Britain's Favourite TV Vicar Spills Happy News

The Rev Peter Owen-Jones, the whole nation's media chaplain, will be sharing from the heart at a Green Christian London conference 'End of the Age of Thorns' on 5th March 2011.

He will be opening up about a new relationship with money, and how we can survive the credit, jobs and planet crunch by digging for our spiritual roots.

In his BBC TV odyssey, Britain's favourite vicar tried living without his cheque book in the series 'How to live a simple life', and travelled the world to peer into the human soul in the fascinating 'Around the World in 80 Faiths'.

Now he comes back down to Earth in central London, bringing his unique, accessible style of presentation, to share the good news of life after moneymaking, in an all-day conference organised by Christian Ecology Link.

The programme for the 'End of the Age of Thorns' features a wide range of talks and workshops asking questions about the ecology of money and life after mass marketing. What are the green shoots nurturing a new economics? Is there prosperity without growth? And can society grow up and leave consumerism behind?

Sustainability expert Professor Tim Cooper will lead a group learning the fundamentals of Green Economics; Ashley Ralston will guide a process looking at shopping as if the planet mattered; and Ruth Jarman will host a workshop on greening up the day-to-day life of church communities.

END OF THE AGE OF THORNS: SURVIVING CONSUMERISM

Christian Ecology Link Conference: Saturday 5 March 2011, 11am to 5pm, St John's Church, Waterloo Road, London SE1 8TY (opposite the entrance to Waterloo station)

More information

http://www.christian-ecology.org.uk/thorns

http://www.christian-ecology.org.uk/thorns.pdf

http://www.christian-ecology.org.uk/thorns-booking.pdf

Come and explore spiritual roots for a new economics, for our own humanity and all life on Earth. Engage with Peter Owen-Jones on a new relationship with money and how we can challenge the consumerist age we live in.

Ticket prices vary

Non-CEL members £20

CEL members £15

£5 for the first 20 students aged under 25

Booking forms

http://www.christian-ecology.org.uk/thorns-booking.pdf

Telephone: 0845 45 98 46 0

E-mail: bookings@christian-ecology.org.uk

info@christian-ecology.org.uk

Speaker biographies

Peter Owen-Jones is a long-time supporter of CEL and a popular speaker. You will probably have seen at least one of his fascinating BBC series: 'How to live a simple life', 'Around the World in 80 Faiths', and 'Extreme Pilgrim'.

He is a Church of England vicar in a parish near Lewes in East Sussex; writer of several books including Letters from an Extreme Pilgrim (2010) and Psalm: The World's Finest Soul Poetry in a Contemporary Idiom (2009); and founder of the Arbory Trust, the first Christian woodland burial site.

Tim Cooper is Professor of Sustainable Design and Consumption at Nottingham Trent University, a founder member of CEL and former CEL Chair. He is author of 'Longer lasting products; alternative to the throwaway society' (2010) and 'Green Christianity' (1990).

Workshop details

'Green Economics': Tim Cooper will run two different sessions combining input and discussion. Both sessions will be self-contained so you can go to both, or just one.

'Shopping as if the planet mattered': Bring your own ideas to share, led by Ashley Ralston, CEL trustee and a director of Better Tomorrows.

'Greening the church in daily life': Eco-congregations are not just for Sundays. They should give every member the chance to change their life. Come and discuss ideas and experiences that can help people start on a journey of a lifetime, including CEL's ecocell programme, led by Ruth Jarman, CEL trustee and climate change campaigner.