National Conference
Saturday 14 September 2024
Emmanuel church, Didsbury, Manchester
Post conference discussion
Two days after the conference John Bell and Nick Bundock followed up their Beyond Inclusion conversations filmed in 2018.
Conference talks
The recordings of talks given by Jonathan Tallon, David Runcorn and Ali Oxborrow are below.
You may also be interested in the audio broadcast of An evening with John Bell – a service held as a prelude to the conference.
Overview of the day
Hosted by St James & Emmanuel, Radical Love was a conference that explored the biblical meaning of relationship and acceptance in a church truly for everyone.
Talks from Jonathan Tallon and David Runcorn were be supported by life experiences shared by Ali Oxborrow, Marcus Green and Azariah France-Williams. Breakout seminars provided opportunities to discuss and share what it means to be an inclusive evangelical.
Nick Bundock, Alexa Russell and Alex Sims also shared St James & Emmanuel’s inclusive journey since the tragic death of Lizzie Lowe.
The conference was a unique opportunity to engage with the core issues that enable or challenge inclusivity. It was open to paid and volunteer church leaders as well as interested individuals simply wishing to meet with like-minded people of faith.
Friday and Sunday
On the day before the conference, there was an evening with John Bell at Emmanuel from. Along with a time of worship and reflection, John and Nick Bundock continued the conversations they began in their Beyond Inclusion discussions.
Programme
| 9.00-9.30 | Registration |
| 9.30-10.00 | Worship and welcome – Nick Bundock, Augustine Tanner-Ihm and Alexa Russell |
| 10.00-10.55 | The New Testament and sexuality – Jonathan Tallon |
| 10.55-11.15 | Break and refreshments |
| 11.15-11.45 | Lived experience – Ali Oxborrow |
| 11.45-12.15 | Lived experience – Marcus Green |
| 12.15-13.15 | Seminar session 1 – see below |
| 13.15-14.15 | Lunch |
| 14.15-15.15 | Seminar session 2 – see below |
| 15.15-15.45 | This is the Word of the Lord – David Runcorn |
| 15.45-16.00 | Break and refreshments |
| 16.00-16.30 | Lived experience – Azariah France-Williams |
| 16.30-17.00 | How to be a church for everyone – Nick Bundock, Alexa Russell and Alex Sims |
| 17.00-17.30 | Worship |
Seminars
The seven seminars were the same for morning and afternoon. They were led by members and friends of the St James and Emmanuel congregation with personal experience of each topic.
This seminar provides an opportunity to share the experience of having an LGBTQ+ child and the challenge this may present to our own faith, beliefs and background. It will be an opportunity to hear from parents who have struggled and an opportunity to share your situation if you wish.
It will also include the joys and opportunities of parenting LGBTQ+ children too! There will be no pressure to share, and no judgement of any belief structure. Parenting is hard enough.
This will be a supportive environment for those with questions and dilemmas.
We are living through a culturally significant moment for trans and non-binary people in the UK, where the right to exist in private and in public is increasingly under attack. As inclusive Christians, it has rarely been more important to advocate for our trans and non-binary siblings inside and outside our churches.
In this seminar, we will share and compare experiences of trans inclusion, explore how these may differ across church demographics, and discuss where to find more resources post-conference. Ultimately, this seminar aims to empower you to move forward in making your church more trans-inclusive, whether you are new to trans allyship, are an active trans ally, or are trans yourself.
What does it mean to be set free? LGBTQ+ people struggle with lower mental health and well-being outcomes than other people groups. For LGBTQ+ people who have faith, these outcomes are even lower.
In this seminar, we will explore some of the causes of these lower mental health and well-being outcomes and how faith communities can help build-up and strengthen LGBTQ+ people.
This seminar will cover sensitive subjects such as suicide and mental health distress, including personal experience, but we hope you will leave with joy in your heart and a spring in your step.
This seminar is a practical guide on including all couples and family set ups in discussions about marriage and relationships.
We will share our journey of developing an inclusive Christian ‘Marriage Preparation Course’, highlighting the historical exclusions and damages caused by conservative conversations around relationships.
Drawing inspiration from Jesus’s radical inclusivity, this seminar comes from an already inclusive perspective of marriage. Our aim is to create a safe environment for learning and questions, equipping you with terminology and techniques to implement in your own church sessions.
Why are we so evangelical about inclusion that we are hosting a conference about it? Why is it good? What is the fruit? What does an inclusive church look like? How does the whole body of Christ benefit from including LGBTQ+ people?
This seminar will begin by looking at why creating a safe and accepting church community is good for LGBTQ+ people, why they “come out,” and what flourishing and fulfilment can look like.
We will then explore what LGBTQ+ people bring to the church. How they challenge, nurture and deepen the faith of the community of believers. Could it be that by excluding LGBTQ+ people the church has been missing out? Maybe it’s time to join the party!
Numerous studies over the past decade (including the 2021 Census) have highlighted that young people are increasingly more likely to identify as members of the LGBTQ+ community compared to older generations. But what does this mean for contemporary Christian youth ministry?
During this seminar, we’ll explore practical steps to create a ministry that is empowering of LGBTQ+ young people, including how to establish a healthy and welcoming culture, and how to foster meaningful allyship.
Whether you’re a seasoned youth worker, a parent, or simply someone with a heart for young people, we’d love you to join the conversation.
This seminar is an opportunity to ask questions and discuss issues in more depth.
Profiles
Revd Dr Augustine Tanner-Ihm
He/Him
Augustine is a dynamic Afro-American educator, theologian, and Team Curate at St James and Emmanuel. Renowned for his work in inclusion, race, and spirituality, he has addressed prominent platforms like the Stonewall National Workplace Conference, Pride, BBC, and the UK Parliament. A prolific writer for respected publications, Augustine holds degrees from various institutions. He is dedicated to empowering others towards self-betterment and is passionate about travelling and stand-up.
Revd Alexa Russell
She/Her
Lexi is a second year curate based in Wythenshawe and leads the evening service and runs the young adult ministry at St James and Emmanuel. She is civilly partnered to her wife Johanna and together they have written an inclusive marriage preparation course designed to help other churches prepare couples for life together. Lexi has also been leading evangelical sung worship since she was a teenager and has recently accepted that you can have charismatic evangelical worship within an inclusive context.
Revd Dr Jonathan Tallon
He/Him
Jonathan is a biblical studies tutor at an ecumenical theological college and an Anglican priest. He teaches undergraduate and postgraduate students, trains people for ministry, and educates churches and church leaders. He has been helping people from different denominations, traditions and backgrounds explore the Bible, sexuality and gender for over a decade. His Bible and Homosexuality YouTube channel and website have had hundreds of thousands of visitors. Jonathan lives with his family in Manchester.
Revd Dr Nick Bundock
He/Him
Nick is Team Rector at St James and Emmanuel and is a dedicated advocate for full LGBTQ+ inclusion within the evangelical community. Nick underwent a wholesale repentance following the high profile and devastating suicide of church member, Lizzie Lowe. He now has a wealth of experience in leading change in this area. Nick has spearheaded the establishment of Didsbury Pride, believed to be the first Pride event organised and held on church grounds. Nick is also the founder of Church for Everyone, which seeks to extend welcome to other marginalised groups.
Revd David Runcorn
He/Him
David has been involved for many years in theological teaching and aspects of ministry training and guidance. He is a popular conference speaker, retreat leader and the author of a number of books including Love Means Love: Same-sex Relationships and the Bible. David has been deeply committed to full inclusion for many years and is a founding member of Inclusive Evangelicals. He lives in Devon where his wife, Jackie is Bishop of Crediton.
Ali Oxborrow
She/Her
Ali lives in Stoke on Trent with her partner Angela. They met when they were both training for ministry, and celebrated their civil partnership in 2014. Ali was ordained in 2011 and served her curacy at St James and Emmanuel. She has an interest in both relationship conflict and the experience of chronic shame, and now works as a Certified Imago Relationship Therapist, helping couples in crisis and those who long to connect more deeply. She also works with individuals who are struggling with their self-esteem and the experience of shame.
Revd Marcus Green
He/Him
Marcus is, both nationally and especially within Oxford Diocese (where he’s part of the cathedral’s Sacred inclusive service, and helped set up the diocesan LGBTQIA+ chaplaincy), a prominent voice calling for queer equality within the Church. His book, The Possibility of Difference, argues that one of the Bible’s big stories is the full equality of all people. As Chaplain of Worcester College in Oxford, Marcus offers students a vision of what inclusive faith can be. He’s also one of the regular voices on the Inclusive Evangelicals Two Gals & a Gay Guy podcast.
Revd Azariah France-Williams
He/They
Azariah is an Anglican priest based at Ascension Church Hulme in Manchester. He is the author of Ghost Ship: Institutional Racism and the Church of England (SCM Press). You may hear Azariah on BBC Radio 2’s Pause for Thought or BBC Radio 4’s Daily Service where they are a regular contributor. As well as being a Visiting Scholar with Sarum College in Salisbury, Azariah is a public speaker, retreat leader, singer and poet who enjoys clowning and wild swimming.
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. Some years ago he teamed up with Nick Bundock to make two videos aimed at enabling people to think about Christian faith and same sex relationships. He lives in Glasgow.