Post-Soviet Baptists After the Ukrainian Revolution of Dignity and Freedom, 2013-14” will be delivered by Dr. Joshua Searle (right) Tutor in Theology and Public Thought at Spurgeon’s College, UK. Delivered at four different venues the lecture draws on Dr. Searle’s deep understanding of the history and contemporary challenges facing Christian communities in eastern Europe.
The armed conflict between Russia and Ukraine has resulted in a humanitarian catastrophe and the conflict has created more than 1.5 million refugees. There is clear evidence that Ukraine’s Baptist community is suffering disproportionately, as Baptist Christians are specifically targeted by pro-Russian forces. In this lecture, Joshua will attempt to show how the Baptist community in Ukraine can respond to this crisis by developing a new vision of hope and reconciliation that can have a leavening effect on the whole of society. He also plans to explain the relevance of this issue for British Baptists by addressing the roles and responsibilities of the free churches in relation to the state and society, and by considering what we can learn from the suffering witness of our Ukrainian counterparts.
LECTURE VENUES (all UK)
- Cardiff (South Wales Baptist College) on Wednesday 27th January, 13:30–15:00
- London (Spurgeon College) on Wednesday 3rd February, 11:15–12:45
- Oxford (Regent’s Park College) on Thursday 23rd February, 16:00–19:00
- Manchester (Northern Baptist College) on Monday 14th March 19:00–20:30
Post-delivery copies of the lecture will be available for purchase here.
A pre-delivery summary of the lecture is available here.
For further details contact Revd Dr Helen Paynter paynterh@bristol-baptist.ac.uk