Church for Everyone Programme
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26 October 2019 St James & Emmanuel Dear Delegate I’m so delighted that you’re coming to the ‘Church for Everyone’ conference. The idea behind the conference is simple: to help local churches become more inclusive. To do this we’ve produced a timetable that includes a mixture of talks, workshops and worship. We’ve also added a Q&A session and time to get to know each other, network and meet some of the folk who have been pioneering in this area. There are many thrills and pitfalls for churches on the inclusion journey and while none of us knows everything, there is real strength in numbers and together we might just have what we need. St James & Emmanuel has been through some dark times, but has also been glimpsing what an inclusive church could look like, and it’s a beautiful thing. The conference is ultimately about infectious hope and radical love. This brochure has been produced to help you get here, enjoy being here and not have to worry about anything while you’re here. The organising team and I can’t wait to see you soon and if there is anything missing from this brochure then please do contact us. Finally, we are very grateful to Lizzie’s Legacy for underwriting the costs of the conference and enabling us to plan with confidence. Nick Bundock Rector of St James & Emmanuel welcome 9:00-9:30 Registration (coffee and pastries) Home Café 9:30-10:00 Worship and Welcome Main Hall 10:00-10:20 Story of Lizzie Lowe and St James & Emmanuel Nick Bundock Main Hall 10:20-10:30 Lizzie’ Legacy Hilary and Kevin Lowe Main Hall 10:30-10:50 Inclusive Church Ruth Wilde and Fiona MacMillan Main Hall 10:50-11:10 Affirming Baptists Andrea King Main Hall 11:10-11:45 Coffee Home Café 11:45-12:45 WORKSHOP SESSION 1 See below for choices Various 12:45-13:45 Lunch Home Café 13:45-14:45 WORKSHOP SESSION 2 and ‘Wriggle Room’ See below for choices Various 15:00-15:20 Keynote Speech Rachel Mann Main Hall 15:20-16:00 Q&A Session All workshop leaders Main Hall 16:00-end Open Table Main Hall WORKSHOPS AVAILABLE IN BOTH SESSIONS Being An Inclusive Church Ruth Wilde Emmanuel Church To Have and To Hold: A Theology of Marriage Equality Father Andrew Foreshew-Cain Lower Hall Inclusiveness: Strategising A Ministry of Presence and Belonging Hils Corcoran and Lea Appleby No 6: The Lounge The Possibility of Difference Marcus Green Upper Hall Lexy McDonnell Upper Hall Youth and Inclusion programme Resource Launch Stephen Edwards and Philip Williamson No 6: The Studio How To Recognise and Safeguard Against Spiritual Abuse Jayne Ozanne The Hughes Room Conference Chair Revd Dr Nick Bundock – Team Rector St James & Emmanuel, Didsbury In addition to chairing the conference, Nick will also be presenting The Story of Lizzie Lowe and St James & Emmanuel. About Nick Nick has been in ordained ministry since 2002 and although a southerner by upbringing has spent his entire ministry in the north, first in Sheffield and then in Didsbury since 2005. Nick’s world was turned upside-down by the sudden and tragic death of Lizzie Lowe and now campaigns for an inclusive and open church. In addition to his work as a parish priest and advocate for inclusion he has a passion for education and has established a new school in the parish and set up the St James and Emmanuel Academy Trust, which shares the same values as St James and Emmanuel. Nick grows cacti, has a corgi and loves massively multiplayer online gaming. meet the team KEYNOTE A Church for Everyone... even for me, you, even for them? The Rev’d Canon Dr Rachel Mann – Rector, St Nicholas Burnage; Area Dean of Withington This keynote explores whether it is genuinely possible to model a ‘Church for Everyone’. What are the costs? What are the delights? How can we learn to live in a holy way in the midst of the Body of Christ? About Rachel Rachel Mann is an Anglican parish priest, writer and poet. Author of seven books, her theological memoir about growing up trans, ‘Dazzling Darkness’ was a Church Times bestseller. She is a member of General Synod, an honorary canon of Manchester Cathedral, as well as a member of the Church of England’s theological advisory board, the Faith and Order Commission. In 2019 she has had two books published, ‘In the Bleak Midwinter’ (Canterbury Press), an Advent book based on the poetry of Christina Rossetti, and her debut poetry collection, ‘A Kingdom of Love’ (Carcanet). She spends a lot of time hoping to get more sleep. meet the team PRESENTATION Lizzie’s Legacy Hilary and Kevin Lowe – founders of the fund established in Lizzie’s Lowe’s memory. Lizzie’s tragic death shook her family, friends, church and community to the core. The immense outpouring of grief led to a deep realisation that change had to take place. About Lizzie’s Legacy Lizzie’s death challenged her church, St James & Emmanuel, to examine how it reflected God’s love for everyone. It is now one of the UK’s few fully LGBT inclusive evangelical churches. From their place of grief, Lizzie’s family, with the support of the church, has established Lizzie’s Legacy. At the heart of this work is one simple principle: we should all love each other as we are, not how we would like to be or how others would like us to be. Lizzie’s Legacy supports projects that provide a safe place for young people to share and be themselves. It also promotes diversity within the church and wider community and is building relationships with organisations that support inclusion, diversity and mental health. meet the team PRESENTATION Affirming Baptists Andrea King – Safeguarding Consultant, an Associate for Research in Practice and the Local Authority Advisor for NHS England in the South East Region; Windsor Baptist Church, in Southern Counties and Independent Minister in Training at Regents Park College, Oxford University About Andrea I have worked in children’s services for almost 20 years, starting in the voluntary sector, working for central government and providing leadership in Local Authorities, most recently as Assistant Director for Safeguarding and Prevention. I am passionate about improving outcomes for those with little voice or power, who experience adversity, inequality or harm. I specialise in innovation and building sustainable improvement, by listening with care to the expertise and insight of local people. My approach is primarily restorative. I seek first to understand others, to understand their pressures, priorities, hopes and fears. I am often asked to facilitate difficult conversations using this approach. I am a proud member of Windsor Baptist Church and I am the first openly LGB+ individual to be offered a place to read Theology at Regents Park College (Oxford University), as an Independent Minister in Training. It is both a privilege and a challenge to contribute to this unfolding national conversation around LGBTQi+ inclusion in churches. In order to study I now work part-time. This includes for NHS England, providing leadership support to the most senior partnership leaders, to improve or re-design mental health services for children and young people in the South East and South West. I am an Associate for Research in Practice, which currently involves chairing a series of national conferences for the Department for Education and providing strategic management support for national pilot projects. I provide safeguarding consultancy in various parts of the country to partnership leaders, where leadership support is needed to improve safeguarding arrangements; or where learning is sought from complex, and often emotive, situations. meet the team WORKSHOP Inclusiveness: Strategising a Ministry of Presence and Belonging Hils Corcoran and Lea Appleby – St Paul’s, Withington Individuals and groups of people feeling marginalised by church have become a ministry of presence, wanting to be heard and waiting to fully participate in all aspects of belonging to a church family. The journey to develop a strategy began after attending sessions raising awareness of the desire to become an Inclusive Church Deanery. Without a strategic approach there is a risk that responsibility is not shared. This can be a problem because individuals maybe unwilling or unable to speak up, or they may spend a lot of time and energy seeking to be understood or understand those in lead roles. About Hils Hils is currently jobsharing as vicar St Paul’s Church, Withington with her husband Mike since April this year. She got ordained in 2015 and was curate in four inclusive churches in north Manchester. Before ordination she worked as a dietitian for 10 years in a team in Leicester who supported adults and children who need to feed through a tube at home. She loved this job, not least because she got to journey with people from all sorts of different backgrounds. Hils is passionate about sharing the all embracing love of God with all people, and loves being creative in finding all sorts of different ways to enable everyone to know God, and fully participate in the life of the church. Hils and Mike have a one year old boy. When she gets time she loves being creative with music, fabric and food About Lea Lea trained as a paediatric nurse and has worked across the North West in various roles within the NHS. She is currently the safeguarding officer at St Paul’s Withington. She has completed the Foundations for Ministry programme and is tentatively putting one foot in front of the other in her journey of faith, hope and love.