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2010 Courses
2010 Courses
Friday 22nd – Monday 25th January
Understanding Islam
A remarkable journey into Islamic faith and life. Chris Hewer presents Islam in a way that is both true to its tradition and also intelligible for a Western audience. Anyone of integrity will welcome this excellent antidote to Islamophobia, resulting from years of interfaith co-operation and frank theological discussion.
For further information please click here.
Cost: £210 all inclusive (course fee, food and accommodation)
Non-residential: £140
Friday 29th – Sunday 31st January
Dan Brown: Myth, Symbol, Truth
Dan Brown’s best-selling novels – The Da Vinci Code, Angels and Demons and, most recently, The Lost Symbol – have been worldwide publishing sensations while films of his novels have also been enjoyed by millions. But what are the roots of this popularity? What do his novels have to say on issues of faith, belief and symbolism in the modern world? And is this popularity to be seen in terms of a wider search for value and meaning in contemporary society? Or do his works simply cash in on the enduring appeal of conspiracy, misconceptions about religion and a distrust of institutions and authority. This two-day conference will provide an opportunity to review the Dan Brown phenomenon, through book and film, and to answer some of these questions.
For further information please click here.
Cost: £138 all inclusive (course fee, food and accommodation)
Non-residential: £92
Monday 8th – Thursday 11th March
Peace Building– A Skill or An Art?
This weekend provides an opportunity to explore the process of peace building as used during ten years of work in Bosnia and Kosovo by Soul of Europe. T he course will consider definitions of'peace',and and explores the question ' Is Peace possible, or do we have to agree with Machiaevelli that governments always preparing for the next war? The process is relevant to resolving disagreements and conflicts in any situation. The weekend will be led by Revd Donald Reeves, former Rector of St James’ Piccadilly. For more information on the Soul of Europe, please visit www.soulofeurope.org
Cost: £200 all inclusive (course fee, food and accommodation)
Non-residential: £133
Friday 12th – Sunday 14th March
Creative Writing Workshop
This is a weekend of friendly workshops designed for those who would like to start to write as well as those who need space and inspiration to get writing again. There will be plenty of time to pursue your own writing projects in the library as well as time to discuss your ideas and work with your tutor on a one-to-one basis.
For further information please click here
Cost: £147 all inclusive (course fee, food and accommodation)
Non-residential: £96
Saturday 20th – Friday 26th March
Welsh in a Week
Come with little or no knowledge of the Welsh language – just a desire to learn and by the end of the week, a basic ability in Welsh will have been achieved.
For more information please click here
Cost: £448 all inclusive (course fee, food and accommodation)
Non-residential: £299
Friday 23rd – Sunday 25th April
Film & Theology
The 12th annual weekend of screenings, lectures, discussions, cuts and clippings. As usual, the participants will explore the relationship between film and religion, theology and the Bible.
For further information please click here
Cost: £133 all inclusive (course fee, food and accommodation)
Non-residential: £89
Monday 26th April – Saturday 1st May
Come and See: The Transformation of Personal Prayer
Come and See is an invitation to experience a wide range of Christian prayer practices, geared to beginners in the work of prayer, long-time disciples or seekers who are attracted to meditation and contemplation but do not think the church has much to offer them. Since the goal of prayer is personal transformation and not advancement, David Keller and Emily Wilmer offer wise, down-to-earth suggestions for many kinds of personal prayer, address its difficulties and reveal what is special about it in relation to other prayer traditions. The emphasis will be on experience, not words.
For further information please click here
Cost: £299 all inclusive (course fee, food and accommodation)
Non-residential: £199
Monday 31st May - Friday 4th June
Illusion of Illusions: Ecclesiastes in its World
'entrenched beliefs are never altered by facts'
Lyn Bechtel continues her acclaimed series of courses on the Hebrew Bible. This year, she looks at the challenges, compromises and confusions in Ecclesiastes and Proverbs.
For further information please click here
Cost: £250.00 all inclusive (course fee, food and accommodation)
Non-residential cost: £167.00
Monday 21st – Thursday 24th June
“I've seen the future, brother: it is murder” Conversations with Greg Garrett
The celebrated American novelist and cultural theologian, Greg Garrett, asks why contemporary culture and even Christians are so accepting of torture in this post 9/11 world. Fear, revenge - what is it that so de-sensitises our contemporaries? The question is explored through discussion, screenings and readings.
Cost: £200 all inclusive (course fee, food and accommodation)
Non-residential: £133
Friday 30th July – Sunday 1st August
The Gladstone Bag: Gladstone and his era
St Deiniol’s Library, the National Memorial to Gladstone, provides the perfect setting for the annual Gladstone colloquium for scholars and Gladstone enthusiasts. Offers of papers on all aspects of Gladstone’s life and times are welcome. The weekend includes a trip to Gladstone’s study at Hawarden Castle, the Temple of Peace.
Cost: £142 all inclusive (course fee, food and accommodation)
Non-residential: £95
Monday 2nd – Sunday 8th August
Greek in a Week
A course for those wishing to learn New Testament Greek and those wishing to revise and improve their knowledge of it. No prior knowledge of Greek is assumed - all we ask is that you try to learn the Greek alphabet before you arrive. The week is led by New Testament scholar, Kalyan Dey.
Cost: £453 all inclusive (course fee, food and accommodation)
Non-residential: £302
Monday 9th – Sunday 15th August
Hebrew in a Week
This course offers an exciting way to enjoy and understand Biblical Hebrew. Lyn Bechtel leads the week for those who wish to begin to read Biblical Hebrew. It can be enjoyed by those who know a little Hebrew and wish to revise and improve their knowledge of it but no prior knowledge is assumed.
Cost: £453 all inclusive (course fee, food and accommodation)
Non-residential: £302
Monday 16th – Sunday 22nd August
Celtic Christianity
Through lectures and visits to sites in North Wales, Ian Bradley and other Celtic scholars, Celtic history and religion and trace Celtic influences on contemporary faith and practice.
Cost: £477 all inclusive (course fee, food and accommodation)
Non-residential: £318
Sunday 22nd – Tuesday 24th August
Grace, Order, Openness and Diversity: Reclaiming Liberal Theology
Ian Bradley offers a powerful re-statement of Liberal Protestantism for the twenty-first century. He presents fundamentalism, born a hundred years ago in the United States of America, as the great twentieth century heresy and aberration. He identifies and seeks to reclaim for the twenty-first century a liberal theological tradition existing in Christianity, Islam, Judaism and the other major world faiths.
Cost: £138 all inclusive (course fee, food and accommodation)
Non-residential: £92
Monday 6th – Thursday 9th September
If you see George Herbert on the Road, Kill Him
George Herbert died in 1633 but his legacy continues - and not just through his poetry. His parish ministry remains the model of how, where and why Anglican priests should minister. But the memory of Herbert is an inaccurate one. Justin Lewis-Anthony realistically assesses the context of Herbert’s life and examines the status and role of parish clergy since Herbert’s time so that the Anglican Church may be able to avoid the difficulties and pathologies that this false model imposes on parish life today. What alternatives can we use to renew priestly ministry? Is it possible to recover a better, older, more appropriate pattern for priestly ministry?
For further information please click here
Cost: £200 all inclusive (course fee, food and accommodation)
Non-residential: £133
Friday 1st – Sunday 3rd October
Wales: History, Language and Culture
An invitation to a relaxed weekend during which some of the fascinating history, culture and language of Wales is revealed.
Cost: £138 all inclusive (course fee, food and accommodation)
Non-residential: £92
Monday 1st – Thursday 4th November
Films of Faith and Doubt
Tom Aitken and Peter Francis continue to revive, review and enthuse about classic and recent films of faith and doubt. Seven films will be introduced, watched and discussed.
Cost: £200 all inclusive (course fee, food and accommodation)
Non-residential: £133
Monday 6th – Friday 10th December
Urban Theology
An invitation to urban theologians and practitioners to come together to reflect on their urban experience as they attempt to forge a distinctive urban theology.
Cost: £160 all inclusive (course fee, food and accommodation)
Non-residential: £107
The Gladstone Institute is a collaborative partnership between St Deiniol’s Library and Glyndwr University. Prices include tuition fees, dinner, bed and breakfast, lunch, morning/afternoon tea/coffee but do not include en-suite supplements, telephone calls or alcoholic drinks. For further information, please email enquiries@st-deiniols.org
What's next?
Why not stay overnight or plan a short retreat for some personal study time. You'll find the atmosphere here peaceful and friendly, and of course there's the library itself with over 250,000 texts that cover a wide range of subjects, specialising in our core subject areas of Theology and Victorian Studies.
View details of our accommodation at St Deiniol's
Go to booking enquiries
Tel: 01244 532350
Email: enquiries@st-deiniols.org
