Article written by Pat Craig from the Alister Hardy Society:

"At the first Alister Hardy Society Conference in its new home at the University of Wales Lampeter, it was decided to start a Local Branch. There were two introductory meetings in the winter of 2002-2003. These comprised discussion of the life and work of Sir Alister and visits to the Library and Archive.

In May 2003 Dr Mark Fox led an instructive and enjoyable day school. His talk about 'light' in religious experience was illustrated with samples from the first hand accounts of such experiences in the Archive. He also related something of his own research into Sir Alister's life. In the afternoon there was a long visit to the Archive. This day set the pattern for most subsequent meetings. There is a shared lunch at midday with time for socialising.

In November Dr Wendy Dossett gave a talk about Buddhism as an experiential religion. In 2003 the Lampeter Group met 3 times.

In February 2004 Penny Sartori talked about Near-Death Experience in the morning. In the afternoon some members joined the conference on 'Death Religion and Magic in the Ancient World' organised by the Institute of Classics and Ancient History.

In May there was a day long experiential workshop exploring the spiritual significance of place, led by Tess Nind. Sadly, Tess died recently. In the early days of our history, she led the Local Group towards experiential work which continues to be a theme in the meetings. In July, in the absence of Brother Martin there was a presentation by members who knew him and the work of Father Bede Griffiths' Ashram in India where Brother Martin works.

So far this year the Local Group has met four times. In February Howard Jones spoke about the 'Communal Soul' as a good working hypothesis for 'God', widely acceptable. In the afternoon there was a discussion of Tom Harpur's, 'The Pagan Christ'. Marianne Rankin led a wonderful workshop on Chinese Painting in April.

In June four postgraduate students led discussions about their work in an extraordinarily varied programme ranging from Saint Maxinius the Confessor (580 - 662 AD) to 'Star Wars'.

The meeting in June was at the home of artist Christine Kinsey who welcomed us to her studio and talked, at a very profound level about her work. In the afternoon the Group went to the birthplace of Saint David at Saint Nons.

A Core Group has been formed to share the tasks of running the Group. Anyone with time can join this. The Core Group met in July to plan next year's programme. Afterwards there was a short talk by Brother Martin about his inspiring interpretation of the Christian Gospel from an Indian viewpoint.

Because of the wide area covered by the Group it has been found best to have Saturday Schools with perhaps some evening meetings around midsummer. The Group tries to balance experiential meetings with more academic presentations.

There is a pool of talent among the supporters of the Society, in addition to all the personnel of the University. The meetings are usually held in the Department of Theology and Religious Studies in College Street, where there is access to the Alister Hardy Library and other facilities.

The next Study Day is scheduled for Saturday 11thMarch 2006 when Dr Sarah Jane Boss will lead a discussion on her book 'Mary' in the morning and a Member will give an illustrated talk on her pilgrimate to Santiago di Compostello in the afternoon."

Article written by Pat Craig