About me

Welcome – my name is Kieran Bohan. I am a 50-something gay Christian seeking ways to live authentically:

• a former Roman Catholic seminarian (trainee for priesthood)
• now a member of the Methodist Church and a trainee local preacher
• in the first civil partnership to be registered in a place of worship in the UK
• an experienced teacher, youth worker and trainer in LGBT awareness, particularly for faith communities
• Co-ordinator of the Open Table Network, a growing partnership of Christian worship communities which welcome and affirm people who are Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans, Queer / Questioning, Intersex, Asexual (LGBTQIA), plus our family, friends and anyone who wants to belong in an accepting, loving community
• former visiting lecturer in the Education department at Edge Hill University, offering inspiration on age-appropriate teaching on gender and sexuality for trainee Primary teachers, and Christian perspectives on LGBT+ issues for Secondary Religious Education teachers
• former volunteer LGBT+ role model with Diversity Role Models, Barnardo’s and Stonewall
• contributor to several websites, including Quest, Diversity Role Models, Mission In The Economy, Appreciating Church, Reconcilers Together and St Ethelburga’s Centre for Reconciliation & Peace
• sharing stories of faith, hope and love, to inspire and challenge.

Why ‘A brave faith’?

When I began writing this blog I did so under a pseudonym – ‘Jack-With-No-Box’. I explained the origin of that name and of the the title of the blog in an early post here. I headed the blog in the early years with this image: Jacob and the Angel by Alexander Louis Leloir. It represented something of my experience of ‘wrestling for blessing’, which I first wrote about here.

As I grew in confidence following publicity of our civil partnership and media requests for interviews following the UK Government’s consultation on same-sex marriage in England and Wales, I began writing more openly under my own name, and headed the blog using this photo of my husband and I on the threshold of the church on the day of our civil partnership. I wrote about the significance of this image for us here.

While I still write under my own name, I have reverted to the image of Jacob and the Angel to reflect the wrestling with ideas, identities and theologies about which I often write.