JUNE 2nd-8th is Volunteers’ Week – a chance to recognise the fantastic contribution volunteers make to our network.

AT OUR AGM on Saturday 5th April 2025 we welcomed a new trustee to our board for the next three years.

Our trustees are responsible for thinking through and putting into practice plans which will develop the Open Table Network (OTN). They play a very important role in our life as a charity, for which they are unpaid.

Revd Andrew Howorth, Co-Chair of OTN’s board of trustees, said:

‘We are fortunate and proud to continue to attract such talented new Trustees to our team. We can’t wait to work with them to develop the OTN even further.’

Join us in welcoming:

Sue Say (she/her)

As a Black, lesbian, Christian woman, Sue has experience of being excluded. This has fuelled her passion for justice and belief that striving for the inclusion of all should be paramount. She is part of the leadership team of the Open Table community in Liverpool, as Team Lead for Justice. Between 1981 and 1984 she was part of the Greenham Common Women’s Peace Camp, protesting against US nuclear weapons in the UK, and has written a book about her experience. She has been a school governor for 30+ years, with expertise in safeguarding, safer recruitment, change management, and policy development.

WATCH: Sue’s intro video [2 mins]

At the same meeting, we also said thanks and farewell to, Sarah Hobbs, OTN Co-Chair and one of our founding trustees since May 2020. Sarah has stepped down as a trustee and Co-Chair after five years to focus on training to become a priest in the Church of England.

Sarah said:

‘Supporting the development of the Open Table Network over the last five years as God’s hand has guided us, has been a privilege. I want to pay tribute to our communities, their leaders and members. I believe LGBTQIA+ people have a special place in God’s heart and helping them find communities where they are wanted and valued is humbling. I pray for Open Table’s future success and look forward to seeing its continued growth.’

The trustees elected Dr Carol Joyner as the new Co-Chair to serve alongside Co-Chair Revd Andrew Howorth. Carol is the author of several books on bisexual Christian intersectional identities and LGBT Christian inclusion. She lives with her wife just outside of Edinburgh and hopes to extend the Open Table Network in Scotland. Carol said:

‘I’m delighted and honoured to become Co-Chair of his fantastic organisation and to put Scotland and Bisexual Christian intersection on the map’.

We are grateful for all our trustees who have guided us through the last four years of challenge, change and phenomenal growth since OTN became a charity in March 2021.

Could you be next?

We have THREE more spaces on OTN’s trustee board. We can co-opt new people at any meeting to serve until next year’s AGM.

Contact us to find out about becoming a trustee of the Open Table Network.