‘All Are Welcome!’: How a surprising witness is inspiring a national church

Members of the Wesley Church Centre and Open Table Chester marching in the Chester Pride parade past the front of the church where more community members are standing on the ramp to show support for everyone in the parade. PHOTO: Tim Macquiban.

FEBRUARY is LGBT+ History Month, an annual celebration of lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans and non-binary history. This year the Methodist Church in Britain asked me to connect them with a minister who could tell the story of a church that had walked the sometimes difficult journey to becoming truly inclusive and hosting an Open Table community.

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Permanent link to this article: https://abravefaith.com/2026/02/22/all-are-welcome-how-a-surprising-witness-is-inspiring-a-national-church/

Standing together in the gap: Migration, identity, and the search for home

AS PART of my training for ordained ministry in the Methodist Church in Britain, I have been invited to situate my own experience of migration within global theological perspectives, particularly those emerging from African and Latin American contexts. Engaging with migration studies has revealed my story as part of a much larger global, political and theological pattern of power, privilege, and displacement. Migration, therefore, is not an abstract concept for me; it has shaped my family, my childhood, and my ministry.

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Permanent link to this article: https://abravefaith.com/2026/02/18/standing-together-in-the-gap-migration-identity-and-the-search-for-home/

Surprised by grace: Discovering hidden treasures in Methodist vocation

Five octagonal boxes with silver lids arranged in a row on a windowsill, each with a yellow speech-bubble label handwritten with lyrics from Christian hymns. The boxes decrease in size from left to right. Beside the smallest box is a leaflet titled 'A Methodist Way of Life.'

TWO YEARS AGO this week, I found myself in a place I never imagined, at a Discerning Ordained Vocations [DOV] conference of the Methodist Church in Great Britain. It was part of a careful, prayerful process of listening for God’s call – a call that had already surprised me more than once.

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Permanent link to this article: https://abravefaith.com/2026/02/01/surprised-by-grace-discovering-hidden-treasures-in-methodist-vocation/

From resolution to relationship – Renewing the Methodist Covenant Prayer

Purple and pink sky at sunrise with soft rays of light. On the right, a black silhouette of a person kneeling in prayer on a hillside. Overlaid text reads: “I am no longer my own but yours!” with a smaller caption beneath: 'Methodist Covenant Prayer.'

THIS REFLECTION began as a sermon preached at a Methodist Covenant Service. I’ve adapted it here for anyone who has ever struggled with resolutions, commitments, or prayers that ask more of us than we feel able to give. At its heart is a simple conviction: covenant begins with God, not with us.

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Permanent link to this article: https://abravefaith.com/2026/01/18/from-resolution-to-relationship-renewing-the-methodist-covenant-prayer/

Light in the darkness: Prayers for a Christmas carol service

Responsive prayers for a Christmas carol service, rooted in Scripture and centred on the ancient Christian prayer Maranatha – holding together Christ’s coming at Christmas and the hope of his coming again.

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Permanent link to this article: https://abravefaith.com/2025/12/26/light-in-the-darkness-prayers-for-a-christmas-carol-service/

Listening to the music of the soul: The grandest and rawest outcry

‘LISTENING to the Music of the Soul’ by Guli Francis-Dehqani is divided into 8 chapters inspired by 8 pieces of music. The author invites us to ‘have a go at creating your own Desert Island Discs… to help you better understand yourself and the things that are important to you’. Here’s my eighth and final musical moment.

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Permanent link to this article: https://abravefaith.com/2025/12/24/listening-to-the-music-of-the-soul-the-grandest-and-rawest-outcry/

Listening to the music of the soul: I wanna see you be brave

‘LISTENING to the Music of the Soul’ by Guli Francis-Dehqani is divided into 8 chapters inspired by 8 pieces of music. The author invites us to ‘have a go at creating your own Desert Island Discs… to help you better understand yourself and the things that are important to you’. Here’s my seventh.

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Permanent link to this article: https://abravefaith.com/2025/12/23/listening-to-the-music-of-the-soul-7-i-wanna-see-you-be-brave/

Listening to the music of the soul: Wisdom in secret things

‘LISTENING to the Music of the Soul’ by Guli Francis-Dehqani is divided into 8 chapters inspired by 8 pieces of music. The author invites us to ‘have a go at creating your own Desert Island Discs… to help you better understand yourself and the things that are important to you’. Here’s my sixth.

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Permanent link to this article: https://abravefaith.com/2025/12/22/listening-to-the-music-of-the-soul-6-wisdom-in-secret-things/

Listening to the music of the soul: Standing at the crossroads

‘LISTENING to the Music of the Soul’ by Guli Francis-Dehqani is divided into 8 chapters inspired by 8 pieces of music. The author invites us to ‘have a go at creating your own Desert Island Discs… to help you better understand yourself and the things that are important to you’. Here’s my fifth.

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Permanent link to this article: https://abravefaith.com/2025/12/21/listening-to-the-music-of-the-soul-5-standing-at-the-crossroads/

Listening to the music of the soul: True Colors

‘LISTENING to the Music of the Soul’ by Guli Francis-Dehqani is divided into 8 chaptersinspired by 8 pieces of music. The author invites us to ‘have a go at creating your own Desert Island Discs… to help you better understand yourself and the things that are important to you’. Here’s my fourth.

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Permanent link to this article: https://abravefaith.com/2025/12/20/listening-to-the-music-of-the-soul-3-true-colors/

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