Sep 29
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 and Exchange for Transformation (MEET) programme at the Queen’s Foundation, where I am training for Methodist ministry. MEET is deliberately …
Permanent link to this article: https://abravefaith.com/2026/09/29/before-i-had-said-a-word-challenging-my-own-expectations-in-sri-lanka/
Jun 30
THIS MONTH has seen Pride events all over the country. It’s 50 years this year since the first Pride March in London in 1972. To mark this milestone, I was one of a number of faith leaders interviewed on BBC local radio on Sunday 26th June. A pre-recorded interview with me and Rabbi Anna Wolfson …
Permanent link to this article: https://abravefaith.com/2022/06/30/it-gets-better-local-radio-interviews-record-progress-on-50th-anniversary-of-pride-in-the-uk/
Dec 25
‘God takes on flesh
and joins life in the struggle –
this is what radical solidarity feels like.’
Permanent link to this article: https://abravefaith.com/2020/12/25/god-in-solidarity-a-christmas-reflection/
Oct 27
THIS MONTH, as the Co-ordinator of the Open Table Network, I led the first of a new series of monthly online worship gatherings. We took the theme of ‘coming out’, as 11th October is marked around the world as ‘Coming Out Day’.
Permanent link to this article: https://abravefaith.com/2020/10/27/who-can-be-against-us-coming-out-as-lgbt-christian/
Aug 13
SINCE January 2019, I have worked part-time as chaplain for the community at YMCA St Helens. There I discovered a hidden gem, of which many of the hostel’s residents and staff were unaware. The chapel, on the second floor of the early 20th Century building on North Road, has not been used regularly for more than …
Permanent link to this article: https://abravefaith.com/2019/08/13/everyones-chapel-plans-to-re-open-worship-space-after-20-years-ymca175/
Apr 15
Sometimes the Church can be an inhospitable place for those presenting a minority report, especially on gender identity and sexual orientation.
Permanent link to this article: https://abravefaith.com/2019/04/15/the-possibility-of-life-the-third-step-on-the-journeyofhope/
Dec 24
AT A carol service this month, hosted by the Open Table inclusive Christian community in Liverpool, I read one of the readings, which I found moving, inspiring and too good not to share. It’s an extract from a lecture called ‘Jesus for the non-religious’ by John Shelby Spong, a retired US Episcopalian Bishop: Suppose we change our …
Permanent link to this article: https://abravefaith.com/2018/12/24/live-fully-love-wastefully-be-all-you-can-be-a-reflection-for-christmas-by-john-shelby-spong/
Dec 11
LAST WEEK the YMCAs in the Liverpool City Region gathered for a carol service in the city’s Parish Church, opposite the world famous Liver Building. As the chaplain for YMCA Liverpool, and just starting as chaplain for the YMCA in the neighbouring town of St Helens, I gave a reflection on the Christmas story and …
Permanent link to this article: https://abravefaith.com/2018/12/11/welcome-into-the-story-a-reflection-for-the-ymca-christmas-carol-service/
Nov 18
THIS BLOG began as I turned 42 in 2012, as: an attempt to be heard, not just for myself, but for other lesbian, gay and bisexual Christians who struggle with their sexual orientation in faith communities that judge them, at best, to be defective heterosexuals, rather than recognising and valuing the gifts and insights that embracing their …
Permanent link to this article: https://abravefaith.com/2018/11/18/the-book-i-wish-i-had-written-queer-and-catholic-a-life-of-contradiction-by-mark-dowd/
Oct 31
LAST WEEKEND Open Table – an ecumenical Christian worship community which offers a warm welcome to people who are: Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer / Questioning, Intersex, Asexual (LGBTQIA) and all who seek an inclusive Church – took part in a day conference called Gathering Voices – From Welcome to Affirmation. As part of that event …
Permanent link to this article: https://abravefaith.com/2018/10/31/what-open-table-means-to-me-guest-post-by-jen/
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