Special Events

Posbury St Francis Annual Lecture 2024: Radical Hope: The Roots of Courage in Inevitable Climate Change

Speaker: Dr Bethany Sollereder

Time: 7.00pm - 8.30pm. There will be a drinks reception prior to the lecture, in the same venue, from 6.15pm.

Venue: Lecture Theatre 1 (known as LT1), Queen's Building, Streatham Campus, University of Exeter. This event will also be available online as a livestream.

Tickets: There is no charge for this event, but please register for the Posbury St Francis Lecture to indicate whether you will be attending online or in person.

Open to: This is a public lecture, open to all.

This event is jointly organised by the Posbury St Francis Trust and the Exeter Centre for Ethics and Practical Theology (EXCEPT), which is part of the University's Department of Theology and Religion (facebook page).

In a world where the climate has already changed, we need a hope that stretches beyond simply stopping change. This lecture will draw from theology, history, and the natural sciences to argue for ways we can build hope in a world where climate change is already occurring and will continue to happen.

Dr Bethany Sollereder is a Lecturer in Science and Religion at the University of Edinburgh. She specialises in theology concerning evolution and the problem of suffering and is currently working on the theological aspects of climate change. Bethany received her PhD in Theology from the University of Exeter. She is the author of God, Evolution, and Animal Suffering: Theodicy without a Fall and Why Is There Suffering? Pick Your Own Theological Expedition.

Icon Writing Retreat Day

With local icon writer, Andrea Chance

Time: 10.00am - 4.30pm

Venue: St Luke's Chapel, St Luke's Campus, University of Exeter.

Fee: This event is subsidised by the Anglican Chaplaincy, and so is available for the heavily reduced rate of £10. The fee includes all materials and lunch, but you are welcome to bring any Icons you may have, if you wish to do so.

Tickets: Please book a place on the Icon Writing Retreat Day via FIXR. The ticket booking is free, but please bring £10 in cash with you on the day to pay for your place. Places are limited so early booking is advised.

Open to: All University of Exeter students and staff.

All students and staff with an interest in the Christian faith are invited to a quiet day learning about the ancient art of icon writing, while making your own icon.

Andrea writes...

What have you let yourself in for? Let me reassure you that if you can paint a wall, you can do this. I will do the scary bit – no drawing is necessary; I will have done it for you. Your board will only need painting and I will shepherd you through every stage of the process.

I will teach you how to make traditional egg tempera paint from ground pigments and a mixture of egg yolk, water and alcohol. It's just an uncooked omelette with a bit of colouring in it, though definitely not for tasting. You will also apply genuine gold leaf to the halo. Once again, this is not as difficult as it sounds.

During the day, David and I will share with you a little about the fascinating story of this ancient Christian art form and our involvement in it. Icon making is not about our perfection but about God’s perfection. There is, therefore, no pressure to do anything perfectly.

Our aim is to give each of you a basic understanding of materials and techniques which will help you to appreciate the Icons you encounter and for you to take the results of your personal exploration home with you.

We will also try to answer your questions as thoroughly as we are able. It is a vast field of study. So much to do... so little time! Hence we describe ourselves as "perpetual students of Iconography".

Your work will be blessed during a short Eucharist at the end of the day.