Each year the House hosts two Lectures – The Annual Lecture and The Elson Ethics Lecture.
The Annual Lecture was established in 1978 and has continued under the generous sponsorship of Rio Tinto. The purpose of these Lectures is to develop a subject already under discussion in the House programme of consultations. A specialist speaker is invited to offer their own thoughts in a way that will promote further discussion and debate.
The first Lecture was given by Mr Kingman Brewster, the then Ambassador of the USA in London. Since then Lecturers have included a wide range of public figures and the lectures themselves have been strongly attended. The text of each Annual Lecture is published in the Annual Review of that year. If you click on the Annual Lecture tab you will find Lecture titles going back to 1999 and some scripts are available to download as pdf and mp3.
The Elson Ethics Lecture has been founded to promote discussion and debate on issues of an ethical and moral nature. This lecture series has come about through the vision and generosity of Ambassador Edward Elson.
This lecture is delivered in a different format to that of the Annual Lecture. Typically located in the Quire, the lecturer gives a thirty minute lecture and this is followed by an interview. The atmosphere is somewhat less formal but the intellectual challenge is considerable. This series is proving very popular and we have every expectation that this interest will continue to grow.
The Theology Lecture was established in 2019 by The Warden, The Reverend Canon Dr Hueston Finlay and family in memory of his father.