Dear Gretta

The trustees and many members of PCN Britain received the news that the Toronto Conference of the United Church has ordered that you be reviewed due to concerns over the effectiveness of your ministry with real sadness and dismay.

In tribute to the life and work of Marcus Borg, the trustees of PCN Britain have decided to set up a new memorial fund which will be used to underpin financially a series of annual lectures in Marcus’s honour and we invite all our members and friends to make a donation to the Marcus Borg Memorial Fund.

Adrian Alker, PCN Britain’s chair of the trustees, introduces this open letter from Pat Fuller, one of our a newly elected trustees. It first appeared in the September 2015 edition of Progressive Voices

Adrian writes: From the beginning PCN Britain adopted the Eight Points of The Centre for Progressive Christianity (TCPC) in the USA. PCN Britain made a slight change to the Eight Points at its inception and after consulting our membership a more major change in September 2014. Whilst the trustees never intended that these Eight Points should be seen as anything more than a signpost, showing our direction of travel as an organisation, clearly some members feel anxious that such points might be felt to be coercive of thought and practice.

The trustees feel minded at present to hold on to the importance of having the Eight Points as an expression of the Christian life but welcome Pat’s letter as we continuously review our work. Your comments on Pat’s letter would be welcome. Adrian Alker, chair.

When Mark Oakley agreed to speak at the PCN’s Spring Conference, no one expected such an overwhelmingly positive reaction to his “inspiring and engaging” presentation. Members emphasised Mark’s humanity, honesty and reality of his approach. The wide range of Mark’s knowledge of poems and his deep understanding of how poems describe the lives we live, underpinned the impact of his presence with us. Mark was a quality speaker and provided those who came with an event to rank alongside any offered by PCN.

The new group is to be called “Beyond Belief”. It will meet for the first time on Monday, September 21^st at 7 pm for a 7.30 pm start at The Paris House (Le Pub), 21 Western Road, Brighton BN3 1AF.