Category: Civil Partnership

Sergius and Bacchus – Saints united in brother-making

TODAY, 7th October, is celebrated in many Eastern and Western churches as the feast day of Saints Sergius and Bacchus, (died c. 303, Syria), who are among the earliest authenticated and most celebrated Christian martyrs. Their story also includes one of the earliest known references to ‘Brother-Making’ in the early church. This rite, found in Western and Eastern …

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Permanent link to this article: https://abravefaith.com/2022/10/07/sergius-and-bacchus-saints-united-in-brother-making/

An introspective retrospective – 10 years of blogging

TEN YEARS AGO today (as I turned 42) I began this blog. I wrote a brief retrospective after five years. Here’s an update on the next five: having ‘come out of the Catholic church‘ in 2011, then authorised as a lay leader in  Church of England, I have now become a Methodist thanks to its commitment …

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Permanent link to this article: https://abravefaith.com/2022/08/31/an-introspective-retrospective-10-years-of-blogging/

Justice, dignity and solidarity – Why I have become a Methodist

TODAY I became a member of the Methodist Church – it’s not something I imagined I would do, as little as ten months ago, never mind ten years ago when I began reflecting on my faith journey in this blog. Here is the testimony I read to introduce myself to the church I joined: Thank …

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Permanent link to this article: https://abravefaith.com/2022/05/14/justice-dignity-and-solidarity-why-i-have-become-a-methodist/

Ten years since first civil partnership in UK place of worship

ON 6th May 2012, Warren and I arranged a church blessing after registering our civil partnership. While we were planning it, the UK Government changed the law so we could register our civil partnership in a church – and be the first couple in the UK to do so! We spoke to the Liverpool Echo …

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Permanent link to this article: https://abravefaith.com/2022/05/06/ten-years-since-first-civil-partnership-in-uk-place-of-worship/

Sharing my coming-out story for LGBT+ History Month

FEBRUARY is LGBT+ History Month, an annual festival to celebrate the lives and achievements of LGBT+ people past and present. As part of the month-long festival, the Museum of Liverpool is hosting a panel discussion: Christianity and LGBT+ Lives, and I am on the panel. The event will explore the perception that being LGBT+ is …

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Permanent link to this article: https://abravefaith.com/2022/02/07/sharing-my-coming-out-story-for-lgbt-history-month/

Living Stones – Sharing our story at St Bride’s Liverpool

THE CHURCH which has become my spiritual home for much of my time in Liverpool – 19 years this month – is hosting reflections on Sundays called Living Stones, introducing people who’ve been here a long time and people who are new. The aim is to get to know people better and help reconnect us …

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Permanent link to this article: https://abravefaith.com/2022/01/14/living-stones-sharing-our-story-at-st-brides-liverpool/

Forbidden Love – #BreakingTheSilence for #IDAHOTB

Last week I found a copy of a short film portraying different sayings about love (love is timeless, love hurts, love is blind) made by a group of students from Liverpool John Moores University. My husband Warren and I were asked to speak about ‘Forbidden Love’ – the church’s teaching on same-sex relationships.

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Permanent link to this article: https://abravefaith.com/2020/05/17/forbidden-love-breakingthesilence-for-idahotb/

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/

Tales From The City – Making LGBT history in Liverpool

THIS WEEK is your last chance to see a trailblazing exhibition of stories, objects and memories from Liverpool’s LGBT+ community at the Museum of Liverpool. #TalesFromTheCity was launched on 12th October 2017, the day after National Coming Out Day, to mark the 50th anniversary of the 1967 Sexual Offences Act with stories from Liverpool’s LGBT+ community over the past five decades.

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Permanent link to this article: https://abravefaith.com/2019/03/25/tales-from-the-city-making-lgbt-history-in-liverpool/

Here I stand – The second step on the #JourneyOfHope

LAST MONTH I wrote about becoming a participant on the Journey of Hope pilgrimage of training in ‘Christian peace-building and reconciliation… to inspire and equip Christian leaders to become skilled practitioners of reconciliation in their churches and communities.’ reconcilerstogether.co.uk On the brink of the second step on this journey, I wrote about the first – …

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Permanent link to this article: https://abravefaith.com/2019/03/18/here-i-stand-the-second-step-on-the-journeyofhope/

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