BRIDGING THE GAP
The Gathering Cardiff’s first Inclusive Conference aimed to bridge the gap between the church and the LGBTQ+ community.
As a church we strive to provide a safe place of worship for all folks, and we know there are lots of other churches who want to do the same. But we recognise that can be tricky - we find ourselves asking, what does it truly mean to be inclusive?
That’s where the Inclusive Conference comes in!
With talks on scripture and theology, true accounts of what it means to be LGBTQ+ in the church, and LIVE Q+As and seminars; we hope to help you understand the practicalities of being an inclusive church and equip you with all that you need to get the ball rolling.
Whether you’re a church leader, a church member looking to start the conversation with your leaders, or simply interested in what it means to be LGBTQ+ and Christian, you’re welcome at the Inclusive Conference!
FOREWORD FROM
ROY JENKINS
Broadcaster and Baptist Minister
"...what would I be hoping for from a conference on inclusion? Primarily that we approach it with humility and sensitivity."
Roy’s experience as a pastor, preacher and broadcaster meant that he was the perfect person for us to ask to give a small introduction to our Inclusive Conference. He doesn’t describe himself as an ally of the LGBTQI community but he is open to hearing their experiences. He listens and loves. Here he tells us in his own words why this Inclusive Conference is so important for church leaders, church members and the LGBTQI community.
INCLUSIVE CONFERENCE TALKS
Though our online conference has been and gone we want to continue to encourage all to explore LGBTQ+ inclusivity in their church, and so we've decided to leave three of our four talks - along with our seminars - up for you to watch whenever you'd like to. If you have a question you'd like to ask after you have watched any of the talks you can submit it at the bottom of this page, but please note, all questions and comments will be directed to The Gathering team and NOT the individual speaker.
If you would like to watch a recording of our live Q+A sessions with our speakers you can do so by clicking the button below.
LUKE DOWDING - Scripture and the Arc of Love: Including the Other in the Kingdom of God
Luke spoke on "Scripture and the arc of love: including the Other in the Kingdom of God", providing an in depth look into the themes and narratives of love and how widely it reaches within the Bible.
You can find more about Luke and One Body One Faith here: https://onebodyonefaith.org.uk/
L U K E
D O W D I N G
Watch Luke's talk HeRE
SAM MCBRATNEY - Beyond Inclusion
Sam has been a Methodist minister for over 20 years and, throughout that time, he has been involved in LGBTQ+ justice issues in both official and unofficial church processes.
Here Sam speaks on his experience of the Methodist Church's long and ongoing journey to include marriage of same-sex couples.
Sam's website: https://www.cassowary.eu/
S A M
M C B R A T N E Y
Watch Sam's talk HeRE
AUGUSTINE TANNER-IHM - Beyond White: Finding the Missing Colours of the Rainbow in our Community
If I described to you a gay man in your workplace, who was 6'2 and 80 kgs. What skin colour do you see? Does the person look more like our former Prime Minister or Salem from Bradford?
Too often Global Majority people's experiences are left out of the LGBTQ+ community. At times they are even forgotten about. How do white allies and white LGBTQIA+ people learn to listen and hear the voices of the unheard? This talk will be about finding the missing colours of the rainbow people of God and moving beyond inclusion and into belonging.
Augustine's website: https://augustineihm.co.uk/about-me/
A U G U S T I N E
I H M
Watch Augustine's talk HeRE
Please note, all questions will be directed to The Gathering team and not Luke.
Please note, all questions will be directed to The Gathering team and not Sam.
SEMINARS
A little different from our recorded talks, this exclusive seminar was recorded live at our Inclusive Conference and is available to watch for free whenever you would like. We hope it will serve as a quick guide to bringing LGBTQ+ friendly language into day to day worship and teaching from one of The Gathering's very own Pastoral Leaders. An exciting chance to build practical skills that you can take back to your church immediately. A simple, effective and often overlooked first step to being fully inclusive of the LGBTQ+ community! Please note: the seminar was put together as an interactive session and as such was best viewed live but we hope you will still gain some insight from it.
Have a question about how you can include inclusive language in your worship or something else? Submit it below and The Gathering team will do it's best to get back to you.
IAIN SCOTT - INCLUSIVE LANGUAGE
A U G U S T I N E
I H M
LGBTQ+ PANEL
A chance to hear the experiences of a group of LGBTQ+ Christians within the wider church. This mediated Q+A panel can be used as a free learning resource, to better understand the queer Christian perspective. Empathy and understanding is a huge part of the journey to inclusion but we know that it can be tricky to have conversations with LGBTQ+ people if you simply do not know any (or think you don't). Though we'd take a good guess and say there are likely more LGBTQ+ people in your church than you think, we know that many LGBTQ+ people are not comfortable being open about their identity within a church environment - or indeed outside of the church - and so open conversation can be hard to come by.
Have a question or a thought about what you've heard? Get in touch below and one of The Gathering team will do their best to answer you.
Please note, all questions will be directed to The Gathering team and not Augustine.