About us
Life’s better when you’re out living it.
Leeds Living is a social group for people who want to explore, experience and enjoy Leeds and Yorkshire together. We organise a mix of events — fun, cultural and everything in between — so there’s always something new to try.
Join us if you want to meet new people, share experiences and make your social life something to look forward to.
Upcoming events
39
Christianity and Existential Freedom
Mill Hill Chapel, City Square, Leeds, GBLast year, a widely reported study commissioned by the Bible Society claimed there has been a ‘quiet revival’ of Christianity in Britain, with surprising numbers of young people attending church. The report has now been withdrawn because of concerns about its methodology, but it did seem to strike a nerve. While nominal Christianity might still be in decline, there does seem to have been a vibe shift. The days of ‘militant atheism’ seem behind us. No sooner had atheism become the default among educated people than it too began to lose its sheen. But what really comes next?
Zooming out historically, author and essayist Dolan Cummings argues it is no accident that non-belief first began to seem plausible in the Christian West. Especially in its Protestant forms, the teaching that Jesus died for our sins frees us from the deep human instinct to placate God or the gods through ritual, sacrifice or even good deeds. Christianity invented the secular, while urging people to continue worshiping God. For some, though, it was a short step from the existential freedom of Christianity to not believing in God at all. But what if the religious instinct won’t die? Might it be just as short a step back in out of the cold?
Is Christianity making a comeback, or are a few youthful church-goers just a blip in the steady decline of all religion? Does freedom from religion entail a loss of purpose? Or can we discover meaning for ourselves?
Speaker:
Dolan Cummings is a novelist and a freelance copywriter, speechwriter and editor. He also writes untimely essays on Substack at L’esprit de l’escalier: https://dolancummings.substack.com/
See the website for a fuller biography and readings: www.leedssalon.org.uk/
Admission £6 (cash only) to pay on the door, or pay in advance via the ‘Donations & Admissions’ button on the Leeds Salon home-page.
1 attendee
Timeless Voices, Heavenly Echoes
Church of St John the Evangelist, LS2 8JD, 23 New Briggate, Leeds, GBJoin St Peters Singers for an enlightening journey back into musical history set in the oldest church in Leeds!
From Hildegard to Gibbons, this programme tracks how choral music developed across Europe through the Renaissance.
The latest work was composed just ten years before St John's Church was opened in 1634.
English Tudor masters William Byrd and Orlando Gibbons will feature alongside Italian, Spanish and Flemish composers. Two of the earliest known female composers, Hildegard and the Italian nun Raffaella Aleotti, also get to strut their stuff!Starting at 4.30pm, the concert will be relaxed: you will be able to come and go, and to make the most of this rare chance to take in the superb interior of this ancient building. The church will be open all afternoon, including while St Peters Singers rehearse, so feel free to drop in and be curious!
Admission is free: you will be encouraged to donate to the Churches Conservation Trust who care for the building and to whom all proceeds will be given.For further information on the programme please visit St Peter's Singers website.
2 attendees
Indian Tiffin Room
Indian Tiffin Room, 32 Park Row, Leeds, LS1 5JD, Leeds, GBJoin us for a fun evening of dining out! After the success of hosting a restaurant outing at Living Leeds we are now going to go Indian!
Indian Tiffin Room is known for it's delicious Indian street food and sublime cocktails in the heart of the city’s lively Greek Street.
From small plates to Traditional favourites there is something for everyone.
To have a look at the menu click here.
6 attendees
Past events
34
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