In the spirit of increasing our heart connections and coming together as a community, we would like to invite you to a gathering on the theme of Spiritual Imagination led by our dear friend Jeremy Henzell-Thomas.
Date: Saturday, 26th October 2019
Venue: Quaker Meeting House, 6 Church Street, Colchester CO1 1NF, UK
Time: Doors open 1.30pm for 2pm start. Tea and light refreshments will be served afterwards until 4.45pm
Tickets: £5 (advance booking recommended as spaces are limited)
Theme:
Jeremy will give a talk and invite discussion on the theme of Spiritual Imagination. Adopting a wide-ranging perspective, he will endeavour to clarify the nature of this higher faculty, seeing it as a bridge between the human and the Divine, the ‘seen’ and the Unseen, the immanent and the transcendent.
Spiritual Imagination opens our awareness to ‘Divine self-disclosure’, the revelation of the Divine in all things. We will explore this as a universal faculty that opens for each and every one of us the possibility of direct experience of the Divine Reality that goes beyond doctrinal theology, inherited or acquired beliefs, mediating authority, or formal ritual.
As Mevlana Rumi urges us, “The house without a window is hell; to make a window is the essence of religion.”
In his talk, and in conversation with the audience, Jeremy will explore the many ways in which such expansion of awareness is possible. He will also identify current issues raised by the theme in relation to contemporary needs, including that of education in which the higher creative and imaginative faculties are being increasingly marginalized to the detriment of the holistic development of our children.
With the recent opening of the stunning exhibition of the works of William Blake, the great 18th century artist, visionary, poet and mystic, at the Tate Britain in London, the theme of spiritual imagination might well be defined in his famous lines:
To see a World in a Grain of Sand
And a Heaven in a Wild Flower,
Hold Infinity in the palm of your hand
And Eternity in an hour.
Dr Jeremy Henzell-Thomas, FRSA, writes and speaks widely on the themes of education, society and spirituality. He has been a Visiting Fellow at the Centre of Islamic Studies at the University of Cambridge for several years. For the past three years he has been included in the Muslim 500 which ranks the 500 most influential Muslims in the world. He is a dear friend of Threshold Society.
Transport & Parking: Trains are very frequent from London Liverpool street station and the trip takes 50 minutes. The Quaker House is located in town around 10 minutes by taxi from Colchester train station. The closest parking to the Quaker house is St Mary’s Car Park; here is the link.
Dinner: We are planning to go to a nearby pizza restaurant for an early dinner to enjoy more time together after the talk. Please let Iman know in advance by email if you would like to join (cost not included!) – imano_m@yahoo.com.
Families and children: We have the option of booking a separate room in the Quaker Centre for use by parents and children, in case families wish to make a trip/ join for dinner to allow at least some parents to attend the talk! Parents will need to arrange appropriate supervision and entertainment for children, but the space is available if helpful. Please confirm with Iman by Sunday 13th October if anyone would like to make use of this.