Summer conference 2010 with David Wenham

We're delighted to welcome David Wenham MA PhD as the main speaker at our summer conference in 2010. David is currently Vice-Principal and Tutor in New Testament at Trinity College Bristol following many years on the staff of Wycliffe Hall in Oxford. He has published widely on the Gospels and on Paul, his latest book being Paul and Jesus: The true story.

This year’s conference is in Cardiff on 12 June, at St Mark’s Church, Cardiff. The church address is 206 North Road, Cardiff, CF14 3BL, and there's more information on their website. The conference will run from 10.30am to around 4pm. 

There's a good car park at St Mark's, and the church is also well served by buses for anyone travelling by train. Arriva Trains are currently doing a special deal with their Club 55 members (for those over 55), charging £15 return between many stations in Wales. Ring 0870 9000773 for more details, or ask at your local booking office.

Fuller details of the conference will be included as soon as possible, hopefully by late April

You can find out a bit more about David Wenham at the Trinity College website.

Ministry conference 2010

Be sure not to miss this year’s Ministry Conference for clergy and others in licensed ministry and their spouses. It's planned for 15-16 November at Caer Beris Manor in Builth Wells, an attractive and comfortable venue with good facilities. We look forward to welcoming the Rt Rev’d Andy John, Bishop of Bangor (himself a member of EFCW) as the main speaker. Cost is expected to be comparable to the last ministry conference, that is, in the region of £80 for residential EFCW members (other rates apply for day guests and non-members). Full details will be available soon.

More details of Caer Beris Manor are on its website.

Summer conference 2009 with Elaine Storkey

We were pleased to welcome Dr Elaine Storkey as speaker for our summer conference on 6th June.  Elaine gave three thought-provoking addresses, taking as her overall subject ‘Challenges for the Church’, looking at issues which are of great current concern and yet are unlikely to be tackled in preaching or discussion in the normal week-by-week life of a church.

The first was the ‘new atheism’ which is no longer willing to engage in debate with believers, but presented a hostility to all religious belief based on secular fundamentalism, not on reason. Rather than being indifferent or defensive, we as Christians need to admit the evils of the past committed in the name of religion, affirm revealed truth, and expose the intolerance of the new atheists’ position.

The second talk addressed the challenge to global awareness, especially to issues of war and peace, since Jesus is the ‘Prince of Peace’. The West has been drawn into war recently as a response to atrocities such as 9/11, and is committed to the theory of just war. Yet many other current conflicts throughout the world are being fought with no such scruples, and are being fuelled by massive supplies of arms largely from the West. The supply of weapons needs to be cut, conditional aid given, and active attempts made to broker peace.

Elaine's final challenge concerned relationships and identity and, although it looked at the role of sex in contemporary society, it covered a far wider scope than simply sexual morality.  Created in God’s image we are relational beings, yet sin has alienated us from God and other people, and the redemption offered in the gospel is essential to restore us as individuals and society.