The Song of Songs is a book like no other in the Bible. It’s not history or prophecy, it’s not law or a letter. It is a book of beautiful, lyrical, love poetry. It doesn’t mention God and it is never quoted in the New Testament. It’s almost always overlooked in Bible overviews and biblical theologies, not to mention church teaching programmes and Sunday school series. It’s a book that many people are nervous about – either because they don’t really know what it’s about, or because they think they know exactly what it’s about!

In this workshop, we will think about how to be better readers of poetry, and of biblical poetry, exploring sections of the Song in detail. We’ll also think about the impact of the canonical context of the Song as we see how it draws on images from the prophets and the wisdom literature, and how it influences the New Testament. We’ll see how it speaks about Christ throughout, and we’ll consider how it affects us as we read it.

Over the centuries, the Song of Songs has been deeply beloved. There was a time when the Song of Songs was one of the most preached-on books of the Bible. For many it has been the most precious book of the Bible, the place where they meet most intimately with their Lord and Saviour. My goal for this workshop is that you may come to feel the same.

There is no preparatory reading or assessment. This will be an intensive workshop, particularly intended for pastors, ministers, church planters or lay leaders but is open to anyone.

Workshop Leader

Ros Clarke
Ros is Associate Director of Church Society and the author of Forty Women (IVP, 2021). She leads the Priscilla Programme, an online training course for women, and Co-Workers, a network for complementarian women in Anglican ministry. Ros completed her PhD at Highlands Theological College, on ‘Canonical Interpretations of the Song of Songs’ and she is currently working on a commentary on the Song of Songs.

Who is it for?

Intended for pastors, ministers, church planters or lay leaders, but open to anyone.

Cost and Venue

The workshop will be held at Keswick Ministries, in Keswick. The cost will be:

£65 workshop and accommodation

£40 workshop only

To register and pay please complete the registration form below and for further information contact Carolyn on carolyn.south@keswickministries.org or on 017687 80075 option 4.

We understand that occasionally it is necessary to cancel a booking. If you have to cancel your booking we will refund the fee paid for the event, minus 5% admin charge to cover the processing fees we incur. If we have to cancel the event we will refund the full fee paid. Your refund will be processed by the original payment method and you will be notified of the refunded amount.