Inclusive Church, a conference for those seeking to create welcoming spaces in churches for people of all cultures and backgrounds, will take place in Belfast on April 24 and 25.

The conference, which is a free event run by the Irish Churches Peace Project in conjunction with Embrace, will be held in the Wellington Park Hotel,  21 Malone Road, Belfast, BT9 6RU, opening on April 24 at 5.30pm and finishing at 3.30pm the following day.

Places must be booked in advance.

PROGRAMME

FRIDAY 24 APRIL

17:30 Arrival and registration

Welcome and introduction

18:30 Dinner

20:00 Creating a safe space: seeing through the eyes of others (Stephanie Mitchell / Denise Wright)

20:45 Table Quiz

SATURDAY 25 APRIL

9:30 Theological reflection (Richard Kerr)

10:00 Panel discussion: Inclusive Church — the experience of migrants

10:40 Group discussion

11:10 Coffee break

11:30 Panel discussion: Inclusive Church – starting new initiatives, adapting current programmes

12:10 Group discussion

12:50 Follow-up sheets (evaluation)

13:00 Lunch

14:00 Workshops:

• From Welcome to Participation — Scott Boldt. This workshop will explore ways in which churches can help migrants become active participants in the life of their congregations.
• Loving our Neighbours: An introduction to the Roma people in NI — Denise Wright. Denise will share her experience of working with Romanian Roma people in Northern Ireland and issues around integration.
• A Beginner’s Guide to Northern Ireland — Peter McDowell. This workshop will explore some of the cultural barriers to integration that migrants face in Northern Ireland and how churches can help the integration process

15:00 Summary

15:30 Conference close

To book a place contact Aneta: aneta@embraceni.org or 0773 1378 037. Places are limited, so please respond by April 16.

Please state if you wish to attend the whole conference or just Saturday 25th

For further details see www.embraceni.org