Each year, Bloor Street United Church hosts the Craddock Lecture, a chance for a distinguished guest to take over the pulpit to speak about spiritual issues to the congregation, students and the general public. This year's Craddock lecture will be delivered on October 16th by Canada's most famous fiction writer, Margaret Atwood. She will be delivering the sermon, and answering questions after the service.
"Religion:Recovering our Roots"
Ms. Atwood's lecture is entitled "Religion: Recovering our Roots". She will be exploring how modern religions have lost touch with nature, which was once the foundation of spiritual experience. Her talk will draw on themes she has explored in her recent novels, such as The Year of the Flood where in a post-apocalyptic future, survivors reconnect with nature, re-interpreting the Bible to make sense of their disaster.
On October 16th, Ms Atwood will be talking about why nature matters to faith, and how the modern world can re-establish the connection. Her talk will be part of a service that will feature traditional nature-based scripture readings , as well as performances of original hymns written by Atwood which were featured in The Year of the Flood. Our musical director, David Passmore, will be setting William Blake's "The Tyger" as an anthem for the choir that Sunday, and several professional musicians and dancers in our community will also take part in this special service.
The lecture is open to all, and is free.
