Oct 24
LAST MONTH, I spent three days with colleagues from around a dozen other YMCAs at the UK Unify conference, a platform for YMCAs to share and reflect on the Christian mission of what is now the largest and oldest youth charity in the world. I was expecting the conference to be mostly chaplains and managers, …
Permanent link to this article: https://abravefaith.com/2018/10/24/just-do-it-for-gods-sake-reflecting-on-the-christian-mission-of-the-ymca/
Oct 18
SINCE 2010, the third Thursday in October has been marked as #SpiritDay, when millions of people wear purple and change their social media profile pictures to help create a world in which lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT+) young people are celebrated and accepted for who they are. It began in 2010 when Canadian high school student Brittany McMillan created …
Permanent link to this article: https://abravefaith.com/2018/10/18/heartwarming-responses-to-lgbt-bullying-spiritday-itgetsbetter/
Jul 31
THIS is my reflection at the Post-Pride Chillout Service in the Lady Chapel of Liverpool Cathedral to mark the end of Liverpool Pride on Sunday 29th July 2018: The death of Michael Causer was Liverpool’s Stonewall moment. My name is Kieran, and I’m the coordinator of the growing network of Open Table communities, which began …
Permanent link to this article: https://abravefaith.com/2018/07/31/liverpools-stonewall-moment-a-reflection-on-the-10th-anniversary-of-michael-causers-murder/
Nov 07
TEN YEARS AGO this month, the UK’s longest running LGBT youth group* produced a short film about their experience of being lesbian, gay or bisexual in Liverpool. The 18 minute film aimed at 13-19 year olds uses drama, animation, original music and research to present issues around coming out, bullying at school, harassment at work, …
Permanent link to this article: https://abravefaith.com/2017/11/07/are-we-there-yet-from-homophobia-to-equality/
Oct 11
TODAY, 11th October, is celebrated in many countries as ‘National Coming Out Day’, a campaign to promote a safe world for LGBT+ individuals to live truthfully and openly. This morning I marked the occasion by giving a lecture to around 300 trainee teachers, to raise awareness of issues around gender and sexuality, and to explore …
Permanent link to this article: https://abravefaith.com/2017/10/11/coming-out-in-the-classroom-the-power-of-education-ncod/
Dec 03
This week I was proud to be part of the You Are Here LGBT+ history pop-up exhibition at Tate Liverpool. I loaned the Liverpool Echo report on our civil partnership (the first to be registered in a UK place of worship, at Ullet Road Unitarian Church… …and the 2014 Being Proud …
Permanent link to this article: https://abravefaith.com/2016/12/03/youarehere-a-popup-museum-of-liverpool-lgbt-history/
Nov 18
THIS WEEK was Anti-Bullying Week in the UK, with the theme #PowerForGood – a challenge to each of us to speak up against the culture of bullying wherever we find it. It struck me this year that the campaign, which normally focuses on schools and youth groups, is more needed than ever for all of us, …
Permanent link to this article: https://abravefaith.com/2016/11/18/how-will-you-use-your-powerforgood-antibullyingweek-nobystanders-lovewins/
Aug 29
THE LAST two posts have told the experiences of members of the This post was inspired by the words of the visitors to the Open Table stall who left messages of love and thanks, wishes and prayers. Our aim with the community stall (see photo 1) was to create a safe sacred space in the festival marquee, …
Permanent link to this article: https://abravefaith.com/2016/08/29/somewhere-under-the-rainbow-messages-of-love-thanks-wishes-and-prayers-from-liverpool-pride/
Apr 24
IN OCTOBER 2014, the UK Government announced £2 million funding for charities offering creative ideas to stamp out homophobic, biphobic and transphobic (HBT) bullying in schools. In March 2015, eight organisations received a share of the fund, including the children’s charity Barnardo’s, for its plan ‘to provide face-to-face support for victims of HBT bullying and training for …
Permanent link to this article: https://abravefaith.com/2016/04/24/barnardos-faith-toolkit-lgbthm-review-pt-5/
Mar 28
Last time I wrote I set myself the challenge of a series of posts detailing my participation in, and reflection on, LGBT History Month in February. Since then I have been involved in more events and have been recovering from what our local paper called the ‘Liverpool lurgy’ so this has taken longer than planned. Hope it’s worth the wait.
Permanent link to this article: https://abravefaith.com/2016/03/28/the-thin-blue-line-lgbthm-review-pt-2/
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