We are delighted to invite our church school leaders to join us for a day of exploring faith in our lives and why the role of the Church of England in raising awareness of exploration around faith is so important.
Date: Thursday 27th February 2025
Time: Welcome and refreshments, 8:30 a.m., with business commencing at 9:00 a.m.
Venue: The George Hotel, Lichfield, WS13 6PR
Please Note: There is very little parking at the hotel, it is advisable to park in one of Lichfield’s long stay car parks. Most are within a short walk of the hotel.
Cost: Schools who subscribe to the Diocesan Service Agreement can book 2 delegates at £125.00 per person. The cost to all all other schools is £250.00 per person.
Speakers include:
JJ Chalmers
A former Royal Marine Commando, JJ has served on operations in Afghanistan. He was wounded by an IED that claimed the lives of two of his friends. JJ shares his inspiring story of recovery, his journey to a gold medal at the Invictus Games, and living his life to the fullest.
Ian Lancaster
Ian oversees both the UK Mission Team of Christians in Sport and work with the families of Young Performance Athletes. He runs with Alchester RC and is one of the leaders at Town Church, Bicester.
Arun Kataria
Arun, who holds a degree in law from Cambridge University, has broad and deep experience in church communications. In a career spanning nearly three decades in Church of England roles, he has worked for the Church Commissioners, the Archbishop of Canterbury, the Archbishops Council and as Director of Communications for St Albans Diocese. Most recently he has been a freelance consultant, supporting the Lambeth Conference, Living in Love and Faith and the Disability Task Group whose task is equipping Church of England churches for full Deaf and disabled belonging.
The Revd Dr Evie Vernon O’Brien
Rachele Evelyn (Evie) Vernon O’Brien was born in Montego Bay, Jamaica. She was ordained as a deaconess in the Church in the Province of the West Indies in 1980. After working in inner city parishes in Kingston (including Trench Town of Bob Marley fame), she became assistant chaplain at the Kingston Region hospital. She later worked with the ecumenical Caribbean Conference of Churches, the Association of Development Agencies and the Caribbean Voluntary Counselling and Testing programme. She went on to teach at the United Theological College of the West Indies, where she facilitated mainstreaming HIV teaching for all theological students. On moving to the UK, she was appointed Director of the Selly Oak Centre for Mission Studies and then went on to be Theological Adviser at USPG, an Anglican mission agency. She also worked with CAPS, Catholic AIDS Prevention and Support. She continues to be involved in cross-cultural justice issues. She has been a vice-chair of Inclusive Church since July 2023. Since July, Evie has been working with six dioceses – Birmingham, Coventry, Gloucester, Hereford, Lichfield, and Worcester. It is the first collaborative project of its kind in the Church of England. She leads a team of people who will support each diocese to promote racial justice more effectively and examine our culture, practices and policies to ensure fundamental principles of equality, diversity and inclusion run through everything we do, both in our worshipping communities and in our workplaces.
The Ven Dr Megan Smith
Megan originally studied medicine, specialising in Paediatric Intensive Care and, following ordination, spent a further five years juggling her curacy with full-time medical work. Megan also studied Master’s degrees in applied theology and Medical Education. Her paediatric training saw her travel to Melbourne and Toronto before she moved to Nottingham to work as a Consultant Paediatric Intensivist. Exploring a call to ordained ministry, Megan, joined the East Midlands Ministry Training Course and was ordained deacon in 2007 and priest in 2008. She combined her curacy with medical work in Wilford, Nottingham, before entering full-time ordained ministry as Vicar of Lenton in 2012. Lenton is a vibrant and diverse community, home to university campuses and many people from minority ethnic backgrounds. Her work has seen her build others in discipleship and leadership and working closely with schools and families in the community.
