Brothers and sisters in Christ? Can the Church face the challenges of multicultural Britain?

· Tackling the issues at the Hayes Conference Centre, Swanwick,2-4 February

What role does the Church have in bringing multicultural Britaintogether? How can the Church help ethnic minority Christiansexpress their faith and culture fully and contribute to the widersociety? In a multicultural country, how can diversity be fullyembraced and expressed in the life of the Church? These, and otherquestions, will be discussed at a conference highlighting theexperiences and challenges of Methodists from all over the worldwho live and worship in the UK.

'Ethnicity, Cohesion and the Church' aims to give Methodists fromacross the country the chance to share stories of what is alreadyhappening throughout the Church and envision new possibilities forworking with and supporting nationality- and language-based groupsin their faith and worship.

Delegates will be able to hear from those working withasylum-seekers in Walsall, a Zimbabwean Methodist fellowship and aFarsi-speaking congregation in Doncaster, to name just a few. Theywill also be able to find out more about the mission work of theChurch and what resources are available to help them to engage withmission in their own communities.

The conference will welcome a variety of speakers, such as the RevdEmmanuel Aggrey-Ogoe, Chaplain to the Ghanaian Fellowship inLondon, and the President and Vice President of the MethodistConference, Revd Graham Carter and Mr Dudley Coates. The Revd DavidDeeks, General Secretary of the Methodist Church, will also beattending.

Ermal Kirby, Chair of the London Methodist District, which includesa variety of multicultural groups such as Zimbabwean, Ghanaian andChinese congregations, said; 'There's so much exciting work goingon around the Church, but we don't always hear about it. Thisweekend gives us an excellent opportunity to hear these stories andto think together how we can make the most of the wonderfullydiverse gifts and different ways of being the church. We hope thatwe will be challenged, encouraged and uplifted by the experienceswe share as a church.'

Delegates will have the opportunity to attend a variety ofworkshops, including 'The Challenge of New Churches', 'UrbanMission' and 'Mission Education Resources'. There will also beplenty of opportunity for worship, with morning prayer led bygroups from Korea, Tonga, Ghana and Shona Methodistfellowships.

Michael King, Team Leader for the World Church Office, said; 'TheMethodist Church may have started in Britain, but now Methodist andUnited Churches are found throughout the world, each with a richheritage and spirituality of its own. It's always a joy whenChristians from other countries, including those in the Methodistfamily, come to live in Britain. This conference is all aboutfinding out what we can learn from others, how we can support oneanother in our faith journeys, and how we can all grow together asthe Body of Christ'.


Press are welcome to attend the event Ð for more informationcontact Anna Drew: 020 7467 5191,drewa@methodistchurch.org.uk.