ARE WE spiritual beings having an embodied experience or embodied beings capable of spiritual experience? This was the question with which I began a recent workshop for trainee spiritual directors on embodiment, gender and sexuality, which I deliver on behalf of the Open Table network of ecumenical worship communities for LGBTQIA+ Christians and all who seek an inclusive church. I… Read more »
THIS BLOG began as I turned 42 in 2012, as: an attempt to be heard, not just for myself, but for other lesbian, gay and bisexual Christians who struggle with their sexual orientation in faith communities that judge them, at best, to be defective heterosexuals, rather than recognising and valuing the gifts and insights that embracing their diversity can bring.[1] Six years… Read more »
LAST WEEKEND 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 an inclusive Church – took part in a day conference called Gathering Voices – From Welcome to Affirmation. As part of that event I hosted a workshop called… Read more »
LAST MONTH, I spent three days with colleagues from around a dozen other YMCAs at the UK Unify conference, a platform for YMCAs to share and reflect on the Christian mission of what is now the largest and oldest youth charity in the world. I was expecting the conference to be mostly chaplains and managers, but people with all kinds… Read more »
IN RESPONSE to a post I shared recently from my blog archive, ‘I am what I am’ – A reflection on identity, Claire, a member of the Open Table ecumenical Christian worship community for LGBTQIA+ Christians in Liverpool, wrote this response which I am happy to share: When I think about my identity, I often remember a dream I had… 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 »
A CHRISTIAN community which warmly welcomes people who are LGBTQIA+ (Lesbian Gay Bisexual Transgender Queer/Questioning, Intersex and Asexual), their friends and family, is celebrating its tenth anniversary in Liverpool this month. The inclusive celebration, hosted by the community known as ‘Open Table’, will take place on Sunday 17th June 2018, at St Bride’s Church on Percy Street in Toxteth, Liverpool…. Read more »
LAST WEEK, at the launch of a new charity whose aim is to tackle prejudice and discrimination on the grounds of sexuality and gender in religious organisations, Bishop of Liverpool Paul Bayes spoke of his ‘pain and regret’ at the rejection and harm many LGBTI+ people have experienced personally and institutionally from Christians. More than 100 guests, including leading campaigners for LGBTI… Read more »
This Lent, our inclusive church in Liverpool city centre offered a six-week course to explore the ‘queerness’ of the Christian tradition. Participants read and discussed Queer Virtue: What LGBTQ People Know About Life and Love and How It Can Revitalize Christianity (Beacon Press, 2016), written by the American Episcopal priest Elizabeth Edman. At the launch of the study guide to accompany… Read more »
ONE MORNING earlier this month, my sister called to say our uncle in Ireland was unwell, and that the hospital which had become his home had advised Mum to come and see him while there was still time. Mum and my sister were booking a flight to Dublin that afternoon, and Mum asked if I wanted to join them. I… Read more »
