Highlights of 2023’s Conference
A reflection of the day.
“The 13th of May 2023 finally came and with it dawned a warm and sunny day, Rock Christian Centre’s first women’s conference was finally a reality. From its inception from the previous mid-October the planning team had a vision for women. Within a safe and desirable environment to facilitate, cultivate, supporting each other by networking to learn, to worship, to develop spiritually through workshops and have fun.
The women were about to go on a journey and by involving the men folk of the church in stewarding, providing practical help/support and food. All the ladies had to do was to come and enjoy everything that was being provided.
Rock Christian Centre is very much involved in community outreach programmes such as Burngreave Foodbank, Street Pastors, CAP, Word 4 Weapons, The Lighthouse Project and Amen shoeboxes.
The programme was carefully planned with pampering in mind and spoiling the women with an array that would be sure to catch their attention. There were various stalls such as Christian books and cards, jewelry, quality millinery, Women’s health, The Jericho Road Project, and the Freedom Project, two vital support groups for women that are disempowered. There was also a choice of relaxing therapists so that the ladies could experience feeling cherished and pampered.
To ensure that the ladies could network and snack on Danish pastries and fresh fruit registration was off to an early start. Been warmly welcomed and handed a goodie bag by the men on the welcoming/registration team was certainly a caring gesture. Every detail had been thought through with our brothers in Christ assisting even in the car park. Some ladies who were apprehensive or unsure soon relaxed and began to mingle and engage in conversation. Gentle background music played as the ladies filtered into the conference room.
The scene that met their eyes was a delight there was a beautiful stillness in the room that struck you. White tablecloths and fresh flowers arranged in glass posey vases adorned each table not to mention the red runners and corresponding red seats.
The conference opened with prayer by Tricia Watts. Paulette Forbes-Williams introduced Jon Watts senior pastor of RCC who warmly welcomed the delegates on behalf of the leadership team. Housekeeping was delivered succinctly by Paulette and Lucy Swift. The worship team led by Josephine Kobusingye set the tone which was just a taster of what was to come.
Sandie Keene a previous accomplished leader was an excellent conference facilitator for the day. She exuded warmth and a deep understanding by her words and body language. She was efficient and her humorous approach to timekeeping using traffic light cards was very well received as chuckles echoed around the room. No one got issued with a red card.
Clarissa Notice our first speaker gave women permission to find out who they are in Christ. By allowing transformation to take place one would behold the glory of God. Three young women from RCC read bible verses following each speaker namely Bethany Kibutu, Megan Hunt and Tiffany Kibutu. Their scriptures pertained to virtuous women.
Rev Lyn Weston our second speaker addressed the conference with her personal testimony of surviving domestic abuse and encouraged women to speak out. Lyn allowed the Lord to use her which connected beautifully with what Clarissa had shared.
Our ears were treated to a medley of songs played on the saxophone by Cynthia Palmer-Golding. The delegates sang along in particular to ‘’ How great thou art ‘’
Lunch was another highlight. The cuisine was mouth-wateringly presented with a plethora of choices, catering for all dietary requirements. A very firm favourite was Ricky Williams’s fried dumplings. After lunch the ladies dispersed to their chosen workshops of which there was a total of four. Within the workshops they allowed the women to be interactive and concentrate on sharing and praying which was so special and releasing.
Afternoon tea followed with Jamaican rum cake and further networking. The worship team led the women into a time of worshipping God. The presence of the Lord was palpable as voices sang out in unison in praise and adoration. The prayer team were invited to come alongside those that needed prayer.
The closing speaker was Nkechi Aniegboka-Okoh a formidable woman of God. She communicated the Word in her unique direct style.
Nkechi reminded us that as women we have the power of influence. We are influential and not to allow ourselves to be put down.
The conference closed with the words of thanks by the moderator and Paulette. Recognition was given to all the men that had made the day a very special one for the ladies to have had a transforming experience.”
Keynote Speaker / Facilitators
In her career Sandie was recognised as an accomplished leader who was President of The Association of Directors of Adult Social Services and spokesperson for Adult Social Care Services at the highest levels of local and national government. She received a CBE for leadership in Social Care in 2014.
As a Director of Adult Social Services for over ten years she brought drive, passion, skill and humour to deliver multiple successful organisational and service improvements in the most challenging of financial environments through innovative, enterprising and partnership approaches.
After retiring in November 2014, she worked as a consultant to the Health and Social Care sector supporting leadership to achieve partnership and integration of services. She was also a Board Member of the Sheffield Mental Health and Social Care Trust until 2022.
Sandie’s faith is central to everything she has done and all she is. She recognises the call of God on her life and is currently Trustee of 2 faith based Voluntary Organisations. These are Langley House Trust, a national Christian Housing and Care organisation supporting ex offenders to live crime free lives and Together for Sheffield which draws together Christian leaders in Sheffield in Evangelism, Service and Prayer.
Sandie is passionate about empowering the disenfranchised through Social Action and Mission. She is called to support Church Unity initiatives and empowerment of women leaders.
I am married with 2 adult step children and we share our home with a Ukrainian refugee guest and her dog.
Clarissa started out training as a psychiatric nurse Later on moved to Berlin where she worked as a community social worker This involved teaching English, facilitating women’s therapy groups and supporting Latin American refugees. After spending time in various parts of Europe, she returned to the UK to further her social work studies. This was followed by training as a person centred counsellor Later obeying the call of God to go into full time ministry. She completed her theological studies and worked as an Anglican priest in the Church of England. Her passion is to assist people in recognising who they are in Christ and how very much they are loved and cherished by God Over the years she has taught and led conferences and retreats in this country as well as other parts of the world.
Her heart is for change and affirmation and growth.
Main Talk: From Glitter to Grace – A testimony of God’s transformative power in a broken marriage.
Lyn joined Christians Against Poverty as the UK Director of Church Engagement and Network in September 2022 responsible for the Church Network leading all CAP’s frontline work across England, Scotland, NI and Wales. She also leads the Church Partnership teams growing new relationships with the UK Church, as well as developing products and services to equip and inspire thriving churches in our mission to see lives transformed, and see an end to UK poverty. Lyn is an enthusiastic evangelist and delights in her responsibility for the Mission, Evangelism and Discipleship team. Her passion is to inspire a movement of change makers determined to eradicate poverty across the UK whilst sharing the Good News of Christ.
Lyn previously worked for the London Institute for Contemporary Christianity as Director of Church Relations, equipping and inspiring Anglican dioceses and churches to develop whole-life disciple making cultures. She is a gifted speaker with a wealth of experience speaking at large conferences and churches across the UK. Lyn is an ordained Church of England priest who absolutely loves the UK Church and has previously served as the Director of Mission in the Diocese of Chester. Before that, Lyn spent 22 years directing strategic transformation in global banking across a wide range of transformation programmes. Her biggest prayer is to see an end to UK poverty; God really showed her the startling reality of its devastation whilst she was leading debt management in banking.
Lyn is a Board Member of Langley House Trust and chairs the Mission Committee. She is also a Board Advisor to Christian Aid. Lyn loves most to spend time with her husband Phil and 15 year-old son Luke and they all thrive on outdoor adventure sports and Lyn is particularly fond of Spin and long-distance running.
Nkechi has taught from the Bible in a practical way for many years. Individuals, families and community groups have benefited from her teaching as they have discovered hope and restoration in Jesus Christ. She covers a wide range of topics in her teaching, with a special emphasis on how the Bible relates to our daily lives. Her open and practical illustration of personal experiences, along with her direct communication style, enables her to show people how to apply biblical principles and values to their own lives. She is a fervent intercessor who longs to see the Church develop into the complete likeness of Christ.
Nkechi’s desire is to carefully dissect and interpret God’s word in order to discern the will of God for the Church in a time when our world is full of uncertainty. Making the eternal truths of God’s word applicable to a world that is continually changing is her top priority.
Nkechi has volunteered and served obediently in various positions for more for 25 years. In those years, she has served faithfully as Minister and in various leadership capacities in Nigeria and the United Kingdom. She presently leads the Sheffield Chapter of the Christian Women of Influence (CWOI), and she has been a Member of the Board of Trustees of CWOI since 2015.
Nkechi lives in Sheffield and works in Schools. She has a son and daughter and worships with the Rock Christian Centre, Sheffield.
Dr Muyeba is a Consultant Psychiatrist with over 20 years of clinical experience in the community, hospitals and prisons. She supports adults, children and families affected by substance misuse with or without mental illness, including management of adults with ADHD.
A Certified Lifestyle Physician, she volunteers, mentors, educates and raises awareness about mental health and addictions with a view to reducing stigma and improving help-seeking. She has an unshakable belief that God has put greatness in everyone, and that her life purpose is to help get that greatness out.
She is married with two adult children, and is actively involved in pastoral care at her local church in Manchester.
Joanne Kersall BA Hons, MSc, PGCE founder of Delight Member of the Well church and has been involved in prayer ministry, children and youth work and with her husband help lead a home group, she has also attended Deeper bible school.
Joanne is also the founder of ‘Delight ministry’.
I have lived in Sheffield all my life. I have been playing the saxophone on and off for around 10 years. I usually play with the COGOP Duke Street musicians or independently when asked.
I was impressed to take up this instrument after seeing Mark Bunney from SDA Church play at a concert we had. However I personally like to play the tune of a song or the alto rather than the squiggly bits like he performs 🤣.
My resolution this year is to practice more as I bought a 10 session course to learn how to play and I’ve only got to session 4. I just pick the saxophone up and seem to be able to play it but I still have a lot to learn as there are some keys on the instrument that I have never touched.
I love playing this instrument and want God to be glorified when I play.