Christian Festival

    Saturday 24th – Monday 26th May 2008

Speakers

Jim Wallis - is a leading voice for social change in the U.S. He is a speaker, author, activist and international commentator on ethics and public life. Jim Wallis was a founder of Sojourners - Christians for justice and peace - more than 30 years ago. In 1995, he was instrumental in forming Call to Renewal, a national federation of churches, denominations and faith-based organizations working to overcome poverty. He speaks at more than 200 events a year and his columns have appeared in the New York Times, Washington Post, Los Angeles Times, and other major newspapers. His book, God’s Politics: Why the Right Gets it Wrong and the Left Doesn’t Get It, was a New York Times best-seller and has now sold over 300,000 copies worldwide. Jim offers regular commentary and analysis for radio and television and teaches a course at Harvard University on ‘Faith, Politics, and Society.’ Jim Wallis was raised in a Midwest evangelical family. He now lives in inner-city Washington, D.C. with his wife, Joy, and their sons, Luke and Jack.

Right Reverend Nigel Stock,  Bishop of St Edmundsbury and Ipswich, recently arrived in the Diocese having served in Parish ministry for 16 years, and 5 years on the mission field in Papua New Guinea. After serving as a Canon of Durham Cathedral he was made Suffragan Bishop of Stockport. Bishop Nigel has a heart for mission and Christian commitment and is a member of the Franciscan Third Order.

Elaine Storkey is an internationally recognised speaker, writer, broadcaster and lecturer.  She is currently president of Tearfund and has a passion to relate the Christian Gospel to contemporary culture.  Elaine is based in Cambridge and attends her local village church.

Debbie Watkins Jones attended full-time ballet school in London from the age of eleven going on to dance in Paris at the age of seventeen. Since that time Debbie has taught ballet and contemporary dance to beginners and professionals in London and Suffolk where she has raised her four lovely children. Debbie was baptised two years ago and since this time her gift for dance and sharing it with others has been led by God.

Tim Wilson, a father of four, has been involved in leading kids’ work at the Fountain of Life Church, Ashill, Norfolk for 15 years.  In 2002 God gave him a vision to reach kids outside the Church and so he began working one day a week to lead Kidz Klub which seeks to give kids in the local community a chance to choose Jesus and live their lives for God. This dynamic ministry is reaching into the lives of kids and their families for the long term.  Tim says "if you want to win a generation for Christ you have to be prepared to be in it for a generation".  Tim will be joined by a team of people that help him run Kidz Klub.

The Rt Hon John Gummer MP, Suffolk resident and local MP for the Suffolk Coastal Constituency, was Margaret Thatcher’s Chairman of the Conservative Party.  He became Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, and then Secretary of State for the Environment.  His experience as an international negotiator has earned him worldwide respect both in the business community and among environmentalists. The BBC awarded him the title ‘Parliamentarian who did most for the Environment Internationally’, while the NGO community called him ‘the best Environment Secretary we have ever had’.  Since leaving office he has held the positions of Chairman of the International Commission on Sustainable Consumption and the Marine Stewardship Council.  In December 2005 David Cameron appointed him Chairman of the Quality of Life Commission. The Quality of Life report, “Blueprint for a Green Economy”, was launched in September 2007.

Steve & Angie Campbell who lead Three C’s, a dynamic and growing community Church in Cambridge. A popular speaker at Living Water, Steve has a passion to bring the gospel to generations previously outside the Church and is sought after as a speaker at conferences and Bible schools nationally and overseas.  Angie is involved in women’s ministry and organises ‘Breathe’ a regular women’s conference in East Anglia.

Charity Quin is a local Singer/Songwriter. She is married with two grown up children, and has a wealth of experience both teaching and performing. Brought up in the Anglican Church, she is now a member of a Baptist church, where she sings in the worship band, and has served as an elder. Charity has something in common with Dave Gardner in that she used to help milk the cows in Dave and Karens’ front room. Dave will explain all! To hear music clips, please visit www.charityquin.com & www.myspace.com/charityquin

Dr John Lennard-Jones is a member of the Christian Medical Fellowship and Christians in Science.  He is Emeritus Professor of Gastroenterology of the University of London and formerly Honorary Senior Research Fellow in the Division of Medical and Molecular Genetics at the United Medical and Dental Schools of Guy’s and St. Thomas’ Hospitals, London.

Hazel and Stuart Neal are former leaders of Kings Club at Living Water.

Jane Pears lives in Walton, Felixstowe with her husband and works part-time for the local Primary Care Trust as a community sister.  Jane lives, works and worships in the same locality.  Four years ago she began a journey in her Christian life that both amazed and excited her, allowing her to use her professional role for God’s work in her fellowship. Parish Nursing is a new ministry in this country, but one that is being followed with great interest by many.  It is a way of re-discovering the essential wholeness....body, mind and soul....as Jesus proclaims it. Parish Nurses are registered nurses from a faith community who have experience of nursing within a community and use their skills to further God’s work. Their aim at Maidstone Road Baptist Church in relation to Parish Nursing is to ‘show God’s unconditional love within the community of Walton’.

Geoff and Hope Price have ministered in Rwanda, Essex, Dorset, Shropshire, Suffolk and now in London.  They have written two books "Angels" and "Miracles", published by Macmillan.  They are currently in training to cycle, in aid of Marie Curie Cancer Care, from Warsaw, Poland to Vilnive, Lithuania - 360 miles in 6 days!

The Rt Rev Gavin Reid OBE was ordained to a Church of England curacy in 1960.  After working as Publications Secretary of Church Pastoral Aid Society he set up and became head of a new Department of Evangelism with two secondments projects that centred on the ministry of Billy Graham.  While with CPAS he developed the “Meeting House” evangelistic and teaching evenings in central London drawing hundreds of young people, mainly from small congregations.  He became a prominent spokesman for evangelistic related issues after being elected onto the General Synod of the Church of England in 1985.  He became Bishop of Maidstone in 1992 and was elected into the House of Bishops in 1995 at which time he was asked to chair an advisory committee for matters relating to the Millennium celebrations.  For his services in prompting the Government to consider matters relating to Christ in the Dome he was awarded the OBE in 2000.  He has long championed the cause of children’s evangelism.  He retired from his role as Bishop of Maidstone in 2000 and now spends his time preaching, speaking and advising about evangelism.  He is also a member of the Ministry Team at St Michael’s and St Luke’s, Beccles and is Chairman of the Church Pastoral Aid Council of Reference.  His hobbies include golf, bird-watching, walking two dogs, and learning how to be a considerate husband after forty years of marriage!

Mike Simpson is a Chartered Surveyor who became a committed Christian in 2001 following attending an Alpha Course at St John’s. After retiring from an estate agency practice in Framlingham in 2005, Mike had a ‘gap’ year before joining Just42 in October 2006.  Married to Tessa and with 3 boys who now live and work in London, Mike is aware of the challenges facing young people as they grow up in modern day society and is keen to play a small part in ensuring that we do not let the gap between the generations grow too wide!

Andrea Skevington lives in Woodbridge and is a member of St John’s Church.  Her writing covers a wide range. She has had poetry and inspirational works, children’s stories and retellings published.  She has worked with schools and adults in creative writing workshops.  At the moment she is writing the next Lion Children’s Bible.

Andy Williams is the Youth Worker at revival, the Youth Congregation of St John’s Church in Woodbridge, Suffolk.  Coming to the end of his fourth decade, Andy has been in full-time church-based youth work for nine years and as a volunteer for a further twelve.  Having completed a BA (Hons) Degree in Applied Theology at Moorlands College, Andy is now with his second Anglican Church and is passionate about encouraging young people to grow in their faith and for churches to engage with young people.  Andy is married with two young children.

Matt Freer is the Global Local Developer at the Church Mission Society (CMS), working with churches and individuals to explore integrated mission, and develop connections between the local and global. He has previously worked with Tearfund, Micah Challenge, and in the UK Parliament, and has lived in Kenya and Zambia, where he was working for Jubilee Centre Zambia through CMS. Matt is married to Polly, and they have a baby daughter called Ayla.

Ben Gardner is currently completing his finals at Durham University, reading Church-based Youth and Community Work. Ben also finds time to work for St. John's Church as their Gap Year (Form Woodbridge) Co-ordinator and for Fresh Expressions. Previous to this he worked for St Thomas Crookes, Sheffield for two years where he completed a gap year course, worked on the estates team and travelled to Indonesia, the USA and Mexico. At the age of 15 Ben co-created and led a youth service called Vision, which still runs today.  Ben also enjoys playing drums, swimming, supporting Ipswich Town FC (through the bad and the good times!) and running. His next challenge and goal in life is to swim the channel.

Malcolm Knapp is married to Lesley and has three children. The son of a farmworker Malcolm became a motor mechanic at 16 and was self-employed for many years.  He met with Jesus at Spring Harvest in 1992.  The Knapp family moved from Essex to Suffolk in 1997 and God led them to St John’s Church.  Malcolm has been very active in youth work since coming to Suffolk, his work was instrumental in the formation of Just42 with whom he now works as Youth Work Manager.  Just42 is now the biggest independent Christian youth work charity in Suffolk.

The Rev Linda Allwood Born in Sweden, Linda spent most of her youth seeking a meaning for life, finally becoming a Christian at the age of 20.  She is passionate about evangelism and finding new ways through which people may be reached with the gospel.  She is now ordained and pastors a café church congregation as well as working as a personal trainer and fitness instructor – the body is the temple of the Holy Spirit after all!

Liz Beaton  In 1999 God called me out of teaching to begin Ipswich in Prayer - a prayer network including over 60 churches in and around Ipswich.  Alongside this, I also now co-ordinate the Town Pastor (Street Pastor) Scheme in Ipswich and chair local Christian Charity 'Release!Ipswich' 

David & Helen Bennett  work for Foundations and are Mission Partners at their home church in the West Midlands - Sutton Coldfield Baptist Church. They were married in 1993, both having been divorced. In light of their own experiences they are dedicated to the encouragement and support of marriages, relationships and individuals.  Foundations is a charity which offers support to couples or individuals who want to enrich, repair or restore their relationships; and to people who have suffered the breakdown of a marriage or long-term relationship. It was formed in 2006 to promote work begun 12 years previously and seeks to offer support to everyone whatever their faith or belief.

Kathleen Ben Rabha has been in Suffolk for three years having been previously a Social Responsibility Officer for the churches in Wiltshire.  She now works as the Community Affairs Advisor to the Diocese of St Edmundsbury and Ipswich.  She has five grown up children.

Rev Medad Birungi is a chaplain and lecturer at Kyambogo University in Kampala, Uganda and is also founder of an evangelistic organisation World Shine Ministries that seeks to engage in evangelism, discipleship and intercession in Uganda and overseas.  Medad has a powerful testimony speaking of how God took him from “the dustbin to university lecturer”.  Medad has strong connections with the Church in the UK with particular links to the New Wine Network and recently hosted a mission team from St John’s Church Woodbridge in Uganda.

Rev Rosie Bunn is vicar of the Venta Group, which covers four rural villages just south of Norwich, and comprises one renewed and three more traditional churches.  She has a passion to see churches renewed in the power of the Spirit, looking outward to transform their community.  She is married to Tim, and they have two grown-up sons and an “adopted” daughter.  Rosie is on the leadership team for the New Wine North & East Conference at Newark, leads the New Wine Rural Forum and last year was privileged to travel to Denmark with New Wine International.

Collective (East Anglia) is a four piece Christian girl band based in Colchester.  Kat, Ally, Vicki and Laura have a passion to share the love of God with young people in schools and churches across the East Anglia region. Collective will be performing a concert in the main venue during Monday lunchtime, as well as leading a seminar for the youth during the day.

Julian Davies is married to Vicky and they are a part of the New Life Family Church in Stowmarket.  He has been involved in worship for 15 years and in more recent years has been mentoring up and coming worship leaders and musicians.

Rev Matt Finch is a Methodist Minister in the West Norfolk Circuit where he shares oversight of ten rural chapels. He is a Fresh Expressions Associate Missioner and passionate about seeing churches flourish in all contexts. He has experience of mission in a variety of places from the nightclubs of Ibiza to the more traditional rural Methodist Circuit. Matt is married to Yasmin and has recently become a dad for the first time to Torrin Charlie.  Amongst other things Matt is a keen supporter of Norwich City FC and enjoys nothing more than a day at Lord’s watching the test match.

Karen Gardner is a professional counsellor with over 20 years experience and is currently Counselling Team Manager for Inspire, a Christian counselling service based in Ipswich.  She has a passion for women to be all that God created them to be.  Karen is married to Dave and has two grown up sons currently at university.  She enjoys swimming, netball and cooking!

Rev Dave Gardner has ministered in East Anglia for over 16 years. He has been here at St John’s Woodbridge since 1998, with the additional responsibility of St Andrew’s Church Bredfield since 2001. He formerly led three village churches near Mildenhall in a Team Ministry. Prior to that he served his curacy in the West Midlands and trained for ordination at Oak Hill College, London. Originally from St Helen’s Lancashire, Dave served for six years in RAF near Huntingdon where he met and married Karen who was also serving in WRAF. Apart from his wife and his boys, Ben 23 & Sam 20, Dave has a passion for long distance running, reading and very occasional gardening! He is currently studying part time at Durham University for an MA in Theology & Mission.