THIS is the story I shared as part of the Radical Hospitality module of the Journey Of Hope pilgrimage: About two years ago, I dreamed that I travelled back in time and saw myself as a teenager. My younger self approached me and gave me a hug. The day before, I had visited a secondary school to discuss what more… Read more »
In 70 countries, loving someone of the same sex is illegal and, in 7 countries, it is punishable by death. In many more countries citizens are denied their right to live as their true gender identity, and 369 murders of trans and gender-diverse people were reported worldwide in 2018. As well as legal discriminations, social homophobia, biphobia and transphobia daily… Read more »
SINCE 2010, the third Thursday in October has been marked as #SpiritDay, when millions of people wear purple and change their social media profile pictures to help create a world in which lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT+) young people are celebrated and accepted for who they are. It began in 2010 when Canadian high school student Brittany McMillan created it as a response to… Read more »
THIS is my reflection at the Post-Pride Chillout Service in the Lady Chapel of Liverpool Cathedral to mark the end of Liverpool Pride on Sunday 29th July 2018: The death of Michael Causer was Liverpool’s Stonewall moment. My name is Kieran, and I’m the coordinator of the growing network of Open Table communities, which began at St Bride’s Liverpool ten… Read more »
TEN YEARS AGO this month, the UK’s longest running LGBT youth group* produced a short film about their experience of being lesbian, gay or bisexual in Liverpool. The 18 minute film aimed at 13-19 year olds uses drama, animation, original music and research to present issues around coming out, bullying at school, harassment at work, love and relationships. The message… Read more »
TODAY, 11th October, is celebrated in many countries as ‘National Coming Out Day’, a campaign to promote a safe world for LGBT+ individuals to live truthfully and openly. This morning I marked the occasion by giving a lecture to around 300 trainee teachers, to raise awareness of issues around gender and sexuality, and to explore these in age-appropriate ways in… Read more »
Yesterday afternoon I visited a secondary school to discuss what more they could do to support their LGBT+ students. Last night I dreamed I travelled back in time and saw myself as a teenager. My younger self recognised me, approached and gave me a hug. I may have been watching too much science fiction lately, but I suspect these two… Read more »
TODAY is Holocaust Memorial Day – the anniversary of the liberation of the Nazi concentration camp at Auschwitz which marked the end of the extreme prejudice and discrimination which led to the extermination of millions of Jews and other minorities. Or did it? The Holocaust Memorial Day Trust also commemorates other genocides in more recent times – Cambodia, Rwanda, Bosnia,… Read more »
THIS WEEK was Anti-Bullying Week in the UK, with the theme #PowerForGood – a challenge to each of us to speak up against the culture of bullying wherever we find it. It struck me this year that the campaign, which normally focuses on schools and youth groups, is more needed than ever for all of us, given the rise in reported… Read more »
SUCH a sad few days since news of the mass shooting at the Pulse nightclub broke on Sunday. The worst terror attack on US soil since 9/11, the worst gun crime in US history, and perhaps the largest murder of LGBT people since the Holocaust. How do we respond in the face of such horror? I have struggled to find my own… Read more »
