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King’s Church, Durham this morning
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King’s Church, Durham this morning

Adrian Holloway on February 9, 2014 with 0 Comments

It was a trip down memory lane for me this morning, returning to what used to be called in my day (1988-91) “The Mandela Ballroom” in the Durham University Student Union building, Dunelm House. I was preaching at King’s Church, Durham, in their series in John’s gospel. The venue was full and it’s a church of around 300 people I think.

King’s Church is led by Dr Mark Bonnington, who grew up at the Coign Church, Woking. Mark was probably the first person from the so-called “new churches” (which sprung up in the UK in the late 1970s and 1980s) to get a PhD in theology. He then taught theology at Durham, although that’s no longer a full-time role as he’s been leading King’s Church since 2001, with his wife Ruth, who is also a doctor, a medical one.

The first thing that blew me away this morning was doing church in a room which I associate with “acid house raves!” I was also in a production of the musical “Cabaret” in that room. And above it, were the offices of the student newspaper Palatinate, which I edited in 1990. So worshipping God in that venue was a refreshing change. Kings Church has met there for many years on a Sunday morning.

They had a New Testament and Old Testament reading which I was asked to choose, before the sermon, and I spoke on Jesus’ dramatic declaration at the Feast of Tabernacles in Jerusalem, “I am the Light of the World,” which I enjoyed very much. A completely new talk for me. It was great to meet two or three people afterwards who I remember from my time in Durham 25 years ago.

I’m now getting in the zone for the Events Week lunchbar talk tomorrow which is entitled: “Ancient and Unreliable: Isn’t the Bible just a book of myths?” I’m also trying to prepare for a public Q & A afterwards where I could be asked any question about anything.

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about the author

Adrian is married to Julia. They have four daughters. He leads The Beacon Church, Camberley, and has written two books, "The Shock of Your Life" and "Aftershock," which tackles the strongest objections to Christianity in the form of a novel.