Nobel Peace Prize Laureate, Anglican Archbishop Emeritus Desmond Tutu, will be speaking at a peace service at St Martin-in-the-Fields Church in Trafalgar Square, London, on Monday 9 June 2008.
The service in the newly refurbished Church, well known for its work with the homeless and for global peace and justice, takes place at 6.30pm. Dr Tutu is an outspoken advocate of human rights and forward-looking Christianity. He has recently supported freedom for Tibet, among other causes.
The service will take place around the ‘light well’ in the new underground spaces, by the room that has been named after him, The Archbishop Desmond Tutu Room. It will include the blessing of three Zimbabwean sculptures, which will stand in the entrance of the new Dick Sheppard Chapel.
The late Dick Sheppard, a former rector of St Martins, was a leading Christian pacifist and social reformer.
Desmond Tutu has criticised the regime in Zimbabwe for its abuse of human rights and neglect of the poor, calling for a peaceful and democratic settlement.
The archbishop has also written a preface for the latest book from the Christian think-tank Ekklesia, which will be published next month to coincide with the Lambeth Conference of Anglican bishops.
‘Fear or Freedom? Why A Warring Church Must Change’, edited by Ekklesia co-director Simon Barrow, is a call for churches of all denominations to move away from unpleasant infighting over issues like sexuality and to focus on the transformation that the Christian message should be offering to persons and communities in a divided, suffering world.
It will be published jointly with Shoving Leopard, a new imprint featuring cutting edge spirituality and contemporary Christian and philosophical concerns.