Category: Liverpool

Let justice and peace flow – A Creationtide reflection

It’s September, the Season of Creation. It’s a time to renew our relationship with our Creator and all creation, through celebration, prayer and action, together with the whole human family, for the good of our common home.

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Permanent link to this article: https://abravefaith.com/2023/09/10/let-justice-and-peace-flow-a-creationtide-reflection/

Giving thanks for this phenomenal journey

AT THE ANNUAL MEETING this weekend of the parish where the first Open Table community began, I spoke about my journey with this community over the last 15 years, and the new stage I am now entering, which would not have happened without their support. This is what I shared: This church has been my …

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Permanent link to this article: https://abravefaith.com/2023/04/30/giving-thanks-for-this-phenomenal-journey/

A face for radio

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 …

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Permanent link to this article: https://abravefaith.com/2023/04/06/a-face-for-radio/

Palm Sunday: Holy Week began with a peace protest

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 …

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Permanent link to this article: https://abravefaith.com/2023/04/02/palm-sunday-holy-week-began-with-a-peace-protest/

The Trouble With The Pope: On Benedict XVI’s 2010 visit to Britain

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+ …

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Permanent link to this article: https://abravefaith.com/2023/01/07/the-trouble-with-the-pope-on-benedict-xvis-2010-visit-to-britain/

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/

LGBT+ asylum seeker podcast shares stories of faith, exclusion and inclusion

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 …

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Permanent link to this article: https://abravefaith.com/2022/08/04/lgbt-asylum-seeker-podcast-shares-stories-of-faith-exclusion-and-inclusion/

We boast in our hope of sharing the glory of God – A reflection for #PrideMonth

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 …

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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/

What needs to be healed – On Franklin Graham’s UK tour & support for ‘conversion therapy’

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 …

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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/

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