Women's Voices Conference
St Pancras Church, Euston Road, London
Saturday 9th May 2026 - 9.30am to 4pm
An ecumenical conference for women in ministry from all denominations: clergy, lay ministers, ordinands, and women exploring their calling
This one day conference seeks to encourage and equip women in ministry, lay and ordained, by inviting reflection on Biblical hermeneutics, feminist and womanist theological perspectives and homiletics. Combining academic rigour with reflective practice,
Women’s Voices Conferences have been running for over ten years in the Church of England.
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We at St Pancras are delighted to welcome the conference to London for the second time, as part of our St Pancras Church Festival Weekend.
​Revd Lucy Winkett and Revd Sarah Lee
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Dr Selina Stone
Power, Theology and Abuse in the Church: A Womanist Reimagining
Abuses of power take many forms in our churches, as well as in many other settings. What role might theology play in enabling abuse? In contrast, can theology equip us to recognise and resist it? This talk draws on womanist theology to think through the problem of abuses of power, and imagine a church - and God - otherwise.
Dr Selina Stone is a theologian whose research and teaching are focused on the questions of power, harm, justice and healing within the Church and in our wider shared social, economic and political life. She is Lecturer in Theology and Ethics and Co-director of the Centre for Theology and Public Issues, at the School of Divinity, University of Edinburgh. She is host of the Sunday School for Misfits podcast, and the author of several books, the latest of which is A Heavy Yoke: Theology, Power and Abuse in the Church (SCM Press, 2025).
Dr Karen O’Donnell
Trauma Theology is a Feminist Issue
Trauma Theology is a rare field within the study of Christian Theology in that it is founded in the work of women and women continue to lead the field of research. Why is that? Trauma is connected to power and powerlessness, to systems of oppression, to the overwhelm of ordinary coping mechanisms, and to the body. Given the long history of women's oppression, both within and outside of the Church, often facilitated by theology, I make the case that Trauma Theology is a feminist issue - that is, it's no wonder that women's voices have dominated this field of work, our experiences, our bodies, and our theologies have been desperate for it.
Dr Karen O'Donnell is a theologian with particular interests in the ways in which bodies intersect with theologies. This has led to work in trauma and feminist theologies with an emphasis on women's bodies. Her most recent publications include a co-edited volume Pregnancy and Birth: Critical Theological Conceptions (SCM Press, 2024) and Survival: Radical Spiritual Practices for Trauma Survivors (SCM Press, 2024). Karen is Academic Dean at Westcott House, Cambridge and Associate Lecturer in Gender and Theology in the Divinity Faculty, Cambridge University, UK.
Rev’d Dr Liz Shercliff
Patriarchy, Preaching and the Gospel
Ministerial training and congregational discipleship are often treated as though ‘one size fits all.’ How might we approach preaching and Bible reading so that the experiences of marginalised women come to the fore? Based on years of research among women, this talk highlights ways in which women’s experiences of life, faith and God are silenced by churches and their training institutions. How does re-visiting Christian doctrines of incarnation and resurrection offer hope?
Rev’d Dr Liz Shercliff is a feminist theologian. She established Women’s Voices conferences over ten years ago as a way of women hearing each other to speech. She is on the academic staff of Luther King Theological College and the author of several books, including Straw for the Bricks, Preaching Women, The Present Preacher, Out of the Shadows volumes 1 and 2, and most recently May She Speak in the Name of the Father: Patriarchy, Preaching and the Gospel.
Rev’d Lucy Winkett
‘I don’t try to sound like anyone but me anymore’ (Norah Jones)
From silence to sound: exploring the empowerment of women’s voices in celebration, protest, joy and lament.
Revd Lucy Winkett is Rector of St James’s Piccadilly in London, and priest-in-charge of St Pancras Euston and a writer, broadcaster and musician. Formerly Canon Precentor of St Paul’s Cathedral, she was among the first generation of women ordained priest in the Church of England. A regular contributor to Radio 4’s Thought for the Day, her latest publication is Reading the Bible with your Feet (Canterbury Press 2021).
Rev’d Mitzi James
Being Seen in the Wilderness
Closing the day, this session offers a spacious, guided Ignatian imaginative contemplation. Drawing together themes from our earlier speakers - power, trauma and voice - you will be invited into a gentle, space of prayer and reflection — attending to the God who sees, sustains and remains present with women whose stories emerge from the margins.
Mother Mitzi is the Parish Priest of St John and St Luke, Clay Hill in the Diocese of London. Before this she was curate at Hornsey Parish Church and was formed for the priesthood at the College of the Resurrection, Mirfield. Mitzi has a background working with those who have experienced trauma because of homelessness and domestic abuse and, before ordination, was a volunteer with the Samaritans and at Pentonville Prison. She is a Spiritual Director, and a member of a dispersed and inclusive international Community. Mitzi was a contributor to Catholic Voices in the Church of England (Canterbury Press 2025).