THIS WEEKEND the Bishop of Liverpool, Rt Revd Paul Bayes, will join the celebration of Open Table, an ecumenical Christian worship community which offers a warm welcome to people who are: Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer/Questioning, Intersex, Asexual (LGBTQIA+) and all who seek a more inclusive Church. It’s not his first visit to Open Table. We originally invited him to join us… Read more »
This week I was proud to be part of the You Are Here LGBT+ history pop-up exhibition at Tate Liverpool. I loaned the Liverpool Echo report on our civil partnership (the first to be registered in a UK place of worship, at Ullet Road Unitarian Church… …and the 2014 Being Proud Award for Best LGBT+ Youth… 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 »
THE LAST two posts have told the experiences of members of the This post was inspired by the words of the visitors to the Open Table stall who left messages of love and thanks, wishes and prayers. Our aim with the community stall (see photo 1) was to create a safe sacred space in the festival marquee, a ‘prayer station’ to encourage… Read more »
THIS is a guest post by Richard Bibby-Brooke, a member of Open Table at St Bride’s Liverpool, who writes about being on our community stall at Liverpool Pride for the first time: When I offered to help look after the Open Table community stall at Liverpool Pride this year, I did not expect the experience to be quite so enriching and educational as… Read more »
THIS is a guest post by Jen Williams, a member of Open Table at St Bride’s Liverpool, who writes about walking with a Christian group in a Pride march for the first time: Basking in the sun, under a brightly coloured rainbow umbrella, donning a rainbow cape, and wearing a beautiful white t-shirt with the brand new Open Table logo,… Read more »
THIS is the reflection I gave for the eighth birthday of Open Table @ St Bride’s Liverpool on 17th July 2016, a celebration of what we have achieved in the past year, and looking forward to Liverpool Pride on 30th July with the theme: ‘Liverpool Icons’. I will follow this post with a report on our presence at this year’s… Read more »
THIS is an extract from a newly published book, Journeys in Grace and Truth, which asks: Is it possible to hold a positive view of same-sex relationships while being a biblically rooted Evangelical? It features essays from twelve senior Anglican Evangelicals who believe so, and share how they came to new insights. These include the current and former Bishops of Liverpool, the… 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 »
Why do we need a worldwide day to defend LGBT rights? At least 81 countries in the world criminalize same sex relationships. This means that 40% of the world population (or 2.8 billion people) are not free to choose who they love. Millions of homosexual and bisexual people live in a constant state of fear. In 10 countries, the death penalty can be applied for same… Read more »