Jan 14
LAST WEDNESDAY: former Aston Villa and Everton midfielder Thomas Hitzlsperger, who resigned from professional football last September, announced he is gay. No other professional footballer currently playing in this country has had the courage to do the same. Hitzlsperger said there is “a long way to go” before there will be an openly gay man playing in …
Dec 10
AS THE GOVERNMENT has announced the date when the first marriages for same sex couples in England and Wales can take place, churches which remain challenged by this social change would do well to follow the lead of Steve Chalke, a high-profile evangelical church leader, who earlier this year called for a radical rethink of Christian …
Oct 23
LAST WEEK the BBC screened Stephen Fry: Out There, a ground-breaking two part documentary about homophobia around the world. As the title suggests, it was presented by the multi-talented Stephen Fry, who describes himself on Twitter as: ‘British Actor, Writer, Lord of Dance, Prince of Swimwear & Blogger.’ During the making of the documentary, the …
Oct 17
TODAY, the third Thursday in October, is Spirit Day, 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. What is Spirit Day? Spirit Day is an annual day held on the …
Sep 27
WHAT MAKES the debate over same-sex marriage around the world really interesting is the power of empathy, when ordinary people who are not LGBT begin to see it from our point of view. Spare six minutes to hear this man say why he began to get what it’s like to be judged second-rate for who …
Aug 11
The following text is a reflection I presented today during Morning Prayer at the church I attend with my partner. The church chooses a monthly theme for its services – this month’s theme was Musicals! When my partner and I were asked to lead a service on the theme of musicals, at first I thought: …
May 27
THIS HAUNTING AND POIGNANT SONG is dedicated to those who don’t feel free to love for fear of judgement, or even physical assault, by others who assume their love is wrong: They met across the dance floor just like many other lovers Each of them were caught within a trance And with the nervousness of …
Dec 09
TODAY I STAYED at home in the warmth, working on the annual report of the Michael Causer Foundation, of which I am a trustee. To prevent me going stir-crazy from being home all day, I decided to walk to the evening service at a nearby Anglican Church. On the way, I passed the derelict Welsh …
Nov 30
‘HOW DEEP dare I go? How far might I reach?’ These challenging questions form part of a framed display of the life story St Ignatius of Loyola on the wall of Loyola Hall Jesuit Spirituality Centre in Merseyside. I went there with an early draft of of my ‘coming out’ story to make an eight …
Nov 24
TODAY I was at a workshop about sharing good practice examples of LGBT work in schools. The sound I heard today was inspiration. As coordinator of the longest running LGBT youth group in the country, I receive requests to speak in schools and deliver workshops on LGBT awareness for young people. Other colleagues from around …
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