MEDIEVAL MYSTIC WILL BE TALK OF THE CHURCH

This article appears in today's Leicester Mercury:

Medieval mystic will be talk of the church

Bishop Street Methodist Church in Leicester is holding another of its Talks in the Chapel series.

After talks on Richard III, Christmas carols and the 50th anniversary of the religious best-seller Honest to God, the next topic will be Hildegard of Bingen, the medieval mystic.

Hildegard was an independent thinker and artist who led a convent of nuns in Rupertsberg, in the Rhineland. She wrote poetry, composed songs, drew pictures and wrote about medicine and natural history.

The talk will be on Thursday, July 4, between 6.15pm and 7.15pm. Admission is free.

CND'S BRUCE VISITS CITY

This article appears in today's Leicester Mercury:

Bruce Kent, left, with supporters Rama Gupta, of Loughborough, and Liz Brandon, right

CND's Bruce visits city

Anti-nuclear weapons campaigner Bruce Kent called for Britain to ditch its submarine-based deterrent as part of a "scrap Trident missile tour".

Mr Kent said it was immoral to consider embarking on replacing the missiles when so many people across Britain were being hit by savage cuts in social welfare.

Speaking after a prayer meeting at the Bishop Street Methodist church, Mr Kent, who is vice-president of national CND, said: "It seems to me that we, as a country, are moving towards replacing, at vast expense, our Trident submarines and their murderous missiles and warheads.

"The total cost of this would be over £100 billion."

He said the crisis with North Korea demonstrated the futility of nuclear weapons.

He said: "It's hypocrisy to say we can have them but they can't."

Mr Kent is visiting 22 towns and cities in England.

He arrived in the city at the Gandhi statue, near the flyover in Belgrave Road, and was later greeted by city mayor Sir Peter Soulsby, at the Town Hall.

He also attended a lecture at De Montfort University, and a public meeting at St Phillip's church hall in Evington Road and gave a talk to students at Countesthorpe College.

DISCOVER LEICESTER

"Discover Leicester" is coming up this weekend: our city's annual contribution to a national Open Days event supported by English Heritage. I've taken from the programme only those sites in the city related to religion. There are more than just these destinations on offer during the four day period. Leicester Council of Faiths organises a "Faiths Trail" as part of this event. I'll be blogging about that separately on Sunday.

St Margaret's Church
St Margaret's Street, LE1 3EB
St Margaret's is a large medieval church rich in history. A warm welcome is extended to everyone. Beautiful stained glass windows - the east window by Thomas Willard.
Sat 11 Sep 1000-1330

Leicester Synagogue
Highfield Street, LE2 1AD
The Synagogue is a listed building and well over 2100 years old. There will be informal tours of the building as well as explanations about its use and the Jewish Faith.
Sun 12 Sep 1000-1600 (Photo of the synagogue, above, from the Leicestershire Beehive, which hosts a number of websites for local not-for-profit groups and organisations)

All Saints' Church
Highcross Street, LE1 4PH
Norman/Medieval Church. Rare 1610 working clock with striking quarter Jack figures. There will be an exhibition of Victorian funeral memorabilia and displays by Leicestershire Calligraphers and the War Memorials Trust.
Thu 9 Sep 1100-1800; Fri 10 Sep 1100-1800; Sat 11 Sep 1000-1800; Sun 12 Sep 1430-1730

Places of Worship, Welcome & Wonder!
Friends' Meeting House, Queens Road, Clarendon Park, LE2 1WP
A chance to explore Stoneygate and Clarendon Park's many and varied places of worship and learn about their history and the often remarkable buildings that house them. From the grandeur of St James the Greater and the Clarendon Park Congregational Church to the Regency villa home of the Jesus Fellowship in Springfield Road. Collect your free map and itinerary and make your own way. Guides will be available at each venue to help make your visit a memorable one.
Sat 11 Sep 1000-1600

St Mary de Castro
Castle Street, LE1 5WN
Norman/Medieval church originally connected to Leicester Castle. the South Wall is still loopholed in preparation for the last ditch stand in the Siege of Leicester 1645.
Thu 9 Sep 1200-1400; Fri 10 Sep 1200-1400; Sat 11 Sep 1200-1700

St Nicholas' Church
129 St Nicholas Circle, LE1 5LX
A hidden treasure of Leicester's heritage, St Nicholas Church has had a long and colourful history. Sited near the centre of the Roman Town of Ratae Coritanorium, some Roman remains visible, but visitors will also find Saxon features dating from AD900.
Sat 11 Sep 1400-1600

Leicester Cathedral
Peacock Lane, LE1 5PX
Cathedral for Leicester and Leicestershire, 13th century church building. Enjoy peace and quiet, prayer and history. Exhibitions and tours, 13 bells, superb organ, recently restored tower and spire.
Fri 10 Sep 1000-1600; Sat 11 Sep 1000-1600; Sun 1000-1600

Leicester Abbey Revealed
Abbey Park, Abbey Park Road, LE4 5AQ
Leicester Abbey was founded in the 12th century and became one of the richest abbeys in the region. Learn of the growth of the abbey and the daily life of the monks.
Thu 9 Sep 0900-1400


St George's Serbian Orthodox Church
Rutland Street
Built in local sandstone in 1827, and largely rebuilt in 1912-13; St George's is now a Serbian Orthodox Church. Enjoy a friendly tour around this fascinating church.Sat 11 Sep 1600-1700


Bishop Street Methodist Church
10a Bishop Street, Town Hall Square, LE1 6AF
Georgian Grade II listed historic Methodist Chapel with an impressive interior. guided tours of the building, opportunity for family historians to consult our historic registers, displays on our church history and information about church heritage project.
Sat 11 Sep 1000-1600

Great Meeting Unitarian Chapel
East Bond Street, LE1 4SX
300 year old non-conformist place of worship, the oldest brick building in Leicester. Set in pleasant gardens in the heart of the city, with many original features and some significant Victorian additions.
Sat 11 Sep 1000-1700; Sun 12 Sep 1030-1230

"To me!", "To you!"

A bit of lifting and shifting this morning, with the assistance of Tony Stokes, from the Methodist Church next door. He and I clear the downstairs office of the last of the display materials that had previously been used by the Just shop. We get them out of the door at Pilgrim House, then in the next one at the church. These various bits and pieces have been taking up space in the downstairs office since Just moved out near the end of 2009. Some of the bits have been blocking the window, concealing that there's an empty room in such a public and vulnerable situation. But we have a pair of nice magnolia-coloured venetian blinds now - although when viewed from outside, the blinds reveal the previously unnoticed fact that one of the windows is tinted; so they look more like a coffee and cream combination than being two of the same colour.

Carpet cleaners coming today. Then the place will be in a pretty decent state to start functioning as my working office. Well, clean carpets and new blinds are definitely steps in the right direction!

journey to the cross

Jill Marsh, Minister at Bishop Street Methodist Church, invites me into an exhibition and "meditative activity" for Holy Week based around images of Christ's journey to the cross, displaying art work by the Benedictine Nuns of Turvey Abbey. There's a superb series of paintings laid out in the church's exhibition space, reflective music, friendly and welcoming faces. I have a brief, pleasant chat with a volunteer named Patrick.

This is also a preparation for what has now become a regular feature of the public celebration of Easter in Leicester: "Christ in the Centre", a dramatic enactment of Christ's crucifixion and resurrection at various points in the city centre on the morning of Good Friday.

Find out more about Christ in the Centre:
http://citc.dioceseofleicester.com/

Find out more about Bishop Street Methodist Church:
http://www.bishopstreetchurch.org.uk/