Jul 17
TEN YEARS AGO today the Houses of Parliament passed legislation to allow same-sex marriage in England and Wales. To mark the anniversary, BBC Radio Merseyside host Paul Salt interview me and my husband Warren, as we were the first couple to register a civil partnership in a place of worship in the UK.
Permanent link to this article: https://abravefaith.com/2023/07/17/10-years-of-same-sex-marriage-in-england-wales-bbc-radio-merseyside-interview/
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/
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/
Feb 07
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 …
Permanent link to this article: https://abravefaith.com/2022/02/07/sharing-my-coming-out-story-for-lgbt-history-month/
Jan 14
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 …
Permanent link to this article: https://abravefaith.com/2022/01/14/living-stones-sharing-our-story-at-st-brides-liverpool/
Jul 05
LAST WEEK Methodist Conference, the governing body of the Methodist Church in Britain, passed significant resolutions with far-reaching consequences for its members, and the wider Christian community.
Permanent link to this article: https://abravefaith.com/2021/07/05/methodist-moves-for-greater-justice-dignity-and-solidarity-for-all-especially-lgbt-people/
Mar 15
The Catholic Church’s office for promoting its teaching authority has issued a statement in response to a question: ‘Does the Church have the power to bless unions of persons of the same sex?’ The answer is ‘Negative’, in more ways than one. I wrote this response on behalf of The Open Table Network:
Permanent link to this article: https://abravefaith.com/2021/03/15/vatican-statement-declares-blessing-same-sex-relationships-is-illicit/
Jun 27
TODAY is the day that the person who inspired me to begin sharing my story steps down as the President of the Methodist Conference, the governing body of the Methodist Church of Great Britain. Barbara Glasson was the Methodist Minister for Liverpool City Centre from 1999-2009. During this time I encountered the community she led, …
Permanent link to this article: https://abravefaith.com/2020/06/27/so-whats-the-story-thank-you-for-asking/
May 17
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.
Permanent link to this article: https://abravefaith.com/2020/05/17/forbidden-love-breakingthesilence-for-idahotb/
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