Annual Reports
2010 | 2009 | 2008 | 2007 | 2006 | 2005 | 2004 | 2003 | 2002 | 2001 | 2000 | 1999 | 1998
2010
The 2010 conference topic was ‘Theology and the arts’. Held at Manchester University from 12 to 14 April, we attracted a record number of 200 participants with publicity and bookings facilitated by a new online system. More than 50 new members joined the Society, and bursaries were awarded totaling more than £3000.
36 short papers were presented with more than 80 proposals received. All six seminars were well-attended, included a new Church, Theology and Ministry seminar aimed especially at people in active ministry. Unfortunately, a volcanic eruption in Iceland closed UK airspace at the end of the conference, disrupting the return travel plans of some international members.
Tom Greggs was elected secretary and Jenny Daggers, Ivor Davidson and James Walters were elected to the committee.
2009
The 2009 conference, on the theme ‘Trinitarian theology’, was held at Kontakt der Kontinenten, near Amersfoort in the Netherlands, from 30 March to 2 April.
About 105 people attended, including about 15 living in the Netherlands. This lower attendance was due to the location, the exchange rate and the recession. 30 short papers and 15 seminar papers were also presented.
Tom Greggs and Paul Nimmo were elected to the committee and David Grumett, who had been Acting Treasurer since the previous summer, was confirmed in post.
2008
The 2008 conference, on the theme 'Theology and politics', was held at St John's College Durham from 31 March to 3 April.
The conference was well-attended with around 160 delegates. There were 29 short papers and 16 seminar papers in addition to plenary papers.
Graham Ward was elected Vice-President, Tom Greggs was elected Assistant Secretary for 2008-9 (while Oliver Crisp was on research leave) and Stefan Van Erp and Esther McIntosh were elected to the committee.
2007
The 2007 conference, on the theme 'Celebration and accountability: theology in the world', was held at Girton College, Cambridge from 26 to 29 March.
The conference was again well-attended, with 165 participants. There were 30 short papers and 18 seminar papers in addition to six plenary papers.
Janet Soskice was elected Vice-President, Oliver Crisp was elected Secretary, and Julie Gittoes and Susannah Ticciati were elected to the committee.
2006
The 2006 conference, on the theme 'Theology and the religions', was held at Bodington Hall, a campus of the University of Leeds, from 3 to 6 April. Rather than talking solely about methodological issues and then asking how theologians might respond to the presence of other religious traditions, the speakers spoke about specific theological issues in ways which drew on, responded to or took into account the presence of multiple religious and theological traditions.
The conference was extremely well-attended, with 180 participants in total from Germany, Norway, the United States, Canada, Ireland, Russia, South Africa, the Philippines, India, Iran, Libya, Israel/Palestine, Denmark, Lebanon, Belgium, the Netherlands and elsewhere. We had 39 postgraduates, 43 people attending SST for the first time, and 18 people admitted to membership. There were 38 short papers on the conference theme, and 16 seminar papers.
John Milbank and Morwenna Ludlow were elected to the committee and Chris Joby was elected as Treasurer, having been Acting Treasurer since January.
2005
The 2005 conference was held jointly with the Irish Theological Association and also supported by the UK Catholic Theological Association. We met in St. Patrick's College, Drumcondra for most of the conference, although the final afternoon and evening were held in Trinity College, Dublin. The theme was 'Thinking through faith: the places of reason in theology'.
At the AGM, David Clough and Gijsbert van den Brink were elected to the committee, replacing Ben Quash and Rachel Muers. Constitutional changes were agreed allowing the appointment of a Vice-President (that is, a President-in-waiting) and an Assistant Secretary. Oliver Davies was then appointed to the former position, and Rachel Muers to the latter, although she woudld be unable to take up the post until 2006. Paul Murray stepped down as Treasurer and was replaced by John McDowell.
2004
The 2004 conference was held on the St Luke's Campus at the University of Exeter, 21 years after we were last there for a 1985 conference on providence. The theme was 'Bible and theology'. There were more short papers than ever before. At the AGM, Karen Kilby and Angela Shier-Jones were elected to the committee, replacing Nick Adams and Anne Nickson, and Ann Loades was appointed President, to serve for 2005 and 2006. It was also announced that approximately £800 had been donated by members to the Colin Gunton Memorial Essay Prize Fund, which the Treasurer proposed to match from Society funds.
2003
The conference was held at Henderson Hall, part of the University of Newcastle, from 7 to 10 April.
The conference was attended by about 140 members and non-members.
During the year leading up to the conference, the arrival of a new baby meant that Harriet Harris decided to step down as Secretary. Mike Higton and Rachel Muers assumed her duties, and at the AGM Mike Higton stepped down as Treasurer and was elected Secretary. Paul Murray was elected Treasurer. John Webster and Jeremy Begbie finished their terms on the Committee, and were replaced by Steve Holmes and Richard Clutterbuck.
2002
Our 50th anniversary conference was held in April at Lancaster University. We took ‘God’ as our theme.
130 members and non-members attended. 21 participants gave short papers on the seminar theme, and 14 gave seminar papers.
Haddon Willmer was invited to give a 50th anniversary paper on ‘A half-century of theology’, recalling the highlights in the intellectual life of the Society since it began.
The new online philosophy of religion journal, Ars Disputandi was launched at a special reception during the conference. The Philosophy and Theology seminar focused on issues raised for philosophy by developing computer technology and online publishing as a discursive backdrop to this launch. The Theological Ethics seminar addressed issues of moral realism, authority, and the proposal that contemporary Christian ethics trades on an outdated, patriarchal and domineering concept of deity.
Alistair McFadyen came to the end of his six-year term of office as Secretary. He was warmly and enthusiastically thanked for his hard work over the years for the Society. Harriet Harris was elected to replace him. Jane Craske and Christopher Jones completed their terms on the committee, and were thanked for their work. Rachel Muers and Ben Quash were elected in their place.
2000
The 2000 conference was held in St Edmund Hall and the Examination Schools, University of Oxford from 10 to 13 April, with the theme 'Forgiveness and truth'. It attracted approximately 130 participants. A further 23 colleagues gave short papers on the conference theme, while 14 delivered seminar papers in one of the five seminar groups running at the conference. John Webster and Colin Gunton made a short presentation of their view of the discipline as new editors of the International Journal of Systematic Theology and Hugh Pyper presented a view from the perspective of the Learning and Teaching Support Network in Theology, Religious Studies and Philosophy. Approximately 130 colleagues attended the conference. The conference proceedings were published by T&T Clark.
We were grateful to the British Academy for its assistance in the form of a British Conference Grant, which contributed to the cost of international travel for plenary speakers.
1999
The 1999 conference was held in Holland House, Pollock Halls, University of Edinburgh, from 12 to 15 April, with the theme 'The future as God's gift: Christian eschatology for the year 2000'. Approximately 150 people took part. A further 14 short papers on the theme of eschatology were given to large gatherings.
The conference volume, edited by David Fergusson and Marcel Sarot, was later published by T&T Clark. It included plenary papers and additional material.
The Bursary appeal raised £220. In total, bursaries of approximately £1,000 were awarded for the conference.
At its AGM, the Society unanimously agreed to raise its subscription to £10 per annum for all members except for postgraduate students, who will continue to pay at the level of £3 per annum.
1998
The 1998 conference was held at Hulme Hall, University of Manchester, from 30 March to 2 April, with the theme 'God's life in the Church: the doctrine of the Church'. The conference attracted 130 participants. Alastair McFadyen was re-elected Secretary and Peter Scott as Treasurer. Harriet Harris and Esther Reed were elected to the committee. Other members of the committee were Alan Torrance, Marcel Sarot, Susan Parsons, Robin Greenwood, Trevor Hart, Alasdair Heron and Martyn Percy. The AGM commissioned a working party on the constitution, to be convened by the secretary.
A publishing agreement was reached with T&T Clark to publish papers and other material from and relating to the annual conference, beginning with the 1999 conference. The subsequent volume was intended to be available at the 2000 conference. Marcel Sarot was appointed Publishing Officer.
The bursary appeal raised about £110. Bursaries totalling about £800 were awarded for the conference.