THIS WEEK, the church where my partner and I volunteer to run a monthly LGBT inclusive service, faced a huge decision – whether to commit to at least ten years of major fundraising and building work, or to walk away and start afresh somewhere else. A question this big was hard to answer – the …
We didn’t start the fire: What do we owe each other?
WHAT HAPPENS when four generations sit down to talk about housing, money, politics, climate and the future? A Greenbelt festival panel raised uncomfortable questions about blame, responsibility, hope, and what we owe one another across the generations.
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- 5th October 2026
- Christianity, identity, Methodist, relationships
- abravefaith
Before I had said a word: Challenging my own expectations in Sri Lanka
WHAT DOES IT MEAN to encounter Christians whose context is very different from our own? That was one of the questions behind my visit to Sri Lanka in July as part of the Mutual Encounter …
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- 29th September 2026
- Appreciation, Christianity, identity, LGBT rights, Methodist, relationships, sexuality, Spirituality, Theology, YMCA
- abravefaith
Common ground is spiritual currency: Sharing good news differently
WHAT MIGHT CHANGE if we approached conversations about faith not as opportunities to persuade, but as invitations to listen, learn and encounter one another? A reflection on what happened when I set out to share my faith and found myself listening instead. Along the way, I discovered new questions about belonging, grace, authenticity and the kind of communities we are called to create.
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- 15th September 2026
- Christianity, Methodist, Open Table, Spirituality, Theology
- abravefaith
No time to die: Mortality, vulnerability and the gift of life
Have you ever thought you had so much to do that you couldn’t get ill? I have. What began as several weeks of recurring chest discomfort eventually led me to NHS 111, a walk-in centre and a hospital Emergency Department. The reassuring results brought relief and gratitude, but also prompted some unexpected reflections on asking for help, receiving care, and not taking life for granted.
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- 9th September 2026
- Christianity, Gratitude, Liverpool, Meaning of Life, relationships, Spirituality, Theology
- abravefaith
When God is already there: Learning through interfaith encounters
AS PART of my training for Methodist ministry, I have reflected on how encounters with people of different faiths have changed my understanding of where God is at work. From separation to encounter, I explore what interfaith engagement has taught me about listening, difference and faith.
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- 17th August 2026
- Christianity, Liverpool, Methodist, Spirituality, Theology
- abravefaith
To be rather than to seem: The moral compass I want to carry
What would my moral compass look like? An unusual Christian Ethics assignment led me from family history and an old Latin motto to a coat of arms representing four themes that shape my writing, ministry and faith: authenticity, inclusion, peace and kindness.
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- 11th August 2026
- Christianity, identity, Kindness, Methodist, Open Table, relationships, Spirituality, Theology, YMCA
- abravefaith
Transfiguration and Hiroshima: What is mine to do for peace?
This week Christians celebrate the Feast of the Transfiguration, while the world also marks the eighty-first anniversary of the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. At first glance these events could hardly seem further apart. One is a story of dazzling glory on a mountain; the other of unimaginable devastation beneath a mushroom cloud.
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- 3rd August 2026
- Christianity, Methodist, Spirituality, Theology
- abravefaith
Where vocation begins: St Martin and the origin of a calling, chapels, and chaplaincy
St Martin of Tours is remembered for sharing his cloak with a beggar, but his story has much more to teach us about vocation, ministry and recognising Christ in our neighbour. Reflecting on his life again while preparing to preach, I found fresh encouragement for the call to follow Christ in everyday life.
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- 5th July 2026
- Chaplaincy, Christianity, Methodist, Spirituality, Theology
- abravefaith
Good news worth sharing?
AS PART of my ministry training, I’m exploring what happens when we share stories of faith and invite others to respond. I’d love to hear your perspective, whatever your beliefs or background.
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- 2nd June 2026
- Christianity, Coming Out, identity, Liverpool, marriage, Marriage Equality, Meaning of Life, Mental Health, Methodist, Open Table, sexuality, Spirituality, Theology
- abravefaith
Pride, shame, and the possibility of life
JUNE is celebrated around the world as Pride Month, remembering the long struggle of LGBTQIA+ people to live openly and safely, free from fear, shame, and discrimination. Last Sunday, as part of my training as a …
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- 1st June 2026
- Christianity, Coming Out, Hate Crime, Homophobia, identity, LGBT rights, Liverpool, Michael Causer, Open Table, sexuality, Spirituality, Theology, Transphobia
- abravefaith
Grace before agreement: What living ecumenically has taught me
What does it mean to practice Christian unity today? Drawing on my own journey across Christian traditions and the story of the Open Table Network, I explore unity, grace, and the courage to stay at the table – especially when we don’t agree on everything.
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- 2nd March 2026
- Appreciation, Chaplaincy, Christianity, Civil Partnership, Gratitude, identity, Liverpool, Methodist, Open Table, relationships, Spirituality, Theology
- abravefaith
‘All Are Welcome!’: How a surprising witness is inspiring a national church
FEBRUARY is LGBT+ History Month, an annual celebration of lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans and non-binary history. This year the Methodist Church in Britain asked me to connect them with a minister who could tell the story of a church that had walked the sometimes difficult journey to becoming truly inclusive and hosting an Open Table community.
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- 22nd February 2026
- Christianity, Coming Out, Gratitude, identity, LGBT rights, Methodist, Open Table, Pride, relationships, sexuality, Spirituality
- abravefaith
Oct 24
Some principles for making prayerful decisions
- By abravefaith in Christianity, Spirituality
-
24th October 2015
Permanent link to this article: https://abravefaith.com/2015/10/24/some-principles-for-making-prayerful-decisions/
Oct 18
LGBT hate crimes in UK ‘more likely to be violent’
- By abravefaith in Bullying, Hate Crime, LGBT rights
-
18th October 2015
HATE CRIME AWARENESS WEEK has just ended in the UK. The Home Office release the latest statistics on hate crime, which showed that: the number of hate crimes (motivated by race, religion, sexual orientation, disability or transgender identity) reported in England & Wales was up 18% on the previous year (52,528 in 2014/15, 44,471 in …
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Permanent link to this article: https://abravefaith.com/2015/10/18/lgbt-hate-crimes-in-uk-more-likely-to-be-violent/
Oct 11
Coming home – My story for #NationalComingOutDay
- By abravefaith in Christianity, Coming Out, LGBT rights
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11th October 2015
WHEN AN LGBT PERSON speaks of coming out, it often involves the moment of revelation to those closest to you, especially parents and family. October 11th is #NationalComingOutDay – so here’s my story: Coming out was certainly a major milestone on my journey, delayed and complicated by the fact that I spent three years in my twenties …
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Permanent link to this article: https://abravefaith.com/2015/10/11/comingoutday15/
Oct 07
Questions are the answer – nakedpastor and the search for understanding by David Hayward
- By abravefaith in Christianity, Spirituality
-
7th October 2015
BLOGGER AND CARTOONIST David Hayward was a Christian pastor in Canada for more than thirty years before leaving the paid clergy and setting up thelastingsupper.com, which he describes as ‘an online community for spiritually independent people’. Questions Are The Answer is the story of his journey towards ‘spiritual independence’, told in word and cartoon. You …
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Permanent link to this article: https://abravefaith.com/2015/10/07/questions-are-the-answer/
Sep 22
Kim Davis – Let me show you what persecution looks like
- By abravefaith in Bullying, Christianity, Hate Crime, Human Rights, LGBT rights, Liverpool, Marriage Equality
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22nd September 2015
ON US TV today (Sept. 22), the clerk who refused to issue marriage licenses to ANY couple because she didn’t believe in same sex marriage has said what hurts her most about how she has been treated since she defied the Supreme Court ruling on marriage in June – being called ‘a hypocrite’. Kim Davis …
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Permanent link to this article: https://abravefaith.com/2015/09/22/kim-davis-let-me-show-you-what-persecution-looks-like/
Aug 04
A very queer* time – Bishop goes viral, Quest continues, Love in the dock, God loves hugs & Michael’s mates
- By abravefaith in Christianity, Coming Out, Hate Crime, Human Rights, LGBT rights, Liverpool, Michael Causer, Spirituality
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4th August 2015
*Queer – originally meaning odd, used as a term of homophobic abuse, reclaimed by activists as a defiant act of liberation, now interpreted to mean radical transgression of norms – see my comments on Keith Sharpe’s book The Gay Gospels below. IT’S BEEN an extraordinary couple of weeks since my last post about the Bishop of …
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- Catholic, Catholic Church, Christian, church, Church of England, civil partnership, Civil union, coming out, current-events, England, gay, Gay community, Gay Lesbian and Bisexual, gender identity, God, homophobia, interfaith, Jesus, Keith Sharpe, LGBT, LGBT social movements, Liverpool, Liverpool Pride, Merseyside, Michael Causer, Roman Catholic Church, Ruth Hunt, Same-sex marriage, Sexual orientation, sexuality, spirituality, Stonewall, theology, transphobia, Youth
- Leave comment
Permanent link to this article: https://abravefaith.com/2015/08/04/a-very-queer-time/
Jul 20
Bishop shares ‘absolute welcome’ with LGBT Christians
- By abravefaith in Christianity, LGBT rights, Liverpool, Spirituality
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20th July 2015
A CHRISTIAN community which warmly welcomes Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender (LGBT) people, their friends and family, celebrated its seventh anniversary on Sunday 19th July, with the Bishop of Liverpool as their guest. The inclusive service, known as ‘Open Table’, meets on the third Sunday of each month at St Bride’s Anglican Church on Percy …
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- Anglican, bisexual, Bishop of Liverpool, Christian, Church of England, current-events, England, gay, Gay community, Gay Lesbian and Bisexual, God, Hertfordshire, homophobia, Lesbian, LGBT, LGBT social movements, Liverpool, Liverpool Pride, Merseyside, Methodist, Open Table, pastoral care, Paul Bayes, Place of worship, Sexual orientation, sexuality, spirituality, theology, trans, transphobia, United Reformed Church, Warren Hartley, Warrington
- 6 comments
Permanent link to this article: https://abravefaith.com/2015/07/20/bishop-shares-absolute-welcome-with-lgbt-christians/
Jul 12
‘Rainbow profile pictures for sex offenders’ – Homophobia NOT satire
- By abravefaith in Bullying, Coming Out, Hate Crime, LGBT rights, Marriage Equality
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12th July 2015
IT’S LATE – my phone rings. It’s someone I haven’t heard from in a while. I answer. His greeting is warm, but it sounds like he’s been drinking. He chats about Facebook – he says he doesn’t use it much but he’s logged in and noticed the rainbow filter on my profile picture, the only …
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Permanent link to this article: https://abravefaith.com/2015/07/12/rainbow-profile-pictures-sex-offenders-homophobia-not-satire/
Jun 27
Pride – the opposite of prejudice: From New York to old York
- By abravefaith in Christianity, Human Rights, LGBT rights, Marriage Equality
-
27th June 2015
THIS SUNDAY is the anniversary of the Stonewall Riots, heralded as the birth of the international LGBT rights movement. Pride marches in cities across the world, including New York and London, are taking place this weekend to commemorate the struggle for equality that began in New York’s Stonewall Inn in the early hours of June …
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Permanent link to this article: https://abravefaith.com/2015/06/27/pride-opposite-of-prejudice/
May 16
WATCH: United Nations ‘Free & Equal’ campaign video marking #IDAHOT2015
- By abravefaith in Bullying, Coming Out, Hate Crime, Human Rights, IDAHOT, LGBT rights
-
16th May 2015
In at least 76 countries around the world, loving someone of the same sex is illegal and, in ten countries, it is even punishable by death. In many more countries citizens are denied their right to live as their preferred gender identity. As well as legal discriminations, social homophobia, biphobia and transphobia daily serve to deny millions …
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Permanent link to this article: https://abravefaith.com/2015/05/16/watch-united-nations-free-equal-campaign-video-marking-idahot2015/
Recent posts
- We didn’t start the fire: What do we owe each other?
- Before I had said a word: Challenging my own expectations in Sri Lanka
- Common ground is spiritual currency: Sharing good news differently
- No time to die: Mortality, vulnerability and the gift of life
- When God is already there: Learning through interfaith encounters
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