The works of the Lord: 52 reflections on science, technology and creation
Sixteen CiS members contributed to a devotional book published by the Bible Reading Fellowship in February (£10 from faraday.cam.ac.uk/shop). Ruth Bancewicz, Church Engagement Director at The Faraday Institute, shares…
How did this book come about? Many years ago I saw a book of 50 reflections by a well-known author. Since then I’ve wanted to produce a science-themed one. Bob White introduced me to an editor at the Bible Reading Fellowship (BRF). I then edited several sets of biblical reflections for BRF’s New Daylight and Guidelines Bible notes. I asked whether we could turn these into a book, so we created The Works of the Lord, with a few specially commissioned pieces just for the book. The CiS contributors are: Roger Abbott, Denis Alexander, Mike Brownnutt, John Bryant, Graham Budd, Paul Ewart, Keith Fox, Davinder Gardner, Dave Gregory, Rodney Holder, Cherryl Hunt, Murdo Macdonald, Vinoth Ramachandra, Hugh Rollinson, Meric Srokosz, Bob White and myself. The entire contributor list (44 authors) is more diverse, but sadly most are not members – a perennial challenge for CiS that I know we are seeking to address!
Who is it for? The primary target audience is non-scientists, particularly church leaders. Of course, scientists, students and teachers should also have a copy. People have been buying them as gifts for friends, colleagues and family.
What do you hope people will take away from it? The main aim is to inspire and encourage people in their faith, as they see how science can enhance their reflection on the Bible, fuelling their worship and prayer. We also want to equip people to think biblically about ethical issues. I would love it if it was used by church leaders as a source of idea for sermons and other activities. I personally find it useful to have a collection of passages useful to particular topics, including creation, bioethics, creation care and AI to hand in one volume. (Apologies for not including an index of passages! If we get to print it again I will ask for one to be added.)
The physical size and format is different to most books on science and faith. Was that an intentional design decision? I intended it to be short and approachable – a good book to leave lying around the house for either family or friends to find it. BRF then wisely chose an attractive format.
Will there be a Volume 2 sometime? I hope so! I would love to do something on natural history and theology. I expect there are lots of other topics one could address in a similar format. Why not have one entirely written by CiS members – a good project for a future resources team, maybe? +
Last chance to nominate for this year’s CiS Oliver Barclay lecture
Please encourage a young person you have heard speak on Faith and Science. The lecture is awarded to a promising young individual, usually under the age of 35, who has demonstrated an ability to communicate effectively on issues relating to Science and Faith. All details are on the CiS website. The lecture is to be delivered at the CiS Autumn Conference. Nominations close at the end of April. +3
Time for action
By Gavin Merrifield
Over the last six months CiS has been discussing our new vision, a vision that we have crafted, prayerfully and patiently, over the last couple of years. It’s an exciting vision where we will be continuing to develop our traditional activities of fellowship for scientist Christians and nurturing new ideas at the interface of science and the Church. These are vital activities and will remain at the core of who we are.
Fully alongside this though we are going to become far more intentional about equipping the wider church to use science well in mission, discipleship and evangelism. Over the next few years we want CiS to be positioned as not simply a trusted source of information about science and Christianity, but to become an engine of engagement and growth for the Church when it comes to matters that involve science – the environment, education, theological exploration, the use of technology, deepening our understanding of the world God has placed us in and more!
We want to help the Church to reposition itself in regard to science, both publicly and internally, so that science is seen as the friend of faith, rather than the foe. We want to break the legacy of suspicion around science that many in our churches have inherited (often by default) and instead move the Church into a period of delight and wonder around scientific discovery and ideas.
We won’t be doing this alone though and we will be partnering with many other organisations to help bring about this vision. It is simply too much for us to do by ourselves. Our recent National Week of Prayer was a first step towards different organisations in our field working together to create something greater between us. Our proposed merger with the schools-focussed God and the Big Bang project is another exciting element of this that has the potential to bring fresh energy, innovative resources, members and focus to CiS.
It isn’t enough either though for us to rely on organisations, projects and groups to accomplish this vision. We need you, our members, to be involved as well. We need you to support the work of CiS and what we are doing and we need you to do that locally where you are. You are our team on the ground. You are those in our churches who can advertise events, grab the ear of your leadership team or PCC.
You are those who can revive our Local Groups across the UK providing a physical CiS presence in your cities and communities so new members can find support and friendship. You are those who have the drive and interest to start our Subject Groups and develop the next generation of ideas and thoughts around science and faith and bring them to our annual conference for presentation and discussion. We want your ideas in our journal, we want that journal to be overfilled with new and intriguing ideas to the point where it becomes a problem how we will get them published.
And beyond simply ‘academic’ Subject Groups what can you do as members of Christians in Science that will make a visible, powerful and practical difference in our churches? What about our engineers? What about our astronomers? What about those of us engaged in teaching or public engagement? What can we do that is innovative and different and build, in partnership, on more of our more traditional ways of doing things? Challenge yourselves in this area. What is it that you might do? What is it that might fire you up?
Tell us about your passions and let’s get moving. We are asking all of our members to bring your expertise, the places where God has positioned you and to dive into the vision of CiS. This will be crucial to fulfilling our vision and we ask all members to play a part in it if possible. You may already have the experience or expertise in the very areas we need help. We are asking that you bring those skills to CiS. Without vision, people perish. But without people vision cannot become reality.
As well as the areas I have already listed I would also encourage you to consider some of the following. Take them away, chew them over, pray about them. Get in touch with myself for a further conversation. Come to the online CiS Forum. See if anyone else is having the same thoughts, the same stirrings, as yourself. Let’s work together. As an organisation we need support in several practical areas to function well:
Conference and events team
To help organise, run and facilitate our various events. We have big plans to expand beyond our usual conferences. These include online programs for scientists, the Church and the public. We have early ideas about science and faith Road Shows that will be hosted in local churches around the UK to train and be used to equip Christians in science and faith. We need a team to help organise and run these ideas. You don’t have to do it all. You might want to help with our conferences or you might feel more drawn to our online events or Road Shows. Please let us know.
CiS forum team
We need a small group to oversee, grow and encourage the use of our new online Forum for Members. We hope that the Forum will become a hub for CiS activity and give our Members a new way to have fellowship with one another and to share new and exciting ideas. We need people who can commit to caring for this ministry and who can proactively develop and build it up.
Resources team
We are already assembling a team who we would like to oversee the creation, distribution and promotion of new resources and materials that support our mission. The sky is the limit here and as well as our existing leaflets and YouTube recordings from events, we have thoughts around podcasts, commissioning new videos, resources for children’s work, books and the possibility of a ‘CiS Press’ to publish many of these articles and get them in the hands, on the screens and in the ears of people in our churches who need to hear a positive message around science and Christian belief. Can you be a part of this team?
Communications team – press, socials and media
How we communicate with those outside of CiS is vital for our organisation going forward. This team will take the lead in increasing both the quality and quantity of our messaging, enabling us to get our positive view of science and faith as partners out there to the wider world. This is an exciting opportunity to be creative and innovative with how we do this, exploring new avenues as well as making best use of more traditional ones. We want to raise our profile, enhance our reputation and position ourselves to become the first port of call for people seeking news and information around science and the Church.
Web and tech team
This team would form a connecting backbone to many of our wider efforts. They would facilitate the work of our other teams, as well as leading the way on new ideas and opportunities that today’s digital technologies permit. We need a new website, we have the Forum to look after, our social media presence needs regular skilled attention. We need new resources produced in new ways, but most of all we need people with the skills and giftings in this area to make all these things work together. Our message needs good, relevant and up to date mediums to get out there and in front of the people who need to see it and be given the chance to go deeper with us.
Finance and fundraising
If we are to fully fulfil our vision we need practical resources, tools and people to do this. There’s no two ways about this. And the engine of that is our finances. We need people to lead the way with creative ideas on how to increase our finances, to bring fundraising into a more central place within CiS and beyond. We need people who can challenge others to think about their giving to CiS, who can motivate them to contribute to our projects and mission. We also need people who can help us write grants to other charities and organisations. We need people to help monitor and make plans around our finances in partnership with our Treasurer. Organising our finances shouldn’t be a burden, but rather an exciting opportunity to see what we can do best with the financial gifts God blesses us with. If you have experience and skill and passion in this area, then this is the team for you!
Membership team
We have a large membership that we want to grow further, both numerically but also in new ways. We want to encourage that membership, in their work and in their activity in CiS. All of this requires a lot of co-ordination and innovation. We are looking for people to work in this area, alongside our Membership Secretary and other relevant staff. Are you good with people? Can you encourage others? Do you have time to get in contact with our Members and Friends? Do you have a pastoral heart for CiS and our members? Are you someone who can recruit more members into CiS? Could you take a lead and develop a Church affiliation scheme? We’d love you to share your ideas with us and put them into action as a part of this team.
Around this time last year I wrote an article in PreCis about how I sensed CiS was in a time and a place where we were in the locked room of Pentecost with the door firmly closed between us and the outside world. My friends, that door is rattling. And I know from having spoken to many of you that you also feel our time and our moment is open us. That door is rattling for a reason, it is rattling because we have something good to share, something that must be shared with those around us. I’m getting up to go through that door. Will you join me?”