Christian Heritage Conference & Religious Tolerance Forum

Posted on by Bassetlaw Christian Heritage

Coming up in March 2019:

CHRISTIAN HERITAGE CONFERENCE – Retford, Friday 8th March 2019

RELIGIOUS TOLERANCE FORUM – Retford, Saturday 9th March 2019

Following the success of previous events attended by those involved in Christian heritage from across the UK, we are holding our fourth free conference on 8th March 2019 in Retford at The Well. This year we plan to have a mixed programme covering themes and issues from our work, and we hope to have some overseas guests as well. A detailed programme will follow.

Call for topics and presentations:

It would be great if you could let us know if you can speak on a specific topic or development that would be of interest to other group members, for example holding public lectures, events for children/families, marketing, lottery and grant applications etc. Please also let me know if you know of others who might be interested in attending.

Please also feel free to suggest topics for wider discussion or that you would like help with.

Religious Tolerance Forum

On the following morning, a Saturday, we will hold the fourth event marking the contribution of Christians to the development of religious tolerance worldwide. Speakers already booked include Prof Larry Kreitzer talking about the early Baptists and their contribution to religious freedom and Masoud Abadi, an Iranian refugee and campaigner. We are also in discussion with the US Embassy about a speaker from Washington which would be very exciting.

As before, there is NO CHARGE for either of these events but you are asked to pay for lunch on the Friday. Retford has good rail and road links, and we are also arranging low price B & B at Mattersey Bible College.

For further information or to book please contact:

adriangray@pilgrimsandprophets.co.uk

If you want to stay at Mattersey, please let us know soon as space is limited. Please advise on what accommodation you would like and for which nights. Please also indicate if you will be using your own transport or not.

Costs to stay at Mattersey are approximately:

  • Cooked Breakfast £3.00
  • Bed & Breakfast single room £20.00 per night
  • Bed & Breakfast double en-suite room £40.00 for 2 people. £30.00 for 1 person (only 3 rooms available)
  • Bed & Breakfast twin en-suite room £40.00 for 2 people. £30.00 for 1 person (only 1 room available)

Religious Tolerance Forum: coming up in March

Posted on by Bassetlaw Christian Heritage

This year’s Religious Tolerance Forum will take place on Saturday 10th March 2018, 10am-1pm at The Well in Retford (DN22 7BD). BCH are grateful to Bassetlaw District Council for their continued support for this event.

This year’s speakers include Dr David Appleby, Lecturer in Early Modern British History at the University of Nottingham, and adviser to the National Civil War Museum. David will be speaking about freedom and persecution in the post civil war era. Masoud Ahmadi from the International Liberty Association will talk about his escape from persecution, and Phil Lyons, CEO of the National Holocaust Centre, will describe the work done at the Centre and discuss the use of survivor testimony and recent innovations, including the Forever project.

We are also pleased to welcome Ben Huxtable of Release International and Andrew Smith of Open Doors. This year’s event will feature a video of an interview with Dr Rowan Williams, Master of Magdalene College, University of Cambridge, and former Archbishop of Canterbury.

For more information, please contact us at contact@bassetlawchristianheritage.com or Adrian Gray at adriangray@pilgrimsandprophets.co.uk

Religious Tolerance Forum poster v2 10th March 2018

National Conference established in Retford

Posted on by Bassetlaw Christian Heritage

The first national Christian Heritage Conference took place at The Well, in Retford, on Friday 11th March 2016. This marked the start of an annual event, aimed at attracting national and international delegates, with a wide range of interests and approaches.

Adrian Gray addressing the conference
Adrian Gray addressing the conference

Retford, with its central positioning within the UK, its rich heritage, with national and world impact, and its excellent transport links, made it a prime location to host the conference.

Among the key findings were that non-Christian tourists, as well as Christian visitors, want to visit Christian Heritage sites, and the accessibility of well-maintained clean toilets is critically important for successful tourist locations.

Twenty-seven delegates from around the UK engaged enthusiastically at the conference, which enabled the sharing of information between organisations with a common purpose, but a range of approaches, focuses and backgrounds. Feedback was very positive with delegates looking forward to working together and returning to next year’s conference in Retford.

Paul James-Griffiths, Christian Heritage, Edinburgh
Gillian Crawley, Old Rectory Epworth
Anthea Moat, Notts Historic Churches Trust

The conference was opened by local historian, Adrian Gray, who welcomed delegates from Bedfordshire, Buckinghamshire, Cambridgeshire, Cheshire, Cornwall, Edinburgh, Lincolnshire, London, Nottinghamshire and Yorkshire.

Adrian outlined the rich and varied Christian Heritage to be found within approximately 30 miles of Retford, including the leaders of the Mayflower Pilgrims and the Separatist movement, the founders of the Baptist, Congregational and Methodist Churches, the Salvation Army, and the first Quaker martyr.

Each delegate shared information about their organisation, with some fascinating insights:

  • William Booth, Salvation Army founder, was once apprenticed to a pawnbroker
  • mystery underground caverns of Edinburgh – origins unknown
  • Barnsley – Hudson-Taylor heritage trail attracts Chinese tourists
  • museum curators who used to live in, make breakfast, and change the beds
  • US choir touring the origin locations of their favourite hymns
  • Koreans who papered their houses with pages of the Bible

Delegates agreed that there is a rapidly growing interest in Christian heritage, as quality tourism, with educational elements, delivered in an accessible and enjoyable way. The experience, however, has to be excellent, requiring high standards of training, organisation and motivation.

Kelly Clowes, Headteacher, Harworth All Saints’ Primary Academy
Martin Lown Christian Heritage, Cambridge
Paul Collins & Paula Noble, Cowper and Newton Museum Olney Buckinghamshire

The area in and around Bassetlaw, North Nottinghamshire has a range of engaging stories, attractive to tourists across a number of cultural and religious traditions. Combination themed tours provide the potential for development into attractive packages and opportunities for tourist sites/areas to work together.

The Christian Heritage Conference was organised by Pilgrims & Prophets, and Bassetlaw Christian Heritage.

Delegate organisations that attended the conference included:

Although a number of organisations are named “Christian Heritage”, they are independent; they pursue individual objectives, and there is no link between them.