Welcome!

Thanks for visiting.

I’ve always been involved in a wide range of issues and concerns so I hope that you find something here which is of service to you. I have been the Area Bishop of Bradwell since 1993 which means that I serve an extremely varied region of South Essex within the Church of England Diocese of Chelmsford. I am also Chair of the Church of England’s Urban Strategy Consultative Group and of the ecumenical National Estate Churches Network.

Some of my interests are listed to the left, so just click away. If in doubt, contact me by clicking on my photograph and I will do my best to be of service. If you wish to purchase any of my own publications or those related to housing estate ministry we will be happy to post them to you. 

Please read on down to find out about my trip to India in January, including a photo album.

God Bless!

+Laurie Bradwell

Trip to India 2010

I went to India this year with two purposes in mind. First, to attend a conference in Bangalore on the subject of Post-Colonial Theology – how the history of Empire still insinuates itself into our international relationships and even affects the way we think about ourselves and others. My part in the conference was to give the inaugural address and also to serve on a panel discussing recent post-colonial tendencies in ecclesiology – what vestiges of domination-behaviour are still to be found in church life and structure.

My second purpose in visiting India was to journey southward to explore with local project workers the plight of some of the poorest of the world’s inhabitants. Venturing deep into the blisteringly hot forests to listen to the dispossessed so-called “tribal” peoples, as they shared something of their suffering, was humbling – and their hospitality amidst their iron-age domestic circumstances was deeply moving. I also shared the life of the fisher folk of the east coast who struggle to maintain any semblance of acceptable standard of life. They welcomed me into their homes which were simply huts made of mud or old torn sheets and they delighted in sharing their few scraps of food – and were distressed if I should not accept it readily.

In some villages, local workers are bringing the women together to create co-operatives, providing the villagers with the wherewithal to work and make a living to feed themselves and their families. The work of these co-operatives is so inspiring and the villagers so hardworking and enthusiastic that some projects are really taking off. I have therefore joined up with a few others here in the UK to create a small charity called “Friends of the Poor in South India” so that we can send contributions to those projects we found most inspiring. Providing a goat, a cow, sewing machines or rope making equipment can produce the wherewithal for a village to turn itself from destitution into a vibrant and empowering community. They are managing to earn a little extra in order to pay back the cost of our grant so that we can help the next village in turn. So the one donation is recycled time and time again and in this way we are seeing hundreds of families move from destitution to empowerment.

I cannot begin to describe my emotions on meeting these people in their tiny forlorn homes, seeing them struggle to care for one another and their rejoicing at even being noticed by the outside world. If you feel you can help, do make contact and I will send you the address for donations. We have formed a registered charity so you can even gift-aid it so that the Government adds the tax onto what you donate. I can guarantee it will go to the poor – we have no administration costs because our charity is so small and we are in personal contact with the poor villagers themselves and we do not go through any big institutions to reach them.

 

Just one other thing, on my way home I stayed for a while in Dubai – renowned for its wealth – but I stayed with the Anglican Chaplaincy which is also working with the desperately poor workers who are constructing this playground for the rich. They too live in atrocious conditions in men-only work camps outside city limits and are bussed in and out to work their gruelling shifts on the great skyscrapers of the city. There is no unionisation and the work is very dangerous and they have no redress, even though many workers lose their lives in the construction process. The Anglican Chaplaincy is deeply caring for all concerned and the Dubai Government allows the Christian community to worship on Fridays so it was there that I was pleased to conduct a confirmation service.

I returned to the UK having gained what feels like a thousand new friends – their beaming faces amidst their desperation remain fixed in my memory.

Regarding the conference on Post-Colonial Theology, if you wish to partake of this fascinating discipline, then join the on-line international seminar which continues daily at http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=23694574926  

 

Let's Do Theology, Continuum, 2009, ISBN 9780826425515

Resources for Contextual Theology

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Let’s Do Theology is the key text for all who wish to do theology in an exciting and transformative way. Accessible and practical, whilst at the same time addressing the key questions about the nature and challenges of theology, this book will enable readers to bring together their faith and their life’s issues, and also help students of theology face the challenge of how academic theology can be life-transforming.

Read Introduction