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Inspiration and Imagination: Creative Expressions of the Spiritual Life (2024)

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About|Details|What our students say|Tutor(s)|Related short courses

Home Short Courses Theology, Imagination & Culture Contemporary Spirituality Christian Spirituality Inspiration and Imagination: Creative Expressions of the Spiritual Life (2024)

Inspiration and Imagination: Creative Expressions of the Spiritual Life (2024) course

This course explores the relationship between Christian theology, spirituality and art.

The four-day module is ideal for anyone wishing to deepen their understanding of the place of art, imagination and creativity in the Christian tradition from historical, cultural, and theological perspectives.

Participants will be encouraged to develop their own aesthetic and spiritual awareness alongside the possibilities for developing their own creative practice. This module will also enable students to critically engage with the place of art in Christian worship and the life of the Church.

Speakers for the 2024 module are:
Dr Michael Hahn on mysticism and art, considering first mystics as artists, and then artists who have been inspired by mysticism.
Dr Beatrice Allegranti on embodied practices and choreography in connected to human relationality to the more-than-human.
Dr Charlotte Naylor-Davis on popular music and theology, focusing on heavily metal music.
Prof. Graeme Smith on theology and poetry, focusing on the work of R. S. Thomas.
Susan Francis on theology and the visual arts, thinking particularly about theological aesthetics for the 21st-century.

This is a postgraduate course open to ‘auditors’ e.g. those attending the course who are not enrolled for academic credit.

What does it mean to audit a course? 

Joining this course is an opportunity to have a study break in the beautiful Salisbury Cathedral Close, where residential participants enjoy full board, access to the library and to the pattern of liturgy at Salisbury Cathedral.

Whether it’s cultural events, sightseeing (Stonehenge is nearby for example) or shopping — there’s plenty to do if you’d like to extend your stay the weekend before and after the course. For ideas, visit Salisbury Cathedral Close attraction websites to see what’s on Sarum’s doorstep. Visit the Wiltshire Creative website to view events at nearby Salisbury Playhouse and the Salisbury Arts Centre. The Experience Salisbury website has an excellent city-wide listing of forthcoming events around the city.

Find out more about postgraduate study in Christian Spirituality.

Enrolled students also may attend teaching weeks for modules in addition to the modules which they are studying for credit, by permission of the Programme Leader.  The audit fee and hospitality prices are reviewed annually with any changes effective from 1 July.

Need financial assistance? View our list of grantmaking trusts

 

The (residential) Inspiration & Imagination ticket sales has ended!
The (non-residential) Inspiration & Imagination ticket sales has ended!

Details

Dates & Times

09 - 12 Sep 2024
Expired!
Day 1 - Starts at 2pm, Day 2 & 3 - Full days, Day 4 - finishes by 2:30pm

Location

Sarum College

Category

Contemporary Spirituality
Christian Spirituality
Theology, Imagination & Culture

Tutor(s)

Dr Michael Hahn

Course code

Other Notes

The next iteration of this course will be held in September 2026.

It is a postgraduate course open to those not enrolled for academic credit. It will be held onsite at Sarum College.

The course fee includes lunch and refreshments on each day of the course.

Residential places include an evening meal along with B&B.

Any queries or to register interest, contact maadministrator@sarum.ac.uk

What our students say

Riveting!

Book of Revelation course

Someone on the course said it was ‘riveting!’ This was exactly what I felt. The course was a total joy because of the tutor’s handouts, excellence and Sarum College hospitality.
Mark Oakley

Faith is an imaginative adventure

The Very Revd Dr Mark Oakley

I admire the work and tone of Sarum College very deeply. It is a community that takes theology and spirituality seriously, not as hobbies but as pursuits into understanding, and engaging in, a complex world.

Sarum College reminds us that faith is an imaginative adventure and that it is shaped by a questioning joy.

Vibrant approach to theology

Fr Azariah France-Williams

I’ve been particularly struck by the refreshing approach to theological education here. In a world, and indeed within parts of the church, where faith can sometimes feel stagnant or out of touch, Sarum offers a vibrant and relevant alternative. The courses encourage a bold exploration of profound ideas, connecting with truths that lie beneath the surface and fostering genuine personal growth, which feels particularly significant as I approach my 50th year. This counter-cultural spirit, which embraces depth and challenges ageism and fear, is truly remarkable. Sarum is a place where individuals can be transformed by engaging with a living and breathing faith.

 

 

Well worth taking the time

Disability Theology: Theory and Practice

I took time to attend the course out of a busy working week and it was well worth taking that time. I have so many things to ponder and reflect on from this course and a helpful further reading list to keep me going for a few months! Thank you Sarum College

 

Netflix, Theology and Pastoral Practice

Peter Butchers on his MA in Theology, Imagination and Culture student experience

How do cultural tropes, like those found in Black Mirror, help bridge the gap between what academic theology espouses and what the everyday Christian believes? In his research as a student on the MA in Theology, Imagination and Culture, Peter Butchers explored platonic philosophy, digital theology and eschatology, and pastoral practice around death and dying.

Read more 

Rewarding Sabbatical Stay

The Revd Greg Syler, is Rector of Ascension & St. George’s, Resurrection Parish in the Episcopal Diocese of Washington, DC USA, spent part of his ministry sabbatical at Sarum College in spring 2022.

His account of the experience begins: ‘I loved spending nearly three weeks of my ministry sabbatical at Sarum College earlier this year.

Not only did I rest, and rest well in the comfortable care of the Sarum College staff, I experienced very significant renewal and fresh insights.’

Read more

Tutor(s)

Dr Michael Hahn

Programme Leader for Postgraduate Programmes in Christian Spirituality

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