Last updated 27th May 2025

2026 Diocesan Conference

The countdown has begun to the Diocesan Conference 2026 - which is also our centenary year as a Diocese.

Bishop Jill, who is Conference Lead and Rev Damian Platt, who is Conference Planning Group Chair, have written to parishes across the Diocese with more information and details of how to book.

The full text of the letter can be found below and meanwhile you can bookmark this page on the Diocesan website for future updates.

Dear Colleagues,

It is fitting to write to you on this special day, Ascension Day, to invite you to book now for the
2026 Diocesan Conference at Liverpool Hope University. At the beginning of the Acts of the Apostles, Luke describes how whilst the disciples were gazing into heaven the two angels declared that Jesus would come again. On this day of celebrating the enthronement of our Lord Jesus Christ as the King of kings and the Lord of lords, we also long for the incarnate, crucified, resurrected and ascended Messiah to return. What about in the meantime? Our Great High Priest is interceding for us daily and has empowered us with the “promise of the Father” (v.4) to be guided into all truth and to be witnesses to the end of the earth.

As in 2022 and 2018, our conference is a time of refreshment. Not business. Not worthiness. Time away with God and our diocesan family. Our theme is Found by Jesus, delving into the books of Luke and Acts. On this Ascension Day we get a taster of the amazing truths Luke records in the first chapter of Acts to set up the rest of the book, following on from his Gospel account. It is from these two books that the conference theme of being Found by Jesus is drawn. As this old hymn says, “we were lost, but Jesus found us, burst the bonds of death that found us, wrapped the robe of grace around us, and the heirs of glory crowned us” (John Henry Sammis, 1910).

The year of the conference coincides with our celebration of 100 years as a Diocese, with much to give thanks to God for. It really is going to be a not-to-miss conference, with four days together in the beautiful surroundings and brilliant facilities of the 500-seater Chapel and other buildings which form part of the 37-acre Hope Park Campus at Liverpool Hope University.

One of the great things about the venue for the conference is the travelling time – the very most the journey will be is 1 ½ hours but for many across the Diocese the journey is less than an hour. Far enough to get away from it all but not too far to exhaust us before we even arrive!

• Registration and refreshments begin at 2pm on Monday 6 July 2026 with the conference finishing at 2pm on Thursday 9 July 2026.

The conference planning team are working hard to deliver a finely tuned conference programme. There will be high-quality input from theologians and practitioners from near and far, worship to represent the breadth of our traditions, workshops to inspire, as well as time to feast, laugh, play, be filled and simply ‘to be.’ It is hoped the conference will be refreshing for the whole person – heart, soul, mind, strength. Delicious food, comfortable accommodation, beautiful surroundings. The conference will deepen our wells and build new channels across our Diocesan family.

As always, the Diocesan Conference is free of charge. NOW is the time to book, not only to clear the space in your calendar but to book your place at the conference. It is super easy to book. Open the Fruitful App on your smartphone or tablet and on the home page you will see a section entitled ‘Diocesan Conference – book here.’ Simply fill out the details. Once you have successfully completed the form a confirmation email will be sent to you. Remember to pop the conference in your diary.

As in 2022 and 2018, this is to be a Diocesan Conference rather than a conference for clergy only. Residential places will be available for every licensed clergy person along with the opportunity for one lay leader from every parish or chaplaincy – to honour the significant place of lay leadership in our Diocese. Perhaps the lay leader is a member of the PCC, a Churchwarden, ALM, LLM, ordinand, or someone in whom you are seeing new shoots of growth emerge.

You may have a lay leader in mind, or you may wish to consult with your PCC. For some, there might be considerable advance arrangements to be made because of being away from home, work, and family. Therefore, we encourage you to discern and approach someone now. Once a lay leader has been identified and approached and they want to come, please ask them to also book through the Fruitful App in the same way.

In addition, the Bishops would love all Clayton House, Cathedral, Whalley Abbey, and Bishop’s House staff to take the day out on either Tuesday 7 July or Wednesday 8 July as a day trip to join us.

In total, almost 400 people could be attending the conference to celebrate the beautiful gospel that that we have been Found by Jesus. Of which, around 330 people will be staying in the high-quality accommodation blocks over the four days, with each person having their own ensuite room.

Canon Jean Duerden is once again the Conference Booking Administrator. She can be reached by phone on 07976 528715 or by email at conference@blackburn.anglican.org for more information.

Yours in His service,

The Rt Rev Dr Jill Duff                                 The Rev Damian Platt
Conference Lead                                         Conference Planning Group Chair