The Bill Snelson Young Ecumenists Fund has made its latest set of grants to enable ecumenical experiences abroad for Christians aged 18 to 35 from our national Member Churches.
Brazil and Japan are the destinations for the successful applicants in the fifth ‘cohort’ of The Bill Snelson Young Ecumenists Fund awards.
Introducing the recipients…
Adam Pailing
Adam is from Newark on Trent in Nottinghamshire. He grew up attending the Methodist church and now has joint membership with his local Anglican Parish church and the Congregational church of Newark.
Adam is going to Brazil on a 16-day youth ecumenical mission with members of the Congregational Federation.
“The experience will be a chance within the context of Brazil to build an understanding of global ecumenism. We will be able to practice and understand how different churches work together for their local communities and address common challenges,” he said.
This will build on Adam’s experience of ecumenism after his 2024 internship working for the Council for World Mission.
Brinita Oustia
Brinita is a congregant at St Nicholas Greek Orthodox church in West London.
She has planned a two-week study visit to Japan. The first week will be spent living in community at the Shinmeizan Centre for Interreligious Dialogue in rural Kumamoto, where Catholic monks live out their faith in daily conversation with Shinto and Buddhist neighbours. In the second week, Brinita will be in Tokyo visiting Sophia University, a Jesuit institution active in theological and ecumenical work.
“This grant will allow me to experience ecumenism not in theory but as lived reality, by giving me the time and support to listen, learn, and reflect through direct encounter,” Brinita said.
Her study project is called Harmony of the Word: Christian Unity and Dialogue in Japan. Her learnings and observations will be presented both in writing and a short reflective film.
Katie Irwin
Katie, who is from Preston in Lancashire, is also part of the Congregational Federation youth mission to Brazil.
Their trip is divided into two different parts. The first is working with local church leaders in Joao Pessoa; the second will take place at a bible college in Patos. Both of these are cities in the state of Paraiba in eastern Brazil.
The group will be meeting members from Presbyterian, Baptist, and Assembly of God churches and also engaging with a hospital chaplaincy involving other denominations.
Katie began her ecumenical journey when she worked on board the Logos Hope, an Operation Mobilisation ship for 5 months, together with people from all over the world. “People came from many different backgrounds and denominations, and I got to experience all these different people working together for one God, with one vision in unity,” she said.
Freddy Carlo
Freddy has recently become a Christian. He has found a spiritual home at Newark Congregational church and will be part of the youth mission to Brazil.
As well as visiting churches, schools and hospitals, the group will also spend time at two practical community projects. These are an ecumenically-run drug rehabilitation programme in João Pessoa and a soup-kitchen for homeless people in Patos.
Freddy said: “The grant is directly funding my first ever mission, which I feel will be jumping in the deep end – but I place all trust in God. I’ve heard that in Brazil, faith is spoken about and shared in a much more charismatic way than in the UK – this is something that I think I will find really engaging.”
Beth Andrews
Beth worships at the Inglewhite Congregational Church in Lancashire. She has been on previous mission trips in Europe with her church and was inspired to apply for a Snelson Fund grant to go to South America. “Experiencing more cultures and the ways of life of other Christians across the world strengthens my faith. As I have learned from past mission trips, seeing that God is working thousands of miles away just shows
how mighty the Lord really is,” she said.
In July 2026, she will be going to Brazil with her fellow Congregational Federation Members.
Beth said “I am looking forward to valuable insights into the beautiful faith culture that Brazil has to offer. I am so thankful for the support from the Bill Snelson grant for making this trip possible for me. I am looking forward to seeing what God has in store!”
Each of the successful grant recipients (from the Congregational Federation, one of our national Member Churches) applied to the Snelson Fund individually. The Fund does not accept applications as a group; however, on this occasion, the Snelson Fund panel chose to award grants to several applicants undertaking the same ecumenical experience.
The Bill Snelson Young Ecumenists Fund was launched in October 2023 by Churches Together in England and the Snelson family. It is in memory of Bill Snelson, a dedicated ecumenist, who was General Secretary of Churches Together England from 1997 to 2008. Grants from the Fund allow young adults to experience ecumenism abroad. That experience can be study, pilgrimage, volunteering or any activity that promotes church unity.
Find a list of young Christians who benefitted from The Bill Snelson Young Ecumenists Fund.
Download a brief guide to The Bill Snelson Young Ecumenists Fund and how to apply.