Book launch
Joy Comes in the Morning
11 September, 8pm, Emmanuel
“From tragedy to hope for countless others – all this and more is Lizzie Lowe’s legacy.”
Steve Chalke
John Bell leads an evening of reflection and discussion with former St James and Emmanuel rector Nick Bundock, author Chick Yuill, and Hilary and Kevin Lowe.
Programme
| 7.30 | Doors open; light refreshments; book available for purchase |
| 8.00 | Sung worship led by Andy Silver |
| 8.10 | Welcome by Ali Oxborrow |
| 8.15 | John Bell in conversation with Nick Bundock |
| 8.25 | John Bell in conversation with Hilary and Kevin Lowe |
| 8.35 | Chick Yuill reads a passage from the book |
| 8.40 | Sung worship |
| 8.45 | Concluding reflection and prayer of dedication |
| 8.50 | Book available for purchase |
Profiles
Revd John Bell
He/Him
John Bell is an ordained minister of the Church of Scotland and a member of the Iona Community for which he worked for most of his career. His primary areas of interest have been music, liturgy and social justice on which subjects he has taught all over the world. He is a hymn writer, and an occasional broadcaster. In 2018, he teamed up with Nick Bundock to make two videos aimed at enabling people to think about Christian faith and same sex relationships. In 2024, following the Radical Love conference at St James and Emmanuel, he made a third video with Nick looking back on the progress made since the release of the first videos. John lives in Glasgow.
Revd Dr Nick Bundock
He/Him
Nick is the Bishop of Glasgow and Galloway. Before becoming bishop, he served as Team Rector of St James and Emmanuel, Didsbury, where the death of fourteen-year-old Lizzie Lowe led him into a profound process of repentance, listening and change. He subsequently became a prominent advocate for the full inclusion of LGBTQ+ people within the Church, particularly within the evangelical tradition, and helped lead the transformation of St James and Emmanuel into a place of explicit welcome. He also helped establish Didsbury Pride, believed to be the first Pride event organised and held on church grounds. Nick believes in a ‘Church for Everyone’ and continues to help churches extend genuine belonging to all who find themselves marginalised or excluded.
Chick Yuill
He/Him
A passionate communicator, Chick has spent almost six decades as a speaker, broadcaster and writer. He has been a regular contributor to major Christian conferences and has made frequent ministry trips throughout the world. Chick has been a regular contributor to BBC Radio 2’s Good Morning Sunday programme, before going on to present his own show on Premier Christian Radio for a number of years. He has written more than a dozen books, but regards his latest book, Joy Comes in the Morning, as probably the most important he has ever written.
About Lizzie’s Legacy
Adored, talented and popular, in 2014 Lizzie Lowe took her own life at the age of 14. Amongst the pressures of being a teenager, she was afraid to tell her family she was gay and unable to reconcile her sexuality with her Christian faith.
Lizzie did not realise she was simply loved for who she was – unconditionally.
The tragedy 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.
Lizzie’s death challenged her church, St James and Emmanuel, to examine how it reflected God’s love for everyone. It is now one of the UK’s few fully LGBTQ+ inclusive evangelical churches.
From their place of grief, Lizzie’s family, with the support of the church, established Lizzie’s Legacy:
- providing a safe place for young people to share and be themselves
- promoting diversity within the church and wider community
- creating relationships with organisations that support inclusion, diversity and mental health.
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.
Funding Objectives
- To enable the youth work in the community to flourish by having an employed youth worker to head up the youth café, which provides a safe, secure and welcoming space for the youth to meet and be themselves
- To provide a place of welcome and host events for the church and wider community in support of greater inclusion and addressing local needs of young adults such as mental health (including depression, anxiety, suicide), loneliness, social media and other seemingly unrealistic pressures
- To develop links and maintain relationships with diversity related agencies / organisations, working collaboratively where mutually beneficial, to improve understanding of and address more fully inclusion issues of young adults
- To promote diversity within the church and wider community by creating and implementing plans to meet local needs of young adults more effectively
You can support Lizzie’s Legacy at lizzielowe.org