Our annual report

Every year, charities have to send a report to The Charity Commission to show that they’re doing everything they’re supposed to do, and not doing anything they’re not supposed to do.

Our full report for 2023 is available to all on the Charity Commission website. For our more colourful, dynamic Impact Report, read below or download the PDF version.

Click the link to jump to each section

The Open Table Network [OTN] is a growing partnership of communities across England & Wales which genuinely welcome and affirm people who are:

Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans, Queer or Questioning, Intersex, & Asexual (LGBTQIA) + our families, friends & anyone who wants to belong in an accepting, loving community.

In 2021 we became a charity to sustain the extraordinary growth we have supported across the UK.

In 2023 we celebrated 15 years of the first Open Table community, which began in 2008, and eight years since we began to multiply into a network of communities in 2015.

By the end of 2023 we supported 35 communities across England and Wales, meeting regularly, led by LGBTQIA+ people and our allies.

• We are building a network of mutually supportive communities hosted by inclusive churches for people who are LGBTQIA+ (the + indicates those who define their gender and / or sexuality in other ways).
• Our growing network is reaching across the UK so more people can belong in a community where faith and LGBTQIA+ identities are explored and celebrated in safe, non-judgmental spaces.
• We welcome LGBTQIA+ people whose experience of faith communities has been cold or hostile, leaving them isolated at times when they most need affirmation of love, worth and belonging.
• We resource Open Table communities, churches, individuals, and the wider community, through signposting, training, events, materials and support, to foster understanding between people from diverse backgrounds, promote equality and celebrate diversity.
• We maintain an online presence offering solidarity and signposting for LGBTQIA+ people, and raising awareness of the needs of LGBTQIA+ people in faith communities and wider society.
• We work in partnership with other LGBTQIA+ affirming Christian organisations to share best practice and amplify marginalised voices.
• We train and support Open Table community leaders to provide long-term unconditional welcome to LGBTQIA+ people, our families and friends.
• Our communities are relieving mental and emotional distress, reducing social isolation and promoting mental, spiritual and physical well-being for LGBTQIA+ people who seek the potential well-being provided by a faith community but currently find no welcome, affirmation or tolerance in many faith communities.

Read more about how we are answering a great need.

OTN works to give LGBTQIA+ people what other people take for granted: a safe space in church if they want it.

Open Table community leaders and volunteers told us:

Open Table community members said:

Read more about our impact.

We know that these communities are needed, as demand for them continues to grow:

• In 2023 we had a 31% increase in monthly contacts, with about 2% new to Open Table.

• We supported 31 communities, including one which relaunched under new leadership.

• We helped three communities which struggled to meet regularly to be more sustainable, including training and equipping new leaders.

• When two communities closed we began conversations with potential new leaders who may revive them in future.

• We also launched six new communities, bringing the number of active communities to 35.

• One new community meets in an LGBT+ community centre – this is the first time an Open Table community has been hosted outside a church building.

• Two new communities are in south-west England. OTN had no communities here until September 2022. Now there are four.

• We also have our first community in south Wales, in Cardiff.

• Another community is increasing the presence and reach of Open Table across Greater London.

• We have another new community in Merseyside, bringing the total in the region where OTN began to seven.

• We also supported 35 other churches to explore hosting an Open Table community. We hosted eight consultations, involving around 200 people in conversations about how to create communities that genuinely invite belonging and full participation for LGBTQIA+ people.

Six new communities launched in 2023:

Our partners said:

Read more about our partnerships

In 2023 we:

• Joined 60+ UK organisations in the Ban Conversion Therapy Coalition calling on the UK Government to completely ban practices which seek to change people’s gender identity or sexual orientation, to protect LGBTQIA+ people from psychological and spiritual abuse.
• Hosted 130 people at a fringe meeting of the Church of England’s governing body, General Synod, (more than ¼ of its membership)
• Supported the Community of the Cross of Nails, an international reconciliation movement, to share stories of exclusion from Open Table members, and why inclusive language matters.
• Shared resources for LGBT+ History Month with the Joint Public Issues Team (a partnership between the Baptist Union of Great Britain, the Methodist Church and the United Reformed Church).
• Took part in a memorial service to commemorate LGBTQIA+ people who have lost their lives to suicide and experienced harm.
• Contributed to a resource on how to be a good Christian ally in partnership with the Student Christian Movement & OneBodyOneFaith.

Plus:

Two members of the United Reformed Church [URC]’s Equalities Committee who support local Open Table communities proposed a resolution to recognise the inherent worth of people with diverse gender identities, at the annual meeting of the URC’s governing body, General Assembly. Following this resolution, members of the URC Youth Executive sought OTN’s advice on creating a resource to educate people in the URC on the implications of the above resolution.

OTN also worked with:

• Churches in five traditions (Baptist, Church in Wales, Church of England, Methodist, URC), including two cathedrals
• Regional police chaplains
• A national emergency food aid charity
• Trainee spiritual directors
• A spirituality centre to co-host a retreat weekend.

OTN also took part in:

• A panel discussion on a play exploring conversion therapy.
• A webinar on safeguarding LGBT+ people in the Methodist Church.
• Multiple media interviews.
• Recruitment of research participants.
• An art exhibition touring UK churches to promote equality, diversity and inclusion.
• A vigil to commemorate murdered trans teenager Brianna Ghey.

Following a successful pilot in north-west England in 2022, OTN secured funding to offer hospitality training to volunteers from across the network in the south of England in 2024. This will share good practice that will help these communities fulfil OTN’s vision, mission, and values.

OTN also hosted a national gathering on the theme More Than Equal, which 46 people attended. They said:

‘Spending a day in an affirming space with other LGBTQIA+ people and allies is basically the dream!’

‘LGBTQIA+ people have much to offer but have largely been marginalised. We deserve extra care and support so we can flourish.’

The OTN website offers information to the whole of society. It aims to give any interested party (welcoming, curious, cautious, or currently hostile) a chance to better understand LGBTQIA+ people.

Our website’s average monthly visits have increased by 5%, email contacts by 28%, and subscribers to our monthly e-newsletter by 32%.

In July 2023, the OTN blog came third in the FeedSpot Best Christian LGBTQ Blogs and Websites ‘ranked by traffic, social media followers & freshness’. In August 2023, OTN launched ‘This is my story’, an occasional podcast series of short devotions, based around the Bible, the experiences of Open Table members, reflection and prayer.

On social media, Instagram engagement has increased by 7%, while engagement on other platforms has declined. We are considering ways we might respond to this trend (e.g. seeking an alternative to Twitter / X in 2024).

Our trustees are responsible for thinking through and putting into practice plans to develop the Open Table Network.

At our 2023 AGM, our trustees were:

• Revd Anne Bennett
• Revd Dr Augustine Tanner-Ihm
• Revd Lucy Berry
• Liam Greenbank
• Neil Rees, who was elected Secretary to the Trustees.

And our Co-Chairs:

• Revd Dr Alex Clare-Young
• Sarah Hobbs

Plus, we were joined by:

• Revd Andrew Howorth
• Roo Stewart
• Peter Jones
• Revd Rosemary Hill.

We said thanks and farewell to Revd Lucy Berry, who helped OTN clearly communicate why creating and sustaining safer spaces for LGBTQIA+ people in our churches matters, and Revd Dr Augustine Tanner-Ihm, who stepped down to join the leadership of a new LGBT+ Christian outreach in Manchester.

Meet our team

If you’re interested in finding out about becoming a trustee, please contact our Director Kieran: network@opentable.lgbt.

In 2023 our income was £43,831, and our expenditure was £43,559.

OTN continued to support significant growth, not yet matched by the resources to sustain it for the long term.

OTN is working hard to grow contributions from individuals, communities, and inclusive churches. We have also begun to sell merchandise through an online shop, and attract more diverse funders.

In March 2023, OTN secured its first large grant (£50,000 over three years), from the URC, which will support the charity’s core work while fundraising continues. This grant has enabled OTN to secure the employment status of its Coordinator, with the new title of Director to represent the way the charity’s lead role has evolved. The URC also offered practical support, including low-cost office space.

By the end of 2023, OTN had received £7,210 in donations, £2,000 more than in 2022.

We aim to significantly grow regular donations, to increase OTN’s financial security, and further develop our mission to welcome, include, affirm and empower LGBTQIA+ people so they can belong as themselves.

Here’s how you can support us.

Although OTN is not an international charity, the substantial growth in enquiries from beyond England and Wales in 2022 was sustained in 2023.

There were 24 enquiries, consistent with 2022, peaking at 7 in one month.

Nine came from Uganda, where LGBT+ people are criminalised and may face the death penalty.

We also had one enquiry each from:

Scotland, Northern Ireland, and the Republic of Ireland,

Plus:

Algeria, Canada, Congo, Ghana, Kenya, Malawi, Pakistan, Portugal, South Sudan, and Zambia.

Two individuals declined to share their country of residence.

OTN’s Secretary to the trustee board, who is experienced in international development, has continued to respond to these enquirers by offering support via email and signposting to local allies.

In 2021, we asked Open Table community members and leaders, and our trustees, to imagine what OTN could be like in 2024.

Some of these dreams have already been surpassed:

• 34-35 communities established (we currently have 37);
• The geographical spread means Open Tables are far more accessible;
• Open Table is more authentically ecumenical.

But some dreams that were shared are still out of reach:

• We are not yet self-sustaining financially;
• Open Table is still not widely known within LGBTQIA+ networks, whether Christian or secular.

We want to dream big for the next few years.

In a rapidly changing world, LGBTQIA+ people, and LGBTQIA+ Christians in particular, are still facing victimisation and lack of acceptance, and potential moves from government to silence trans and non-binary people in the UK.

The challenge for Open Table communities maintain a witness of love and welcome to all who seek it has never been more significant or important.

These photos from across the Open Table Network in 2023 appear in the OTN Annual Report: