More than 500 people have taken part in the third annual Faith and Life Convention organised by the Diocese of Down and Connor.
The convention is a forum for people to gather and participate in a range of conversations about the meaning of faith and its relevance to their everyday lives.
Bishop Noel Treanor opened the convention reflecting upon the plight of refugees and asylum seekers. He said: "In this Year of Mercy, we need to explore the social and societal implications of mercy, particularly for the displaced."
Sarah Teather, Director of the Jesuit Refugee Service (UK) was the main speaker and invited all to reflect on the refugee crisis. She shared her own journey of discernment that led her away from the political benches in parliament to her current role.
Her personal journey, she said, involved falling in love with God and his people and actively living out that love in her life.
Inspired by the ministry of the Jesuit Refugee Service and motivated by the personal struggles of families seeking asylum, she said that immigration and poverty were the defining issues of our lifetime. She went on to explore the particular role of the Church in responding to the issues of immigration and displacement.
Ms Teather explained that faith communities could provide a counter cultural response to society as they minister to those who displaced by following the Gospel mandate to reach out to the stranger. She contended that in reaching out to the stranger in need, we are "entertaining angels without knowing it".
She later reflected on her work with the Jesuit Refugee Service, which she argued was distinctive in its relational approach to working with asylum seekers - affirming the dignity of the displaced through solidarity and accompaniment.
Her address was followed by a panel discussion on the theme `Faith in a world in need of Mercy' and the screening of a short film by Campbell Millar which followed the recent settlement of Syrian migrants in Belfast.
In the afternoon, participants were involved in more than 20 workshops which explored topics including faith in a broken culture, the pastoral response to suicide, ecology and making good decisions.
:: For more information, visit www.faithandlifeconvention.org.
