About us | What we do | St Marks CRC

Based at St. Mark's Church in Broomhill, Sheffield, the Centre for Radical Christianity aims to support and help individuals and groups who are working for prophetic, inclusive and open minded churches, committed to sharing in their communities, Jesus' radical message of God's love for all people.

The objectives of the centre are:

To promote conferences, seminars and other meetings.
To support and resource a network of people and church communities through its membership.
To offer a Resource Library, to publish a Newsletter and to give information on conferences, courses, meetings etc sympathetic to the Centre's aims.
To stimulate discussion and information exchange through publicity and its web site.
To share our vision and to work alongside other organisations with similar aims.
To encourage the outworkings of radical discipleship in social action and a commitment to justice both locally and globally.

AGM 2009 Report

Chair’s report of St Marks CRC 2008– 2009

We have just come through a year of great challenge and change in CRC and much has been asked of the members of the Council. We knew that our communal life would be different when Adrian and Christine moved to Leeds and we were unsure exactly how the changes would affect us or how the new arrangements would work out.
I am glad to report that thanks to the hard work of our new secretary Tanya and to the fact that Christine continues to do her friendly and efficient best to keep us all organised, the transition has been remarkably smooth. We wish Adrian and Christine every blessing in their new home in Wetherby. The Council will review the situation again shortly; meanwhile our grateful thanks to Christine.
Our last A.G.M. was in the middle of a day with Don Cupitt - “The Meaning of the West: A Radical Christian Interpretation”. Don proved to be a challenging as well as an engaging speaker; the discussion questions which he posed for us were thoroughly enjoyable and nobody wanted to stop at the end of the session. Many people there did not agree with Don, but he encouraged us to disagree, making the point that disagreement is often the way by which we all learn what we really think.
Our Spring Conference was to be Adrian’s “Swan Song”. It was a day full of interest, tackling issues which concern us all. The theme of the conference was “The World to Come?...Global Responses to Global Threats.” Paul Rogers, Professor of Peace Studies at Bradford University, began the day. He was supported by a variety of workshops: “The Global Economic Crisis: where to from here for the World’s Poor?” was led by Claire Kumar from Christian Aid; Philip Austen from the Northern Friends’ Peace Board led the workshop ,”If War is not the Answer….” ; David Barrow from Ekklesia (A leading theological ‘Think Tank’) led ’How can the Christian Political Imagination help to Change Society’s Agenda?’. This amalgam of insight and commitment provided us all with a huge amount of information which challenged us all as individuals and as ‘Church’ to respond to issues which can often make us feel overwhelmed. Our thanks to Adrian for organising such a worthwhile event.
We are now looking forward to our Autumn series of events. Our old friend Jack Spong returns to speak at St. Mark’s as part of his tour for The Progressive Christianity Network, Britain. The title of his lecture is, ’Eternal Life - a New Vision’. Also, we are hoping to host an evening with Professor Lord Robert Winston although this has to be finalised .
We are also delighted to welcome Rev. Dr. Ian Wallis the new vicar of St. Mark’s, who has agreed to lead a day for us on November 7th. His theme is ’Embracing the Other: Jesus, Identity and Inclusivity’.
As I complete three years as Chair of CRC, I feel an enormous debt of gratitude to all the members of the Council during that time . They have worked with such enthusiasm and commitment to produce such excellent conferences.
I would like to make particular mention of David Thorpe who set up our two local groups and who has retired from the Council for health reasons: “Thank you David”. Thanks, too, to John Simmonds who has produced such interesting and lively Newsletters this past year and who is unendingly polite even when we are late with copy for him. Thanks, too, to Jonny Wood for getting us up and running on Facebook and to Maureen Bownas who is now running the CRC library. Especial thanks to my fellow officers who have been such a support and encouragement: Robin Saunders, for organising our finances - with barely a flinch when we only just cover costs! ; Tanya Ralph, for the amazing amount of hard work she has contributed in her first year as secretary and for making the transition so smooth; and Anne Padget, who has been a staunch Vice-Chair for the past three years.
Finally, thanks to all our members who continue to support CRC. I received a note from Don Cupitt this week in which he asked after CRC; he hoped we were going well and said that we, as an organisation were precious and unique! I finish on this positive note !
Helen Fisher

CRC Library Report 2008/9

Maureen Bownas, Reports on the CRC Library
This year we have said goodbye to Adrian and Christine Alker, who brought such enthusiasm to the development of the CRC library. We now welcome the arrival of Ian Wallis who already has shown a great interest in the continuing development of this wonderful facility housed at St Mark’s.
This last year, the library has continued to expand and widen. We have incorporated books from a range of authors including Martin Buber, Robert Winston, Keith Ward, Sally McFague, Peter Selby, Geza Vermes, Soren Kierkegaard, Jonathon Sacks, Stephen Lowe and Elaine Graham, reflecting a growing interest in theology, science, the environment and the political arena.
The library’s policy is to include not only authors who are coming to St Mark’s for conferences and seminars but also books which will form a basis of the new Book Group. Its first meeting, held in March 2009, was attended by about forty members who were able to browse the library and enjoy tea and coffee together. Peter Fisher presented an excellent paper on Geza Vermes, followed by a very lively discussion. A worthwhile second meeting followed in September 2009. We plan to hold three such meetings each year following a similar format.
Short reviews and descriptions of new books are forwarded to the CRC newsletter for information to our members. We hope that this awakens the interest of members in new additions and existing stock. Our aim is to see the shelves as empty as possible!
Shortage of space on the shelves is still a problem but this is being addressed by Ian and the library team. We hope that more space will be made available in the near future.
We are looking forward to incorporating more CDs and possibly downloads for mp3 players. This extension will be welcomed especially by members who are visually challenged. Thanks to Ian Wallis for his expertise and guidance in these areas.
Our thanks to Peter Fisher who has been the inspiration behind the ordering of books, giving unstinting help in all areas, especially to the newly emerging Book Group. Thanks also to Tanya Ralph who has done excellent work in maintaining the catalogue.
We are always glad to have feedback from our members; your views are of great importance to us. Any reviews or suggestions for new additions are most welcome.
All this could not be achieved without the loyal help of the library team who willingly give such reliable help on Sundays and at conferences.
This is my first report as CRC librarian and I would like to say how honoured and daunted I am to follow Peter Fisher, to whom we owe such a debt for his devoted commitment to the library and for his deep love of books.

Robin Saunders, Honorary Treasurer - St Mark’s CRC reports on the financial year 1st July 2008 - 30th June 2009

Although our overall turnover was similar to that in the previous year, the most significant item has been the publication and sale of the book ‘Together in Hope’ (under the imprint of St Marks CRC Press).
After some refunds to sponsors, a net surplus on this account of over £1400 has been retained to support possible future publications. This excellent result is a tribute to the astuteness and hard work of Adrian and Christine Alker.
By contrast, conferences have been on a smaller scale and generated a significantly reduced surplus, while costs have risen significantly and are more realistic as the administrator now works away from Sheffield. As a result our general accumulated funds have been slightly reduced, as compared with previous year by year increases, but remain at a healthy level. However in view of similar expected future costs, your committee is proposing an increase in the annual membership fee.

‘Hello’ from Tanya Ralph, our new Secretary.

I joined the CRC Council at its launch in 2003 when Adrian convinced me that I’d like to get involved with a new venture he was launching. Little did I know what was in store for us all. And again in summer 2008 when Adrian announced he was leaving he persuaded me that I might like to take on the role of Secretary!
And what large shoes to fill. Following the Alkers move to Leeds, the Autumn conference with Don Cupitt felt like a baptism of fire but was made so much easier by the continued support of Christine, our indispensible administrator.
2009 has been an exciting year for St Mark’s Church and CRC in Sheffield with the vacancy and then the long awaited arrival of the Revd Dr Ian Wallis, who, we are pleased to announce, has agreed to join the Council in an ex-officio role as the Vicar of St Mark’s. We are delighted that he has agreed to lead this year’s Autumn conference, where we hope to see many of you again.
CRC continues to grow from strength to strength with 251 members and two excellent and very different conferences since the last AGM; there are plans for more next year. We continue to offer new opportunities for members to meet with like-minded people with the recent ‘Book Group’ meetings.
The book, Together in Hope, continues to sell and is being used in groups all over the country; we hope to publish more such resources in collaboration with other progressive organisations in the future. In this and in the collaboration over conferences, we continue to build strong links with other organisations such as the Progressive Christianity Network (PCN Britain). Please follow what these groups are doing through their websites which are listed on the CRC website links page.
We rely enormously on members contributing to the work of the CRC, from serving drinks at conferences (for which I thank you!) to offering short pieces for the newsletter and information to be posted on our website. These can be articles, reflections, ideas on resources, book reviews, news of courses etc. Do send these to info@stmarkscrc.co.uk
Despite the busy year and demands of the role, I enjoy being part of such a diverse and inclusive organisation with a strong sense of faith at its core. I draw strength from this and from the Council and wider membership who continue to provide support and encouragement for us all. I look forward to serving you for another year if re-elected to Council.