Banquet Of Belonging
A conference exploring discipleship, disability, and belonging. Learning together across difference at one shared table.
Banquet of Belonging is a conference exploring how community and discipleship are reshaped when disabled and non-disabled people learn together across difference. Through theology, lived experience, and shared practices, participants are invited into a vision of belonging formed at one table—where gifts are celebrated and everyone matters. [Calgary live gathering is at First Alliance Church on the 2nd floor in the Harvest Room.]
$80/ticket to join us in person at a location across Canada.
($40/ticket to join us online)
This conference gathers disabled and non-disabled Christians, pastors, and families to explore how discipleship changes when people learn from one another across differences. Sessions will address theology, access, relationships, and lived experience, grounding everything in practices that create shared tables rather than parallel ministries. Each regional gathering includes a shared meal that embodies the call: a community formed by mutual welcome, celebrated gifts, and a commitment to belong to one another.
Plenary Keynote Speakers
Sarah Wardlaw (Vancouver)
Growing up with cerebral palsy, Sarah has always wanted to encourage others who feel underestimated and not truly known, whether as a consequence of a disability or some other circumstance. She works as a speech-language pathologist, and believes that the opportunity to express ourselves and be understood – whatever form that may take – is a gift from God for all people.
Sarah has been blessed to be part of several amazing church communities, including St. John’s Vancouver Anglican Church, which she has attended for 11 years. Through true friendships built with family in Christ, Sarah continues to learn more about how we can value interdependence and experience Jesus’ great compassion in our pain and weakness, without denying that pain. Dogs are guaranteed to bring a smile to her face, and she enjoys sci-fi TV and fantasy games.
Jon Coutts (Calgary)
After growing up and pastoring in western Canada, Jon wrote a PhD on forgiveness in Scotland and went on to teach ethics in England before returning home to continue his theological work in and for the Canadian church. Jon is married to Angie and they have four grown sons who still gather to watch Liverpool Football Club.
Chantelle, Jenna, & Terry Sanderson
Terry and Chantelle Sanderson have dedicated much of their lives to pastoral ministry, serving in London, Ontario, St. Louis, Missouri, and now at Bayview Glen Alliance Church in Thornhill. Their journey has been marked by a desire to follow God’s leading and to serve His people faithfully.
A central part of their story is their daughter Jenna. Living with a disability, Jenna radiates joy and creativity, with a love for history, art, and ministry alongside her sisters, Jadyn and Jovanna. Her perspective has opened up new ways for the Sandersons to see God’s presence at work in their family, church, and community. Jenna is a published author often writing about her experiences with disability within a church context.
Together, Terry, Chantelle, and Jenna share a testimony of faith, family, and the beauty of God’s image reflected in every person.