Tag: Open Table

Who can be against us? Coming out as LGBT & Christian

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’.

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Permanent link to this article: https://abravefaith.com/2020/10/27/who-can-be-against-us-coming-out-as-lgbt-christian/

‘A little tiny bit of what the world should be like’ – Open Table Network on BBC Radio 4 Sunday Worship

THIS MORNING, one of the new Patrons of the Open Table Network, Rachel Mann, led BBC Radio 4’s Sunday Worship on the theme of ‘Urban Harvest’, and invited me as the Network Co-ordinator to share a short reflection. Traditionally harvest is a time to celebrate and offer thanksgiving for God’s bounty in nature. Rachel reflected on …

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Permanent link to this article: https://abravefaith.com/2020/09/27/a-little-tiny-bit-of-what-the-world-should-be-like-open-table-network-on-bbc-radio-4-sunday-worship/

The opposite of shame – A reflection for Pride in Liverpool 2020

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 …

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Permanent link to this article: https://abravefaith.com/2020/08/02/the-opposite-of-shame-a-reflection-for-pride-in-liverpool-2020/

Radical Welcome: What does it mean to be an inclusive church?

LAST MONTH, in my role as Open Table Network Coordinator, I was interviewed by Revd Phillip Johnson, vicar of the Parish of Malvern Link With Cowleigh, which is discerning whether to host an Open Table community. Phillip and I met in 2019 while taking part in the Journey of Hope pilgrimage exploring Christian reconciliation in …

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Permanent link to this article: https://abravefaith.com/2020/06/11/radical-welcome-what-does-it-mean-to-be-an-inclusive-church/

A prayer for Christmas morning

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 …

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Permanent link to this article: https://abravefaith.com/2019/12/24/a-prayer-for-christmas-morning/

Queer Faith Voices: Is faith inherently queer?

AS PART of the tour of Merseyside by Queer Virtue author Liz Edman last month, I took part in a panel discussion called ‘Queer Faith Voices’. Liz uses the term ‘queer’ in the academic sense, as a verb meaning ‘to disturb / disrupt false binaries’. These binaries can relate to gender (male/female) or sexuality (heterosexual/homosexual), …

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Permanent link to this article: https://abravefaith.com/2019/12/02/queer-faith-voices-is-faith-inherently-queer/

#ComeAsYouAre – Christians At Pride In Liverpool

For the past three years, the Open Table LGBT+ Christian community based at St Bride’s in Toxteth has coordinated the Christians At Pride group in the Liverpool march.

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Permanent link to this article: https://abravefaith.com/2019/08/22/comeasyouare-christians-at-pride-in-liverpool/

Turning to one another – Setting out on a #JourneyOfHope

LAST AUTUMN I saw an advert for a fully-funded six-month training programme in ‘Christian peace-building and reconciliation… to inspire and equip Christian leaders to become skilled practitioners of reconciliation in their churches and communities.’ It seemed too good to be true – an opportunity for fully-funded personal and professional development at a time when I …

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Permanent link to this article: https://abravefaith.com/2019/02/08/turning-to-one-another-setting-out-on-a-journeyofhope/

An outpouring of the spirit – Searching for a more inclusive church

LAST MONTH I gave a reflection at St John’s United Reformed Church in Warrington, the home of the first gathering of Open Table outside Liverpool, which began in July 2015, seven years after the Liverpool community first met. My reflection, adapted here, was inspired by a blog post I wrote in September 2013 on the …

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Permanent link to this article: https://abravefaith.com/2017/04/30/an-outpouring-of-the-spirit-searching-for-a-more-inclusive-church/

Bishop shares ‘absolute welcome’ with LGBT Christians

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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Permanent link to this article: https://abravefaith.com/2015/07/20/bishop-shares-absolute-welcome-with-lgbt-christians/