BIAPT 2025 Annual Conference – From Age to Age: Practical Theology through the Life Cycle
Welcome to our 2025 Annual Conference page. We hope this will provide all the information you need to book a place at the conference, apply for a bursary or to offer a paper or workshop to the programme.
Preparations for our 2025 Annual Conference (8-10 July) are well under way. We have our keynote contributors in place – Ruth Perrin, Sarah Holmes, James Woodward, Dotha Blackwood and Nicola Slee – and bookings, Calls for Papers and Workshops will open shortly.
The theme for this year’s event is From Age to Age: Practical Theology through the Life Cycle. Our Keynotes will offer us the chance to reflect on the faith lives of young children, adult faith and a stellar keynote panel on the topic of ageing.
We will be gathering at Highgate House, a new conference venue in Northamptonshire run by the same group which looked after us so well at Swanwick last year.
The Revd Dr Sarah Brush, Chair of BIAPT
Sarah Holmes
Are we wearing the right glasses? Exploring different lenses to view spiritual experience during early childhood Keynote Paper – Tue 8 July
Sarah is Director of Research at the Institute of Children, Youth and Mission, and Senior Lecturer at Liverpool Hope University (School of Education). Her research interests are children’s faith, spirituality, neurodiversity and the role of family. She’s keen to use research to inform, equip and empower the church to enhance ministry opportunities particularly amongst children and their families.
Ruth Perrin
Twenty years and counting; Establishing adult faith in Post-Christian Britain. Longitudinal reflections on the Christian faith of the first ’emerging generation’ Keynote Paper – Wed 9 July
Keynote Panel
Faith in Old Age –Discussion Title – Thurs 10 July
James Woodward
is the Principal of Sarum College and a practical theologian who specialises in health and healing, Christian ethics, old age, theological reflection and end of life care. He has worked in a variety of settings in ministry including health care chaplaincy, parishes and theological education. For more information about his work see his website www.jameswoodward.onlineDotha Blackwood
Dotha is Tutor in Applied Theology at Moorlands College, Dorset. Born and educated in Jamaica, she was converted in 1977, and worked with the Jamaica Citizens Bank Ltd and International Accelerated Missions Bible School (IAM) in Kingston, Jamaica, as Director, while freelancing as a drummer. In 1993, Dotha moved to England as Director of the International Accelerated Mission’s (IAM) Bible School in London, where she was also Church Leader with New Life Assembly at Dalston from 1994 to 1997 before becoming an Associate Minister at the Dulwich church.
Dotha is a Graduate of Spurgeon’s College, and Exeter University. For twelve years she was Tutor in Biblical and Theological Studies and Director of Practical Training at Moorlands College in Dorset, before returning to London in 2011 to Spurgeon’s College where she was Tutor in Practical Theology and Chaplain for 13 years. She is also an alumnus of the Jamaica School of Music, where she studied, played and taught drums and other percussion instruments. Over the years Dotha has been Minister of Music and has been a worship leader at various conferences; she led many worship seminars and was choir director of a large choir in Jamaica for ten years.
She continues to exercise her gifts of preaching and teaching at various conferences, retreats, churches and Christian gatherings, all over the world. Her interests include playing the drums, singing, listening to music, walking, watching football, playing table-tennis, pool/snooker, preaching, teaching and reading (actively encouraging the use of audio books). She supports Arsenal Football Club and is Chaplain to the Crystal Palace Women’s Football Team.
Nicola Slee
Professor Nicola Slee is Professorial Research Fellow at the Queen’s Foundation for Ecumenical Theological Education, Professor Emerita of Feminist Practical Theology at Vrije Universiteit, Amsterdam, Visiting Professor at the University of Chester and a Visiting Scholar at Sarum College. She is a Patron of Holy Rood House, as well as a Vice-President of Women and the Church.
Nicola has published widely over four decades in the fields of feminist theology and liturgy, practical theology, poetry and spirituality, including Praying Like a Woman (SPCK, 2004), Fragments for Fractured Times: What Feminist Practical Theology Brings to the Table (SCM, 2020) and Abba Amma: Improvisations on the Lord’s Prayer (Canterbury Press, 2021). Recently, in light of her own stepping down from full-time work into some form of retirement, she has begun to focus on what a feminist practical theology of ageing might look like, and is in the early stages of writing a book on this theme.
Conference Poet – Jay Hulme
Jay Hulme is an award winning transgender poet, speaker and theologian. Alongside his writing, and his duties as Churchwarden at an 1100+ year old church, he teaches poetry in schools, offers poetry writing workshops, performs sensitivity reads, gives lectures and keynote speeches, and preaches regularly in churches and cathedrals across the country, and occasionally worldwide. He’s also known for his ability to gain access to some of the hidden (and scarily high up) parts of churches and cathedrals, and his willingness to share those adventures with the world through photography.
Adapted from Jay’s website: https://jayhulme.com/
Standard & Concession ticket includes:
- Access to full conference programme from Tuesday 14:00 to Thursday 13:00.
- En-suite accommodation & all meals and refreshments.
- All meals – breakfast (Weds/Thu), lunch (Weds/Thu) & dinner (Tue/Wed)
- Morning coffee with biscuits and afternoon tea with cake
- Access to tea, coffee and hot chocolate from our communal areas between 8am and 8pm
- Wi-Fi
- Free onsite parking
- Disabled access
Please note:
- Concession rate for unwaged or minimally-waged delegates.
- A number of subsidised places are available through two bursary schemes: The BIAPT Bursary and the BIAPT BAME Bursary.
- We are not able to guarantee any refund for cancellations.
- Full payment must be made by the end of the relevant discount period or the higher rate will be charged.
BIAPT 2025 Call for Papers
We welcome 200 – 300 word abstracts for 20 minute papers, from a range of disciplines and religious and spiritual traditions and emerging themes in non-religion.
BIAPT 2025 Call for Papers.docx
BIAPT 2025 Call for Workshops
We welcome 200 – 300 word abstracts for workshops of 40 or 80 mins duration.
BIAPT 2025 Call for Workshops.docx
Deadline for all submissions: 7 March 2025, 17:00 GMT.
Highgate House Conference Centre is located in Northamptonshire, a central part of the United Kingdom.
For further information about Highgate House as a venue, please visit: https://www.cct.org.uk/highgate-house/highgate-house-conference-centre
For transport and travel information, please visit: https://www.cct.org.uk/highgate-house/how-to-find-us
Feedback from delegates at previous BIAPT conferences:
“I was so pleased to be able to connect with others interested in research in a similar area”
“Thoroughly enjoyed it as a first timer – I can’t emphasise that enough!”
“This has been a brilliant experience for me as somebody who was involved at the beginning of BIAPT.”
“The culture of active reflective practitioners – both listening to others and presenting their own research and reflections on experience.”
“I found it a most thought-provoking, challenging and yet reflective experience.”
BIAPT is committed to helping those who might otherwise not feel able to attend our annual conference. We have 2 bursary schemes:
- Conference Bursaries may be applied for by any BIAPT member in financial need. BIAPT Conference Bursary Application Form 2025
- BAME Bursaries may be applied for by anyone of BAME & BAME heritage. BIAPT BAME Bursary Application Form 2025
If you wish to support either of our Conference Bursary scheme or our BAME Bursary scheme by making a donation, please find further information following the links.
For further details about our BAME Bursary scheme, please read on.
BIAPT is keen to facilitate Black, Asian, and Minority Ethnic (BAME) students, scholars and practitioners, and those of BAME heritage, to participate and contribute to its Annual Conference. [We understand that some prefer to identify as African, African Caribbean, Asian, Majority World Christians or Christians from the Majority World, or of Majority World heritage.] We want to address the marginalisation of their voices, questions, experiences and perspectives and to become a space for deeper and broader theological conversation.
To that end, BIAPT offers a bursary for BAME scholars, students and practitioners that will cover much of the cost of attending the conference. If you are BAME or someone of BAME heritage and would like to join us at the conference but the cost presents an obstacle to you doing so, please do apply. These funds are for those for whom the full conference cost would pose a financial difficulty.
There are a limited number of bursaries available, and bursaries will be awarded on a first-come, first-served basis. We anticipate that this scheme will be oversubscribed so we suggest you apply promptly and, if you are a BIAPT member, consider making an additional application for a BIAPT Conference Bursary in the event you are not successful in your BAME Bursary application. Successful applicants will be awarded bursaries to cover the concession conference ticket cost. Please note, if you are successful in your BIAPT BAME Bursary application, you will not also be awarded a BIAPT Conference Bursary.
Professional Doctorate Summer School – 7-8 July 2025
The Professional Doctorate Summer School will take place in person at Highgate House, from 14.00 on Monday 7 July to 14.00 on Tuesday 8 July 2025 followed immediately by the BIAPT Annual Conference 2025. The keynote speaker will be Prof. Nicola Slee and the programme will include sessions with Nicola, workshops and lots of opportunity for you to get to know each other!
This is for students working for a Professional Doctorate in Practical Theology through Anglia Ruskin University/The Cambridge Theological Federation; University of Birmingham; University of Chester; University of Glasgow; University of Roehampton.