Public Meetings
Open and critical reflection on the course and direction of a country’s foreign policy, as well as celebrating its peacemakers, is crucial for the life of a democratic and peaceful society.
The Peace Committee is committed to challenging militarism and finding ways to help our society pursue world peace through peaceful means. Inspired by King’s vision of justice and peace, it seeks to bring distinctive Christian perspectives into constructive dialogue with other groups who work for peace.
To this end we hold public meetings generally, but not exclusively, on university space.
We also undertake events to mark ‘peace history’. The UK is very good at commemorating ‘war history’ by marking the anniversaries of battles, but less adept at remembering the lives and sacrifices of those who worked for peace. Through its resources and its public events, the Peace Committee helps address that imbalance in local and national life.
Reports of past meetings and news of upcoming meetings will be advertised here. To be placed on the Peace Committee’s news email distribution list, contact either of the co-convenors.
Click on the image to read more about each meeting!
April 2018: Concluding Freedom City 2017: Revd Dr Martin Luther King 50 years on
April 2018: The Iraq Invasion 15 Years On: Consequences and Lessons
November 2017: Peace Vigil, Hexham Abbey
February 2017: The Paradox of the Christian Life
February 2017: The Courage to Listen (Freedom 2017 lecture)
March 2017: Andy Lie's experience as a human rights observer in Palestine
*March 2017*: Law and War: from Martin Luther King to drone warfare
November 2016: The Hammer Blow
June 2016: Peace Fair
The Peace Committee organised a ‘Peace Fair’ to celebrate the work of peacemakers in the North East of England.
June 2016: Two centuries of peacemaking
A conference and public wreath-laying ceremony to mark the bicentenary of the founding of the Peace Society.
Andy Lie of the Peace Committee prepares to lay a white-poppy wreath at the Renwick War Memorial, whilst historian Ingrid Sharp reads an extract from the First Report of the Newcastle Upon Tyne Auxiliary to the London Society for the Promotion of Permanent and Universal Peace.
June 2016: The Spirit of Soweto
An event on Saturday 18 June 11am-5pm discussing racism and rebellion 40 years on from the Soweto Uprising. Venue = Barbara Strang Teaching Centre, Newcastle University NE1 7RU. Tickets must be bought in advance - click the poster to find out more.
May 2016: Extremists for love
January 2016: 100 years of conscience
An event commemorating the 100 years since the Military Service Act was passed.
November 2015: Syria peace rally
Nick addressed a rally of 350 at Newcastle Monument on behalf of the Peace Committee, on the eve of a commons vote for war on Syria.
November 2015: Peace Vigil, Hexham Abbey
Hexham Abbey peace vigil: Voices and Choices
October 2015: Book launch
Clive Barrett, “Subversive Peacemakers: War Resistance 1914-19, an Anglican Perspective”
‘The Conchie’, by Arthur Wilson Gay, 1931. Peace Museum, Bradford.
October 2015: Responding to war and the refugee crisis
Nick Megoran was invited, as co-convenor of the Martin Luther King Peace Committee, to attend the Baptist World Alliance Congress in Durban and sit on its Commission on Peace and Reconciliation.
September 2015: Too destructive, expensive, and ineffective
Dr Nick Megoran, Martin Luther King’s legacy and the case against Trident renewal
March 2015: From graduation to peace and development work
October 2014: How should Churches mark the First World War?
October 2014: Public Meeting - Stop the Bombing of Iraq! Don't Attack Syria!
February 2014: For a Future Without War
