The unevenness of the suffering caused by the Covid-19 pandemic will be among the topics explored by the widely known theologian the Revd Dr Sam Wells as part of a topical and relevant online lecture in May.
In an examination of the Church and Civil Society, Sam Wells will also focus on the climate change emergency and the Black Lives Matter movement during the lecture on Thursday 6th May 2021 at 7.30pm.
This inaugural Peckard Lecture marks the contribution made to the Abolition of Slavery Movement by Peter Peckard – an eighteenth-century Dean of Peterborough who is buried in the New Building of the Cathedral.
“We warmly welcome such an insightful and thoughtful speaker as Sam Wells to give our first Peckard Lecture”, said Dean of Peterborough, the Very Reverend Chris Dalliston. “Sam’s valuable first-hand experience, serving as vicar of St Martin-in-the-Fields Church in a part of London where social deprivation is such a challenge, more than qualifies him to speak in depth on this subject”, he added.
Opening the Cathedral as a space for good conversation about issues relevant to contemporary society and exploring the part Christians can and need to play in building a fairer world, a wide-ranging audience of people of all faiths and none is expected.
Sam Wells said: “Sharing my outlook with others in such an immediate way online is a blessing in itself. I am honoured to open Peterborough Cathedral’s prestigious lecture series and look forward to engaging with those attending.”
The inauguration of the lecture series follows the presentation of Peckard’s work in detail by the former Archbishop of Canterbury Dr Rowan Williams to a Peterborough Cathedral audience back in 2018.
Tickets for the Lecture are. Priced £7 each and are available soon.
Additional Notes:
Revd Dr Sam Wells is Vicar of St Martin-in-the-Fields and has served as a Church of England parish priest for 22 years. He also spent 7 years in North Carolina, where he was Dean of Duke University Chapel.
Sam is also Visiting Professor of Christian Ethics at King’s College London. He has published 35 books, including academic studies and textbooks in Christian ethics, and explorations of liturgy, preaching, faith and mission. His most recent book is The Heart of it All: The Bible's Big Picture (Canterbury Press Norwich 2019). Other publications include: Love Mercy, The Twelve Steps of Forgiveness and Walk Humbly: Encouragements for Living, Working and Being.
More details can be found about Peter Peckard in Peterborough Cathedral’s Tales from Tour Guides blog here:
https://peterboroughcathedral.wordpress.com/2020/06/10/tales-from-tour-guides-22/