Sarum College is an ecumenical study and research centre with an international reputation for excellence in theological education and spiritual reflection.
Sarum College offers a distinguished location for meetings, conferences, events and functions with full catering services.
Sarum College Bookshop is Salisbury's most established independent Christian and theological bookshop.
The Sarum College Library has an outstanding academic theological collection of more than 40,000 books covering all denominations.
Meet the Academic Staff
James WoodwardPrincipal and Coordinator for the Centre for Human Flourishing Read more
Beth DoddDirector of Studies, Centre for Formation in Ministry and Lecturer in Doctrine and Theology, Arts and Culture Read more
Karen O’DonnellCoordinator, Centre for Contemporary Spirituality Read more
All academic staff
December 2019
Whose Story is it Anyway?
This course has been cancelled. For alternatives, browse the courses and events calendar. A practical course about the oral tradition in much of our sacred texts and literature. We will examine the differences in oracy and literacy and see how the telling of shared experience often creates conflicting narratives. A central story in the Bible and the Qur’an will be discussed. Contact Alison Ogden for all booking enquiries Booking Information aogden@sarum.ac.uk | 01722 424826 | 01722 424800 (main reception) Read more
Winter Silent Retreat
Retreat from all the holiday noise by participating in the first of our biannual Silent Retreat offerings at Sarum. Using gentle liturgy, spiritual reflection practises and rest we aim to create a residential community of silence and calm for the weekend. Contact Alison Ogden for all booking enquiries Booking Information aogden@sarum.ac.uk | 01722 424826 | 01722 424800 (main reception) Read more
January 2020
Resourcing a Good Lent 2020
Resourcing a Good Lent with James Woodward Tuesday 14th January, 3pm An enjoyable and informative afternoon to prepare you for Lent! Bring a group from your Church for some Lent course inspiration James Woodward, Principle of Sarum College, will review the best of the new books and lent courses this year. This event is free and open to all, with refreshments provided. RSVP to the Bookshop, via bookshop@sarum.ac.uk, or call 01722 326899 Read more
Exploring Theology Term 2: Week 1: Reading the New Testament as Scripture
Exploring the Bible Exploring Theology’s year 2019-20 is subtitled Encountering the Bible and focuses on gaining tools and understanding for a rigorous, imaginative, faithful and fruitful encounter with the Scriptures. The Autumn Term explores the Hebrew Scriptures known to Christians as the Old Testament, then the Spring Term explores the New Testament. These two terms cover (almost) the whole of the Bible, with selected attention to especially significant themes and passages. The Summer Term then explores further how Christians might… Read more
Christian Leadership for the Common Good
In a Divided Society, how can churches act for the common good? A two-day training workshop in association with Together for the Common Good For ordained and lay people in Christian leadership from all denominations and church traditions This workshop has been developed by Together for the Common Good to enable church leaders to focus on exactly these challenges, in engagement with one another. In association with the Sarum Centre for Formation in Ministry This two-day workshop explores what… Read more
The Emotional Toll of Care
Explore what helps individuals, teams and the organisations in which they work manage the human cost of challenging work with vulnerability and distress in difficult circumstances. A dynamic day for professionals to think about and engage with the psychological and relational aspects of their work, and to explore ideas and strategies that will help build healthy communities of practice. Ideal for professionals in roles on the front line of human emotions and fragility, and in organisations where staff and finance… Read more
Book Launch: My Sour Sweet Days by Mark Oakley
Mark Oakley reveals George Herbert as a fine companion with whom to examine the journey of the soul. His poems are ‘heart-work and heaven-work’, embracing love and closeness, anger and despair, reconciliation and hope. There is too an appealing and audacious playfulness about Herbert: he seems to take God on, knowing God will win, confident God will not abandon him. This sense of relationship with God as primarily friendship is one of many intriguing and healing aspects we are invited… Read more
A Day with W.H. Auden
Auden has been described as ‘the first poet writing in English who felt at home in the twentieth century’. But where did this position him when it came to religious belief. What do his poems, so varied in tone and subjects, have to offer contemporary faith? We will look at the wide range of Auden’s poetry, his conversation to Christianity and his consequent spiritual interrogation of the world. Contact Alison Ogden for all booking enquiries Booking Information aogden@sarum.ac.uk | 01722… Read more
Art Exhibition: AWE: Paintings in Response to Creation
Based on an experience of remote bothy life in Shetland, surrounding by sea and sky. Using this, Peronel experienced the rawness of elements which are the starting point for her paintings and drawings. Peronel Barnes is an award-winning painter based in Oxford, who has exhibited at the Royal Watercolour Society and the Royal Institute of Painters in Water Colours where she collected the Outstanding Watercolour Award in 2011. Her work hangs in private and public collections across the world. Peronel… Read more
The Nature of Contemporary Spirituality
An introduction to the nature of Spirituality in the Christian tradition from the nineteenth century to the present day. Students will investigate the proliferation of Christian spiritualities in this period and consider the impact of modernism, postmodernity, feminism and political theology on contemporary conceptions of Christian Spirituality. Students will also investigate the increasingly interdisciplinary nature of academic responses to Christian Spirituality (in relation to literature, psychology, film etc), and the extent to which they extend the taxonomy of the discipline.… Read more
Reflective Practice
A critical study of how reflective practice can ground an understanding of leadership and improve performance. It will introduce students to contemporary models of reflective practice both in the educational, theological and business worlds and encourage reflection on how these models inform and critique one another. There will be opportunities to practice a variety of methods so that students can select and design their own models apply in their own work context. This (core) postgraduate module is open to wider… Read more
Exploring Theology Term 2: Week 2: Dark Good News: The Gospel of Mark
Exploring the Bible Exploring Theology’s year 2019-20 is subtitled Encountering the Bible and focuses on gaining tools and understanding for a rigorous, imaginative, faithful and fruitful encounter with the Scriptures. The Autumn Term explores the Hebrew Scriptures known to Christians as the Old Testament, then the Spring Term explores the New Testament. These two terms cover (almost) the whole of the Bible, with selected attention to especially significant themes and passages. The Summer Term then explores further how Christians might… Read more
Humour in the Bible
G.K. Chesterton wrote that those who take everything seriously make an idol of everything, and we are often so serious when we read the Bible! This day is an invitation to uncover and appreciate the comic spirit in the Bible: wordplay, absurdity, hyperbole, satire, subversion, slapstick, and the scatological. Contact Alison Ogden for all booking enquiries Booking Information aogden@sarum.ac.uk | 01722 424826 | 01722 424800 (main reception) Read more
Exploring Theology Term 2: Week 3: Of the House of David: The Gospel of Matthew
Exploring the Bible Exploring Theology’s year 2019-20 is subtitled Encountering the Bible and focuses on gaining tools and understanding for a rigorous, imaginative, faithful and fruitful encounter with the Scriptures. The Autumn Term explores the Hebrew Scriptures known to Christians as the Old Testament, then the Spring Term explores the New Testament. These two terms cover (almost) the whole of the Bible, with selected attention to especially significant themes and passages. The Summer Term then explores further how Christians might… Read more
Biblical Leaders: All Too Human
Leaders aren’t perfect; neither are characters in the Bible. That’s why biblical leaders are the perfect models for leadership case studies. Using the narratives of three biblical leaders- Abraham, Moses and Esther- as well as contemporary leadership studies and literary analysis, this course will inspire us to reflect on leadership, then and now. One of the best ways to explore leadership is through case studies of people who we admire and strive to emulate despite (or perhaps even because of)… Read more
Lunchtime Concert: Anemos Trio
Lunchtime Concerts are held in the College’s Butterfield Chapel and are followed by a light buffet lunch (included in ticket price). Each concert starts at 12.45pm and lasts approximately 45 minutes. Subscription tickets are priced at £60. Individual concert tickets (subject to availability) are £12 per concert. Anemos Trio Groovesome Threesome by Mike Mower and 6 sonatas by C.P.E. Bach. Artists: Robert Blanken, clarinet; Karen Kingsley, piano; Richard Moore, bassoon. Contact Alison Ogden for all booking enquiries Booking Information aogden@sarum.ac.uk | 01722 424826 | 01722… Read more
February 2020
Pastoral Liturgy Day: Guard us Sleeping: Praying at Night
The course explores how Compline provides a means of prayer for an age that is increasingly concerned about sleep. Participants will be introduced to the history and liturgical forms of Compline, the most recent work on the theology of sleep, and a variety of practical ideas on how Compline can be used in a local church setting. Opportunity will be given for discussion and sharing in the experience of prayer at night. Ideal for those with pastoral and liturgical responsibility… Read more
Exploring Theology Term 2: Week 4: A Gentle Sensibility: The Gospel of Luke and The Acts of the Apostles
Exploring the Bible Exploring Theology’s year 2019-20 is subtitled Encountering the Bible, and focuses on gaining tools and understanding for rigorous, imaginative, faithful and fruitful encounter with the Scriptures. The Autumn Term explores the Hebrew Scriptures known to Christians as the Old Testament, then the Spring Term explores the New Testament. These two terms cover (almost) the whole of the Bible, with selected attention to especially significant themes and passages. The Summer Term then explores further how Christians might live… Read more
Reading Scripture Together: The Binding of Isaac/Ishmael
This conversational one-day course series will re-read selected sacred texts in detail and consider the ways they have been interpreted, both in the written word and in art, and on their relevance and meaning to us today. Celebrated during Rosh Hashanah in Judaism, during easter in the Christianity, and for Eid al-Adha in Islam, the binding of Isaac/Ishmael is an important story. During this day, we will re-read the stories in detail and explore the ways the Christian, Jewish, and… Read more
Waiting on the Word: The Spirituality of Preaching
A contemplative approach to the art of preaching given over five sessions with time allowed for discussion. We look at how the spiritual life of preachers informs how they preach, both pastorally and prophetically, in today’s world and for a changing church. The final session focuses on practical skills. Contact Alison Ogden for all booking enquiries Booking Information aogden@sarum.ac.uk | 01722 424826 | 01722 424800 (main reception) Read more
Sarum College 2019-20 Courses and Events Brochure
