Hope's work

To make a request for a talk/workshop/similar with your group, please get in touch.

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Zoom, November 2023 (tbc)

I’ll be working with participants at a course at Woodbrooke on hope and nonviolence – details tbc.

Thirsk, 21-23 July 2023

I’ll be working with Holy Rood House Summer School on ecologies of hope – details tbc.

Edinburgh, 24 June 2023 (tbc)

Braid Burn guided walk – details tbc.

Oxford, 23 April 2023

Short talk on the place of kindness and justice in hope’s work as part of the Sunday Choral Contemplation series at Somerville College Chapel, 5.30pm. All welcome.

Oxford, from Monday 7 February 2022

Mindfulness and ‘Hope’s Work‘: a series of six evening gatherings using the techniques of mindfulness to explore the themes of the book, Hope’s work, led by David Gee and Tim Stead.

Join us for a series of six evening sessions to explore the meaning of hope in our own lives and relationships with the wider world. Week by week, we’ll draw on mindfulness practices to work through the themes of David’s short book: Hope’s work: Facing the future in an age of crises.

We hope the series will support participants to find a sense of meaning in this disturbed age and feel more able to meet its challenges. What do we need to cultivate a grounded, conscious sense of hope?

We’ll work with simple reflective practices such as meditation, although you don’t need to have experience of these.

Tim Stead is a mindfulness practitioner and teacher.
David Gee is an activist and writer.

When: Mondays from 7 February 2022, 7.30-9.00pm.
Where: The Barn at ‘Rumi’s Field’, 7 Hill Top Road. OX4 1PB.
Cost: Suggested donations of between £10 and £50 for the series of six sessions.
The book: You’ll need a copy of Hope’s work, available at the first session: £5.
Travel: Easy access by bike or bus; also two-hour/free parking spaces nearby.
Apply: To join please email timstead67@gmail.com.

Geneva, 3 October 2021

Facing the future in an age of crises, hosted by Geneva Quakers, in person and on zoom.

Zoom, 25 September 2021

Cultivating hope in work for peace, with Northern Friends Peace Board, via zoom.

Thirsk, 22 June 2021

Talk and Yorkshire launch of Hope’s Work, as part of Ecology and Health conference at Holy Rood House.

Zoom, 11 May 2021

Hope’s Work: Talk and discussion with Quaker staff.

Birmingham, 3 November 2020

Talk/workshop on hope for Woodbrooke Study Centre.

Mindfulness and social change network, 9 April 2020

Hopefulness and mindfulness in the coronavirus outbreak: webinar.

London/East Africa, 19 March 2020

‘Hope and nonviolence’: webinar with Turning the Tide and Woodbrooke Study Centre.

I’ll be presenting a short talk and holding a discussion as part of the Inspiring Nonviolence 2020 course (24 Feb to 5 Apr), which ‘develops and deepens participants’ understanding about the possibilities of positive change through nonviolent means’. Visit the course page to enrol.

Oxford, 6 February 2020

‘Hope and the ecological crisis’: workshop for an Extinction Rebellion affinity group.

London, 28 January 2020

‘Hope and children’s rights’: workshop with Child Rights International Network (closed meeting)

Ullapool, 15 November 2019

Open talk/discussion: ‘The creativity of hope’

In an age of extinction, fear, and media spin, we’re drifting into a future none of us would freely choose. Hope, the opposite of drifting through history, is a creative impulse in the present, from which a future worthy of the word can take its shape. What do art and creativity bring to ‘hope’s work’?

An Talla Solais arts centre.

Free. All welcome.

Huddersfield, 2 October 2019

Hemyock, near Taunton, 12, 13, 14 September 2019

Three workshops at the Green Earth Awakening: ‘Deepening hope in troubled times’ (12, 13 September) and ‘Hope in an age of extinction’ (14 September)

In an increasingly troubled world, what does it mean to live and work in hope – without lapsing into easy optimism? How are some people and communities better able than others to do the work of hope? We’ll explore six ‘core conditions’ of grounded hopefulness and work a little on strengthening these in ourselves.

London, 5 September 2019

Saferworld: ‘Hope and peacebuilding’ (closed meeting).

Thirsk, 2 September 2019

Holy Rood House staff and volunteer training day on working with hope (closed meeting).

Oxford, spring 2019

Book group: ‘Searching for hope in a troubled world’

For everyone. The Bible is, perhaps more than anything else, a book of hope, regardless of one’s beliefs about a God. Using five stories from Bible over five weeks, we’ll explore what hope might mean in our world today. Co-led by Lynsey Bennett, who’s a Christian, and David Gee, who isn’t.

At the Jam Factory, first and third Tuesday of the month. For Christians and non-Christians (all welcome).

Oxford, 11 January 2019

‘Friday with Friends’, Oxford Quaker Meeting House, St Giles. After a short presentation about hope, we’ll share our own views and experiences – bring your hopes and doubts! 7pm for 7.30 start (all welcome).

Somerset, 9 January 2019

Rethinking Security Council meeting, Ammerdown Centre (closed meeting).