Welcome to For Goodness Sake! A gathering of Christians who long for justice. Below, you can find all of the information that you need on the day.
What to Bring
On the day, tea, coffee, and snacks will be available, but we encourage all attendees to bring a packed lunch as this will not be provided.
We are also hoping to decorate the venue with various visual signs of protest, and we would love for you to bring your protest placards to contribute to this! It would be great to see a range of designs and justice issues represented. When you sign in, a volunteer will show you where it can be displayed.
Arrivals
When you arrive on Saturday, there will be stewards assisting in the venue car park. At registration, you will be given a programme, a lanyard and a card to write your name and pronouns. You will also be able to sign up for listening spaces and workshops indicated by a colour-coded sticker system. Make sure to arrive in plenty of time for a space in your preferred sessions as spaces for most sessions are limited! Find out more about the sessions to choose from below.
Listening Spaces
| Listening Spaces |
| Voices on Gaza and the West Bank live – with David Hardman, Ashraf Tannous, Shireen Awwad Hilal and Bella Cross (1: Main Hall) |
| Eco Justice meditation – watch, listen, reflect, consider… created in partnership with David Coleman from Eco Congregation Scotland (2: Raikes) |
| The rise of the far right and Christian nationalism – with JPIT’s Simeon Mitchell (3: Shaftesbury) |
| Refugees – with Welcome Churches (4: Wilberforce) |
| Poverty – with Church Action on Poverty (5: Equiano) |
| Politics – with Catherine Atkinson MP (6: Nightingale Suite) |
Workshops
| Workshops |
| Theology & solidarity: creating a theological frame for activism – with JPIT’s Alex Clare-Young and members of the Cambridge Solidarity Hub (1: Main Hall) |
| Telling a different story: reframing narratives as a tool for change – with JPIT’s Paul Morrison (2: Raikes) |
| Using our money for good –with Rosie Venner from JustMoney Movement (3: Shaftesbury) |
| Why social action and social justice must go hand-in-hand – with Jess Foster from Trussell (4: Wilberforce) |
| Making an impact through the Constituency Action Network – with JPIT’s Steve Tinning & Thomas Niblett (5: Equiano) |
| Worshipping is doing justice – discuss! – with Jane Bentley and Jo Love from the Iona Community’s Wild Goose Resource Group (6. Nightingale) |
Programme
| 10.00 | Sign-in, refreshments and stalls |
| 10.30 | Welcome – Simeon Mitchell, JPIT Team Leader |
| 10.35 | Opening worship – Jane Bentley and Jo Love, Wild Goose Resource Group |
| 10.45 | Keynote address – Very Revd Sally Foster-Fulton, followed by panel discussion with Alex Clare-Young, Bella Cross, and David Haslam |
| 12.00 | Listening Spaces (see opposite) |
| 12.50 | We CAN – plenary session |
| 13:20 | Lunch break – with facilitated conversation spaces |
| 14.15 | Keynote address ‘Holding onto the good’ – Rt Revd Dr Guli Francis-Dehqani |
| 15.05 | Workshops (see opposite) |
| 16.00 | Closing worship and final words |
| 16.30 | End of programme |
| 17.00 | Stalls and venue close |
Speak Out for Peace and Justice
Please take up the opportunities throughout the day to make a difference through:
- Craftivism (sharing what you hear, feel and want to change through words or art)
- Reel Talk (recording informal interviews and conversations)
- Child poverty postcards (writing to your MP about child poverty and the upcoming Budget)
Social Media and Photography
Our comms team will be creating content throughout the day, including photos and videos. We would love to feature as many of you as possible in this to capture the diversity of justice seekers present. If you are uncomfortable with this, please let us know upon arrival and you will be given a different coloured lanyard to other attendees to signify this.
You will be able to see what we post from conference, and stay updated with our other work, by following us online!
· Instagram: @public.issues
· Facebook: The Joint Public Issues Team
· Bluesky: @publicissues.bsky.social
· Website: jpit.uk
We would love you to share your thoughts, photos, and experiences from conference on social media too! Just tag us by using our event hashtag #ForGood25.
Stalls
- Student Christian Movement
- Just Money Movement
- Christian Aid
- Welcome Churches
- Trussell Trust
- A Rocha
- Christians Against Poverty
- Commitment for Life
- All We Can
- Iona Community
- Joint Public Issues Team (us!)
Pastoral Care and Safeguarding
We have several designated pastoral and safeguarding leads onsite for the conference, in case you need support throughout the day. The chaplain is Hannah Fremont-Brown, who can either be found wearing a high-vis vest with ‘chaplain’ on it, or can be contacted via any of our delivery team members.
The safeguarding lead for the day is Jude Levermore and JPIT’s Team Leader Simeon Mitchell can also be contacted with safeguarding concerns. Our full event safeguarding policy and contact details are available at the welcome desk or at safeguarding.
After the Gathering
After the gathering, please do watch the keynote addresses again on the main conference webpage, where you will also find a link to a resource pack in due course. Attendees will also receive one follow-up email with a link to the resources mentioned above.
Keynote Biographies
The Right Reverend Sally Foster-Fulton
Sally is originally from South Carolina in the United States, but has made Scotland her home for over 30 years. She currently works as Christian Aid’s UK and Global Church Ambassador, supporting denominations to strengthen and reaffirm their partnership with Christian Aid and its work, developing and sharing worship resources and forging closer relations between local and global partners.
She joined Christian Aid in 2016 as the Head of the team in Scotland, then as Head of Nations and Church Relations. In 2023, Sally took a year’s sabbatical to be Moderator of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland.
Before joining Christian Aid, Sally convened the Church and Society Council and helped advance the Church’s work on human rights, climate justice and support for people struggling to overcome poverty in Scotland as well as overseas.
Sally’s roots are in the parish ministry, where she has served as minister of Camelon Irving Parish church, associate minister at Dunblane Cathedral and chaplain at Falkirk and District Royal Infirmary and The Royal National Scottish Hospital in Larbert. Sally is the author of three books: Hope was Heard Singing, Dancing in the Desert and Step Gently in the World.
The Right Reverend Dr Guli Francis-Dehqani
The Right Reverend Dr Guli Francis-Dehqani is Bishop of Chelmsford and a member of the Lords Spiritual in the House of Lords. She previously served as the first Bishop of Loughborough, in the Diocese of Leicester, from 2017 to 2021.
Guli arrived in this country as a refugee from Iran, aged 14. She was educated at Nottingham and Bristol Universities, training for ministry at The South East Institute for Theological Education. Ordained priest in 1999, Guli served her title in the Diocese of Southwark and has also worked in London and Peterborough Dioceses. She has a doctorate in theology and cross cultural mission, is Chair of the Board of Church Army and the Church of England’s Lead Bishop for Housing.
Guli has written extensively and, among other things, is the author of Cries for a Lost Homeland: Reflections on Jesus’ sayings from the cross and co-author, with Malcolm Guite, of Stations of the Resurrection: Encounters with the risen Christ.
Guli is married to Lee, also a priest and they have three young adult children.
