Baptists and Communion: Baptist Theology North 2025 

Baptist Theology North, a one-day consultation which took place on 28 March, was packed this year, writes Sally Nelson

More than 60 people registered to hear and discuss Baptist perspectives on the Lord’s Supper. We were treated to a real feast of ideas.

In the main keynote talks, Chris Ellis explored the body language of communion while Linda Hopkins presented her research on young people and their perceptions of the table.

Both speakers challenged us to think about the context and atmosphere we create around the bread and wine and what that communicates to those attending. 

This was a year of innovations, the first being our New Scholar Keynote session – a chance for those who have recently completed some early research to offer a paper.

Sarah Ducker led us in a visual Godly Play exploration of the supper, and Ben Jones discussed the idea of covenant and communion, also with reference to some research with younger adults.



The other innovation was to combine a simple liturgy around bread and wine with the lunchtime buffet. Keith Jones prepared for this by adapting insights from Zwingli and Hubmaier. This year marks 500 years since the first Radical Reformation baptisms in Zurich and so our sharing in this way around the table had extra significance as we recalled those forebears who risked so much for the freedom of the church.  

Each year we also receive short papers, given by those who are reflecting theologically in and on ministry. These are always a delight, bringing variety to the programme and a chance to debate together in smaller groups.

We were delighted that so many people continue to engage with theology and we look forward to planning for 2026.