CONTRIBUTORS

KEY NOTE SPEAKER

Sammy Jabangwe Hanton Sammy is a creative evangelist and preacher. She is part of The Message Trust in the soul and rap duo SoulBox, which travels around the UK and beyond sharing the gospel with young people. Sammy longs to see lives transformed by the gospel. She is also a member of the Spring Harvest Planning Group.

LEADERSHIP PANEL HOSTED BY MARIE AITKEN

Marie Aitken, Kyria Board Member, is the Director of FORMA Ministry School and Network for Hillsong. She is also an author and speaker, and passionate about developing emerging leaders.

Helen Frewin is a business psychologist and executive coach. She has spent the last 20 years delivering management development and people consultancy, and had her world turned upside down by Jesus in 2022. Now she continues to run her business Totem, whilst looking for ways to use the skills, resources and finance God has provided, to serve. That currently translates to three charity partnerships: addiction rehab in Loughborough, employment in Nottingham, and a tiny village in Romania. It is a new season of life, with many stretching experiences!

Lilah Bush is the Young Adults Ministry Leader Rising Brook Community Church, Neurodiversity Advocate, Psychology student and Kyria Board Secretary and Collab Alumni . Lilah is passionate about helping other young women and girls recognise their own leadership potential, however big or small. Something that is core to her as a leader is her experience being autistic/ADHD. Lilah hopes that in that role I can raise up the voices of other neurodiverse individuals!

Phoebe Owen is the Assistant Pastor at Derby City Church, an Elim Pentecostal church, where she works part time. She is also part of the leadership team for Intercultural Churches UK, an organisation which equips and resources churches, with a vision to see a generation of healthy intercultural churches honouring Jesus and making Him known among our diverse communities. Alongside her ordination training, Phoebe is a doctor, and works as a Consultant in Neurological and Specialist Rehabilitation Medicine at the University Hospitals of Derby and Burton NHS Trust. She is passionate about bivocational ministry, taking the principles of the Kingdom outside of the walls of the church. 

Gemma Francis is the Co-Founder and Managing Director of The BIG Sing – promoting community singing at its very best. Through uplifting, feel-good music, The BIG Sing unites communities and showcases the power of singing to inspire, heal and connect people from all walks of life.Under Gemma’s leadership, The BIG Sing has grown into a thriving movement of over 1,000 members every week, with choirs running across five counties in the UK.A former professional singer and Marketing Manager for the London Community Gospel Choir, Gemma has spent more than 20 years pioneering gospel and contemporary community music across the UK, using her marketing expertise to bring this joyful sound to mainstream audiences. Gemma joined The Lions programme to help launch The BIG Sing SOUL Charity, with a mission to make singing accessible to everyone – including nurseries, schools, care homes, hospitals, disabled groups and vulnerable communities. With the support of The Lions’ mentoring and seed funding, Gemma has successfully expanded The BIG Sing’s reach and social impact nationwide.Today, Gemma continues to pioneer The BIG Sing while also serving as Marketing Manager for The Lions, empowering other visionaries to turn their ideas into reality. Gemma is married to songwriter, musician and co-founder Howard Francis, and together they have four children.

LEADERSHIP WORKSHOP HOSTED BY GRACE MARSHALL AND AMY SUMMERFIELD

Grace Marshall- www.gracemarshall.com

Grace Marshall, Kyria Board Member, is an award-winning author, speaker and productivity expert who specialises in transforming how organisations approach work, change, and challenge.

With over a decade of experience training more than 10,000 professionals across industries, Grace has become a trusted advisor for leaders seeking to build resilient, future-ready teams, with clients including Boots, BT, Sky Media, Sage, NHS, NSPCC, and Teenage Cancer Trust.

Her refreshingly human, relatable approach has earned her multiple accolades, including Virtual Speaker of the Year and CMI Management Book of the Year: Best Commuter's Read. Her practical insights on leadership, high-performance work cultures, and wellbeing in changing times have been featured in The Guardian, Forbes, Huffpost, CNN, and on BBC Radio

Amy Summerfield 

 Amy Summerfield is CEO of Kyria, a leadership network to champion empower and release women into their spheres of influence (kyrianetwork.com), and Head of Development at Skylark International (skylarkinternational.org),a network of churches, charities and organisations. From 2015-2020 Amy was senior pastor of Connect Church, Paisley, Scotland. Amy is also the co-founder of Pulse Children’s and Youth Ministries. She is a regular conference speaker for women's and leadership conferences. Recently married, Amy moved to live in Hitchin with her husband Matt who leads Zeo Church which Amy is on the leadership team (zeochurch.com) She enjoys cooking, baking, dog walking and tea drinking! When not travelling for ministry, she loves spending time in Derbyshire where she grew up.

LEADERSHIP CONVERSATION WITH ALI SUMMERS AND AMY SUMMERFIELD 

Ali Summers leads the team at Rising Brook Community Church in Stafford in and has been in church leadership for over 20 years initially responsible for youth ministry and then over the years different roles encouraging discipleship, spiritual growth and leadership development. In September 2022 she became the Senior Minister and CEO for Rising Brook with oversight for its five churches and locations across Staffordshire. Prior to this, Ali’s background was in secondary school teaching and leadership. Ali moved back to Stafford in 2004 and is passionate about the role of local church at the heart of community life reaching out to offer the transforming love of Jesus and support to everyone. Ali is on the national leadership team of Fresh Streams – a national network equipping, inspiring, connecting, resourcing and giving courage to leaders and leadership teams of churches across the UK. She is married to Dave with two wonderful grown up children.

PRACTIAL INFORMATION

During the day we will worship together, listen to inspirational speakers, share more of what Kyria is doing nationally and much more. There will be opportunities to network with others. Refreshments and lunch will all be provided as a part of your ticket, please do let us know of any dietary requirements.

VENUE

Rising Brook Community Church, Burton Square, Stafford ST17 9LT

Parking instructions will be sent out in the run up to the event.

GIVING

As part of the day we will be taking up an offering for the work of Kyria Network and our ongoing work in England and beyond. We would invite you to come ready to contribute to this offering.

OUR POSTURE

In these changing and uncertain times we recognise that to lead well means to listen, learn and love well - even when we hold differing views. Kyria is committed to model this and so we acknowledge that whilst we may sometimes differ in views on the platform and in the room, we can resist being disagreeable. Kyria is not aligned to any particular denomination, or political party, but simply exists to champion, empower and release women across all leadership spheres.

EARLY BIRD AND REFUNDS

Early Bird Closes 30th January.

We sadly can't offer refunds after the closing date of 20th Febuary due to catering requirements and costs.