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DURING THE PRIDE SERVICE at Liverpool Cathedral on Sunday 30th July, following reflections on the Welcoming Christ, The Hospitality of Abraham, and The Outraged Christ, we moved through the Cathedral to the Lady Chapel to conclude our service, with a reflection by Jen Williams, founder of Open Table Sefton, echoing this year’s theme for Pride In Liverpool: ‘Shout It Loud!’

DURING THE PRIDE SERVICE at Liverpool Cathedral on Sunday 30th July, following reflections on the Welcoming Christ, and The Hospitality of Abraham, we moved through the Cathedral to two more points for reflection. The third was at the sculpture of The third was at the sculpture of The Outraged Christ, a 15ft high depiction in wood, iron and steel of the crucifixion of Jesus.

DURING THE PRIDE SERVICE at Liverpool Cathedral on Sunday 30th July, following a reflection on the Welcoming Christ statue, we moved through the Cathedral to three more points for reflection. The second was at the icon of the hospitality of Abraham, also interpreted as representations of the three persons of God (Father, Son and Spirit).

AT THE CLOSE of Pride in Liverpool on Sunday 30th July 2023, Liverpool Cathedral and Open Table collaborated to host a reflective service that brought us together and celebrated the vulnerability and visibility of Pride. The theme of the service took inspiration from the statue of the Welcoming Christ by Elizabeth Frink which stands over the entrance to the Cathedral, greeting visitors to the Cathedral with open hands.

THREE Open Table members on Merseyside have been nominated by the public on a list celebrating the contributions of LGBTQ+ people to their community.

INSPIRED by guest speaker Jonathan Tallon’s reflection on Pride in the New Testament at our national gathering last month, OTN trustee Neil Rees shares his own response with a broader Biblical focus.

THE UNITED REFORMED CHURCH (URC) has voted in support of a resolution to recognise the inherent worth of people with diverse gender identities, at the annual meeting of its governing body this month. Two of the three ministers who brought the proposal to the URC General Assembly support local Open Table communities.

WEAR A T-SHIRT that supports LGBTQIA+ inclusion in our churches! The Open Table Network (OTN) has just launched an e-shop where you can order merchandise to raise funds for the charity and the growing network of communities we support.

AS GENERAL SYNOD, the Church of England's governing body, concluded on Tuesday, representatives of 18 inclusive Christian organisations published an open letter to the Archbishops of Canterbury and York, in favour of ‘a Church of England in which it is possible for same-sex couples to marry in church’.

Following the 2023 national gathering of the Open Table Network (OTN), Fiona Thomas, co-leader of the Open Table community in Blackheath, south London, and developmentalist for Appreciating Church, reflects on how simple questions can generate ideas and imagination.