Date: Thursday 7th December
Venue: Bede Campus Theatre (1:00 PM - 4:00 PM)
Guests: arrive at 1:45 PM, till 3:45 PM
Person of interest: Religious. Sunderland has been in the Roman Catholic Diocese of Hexham and Newcastle since the Catholic hierarchy was restored in 1850. The 2011 census recorded that 70.2% of the population identified as Christian, 1.32% as Muslim, 0.29% as Sikh, 0.22% as Hindu, 0.19% as Buddhist, 0.02% as Jewish, and 21.90% as having no religion.
There are potential contacts to be made to arrange persons of interest associated with religion:
- Duncan Woods, listed as a leader of the Trinity Church, is a senior minister who could be a potential candidate. We could ask him about his beliefs, what it means to him, how and when he became religiously conscious etc.
Duncan Woods
Phone: 0191 565 4835
- Kevin & Allison Clarke have been part of CityLife Church for over 30 years and have been on staff since 2004. They were the senior pastors of our church for 12 years and led the church into great strength. Although they passed on the senior role over to Pastors Jonny & Amy, they are still a key part of the team and oversee key areas of church life including Pastoral Care, Gold 55+ Community, administration and facilities. They are both committed to helping people anyway they can. They have been married for 30 years and have two sons, Jonathan & Christopher.
- Jonny & Amy Clarke serve as Lead Pastors at City Life Church. They have been married for 6 years. They both have a passion to develop the potential within people and see them flourish in life. Jonny worked for a international media organisation for over 7 years and has 10 years of ministry experience in the trenches of local church. Amy works in the education sector as a school teacher as well as co-leading church with her husband. Together Jonny & Amy are passionate about building a world class church in the City of Sunderland and seeing people move forward in God's plan and purpose.
Kevin & Allison Clarke OR Johnny & Amy Clarke
Phone: 07852 117798
Further details: 170 HYLTON ROAD, SUNDERLAND, SR4 7YA07835735105
Newcastle Buddhist Centre was first set up in 1993 and has been offering meditation and Buddhist teachings in the city centre since then. We are part of a worldwide Buddhist community that has been in existence for over 50 years. It was founded in the UK in the late 1960’s, by Sangharakshita, and was initially known as the ‘Friends of the Western Buddhist Order’. We are now known as Triratna Buddhist Community. ‘Triratna’ means ‘Three Jewels’, and refers to the Buddha, the Dharma, and the Sangha – the ideal of Enlightenment, the Path leading to Enlightenment, and the Community of those following the Path respectively. The name reminds us of what is most important in the spiritual life, and what it is we are trying to help bring into the world. At the heart of the Triratna Buddhist Community is the Triratna Buddhist Order, a worldwide body of men and women committed to practising the Buddha’s teachings.
Newcastle Buddhist Center
Phone:07444281890
- The Islamic Diversity Centre (IDC) is a potential option for when we want to investigate into Muslim individuals and ask questions concerning their beliefs. Daniel Johnson is a Muslim convert who would make a worthy candidate: http://idcnortheast.org/blog/bbc-radio-newcastle/
2 Shipley Avenue
Fenham
Newcastle upon Tyne
NE4 9RA
0191 645 0990
Daniel Johnson
IDC North East
Newcastle branch
0191 645 0990
- Sister Josepha, who was apart of last years event, is also a worth contacting once more. I could only find contact details through the all girls school noted below:
“We are very privileged to have Sister Francis, Sister Adrienne and Sister Josepha as our academy Chaplains.
They are available every day in school and are based in Somerleyton, where you will also find our chapel for quiet reflection.
Our chaplains coordinate our preparations for Mass every Friday, as well as the celebrations for events and feast days throughout the year. In the approach to Christmas and Easter there are special celebrations and activities arranged to prepare for these great feasts.
Weekly Mass is held on a Friday at 8.30am with priests from our parishes offering Mass in turn, and there are opportunities for pupils to help prepare Mass, serve, read, prepare the hall or help with the music.
The chapel is available before school and at break times, and on a Tuesday and Thursday lunchtime. On Friday, Exposition of the Blessed Sacrament takes place from 12.15pm to 1pm.
Everybody is welcome to join us in any of these activities.”
St Anthony’s Girls Catholic Academy
Thornhill Terrace
Sunderland
SR2 7JN
Tel: 0191 5658904
- Potential Jewish contacts, though we were unable to find names.
Jewish contacts
The Orthodox Synagogue – contact number 01912840959
Email addresses – office@uhcnewcastle.org, secretary@uhcnewcastle.org and for the president of the community, vhgallant@blueyonder.co.uk
Hebrew Congregational
Contact Tel number: 0191 478 3366
180, Bewick Road
How and why they fit into social action?
Daniel Johnson: as a Muslim convert he could offer insight into the religion and as to why he initially converted. As for how it fits into social action, his piece could change views and opinions on Islam by offering context. Daniel would be a good guest to invite because he had a normal upbringing similar to a lot of people our age and then became religious. He also takes part in a lot of social action projects with IDC such as the ‘neighborhood clean up’, he has also been part of events with ITV and the BBC where he helped people to understand things from the point of view of a muslim.
Duncan Woods: as a senior minister of Trinity Church, he’d be an ideal candidate for wanting to talking about the catholic religion. A lot of people misinterpret the various sects of christianity so we think it would be good to get in someone with their own set of beliefs and comment on the current state of religion and what role it plays in the community.
Kevin & Allison Clarke: given their experience in the community they’d most likely have some great stories to tell.
Jonny & Amy Clarke: as current senior pastors of the City Life Church, they too would be a great couple to bring in as successors. City Church Life makes strides in the community of Sunderland, so we can ask how they work, what work they do, the impact religion has in their work as well as in their lives.
Sister Josepha: proven to be active due to last years event, she may also be interested in participating in this years event and telling her story to attendees. People last year commented that she was comfortable with sensitive topics and open to many conversations.
Jewish contacts: since the Jewish community in sunderland is so small and almost non-existent, it’d be nice to get in some more diversity and ask questions as to what caused such an exodus from the city and why the synagogues shut down.
Website references:
EVALUATION
On 8/12/17, between approximately 1:00 PM and 4:00 PM we conducted The Local’s Library as part of unit 31 assignment social action production. Our guests, Sister Josepha, Alan Reid and Chris Howson, arrived roughly before 2:00 PM as intended, as the location (Bede campus, Art Academy theatre) was being prepared. Overall the event went smoothly; however, at the beginning there were miss steps, as our group were preoccupied with roles to meet the guest at reception. Fortunately, Jake and Hannah were there to provide for Sister Josepha, Kane and Mattie for Alan Reid and Keiran and Jessica for Chris Howson. They also made efforts for their own guest as well as ours so we’re grateful.
Alan Reid, a Jewish man from Newcastle, was also apart of the event and were escorted and provided for by Mattie and Kane. So in all the group focusing on the area of religion managed to pull in two individuals, excluding Chris Hanson. Speaking as an individual and role, I was pretty much all over the place. To preface, this is the arrangements made:
Not everything went as routine at first. When the discussions started, some people were in the wrong places. I myself, who was meant to be sitting with Keith Lawler on the first session but circumstances dictated I sit in with Ru Elliot, due to crowding. Overall it wasn’t much of a problem because things went smoothly and I was assigned tasks such as providing any needs asked by our guests. After the first session I think everyone was on timetable. The original intention was a more organized event, with certain entrance ways blocked off and only the front two doors available; nevertheless, things got better.
The three people I did end up listening too were Ru Elliot, a transgender male; Chris Howson, a Sunderland University chaplain (who falls under the religious category, yet being provided by the college); and Fiona Vipond, a ghost hunter. All three were great and had great conversations, in addition to being very friendly. For those who fall under out category of religion, these small bios were made of those who we obtained as guests:
The Jewish community in Sunderland has diminished and dwindled over the years, so we believed that Alan could offer answers not only on his faith, but his opinions on the city, the culture and what caused an exodus from the city and more of a community become more prominent in Newcastle. To fill in the information on Alan Reid, the one Mattie obtained, Mattie himself has pieces of information.
As a chaplain at Sunderland university, as well as an open mind and different approach to conservative traditions, he proved to be a great choice from the category of religion and was very open to questioning.
Having attended last year's event (and being well received), she was a no brainer for our category. She was, as always, very open much to questions and interpretation of her religion and faith, much like our other guests. She was referred to as one audience member in their review as their favorite.
Other guests we had penned for the event or had in mind included those found above such as Kevin & Allison Clarke of CityLife Church, who we did not make contact with. Another couple are the current senior pastors of CityLife Church, Jonny & Amy Clarke. Having made no contact with the church these too were not penned for the event.
Others included the Islamic Diversity Centre (IDC) in Newcastle, as Daniel Johnson was a possible candidate we could not make contact with, or at least received no reply. A pity, given he was a convert to Islam and had participated in radio and interviews discussing his story and faith. A passing mention of the Buddhist centre in Newcastle was made but nothing else came of it, only a listing of possible areas for guests.
Above is an email I personally wrote with the supervision of Gillian Middleton. Sister Josepha was the guest I and our group was tasked with research, and substantial information on the nun of St Anthony’s Girls Catholic Academy has been provided. It helped that team member Annie Swanson was familiar with the nun and that she was present for last years event, the People’s Pages. For 33 years she had worked in Newcastle at St. Vincent’s Roman Catholic Primary Church as head teacher. Being very familiar in community work as well as working along like minded individuals around children, she is very tactful yet also capable of discussing a variety of topics, no matter the sensitivity surrounding them whether they concern her religion or personal beliefs. While this email was sent, we received no reply; fortunately, Gillian had her phone number and made contact, managing to secure her for the event.
As for our audience, 2nd year drama students provided feedback on the event itself and guests we secured.
Feedback and reception to both the event and guests was largely positive. The whole purpose of this event was to bring about people of different backgrounds, cultures and beliefs. I think it is safe to say that this feedback ensures the success of the event. People shared their stories and the audience was receptive. Many noted how informative the guests were with their stories, and they express a feeling of having learned something from the individual and taking with them something new.
As far as technical qualities go the event was accompanied by three cameras, with three individuals taking photos and videos of the numerous guests and people. Linking with the aesthetic qualities the layout of the venue was spacious and there were enough tables and chairs for guests and audiences alike, so in this category we succeeded. We got some incredible looking photograph photos. Here are a few below.
As far as ethical considerations go, there were no social, personal, religious or political issues that arose. In fact, all three of our guests were very tolerant and open minded, as they interacted with everyone and handled all questions well. No sensitivity surrounded questions for my guests, nor did it for any other, as far as I know.
My specifically given role for the event involved pre-production of the venue, hence why I was “all over the place” as aforementioned. There were many involved as most of tasks were yet to be undertaken or had been complete prior, such as marketing. I believe I performed well enough but one failure on my part involved printing off a sign saying “NO ENTRY Please use front doors. Thank you”. The printers that day were not kind to many of us, especially those doing programming which involved marketing and printing off of bios and signs for the event. As for other roles I carried out, I set with guests, was there if they needed any support or refreshments, and ensured we had all the cameras on the day when retrieving them.
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