Author's posts

Queer Faith Voices: Is faith inherently queer?

AS PART of the tour of Merseyside by Queer Virtue author Liz Edman last month, I took part in a panel discussion called ‘Queer Faith Voices’. Liz uses the term ‘queer’ in the academic sense, as a verb meaning ‘to disturb / disrupt false binaries’. These binaries can relate to gender (male/female) or sexuality (heterosexual/homosexual), …

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Permanent link to this article: https://abravefaith.com/2019/12/02/queer-faith-voices-is-faith-inherently-queer/

US Episcopal priest Liz Edman visits Liverpool for tour of events celebrating queer and faith identity

Next weekend I am privileged to be taking part in a panel discussion called ‘Queer Faith Voices’ as part of a tour by a visiting US priest and political strategist Liz Edman. She is the author of Queer Virtue: What LGBTQ People Know About Life and Love and How It Can Revitalize Christianity (Beacon Press, 2016). This is a guest post by Jen Williams promoting the tour.

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Permanent link to this article: https://abravefaith.com/2019/11/19/us-episcopal-priest-liz-edman-visits-liverpool-for-tour-of-events-celebrating-queer-and-faith-identity/

‘So what is a chaplain then?’ – Inspiration from St Martin

As the chaplain at YMCA Liverpool and YMCA St Helens, I am often asked this question by residents.
Rather than get into complicated church jargon with people whose experience of church may be limited or negative, I have found it helpful to share a story that is often told to illustrate the origin of the word ‘chaplain’ and an example of chaplaincy in action.

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Permanent link to this article: https://abravefaith.com/2019/11/11/so-what-is-a-chaplain-then-inspiration-from-st-martin/

Gone, never forgotten – Remembering with thanks on #WorldHomelessDay

As part of YMCA Liverpool’s commemoration of World Homeless Day 2019, residents and staff gathered to celebrate the opening of a new Memorial Garden at its headquarters, Hope House. As chaplain for this extraordinary community which offers supported accommodation for people experiencing homelessness, it was my privilege to dedicate the garden to the memory of YMCA members who are no longer with us.

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Permanent link to this article: https://abravefaith.com/2019/10/11/gone-never-forgotten-remembering-with-thanks-on-worldhomelessday/

#ComeAsYouAre – Christians At Pride In Liverpool

For the past three years, the Open Table LGBT+ Christian community based at St Bride’s in Toxteth has coordinated the Christians At Pride group in the Liverpool march.

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Permanent link to this article: https://abravefaith.com/2019/08/22/comeasyouare-christians-at-pride-in-liverpool/

Everyone’s Chapel – Plans to re-open creative worship space after 20+ years #YMCA175

SINCE January 2019, I have worked part-time as chaplain for the community at YMCA St Helens. There I discovered a hidden gem, of which many of the hostel’s residents and staff were unaware. The chapel, on the second floor of the early 20th Century building on North Road, has not been used regularly for more than …

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Permanent link to this article: https://abravefaith.com/2019/08/13/everyones-chapel-plans-to-re-open-worship-space-after-20-years-ymca175/

Peace, reconciliation & activism – My reflection from my #JourneyOfHope #ActionAtHome

THIS was the reflection I gave as part of my Action At Home – Module 5 of the Journey of Hope pilgrimage in Christian peacemaking and reconciliation. Read more about the Action At Home here or listen to a recording of this reflection here (15 mins). Tonight as we consider how we might make peace, …

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Permanent link to this article: https://abravefaith.com/2019/07/12/peace-reconciliation-activism-my-reflection-from-my-journeyofhope-actionathome/

It starts with me – The fifth step on my #JourneyOfHope

My greatest lesson from this Action At Home was that peace and reconciliation start with me – if I want to offer opportunities for peace and reconciliation to others, I need to start with myself.

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Permanent link to this article: https://abravefaith.com/2019/07/12/it-starts-with-me-the-fifth-step-on-my-journeyofhope/

Being the role model I needed to see on my #JourneyOfHope

THIS is the story I shared as part of the Radical Hospitality module of the Journey Of Hope pilgrimage: About two years ago, I dreamed that I travelled back in time and saw myself as a teenager. My younger self approached me and gave me a hug. The day before, I had visited a secondary …

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Permanent link to this article: https://abravefaith.com/2019/05/30/being-the-role-model-i-needed-to-see-on-my-journeyofhope/

Radical hospitality – The fourth step on the #JourneyOfHope

An ‘inside-out’ journey beginning with hosting ourselves and moving out to consider host-guest dynamics within congregations and communities.

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Permanent link to this article: https://abravefaith.com/2019/05/30/radical-hospitality-the-fourth-step-on-the-journeyofhope/

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