The Annual Inclusive Church lecture was inaugurated in 2013, marking the 10th anniversary of the founding of Inclusive Church. Taking place each year in conjunction with the AGM, it invites a leading theologian or activist to reflect and challenge us about inclusion.
Inclusive Church Lecture 2024
This year the lecture is titled Faith in Transition and will be given by Alex Clare-Young. Free tickets for the online-only event are available here: https://www.ticketsource.co.uk/inclusivechurch/e-bomalj
Alex will speak about what some trans folks might have to teach faith communities in the context of societal transformation. Alex will share some stories from their research amongst other trans and non-binary people and show why they — why we — matter. Alex will que(e)ry stagnation and binarism and suggest steps towards local and national ecclesial change.
Alex Clare-Young is a minister in the United Reformed Church, an activist, academic, writer and creative. Alex ministers amongst those on the edge who are asking questions about faith, about social justice, and about human identity to re-form the body in ways which are authentic, challenging and relevant. As a trans person, Alex is particularly interested in theologising around gender and identity more broadly. They also write about trauma, post-Christianity, and disability. Their most recent book, trans forming, was published by SCM press in May 2024. Alex is a patron of the Open Table Network.
Inclusive Church 2023 Lecture
The 2023 Inclusive Church Annual Lecture took place at St John’s Church Waterloo and online on the 5th June at 7pm. The lecturer was Canon Rachel Mann and IC was celebrating our 20th anniversary, with this lecture followed by a new IC book for which Rachel has written the forward (out in Sep 2023). Rachel’s lecture is now on our YouTube channel. It is entitled ‘Finding Hope in the Fragility of God’.
Inclusive Church 2022 Lecture
In 2022, Anthony Reddie was the speaker at a hybrid meeting which was both online and at Manchester Cathedral on 4th July at 7pm. The talk was entitled ‘Unmasking the two Deadly Ds: Dismantling Whiteness and Deconstructing Mission Christianity.’ You can watch it on our YouTube channel with subtitles.
Inclusive Church 2021 Lecture
In 2021, our annual lecture was once more online, due to the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic. The speaker was Ellen Clark-King, the first female Dean of King’s College London, and her talk was entitled ‘Who should we follow? Leadership from the margins’. You can watch it on our YouTube channel with subtitles. You can also download a transcript.
Inclusive Church 2020 Lecture
For the first time ever, due to the Covid-19 pandemic, our annual lecture was online. June Boyce-Tillman spoke on the topic ‘Carnival, chaos and the Christian tradition’. You can watch it here with subtitles.
Inclusive Church 2019 Lecture
Citizens of Heaven: Identity, Inclusion and the Church – Sam Wells, vicar of St Martin-in-the-Fields. You can watch a video of Sam’s talk on our YouTube channel here. A transcript of the talk is available here.
Inclusive Church 2018 Lecture
Faith and LGBT: Building Bridges in a Polarised World – Ruth Hunt, CEO of Stonewall.
You can watch the lecture on our YouTube channel here.
Inclusive Church 2017 Lecture
Including the exclusive: How liberal can you be? – David Ison, Dean of St Paul’s Cathedral. You can watch the lecture on our YouTube channel here.
The transcript of the talk is available to read here.
Inclusive Church 2016 Lecture
Does Poverty Have A Woman’s Face? – Loretta Minghella, CEO of Christian Aid.
You can watch the lecture on our YouTube channel here.
Inclusive Church 2015 Lecture
‘Beyond Inclusion: Undressing Belonging Together’ – Michael Jagessar, the Secretary for Racial Justice and Multicultural Ministry of the United Reformed Church. Contributor to Ethnicity: The Inclusive Church Resource.
You can watch it on our YouTube channel here.
Inclusive Church 2014 Lecture
‘Whatever happened to Liberal Christianity?’ – Linda Woodhead, Professor of Sociology of Religion at Lancaster University.
The lecture notes can be read here.
Inclusive Church 2013 Lecture
‘On Being Together: the Possibility of Church’ – Martyn Percy, Dean of Christ Church Oxford.
Transcript of the talk available here.
NB Some earlier parts of this talk were initially explored in Anglicanism: Confidence, Commitment and Communion (Ashgate, 2013), Thirty-Nine New Articles: An Anglican Landscape of Faith (SCM-Canterbury, 2013), a lecture given at St. John’s College, Auckland, New Zealand , April 2013.