A Summer School full of hope
Bishop Philip Mounstephen hosted participants for a tour of Winchester Cathedral
This June, we spent a week with 53 people from around the world, considering what we should be hoping for as Christians, and how that hope should shape us.
Our 2026 Summer School was titled: ‘Hope for what? Exploring the New Creation’. Led by Professor N.T. Wright and other theological leaders and Wycliffe Hall tutors, we gathered to consider questions like: What can we know about the new creation? What happens between death and resurrection? What does our human destiny tell us about our human task? What might a restored universe look like?
It wasn't just lectures: we also looked at hope through music and dance, courtesy of renowned theologian and musician Professor Jeremy Begbie, and theologian, medical doctor and cyr wheel artist Dr Ariel Dempsey.
“A wonderful opportunity”
Summer School isn’t just about learning from world-leading scholars – although that’s a big part of the appeal! We also spent the afternoons relaxing and making friends while exploring the local area. We took a tour of historic Oxford, the stunning Winchester Cathedral, and Blenheim Palace. We enjoyed choral vespers and a gala dinner, and worship in the Wycliffe chapel every morning. The weather was so hot that we had to change our planned activity for the Friday, but ended up exploring beautiful Burford in the Cotswolds instead, which was a delight for our many guests from the USA and even further afield.
One participant described the week as: “A wonderful opportunity to learn, love, and laugh.”
Our hope shapes how we live
“Hope shapes how you live, as we need to be agents in the present of what we hope for in the future,” says Wycliffe Principal Michael Lloyd. “The 2026 Summer School was an inspirational week, when we went deeper into the hope that Scripture offers, learned from extraordinary agents of hope in the past, and experienced hope incarnated in sound and celluloid, music and film.”
When we asked some of the participants to sum up the week, they said:
“An amazing opportunity to listen to talks by world renowned scholars, meet and form new friendships, fellowship and laughter.”
“A time of learning and of unexpected delights, of food, fun and laughter, of delight in the Wycliffe Hall ambience and the sheer joy of connecting with the participants.”
We’d love you to join us next summer!
Next year's Summer School, titled The Promise of Joy, runs from 19-24th September 2027. Confirmed speakers are Alister McGrath and Michael Lloyd. Find out more and register here.