The Poetry of Pain: A Study Day in Lamentations (in London with Robin Parry)

So I will be doing a day of seminars on the book of Lamentations on May 13 at the London Institute for Contemporary Christianity. If that is of interest to you please come along. You can book here.

The day is entitled "The Poetry of Pain: A Study Day in Lamentations."

Here is their website blurb for it:

Western cultures are notoriously averse to pain and tragedy. We're no longer shy in talking about sex, but seem lost for words when it comes to grief and death. In churches too, Christians are more comfortable singing in a major key of joyful praise, but less familiar with the minor keys of mournful despair.

The biblical book of Lamentations is thus a gift to us - providing a voice for expressing our own pain and grief, and allowing us to connect with the sufferings of others in the world. But how does a collection of poems written in the aftermath of the destruction of Jerusalem in the sixth century BC function as Scripture today? How does God continue to address his people, Jew and Gentile alike, through this part of his word? How should we understand the poems on their own terms, and what difference, if any, does the coming of Christ make in how we appropriate them for today?

Combining teaching sessions with opportunities for discussion, this day workshop will be suitable for all those who would value an opportunity to dig deeper into Lamentations, exploring how Scripture nurtures and sustains Christian identity and discipleship in today's world.


The day will be led by Robin Parry. Formerly a Sixth Form College teacher for eleven years, Robin has worked in publishing since 2001 (for Paternoster and, since 2010, for Wipf & Stock, a US-based theological publisher). He has written and edited several books, including a commentary on Lamentations in the 'Two Horizons' series, published by Eerdmans. He is married to Carol, is the father of two daughters, and the owner of a three-legged cat called Monty. In some of his spare time, Robin blogs at 'Theological Scribbles'.

Think I might go along to that.