Evolving Faith Conference watch party.

The conference, which is held annually in United States, is one of the preeminent conferences in the world for Christians who have been marginalised by the wider church and are seeking a safe space to cultivate their faith and connect with others on a similar journey.

Through streaming the conference sessions (the in-person conference was held in October), we were able to listen to and learn from a diverse range of speakers, including the Rev Nadia Bolz-Weber, Dr Wil Gafney, Sarah Bessey, Barbara Brown Taylor, and the Rev. Mihee Kim-Kort. Between each session we enjoyed getting to know each other and share the experience together over good food.

We had unanimously positive feedback from our attendees, with people finding it refreshing to hear people talking and preaching about topics that aren’t often addressed at church, and having an opportunity to have challenging conversations about what we were learning. Everyone is hoping to attend again next year, and many are keen to invite friends along too.

Our Evolving Faith Conference watch party, along with running a series of community conversations early this year focused on key social issues (Building Better Communities), are what we hope to be the start of a series of more regular events to provide people in our community with an opportunity to explore their faith, and important social and environmental justice issues, in a safe and inviting way. This is one of the key actions from our recently refreshed Strategic Plan which we believe will help us become more visible in our communities we are seeking to serve, and as a result, help our communities become more aware of the distinctive characteristics and values our church holds.

If you would like to know more about the Evolving Faith conference, you could visit their website https://evolvingfaith.com/ or search for their podcast in your favourite podcast app.