Canberra New Church (ACT) Links

Centre for Progressive Religious Thought

A safe place for those who wish to push the boundaries of theological thinking...

(An initiative of The Church of St James, Curtin, ACT)

The MISSION STATEMENT of the Centre for Progressive Religious Thought is to:

Reach out to those for whom organised religion has proved ineffectual, irrelevant, or repressive.
Build a network of support for like-minded people who seek to discover and live by a progressive faith, sharing ideas and pursuing questions and answers.
Create an open and welcoming community that does not assume the absolute superiority of Christianity, encouraging dialogue with people of other faiths.
Promote progressive religious thought as an agent of change and renewal in the church and society.
Link with other groups and Centres of progressive religious thought.

We will live out the VISION of our Mission Statement by:

Offering support and encouragement to the many small groups already in existance, who are exploring progressive religious thinking
Initiating workshops and discussion on the thought of progressive religious thinkers - such as Michael Morwood, Lloyd Geering, Marcus Borg, John Spong, John D Crossan, The Jesus Seminar, and others - by both local and overseas presenters
Connecting with other world-wide groups such as Sea of Faith, The Centre for Progressive Christianity, Process & Faith, and Christianity for the Third Millennium, and others
Bringing together people of several faiths, so all can learn from and listen to, each other - thereby helping to develop trust, understanding and genuine friendship
Encouraging creative thinkers to share their understanding of such theological trends as Liberation, Feminist, Process, Narrative and Australian contextual theologies and praxis, and taking these thoughts out of the hands of the so-called "experts" and making the benefits of such thinking available to any interested person
Exploring newer and appropriate ways to worship

Activities of the Centre:

Major presentations in the areas of contemporary theology, otherfaiths, and spirituality.
Annual Dinner and Presentation - An Annual Dinner and Presentation/lecture is celebrated in July each year.
Library - A library collection of resources/books on progressive religious thought which members are able to borrow has been established.
Drop in centre - At St James, Curtin, 9.30am - 12noon each Friday, for those who want to "coffee and chat".
Reading list - A reading list of suggested books in the area of progressive religious thought is now available. Just write or eMail.
Web site - A Web site has been established and is now on-line. Links to other "progressive" sites are also listed.
Newsletter - A Centre newsletter is published on an irregular basis.

Founded in July 2002, the Centre for Progressive Religious Thought in Canberra is open to any and to all who wish to explore a more progressive and open theology, in a safe environment. It stands in deep contrast to a general tendency which often requires a theology be built on what should be believed.

As such, those folk who will find comfort and freedom in the Centre will be those who either (i) remain in the institutional church but find their progressive theology not reflected in much of the local church's thinking, or (ii) have already stepped outside the institution and see themselves as "exiles" or members of the "church alumni association", yet are looking for a friendly environment in which to share discussions and push boundaries.

It is our hope the Centre will continue to become fertile soil in the rebirthing of a new awareness of and thinking on, the sacred in today's post-modern society. Welcome to an exciting journey!

Rex A E Hunt
Director