Dear friends
We want to convey our prayers and blessings to you as we mark the beginning of the new academic year. Drawing on the words of the Apostle Paul, we pray that ‘the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the glorious Father, may give you the Spirit of wisdom and revelation, so that you many know him better’ (Eph 1:17).
One of the energising and encouraging aspects of life in the office is our regular contact with all of you – so do feel free to be in touch if there is anything we can assist you with. We look forward to conversations in the coming months. In the meantime, here are some pieces of news that we hope will be useful.
Many blessings
Mike
Colloquium 2022
The new academic year sees us begin the planning process for our next research colloquium (09:00 Monday 24 January 2022 - 13:00 Saturday 29 January 2022). Currently it is our intention to welcome as many people as possible to a physical gathering in Amsterdam and to provide online arrangements for those who need this. However the changing situation with respect to COVID guidelines means the w will need to keep things under review for now. We will keep in touch with you as plans develop.
Future plans for Laura Dijkhuizen
We are sad to convey the news that Laura will step down from her position as coordinator of the Research Community at IBTS at the end of September. Laura has been an excellent member of the team and made a significant contribution over her time here. Her plan is to commit more time to completing her own doctoral research and we anticipate that we will continue to interact with Laura around our shared research interests. I am sure that you will want to stand with the team in the office in extending heartfelt thanks to Laura and wishing her all the best in the coming months.
Freedom of Religion or Belief
Starts on 27 September 2021. The course runs for 12 weeks and is designed to be completed online with weekly group conversations.
For more detail and how to register please follow the following link
Supporting others
IBTS is seeking to raise funds to enable missional leaders to participate in transformational training experiences. We especially want to support those who minister in regions where the church is less well-resourced, where access to good training is difficult, and where freedom of religion and belief is restricted. Please follow the link to see how you can respond https://gofund.me/8bdd2053 and do forward to those who might be open to this. Thank you!
Theology and Action Research Network
For those of you involved in practical theology you may find the following link useful. They have a quarterly email update and also useful seminars for doctoral students using a Theological Action Research approach www.theologyandactioneresearch.net