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/
Jun 27
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 …
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/
May 21
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 …
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/
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/
Aug 23
SINCE MAY, Liverpool Cathedral has been home to a spectacular art installation called Peace Doves, featuring 18,000 paper doves created by renowned sculptor and artist Peter Walker. Peace Doves features around 18,000 paper doves suspended on 15.5 miles of ribbon from the ceiling of the Cathedral. Visitors to the cathedral, along with local school children …
Permanent link to this article: https://abravefaith.com/2021/08/23/under-the-peace-doves-a-vigil-for-justice-at-liverpool-cathedral/
Aug 02
Pride in Liverpool is ten years old this year. It was formed as a response to the murder of 18-year-old Michael Causer, who died 12 years ago today. It’s also twelve years since the launch of the first Open Table community at St Bride’s Liverpool, and five years since the beginning of the Open Table …
Permanent link to this article: https://abravefaith.com/2020/08/02/the-opposite-of-shame-a-reflection-for-pride-in-liverpool-2020/
Dec 24
AT A carol service this month, hosted by the Open Table inclusive Christian community in Liverpool, I read one of the prayers, which I found moving, inspiring and too good not to share. It’s a prayer for Christmas morning produced by enfleshed.com, a website which provides resources ‘that matter most. that addresses honestly, tenderly, and directly, the …
Permanent link to this article: https://abravefaith.com/2019/12/24/a-prayer-for-christmas-morning/
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