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A new name for the Convention!

We are now the Scottish Women’s Bible Convention.  Why?  Well, we made a mistake and didn’t realise that the name Scottish Women’s Convention was already ‘taken’ (by a registered charity).

So Scottish Women’s Bible Convention it now is.  And actually, that’s a good name because we want to have the Bible in the driving seat.  We are convinced that God speaks today through what He has spoken.  So we will open up the Bible as clearly and faithfully as we can throughout our day together.  That’s what we’re about – so we’re not sorry to add Bible to our name!

We hope to see you there.

Find us on Facebook – https://www.facebook.com/scottishwomensbibleconvention/

New Twitter handle – @ScotWBC

Tickets available at – http://tinyurl.com/swbc16tix

Thursday Spotlight

On Thursday’s we want to give you an insight into the lives of some of the women involved in the Scottish Women’s Convention.  Some of these women are involved in full time ministry in the local Church, while others balance serving in the church with a secular job.

We sent them a questionnaire asking them to give us a taste of what they do, the challenges they face and what they are looking forward to about the Scottish Women’s Convention.

IMG_0456Meet Naomi…Naomi lives in Edinburgh with her husband and works for Chalmers Church.

What area of ministry do you work in?

Mainly internationals and women

How did you come to work in this particular area of ministry?

I’ve been interested in overseas mission since going on a year abroad at university to Argentina and so I’ve been keen to meet internationals and get to know them.  When I started my apprenticeship at Chalmers Church, I got to know a Korean girl who was studying in Edinburgh.  Chatting to her got me thinking about how to reach out to more internationals in the city.  So we started an English conversation class at Chalmers. It’s been great to get to know people from all over the world and, by God’s grace, to try and share the gospel with them.

Give one great challenge and one great joy of working in gospel ministry?

A great joy is seeing God work in people’s lives through reading his word and hearing his word preached.  It’s amazing to see the impact it can make in people’s lives when they understand what God is saying through the Bible.  It’s a great challenge to see people ignore his word and wander away.  It’s a great challenge to keep on remembering to focus on Jesus and the Bible and to keep on letting it change my heart, my attitudes and my actions.

What one thing has the Lord been teaching you about yourself and himself in recent times?

He has been teaching me about his Son, the servant King who humbled himself in coming down to earth and reaching out to sinful people like us.  And in teaching me this about himself he has been teaching me more about the Christian life, that we are to follow Christ in this same way – to keep serving him humbly and thinking more about others than about myself.

What thing about the Scottish Women’s Convention are you looking forward to and why?

Seeing women from all over Scotland coming together to learn from God’s word. Joining together as we try to run the race for Christ and encouraging each other to keep on going.

Speaker – Hebrews 12

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On Monday’s we like to draw your attention to certain aspects of the Scottish Women’s Convention. We asked our speaker Carrie Sandom to share more about what she will be speaking on.  Carrie will also be running a seminar “Reading and understanding the Old Testament”.

What are you speaking about at the Scottish Women’s Convention and why?Run the Race Design

We will be looking at Hebrews 12 together under the title “Run the Race”! The longer I have been a Christian and the longer I have been in Christian ministry the more I can see that we need encouragement to keep going in the race of faith. The writer to the Hebrews knew this too and wrote to encourage his readers to fix their eyes on Jesus. We will be looking at what this means in practice and how the Lord can use even the hardest of times to spur us on.

What is the title of your seminar at the Scottish Women’s Convention?  What is it about?

“Reading and understanding the Old Testament”

How can the Old Testament scriptures, written hundreds of years before Jesus was born, have any relevance for us living in the 21st century? And what do we need to bear in mind if we are going to understand them properly and then apply them today?

Why is this seminar topic important?

Many Christians find reading the Old Testament difficult and can’t see how it relates to Jesus and the New Testament, let alone how it relates to us today. But the OT is crucial to our understanding of who God is and what His purposes are throughout history. If we are to grow in our understanding of all that Jesus has done in the New Testament then we need to understand the Old Testament better. This seminar seeks to help us do just that.

Thursday Spotlight

On Thursday’s we want to give you an insight into the lives of some of the women involved in the Scottish Women’s Convention.  Some of these women are involved in full time ministry in the local Church, while others balance serving in the church with a secular job.

We sent various people a questionnaire asking them to give us a taste of what they do, the challenges they face and what they are looking forward to about the Scottish Women’s Convention.

Carrie SandomMeet Carrie, our speaker…Carrie is Associate Minister for Women and Pastoral Care at St John Church, Tunbridge Wells, UK.   She also works part-time as the Director of Women’s Ministry at Cornhill in London.  She has served in women’s and student ministry for almost 20 years.

What area of ministry do you work in?

I’m involved in women’s ministry at St John’s Tunbridge Wells (small group Bible studies, CE course, one to ones etc…) and also on the staff at the Proclamation Trust (2 days a week) where I teach and tutor women at Cornhill and run a variety of conferences for women in ministry.

How did you come to work in this particular area of ministry?

I was a secondary Maths teacher for several years but then went to Bible College, having been encouraged by the pastor of the church I was attending. The plan was to study theology and then go back to school teaching. Needless to say the Lord had other plans and for the last 20 years or so I have worked in local church ministry – first with students and then young professions and now with women of all ages and stages of life.

My previous job was in London but when the funding for that role dried up, I moved down to Tunbridge Wells and have been based at St John’s since 2011.

Give one great challenge and one great joy of working in gospel ministry?

Joy – seeing the Lord at work in the women I work with, some of whom are very new Christians, as well as encouraging the older women to teach, train and model the Christian life to younger women.

Challenge – my own weakness and sin, which makes me feel inadequate for the task. It is also hard to see women walk away from the Lord when living as a Christian becomes too difficult or too costly.

What one thing has the Lord been teaching you about yourself and himself in recent times?

That it’s when I am weak and fully dependent on Him that He really is strong! I’m learning to gain from His strength when I am feeling weak/inadequate/daunted.

I’m a bit of a perfectionist and so have to trust that He gives me the time to do what’s needed – even if it’s not as polished as I would like!

Besides speaking and your seminar, what one thing about the Scottish Women’s Convention are you looking forward to and why?

It will be thrilling to meet together around God’s Word and to listen to Him speak. I am praying that the Lord will use this day to spur the women on in their love and service of the Lord Jesus and that this would have an impact in their families and their churches all across Scotland.

Speaker

We are very pleased and excited to announce that our speaker for the 2016 Scottish Women’s Convention is Carrie Sandom.  Carrie is Associate Minister for Women and Pastoral Care at St John Church, Tunbridge Wells, UK.   She also works part-time as the Director of Women’s Ministry at Cornhill in London.  She has served in women’s and student ministry for almost 20 years.

Carrie will be opening up Hebrew 12 for us and encouraging us to “Run the Race”.  Further information about her topic and the theme of the convention will be coming.  So watch this space!