Welcome Conference :
Bridges of Hope in a Divided World
Welcome!
We are so pleased to have you with us
for the Welcome Conference!
Programme
Friday 16 October
13:30-14:30 Arrival & Registration
14:30-16:00 Bridges of Welcome
Welcome (video): The Right Rev. Dr. Guli Francis-Dehqani
Welcome • Worship
Welcome Churches Vision & Stories
Keynote address: George Lapshynov
Panel: Mary Joshua • Emily Shepherd • Rev. Dr. David Wise
16:00-16:45 Tea Break • Check-In
16:45-18:15 Bridges of Peace
Worship • Prayer
Spotlight on Better Story: Tommy Sharpe
Keynote address: the Rev. Canon Guy Hewitt
“Finding the Peace” project
Table discussion • Q&A
18:15-19:30 Dinner
19:30-21:00 Stories of Hope & Global Worship
Stories and testimonies
Worship • Prayer
Desperate Journeys: Empathy Action
21:00 Free Time
Saturday 17 October
07:00-08:30 Breakfast
08:30-09:00 Registration / sign-up • Check-out
09:00-10:00 Welcome & introductions
Worship • Prayer
Impact Interview
10:00-10:30 Coffee Break
10:30-11:45 Bridging Cultures in the Church
“Polyphonic God” Discussion (video): Usha Reifsnider • Rev. Israel Olofinjana • Rev. Dr. David Wise
Panel: Rev. Dr. David Wise • Sue Butler • Mike Ashelby • Osoba Otaigbe
Table discussion • Q&A
12:00-13:00 Workshops
Introduction to Intercultural Worship: Resonance Band
Responding to Christian Nationalism: Tommy Sharpe (Better Story) & Yan Lo (Welcome Churches)
Praying for the Persecuted Church: Andy Worthington (Open Doors)
Building Bridges through Empathy: Ben Solanky (Empathy Action)
Crossing Cultures and Story Telling: Fatemeh Taheri (Welcome Churches)
13:00-13:45 Lunch
13:45-15:00 Bridges Across Borders
Worship • Prayer
Named Community Sponsorship (video): Hannah Gregory • Susannah Baker MBE • Gordon East
Panel: Ben Still • Andy Worthington • Gordon Showell-Rogers
Table discussion • Q&A
15:00-15:20 Tea Break
15:20-16:30 Kingdom Bridges
Worship • Prayer
Keynote Address: Bishop Mike Royal
Conversations with our partners: Bible Society • Lawyers’ Christian Fellowship • Breeze Translate • Stewardship
“Welcome to the Word” launch
16:30-16:45 Conference Close
Guest speakers
Refugees : A blessing to the Nations
Andrey Bondarenko - Church Planter
Andrey leads ‘Nations’, a group of Newfrontiers churches in Ukraine. His primary focus is to identify and train young leaders, both to strengthen existing churches and to plant new ones. Since 2017 he has also been developing church planting in Europe with refugees from Ukraine.
Andrey and his family moved to the UK when the war escalated in Ukraine. He is married to Natasha, and they have three sons, Daniel, Illia and Timothy.
Promoting Cultural Reconciliation in Church Communities
Samuel Luak - Welcome Churches
Samuel is a key member of the Welcome Churches Church Engagement team, where he works as a Regional Coordinator for South England. He is a Finnish citizen and was born and raised in Sudan. He has lived, studied and worked in Africa, the Middle East, and Finland. Since moving to the UK in 2017, Samuel has worked as a project manager, refugee support worker in resettlement and integration, an immigration case worker, and a cultural interpreter. He also coordinates the Sudanese Prayer Network in Europe and runs an online Bible Study Training for Christians and Church leaders from Sudanese origin around the world.
Restoring God’s Church together
Emily Shepherd - CEO, Welcome Churches
Emily cofounded Welcome Churches with Karina Martin in 2018, and is now based in Greater Manchester. Emily is very passionate about seeing the UK Church being at the forefront of welcoming refugees and has a wealth of experience in welcoming people seeking refuge with her local church in different ways. Emily herself has moved around the UK a lot – she has had 12 different addresses in the last 12 years! She has an MA in Conflict, Development and Security where she specialised in European citizens’ responsibilities to refugees.