Ecclesiastes
An antidote to anxiety?
Wigan
27th September 2025
Leeds
15th November 2025
Our tickets are priced so that we can cover the costs of running the conventions. However, we don’t want the ticket cost to prevent people from attending. If the cost of a ticket is unaffordable for you, please let our admin team know…
We are thrilled to be able to come together again this Autumn from across our churches in the North of England.
But some exciting new things have changed. We are meeting in Wigan for the first time in September. This means it will be worth getting the date in your diary now! Pass this on to others – we don’t want people to miss out! The last two years in Manchester have sold out, so we have found a larger venue – The Edge. We hope this means more women who live in the North West can come. Bookings will open earlier – putting it into your calendar before the summer holidays is worth planning! So, consider bringing a group from church or others who might be interested. Our Leeds event will continue as usual in November.
It is so good to meet with women from various places, backgrounds and churches, seeking to know Christ better and serve him more. It is also a fantastic opportunity to gather together to listen to God’s word, be built up as you sing His praises and refresh your souls. Throughout the day, there is time for us to absorb and discuss what we have been learning. Our programme will give time for fellowship, conversation and lots of coffee! 10ofthose partner with us and bring various books and resources to browse or buy at their extensive bookstall.
This year, our own Karen Soole will be teaching us from Ecclesiastes, and all our seminars will pick up themes from the book as we see the practical impact God’s truth has on our lives.
We pray this day will help us all stand firm for Christ and be confident in him, whatever challenges we face in the future.
SPeaker
Karen Soole
Karen oversees the Women’s Ministry at Trinity Church, Lancaster. She is the chair of the Northern Women’s Convention and a trustee of The Proclamation Trust. She has been teaching the bible for over forty years in various settings. Her passion is to help people read the bible and she spends as much time as possible doing just that. She is the author of the books ‘Unleash the Word’ and ‘Liberated: How the Bible Exalts and Dignifies Women’. Karen is married to Martin, who leads the AMiE church in Lancaster. She has four adult children and is now also a grandmother.
Seminars
Seminar 1
Living well
Steph Johnson & Becca Nex
There are many voices in our culture telling us how to live as women in the 21st century: ‘You can have it all’, ‘Make space for me-time’, ‘Follow your dream’ – but sooner or later our attempts unravel, disappoint or overwhelm us. How does Ecclesiastes help us to live well by seeing life rightly, remembering who God is and who we are? This seminar will help us think through our limitations and finitude, and how we can enjoy life and God’s good gifts in every season.
Seminar 2
Choosing well
Naomi Shin & Anna McCracken
Seminar 3
Dying well
Dr. Emma Graham, (GP) & Dr. Jo Ulley, (Geriatrician)
When was the last time you thought about death? Modern standards of living mean that death has been pushed to the very periphery of our lives for most of us, but it is still our common destiny; we will each face death one day. What should a Christian’s attitude be to death, and how might this contrast with the culture around us? Join us for what we hope will be a rich discussion exploring the advice found in Ecclesiastes that remembering our mortality helps us to live wisely now, and die well when our time comes.
Seminar 4
Reading biblical wisdom
Karen Soole
Reading wisdom literature in the Bible can be confusing. The books of the Psalms have some of our favourite verses but also some troubling ones. Proverbs is full of ideas that range from ‘honey is sweet’ to obscure and even seemingly contradictory sayings. Job is an enormous book with a simple plot—so why is it so long? This seminar will help us consider the value of these parts of the bible, how we can meditate on them and begin to discover the riches and glory of God’s wisdom.
Lunch & Refreshments
Tea & coffee will be available. Please bring your own packed lunch to eat in the hall or seminar rooms.
Nursing Mums
Disability
Timetable
09:15
Doors open
10:00
Session 1
11:15
Break
11:45
Seminars
13:00
Lunch
13:45
Singing
14:00
Session 2
15:10
End of session 2
15:20
Q&A / Reflection / Interview
16:00
End of day
Downloads
If you’d like to order some flyers for your church please do email us at admin@northernwomensconvention.org.uk