THIS is a detail of Jacob Wrestling With The Angel, by Alexander-Louis Leloir (1865). I discovered this image as I began writing my coming-out-in-faith story. I believe the story which inspired it has something to teach us about our identity, which may explain its popularity as a source of inspiration for artists, and why it speaks …
Listening to the music of the soul: True Colors
‘LISTENING to the Music of the Soul’ by Guli Francis-Dehqani is divided into 8 chaptersinspired by 8 pieces of music. The author invites us to ‘have a go at creating your own Desert Island Discs… to help you better understand yourself and the things that are important to you’. Here’s my fourth.
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- 20th December 2025
- Christianity, Civil Partnership, Coming Out, Homophobia, identity, LGBT rights, Liverpool, marriage, Marriage Equality, Michael Causer, Open Table, relationships, sexuality, Spirituality
- abravefaith
Listening to the music of the soul: Canon in D
INSPIRED by 8 pieces of music, Listening to the Music of the Soul by Guli Francis-Dehqani is divided into 8 chapters. The author invites us to ‘have a go at creating your own Desert Island Discs… to help you better understand yourself and the things that are important to you’. Here’s my third.
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- 19th December 2025
- Christianity, Civil Partnership, Liverpool, marriage, relationships, sexuality, Spirituality
- abravefaith
Listening to the music of the soul: Don’t give up
AS THIS ADVENT SEASON invites us to ponder the mystery of Jesus’s coming at Christmas, I’m sharing a series of reflections inspired by Listening to the Music of the Soul, the Archbishop of York’s Advent …
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- 18th December 2025
- Coming Out, identity, Mental Health, relationships, sexuality, Spirituality
- abravefaith
Listening to the music of the soul: Walk among them, I’ll go with you
Inspired by eight pieces of music, Listening to the Music of the Soul by Guli Francis-Dehqani is divided into eight chapters. The author also invites us to ‘have a go at creating your own Desert Island Discs… to help you better understand yourself and the things that are important to you’. Here’s my first.
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- 17th December 2025
- Christianity, Christmas, identity, Open Table, sexuality, Spirituality
- abravefaith
Gifts that change us: An Advent reflection
6th December is the feast of St Nicholas, patron saint of children. In the Middle Ages, there was a tradition of electing a Boy Bishop – a reminder to hear the wisdom of the young.
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- 9th December 2025
- Appreciation, Christianity, Christmas, Gratitude, Kindness, Methodist, Spirituality
- abravefaith
Called by name – A reflection for Trans Day of Remembrance
EACH YEAR, on 20th November, Transgender Day of Remembrance [TDOR] is observed in memory of trans people who have lost their lives through prejudice and violence during the past year. Last Saturday, as part of his training for ordination in the Methodist Church, I shared this reflection for TDOR in the college chapel.
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- 19th November 2025
- Bullying, Christianity, Hate Crime, Human Rights, identity, LGBT rights, Methodist, Open Table, Spirituality, Transphobia
- abravefaith
Faithful and humble: Living the Gospel when no-one’s watching
Every church has them – the quiet heroes. The ones who turn up early, serve faithfully, and never seek attention. In a world that prizes recognition, Paul’s letter to Timothy and Jesus’ parable of the Pharisee and the tax collector remind us of something different: that God values faithfulness and humility, even – and especially – when no one’s watching.
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- 1st November 2025
- Appreciation, Chaplaincy, Christianity, Gratitude, Kindness, Methodist, Spirituality, YMCA
- abravefaith
Make time for peace: A call to action
SEPTEMBER 21st is the United Nations International Day of Peace, created in 1981 as an opportunity for ‘commemorating and strengthening the ideals of peace both within and among all nations and peoples.’ Two decades later, …
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- 21st September 2025
- Christianity, Coming Out, Hate Crime, Human Rights, identity, Kindness, Liverpool, Methodist, Open Table, relationships, Spirituality
- abravefaith
Garden of Peace: A reflection for the Season of Creation 2025
LAST SUNDAY, as part of my training as a Methodist minister, I shared this brief reflection on the Season of Creation, which runs from 1st September to 4th October, the feast of St. Francis of Assisi, the patron saint of the environment.
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- 2nd September 2025
- Christianity, Methodist, Spirituality
- abravefaith
Transfiguration and Hiroshima: A reflection on peace
LAST SUNDAY, as part of my training as a Methodist minister, I shared this reflection on the 80th anniversary of the bombing of Hiroshima, which falls on the Feast of the Transfiguration (6th August).
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- 6th August 2025
- Christianity, Methodist, Spirituality
- abravefaith
Encouraging words build community spirit
LAST MONTH, as part of my training as a Methodist minister, I shared this reflection about the inmportance of sharing encouragement when we can, not waiting until someone leaves or has died to say how we really feel.
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- 4th August 2025
- Appreciation, Christianity, Gratitude, Kindness, Meaning of Life, Methodist, relationships, Spirituality
- abravefaith
Joy, freedom, kindness: A spiritual exercise
LAST SUNDAY, as part of my training as a Methodist minister, I shared this reflection during an all-age service. The service included children and adults with learning difficulties. The readings for the day were Psalm …
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- 5th July 2025
- Christianity, Kindness, Methodist, Spirituality
- abravefaith
Sep 23
The scared and the sacred – Wrestling with identity
- By abravefaith in Christianity, Coming Out, LGBT rights, Spirituality
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23rd September 2012
Permanent link to this article: https://abravefaith.com/2012/09/23/the-scared-and-the-sacred/
Sep 15
Jack-with-no-box – Why I have come out of the church
- By abravefaith in Christianity, Coming Out, LGBT rights, Spirituality
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15th September 2012
IN MY LAST POST I explained how I began to find my voice while contributing to The Exuberant Church by Rev Barbara Glasson. As Barbara and I discussed the coming out process, I had a strong sense that I needed to help her write her story and, in doing so, I began to write my …
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Permanent link to this article: https://abravefaith.com/2012/09/15/jack-with-no-box/
Sep 07
Coming out of the Church
- By abravefaith in Christianity, Coming Out, LGBT rights, Spirituality
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7th September 2012
I BEGAN to find my voice and share my story in 2009 when an author friend approached me to talk about ‘coming out’ – she wanted to get an understanding of this extraordinary process of identity-claiming to see what it might reveal to those people of faith who struggle to accept diversity of sexual orientation and gender …
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Permanent link to this article: https://abravefaith.com/2012/09/07/coming-out-of-the-church/
Aug 31
The ultimate question
- By abravefaith in Christianity, Coming Out, LGBT rights, Meaning of Life
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31st August 2012
TOMORROW I turn 42. In the first novel and radio series of Douglas Adams‘ The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, a group of hyper-intelligent pan-dimensional beings demand to learn the Answer to the Ultimate Question of Life, The Universe, and Everything from the supercomputer, Deep Thought, specially built for this purpose. It takes Deep Thought 7½ million years to …
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- BBC Television, Christian, civil partnership, coming out, Deep Thought, Douglas Adams, Gay community, Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, LGBT, Liverpool, Merseyside, Personal development, Phrases from The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, Roman Catholic Church, Same-sex marriage, Sexual orientation, sexuality, spirituality
- 8 comments
Permanent link to this article: https://abravefaith.com/2012/08/31/the-ultimate-question/
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