October 2015 archive

Halloween – Summer’s end, a feast for remembering

AT THIS time of year it’s not unusual to hear people in England complain of the ‘American import’ of Halloween and its lanterns, costumes, and trick-or-treating. While it’s true that Halloween celebrations have become as commercialised as Christmas, in the USA and increasingly here in the UK, it’s also true that it was our ancestors …

Continue reading

Permanent link to this article: https://abravefaith.com/2015/10/31/halloween-summers-end-a-feast-for-remembering/

What is a ‘shared conversation’?

WHAT IS a conversation if it’s not shared? Talking to myself? Enjoying the sound of my own voice? Only hearing views I agree with? This odd phrase was chosen by the Church of England to describe its facilitated listening process to seek some reconciliation, or at least ‘good disagreement’ over diverse views on sexuality and same-sex …

Continue reading

Permanent link to this article: https://abravefaith.com/2015/10/26/what-is-a-shared-conversation/

Some principles for making prayerful decisions

THIS WEEK, the church where my partner and I volunteer to run a monthly LGBT inclusive service, faced a huge decision – whether to commit to at least ten years of major fundraising and building work, or to walk away and start afresh somewhere else. A question this big was hard to answer – the …

Continue reading

Permanent link to this article: https://abravefaith.com/2015/10/24/some-principles-for-making-prayerful-decisions/

LGBT hate crimes in UK ‘more likely to be violent’

HATE CRIME AWARENESS WEEK has just ended in the UK. The Home Office release the latest statistics on hate crime, which showed that: the number of hate crimes (motivated by race, religion, sexual orientation, disability or transgender identity) reported in England & Wales was up 18% on the previous year (52,528 in 2014/15, 44,471 in …

Continue reading

Permanent link to this article: https://abravefaith.com/2015/10/18/lgbt-hate-crimes-in-uk-more-likely-to-be-violent/

Coming home – My story for #NationalComingOutDay

WHEN AN LGBT PERSON speaks of coming out, it often involves the moment of revelation to those closest to you, especially parents and family. October 11th is #NationalComingOutDay – so here’s my story: Coming out was certainly a major milestone on my journey, delayed and complicated by the fact that I spent three years in my twenties …

Continue reading

Permanent link to this article: https://abravefaith.com/2015/10/11/comingoutday15/

Questions are the answer – nakedpastor and the search for understanding by David Hayward

BLOGGER AND CARTOONIST David Hayward was a Christian pastor in Canada for more than thirty years before leaving the paid clergy and setting up thelastingsupper.com, which he describes as ‘an online community for spiritually independent people’. Questions Are The Answer is the story of his journey towards ‘spiritual independence’, told in word and cartoon. You …

Continue reading

Permanent link to this article: https://abravefaith.com/2015/10/07/questions-are-the-answer/