Apr 06
On Sunday 2nd April I spoke to Paul Beesley at BBC Radio Merseyside about my journey, from London to Liverpool, in and out of Christianity and back again, coming out as gay and Christian, and the growth of the Open Table Network from one community in Liverpool 15 years ago to more than 30 across England and Wales today. LISTEN HERE [27 …
Permanent link to this article: https://abravefaith.com/2023/04/06/a-face-for-radio/
Apr 02
TODAY is an extraordinary day – Palm Sunday, the start of Holy Week, the most impact-full time in the whole Gospel story. On Palm Sunday, Christians remember Jesus’ arrival in Jerusalem for the final days of his ministry before he died on the cross and rose to new life. Palm Sunday is the first day …
Permanent link to this article: https://abravefaith.com/2023/04/02/palm-sunday-holy-week-began-with-a-peace-protest/
Jan 07
POPE EMERITUS Benedict XVI died on 31st December 2022, and was buried in the Vatican this week. His legacy is long, though he resigned in 2013, the first Pope to do so for 600 years. In September 2010, as Pope Benedict visited Britain, I was the Convenor of the Liverpool branch of Quest the LGBT+ …
Permanent link to this article: https://abravefaith.com/2023/01/07/the-trouble-with-the-pope-on-benedict-xvis-2010-visit-to-britain/
Oct 07
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 …
Permanent link to this article: https://abravefaith.com/2022/10/07/sergius-and-bacchus-saints-united-in-brother-making/
Aug 31
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 …
Permanent link to this article: https://abravefaith.com/2022/08/31/an-introspective-retrospective-10-years-of-blogging/
Aug 04
IN THE LATEST episode of a podcast ‘for migrants by migrants’, two people with experience of seeking asylum share their stories, one who won leave to remain in the UK with support from an Open Table community, and another who is afraid to get support from an LGBT-affirming Christian community because she fears that the …
Permanent link to this article: https://abravefaith.com/2022/08/04/lgbt-asylum-seeker-podcast-shares-stories-of-faith-exclusion-and-inclusion/
Jun 27
AT A SPECIAL communion service to celebrate the 14th birthday of the first Open Table community in Liverpool on Sunday 19th June 2022, I shared this reflection on Pride Month and how the origin of Open Table is linked to Liverpool’s first official Pride event. Readings: Romans 5: 1-5, Mark 5:1-20 “We boast in our hope …
Permanent link to this article: https://abravefaith.com/2022/06/27/we-boast-in-our-hope-of-sharing-the-glory-of-god-a-reflection-for-pridemonth/
May 21
AS CONTROVERSIAL US preacher Franklin Graham began his UK tour in Liverpool on Saturday 14th May, the Open Table Network worked in partnership with others in Merseyside to offer an alternative event which showcased the Liverpool City Region as a safe, friendly and welcoming place for LGBT+ people of all faiths and none. At an …
Permanent link to this article: https://abravefaith.com/2022/05/21/what-needs-to-be-healed-on-franklin-grahams-uk-tour-support-for-conversion-therapy/
May 14
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 …
Permanent link to this article: https://abravefaith.com/2022/05/14/justice-dignity-and-solidarity-why-i-have-become-a-methodist/
May 06
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 …
Permanent link to this article: https://abravefaith.com/2022/05/06/ten-years-since-first-civil-partnership-in-uk-place-of-worship/
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