OTN Patron Right Revd Cherry Vann celebrated Pride Month with our community in Cardiff on 1st June. She has preached at several Pride events, including one last September in Newport Cathedral, when she offered this reflection on how love that is truly inclusive casts out fear - especially the fear LGBTQIA+ people experience in the face of rejection, hostility, and exclusion from the Church.
JUNE 2nd-8th is Volunteers’ Week - a chance to recognise the fantastic contribution volunteers make to our communities and say thank you. The Open Table Network wouldn’t - and couldn’t - exist without the volunteers who give energy, time and talents.
FOLLOWING the success of our Q&As with our Patrons in 2020-21 (still available on our YouTube channel), OTN Co-Chairs Revd Andrew Howorth and Dr Carol Joyner were in conversation in the last of our new webinar series.
‘This is my story’ is an occasional series of short devotions, based around the Bible, the experiences of Open Table members, reflection and prayer. This month OTN Director Kieran Bohan reflects on the response to news reports of his civil partnership - the first to be registered in a place of worship in the UK.
OTN is calling on supporters to sign an open letter in response to UK government policies that threaten the safety, dignity, and rights of trans, non-binary, and intersex people. The letter was created by Revd Sam Mackie, formerly part of the leadership team of the Open Table community in Derby, now an LGBTQ+ Chaplain in Essex.
THIS SATURDAY, 17th May, is International Day Against Homophobia, Transphobia, and Biphobia [IDAHOBIT]. This year’s theme is ‘The power of communities’. How are you planning to mark the day this year?
OUR MOST READ BLOGGER since 2022 is back with the ninth of a series sharing more of her story. This month she reflects on her first long term relationship, which led to domestic abuse. Names have been changed. In the Affirmative is a monthly blog from Open Table member Wendy Young who shares her life, thoughts and experience as a queer Christian in Britain.
A COMMITMENT to inclusive language often has a weakness when it comes to the language we use when we speak about God. Sadly, this is especially true of the scriptures we use, explains Michael Hampson, a published author devoting his early-retirement from parish ministry to producing practical resources for busy clergy and lay-led congregations, beginning with the weekly lectionary resource Sunday Scriptures for Reading Aloud: ssra.uk.
A MOVING and thought-provoking play in Liverpool last month invited us to imagine Jesus coming back to Earth now as a trans woman. Here playwright and performer Jo Clifford reflects on the impact of her return to Liverpool and her Queen Jesus performance.
FOLLOWING the success of our Q&As with our Patrons in 2020-21 (still available on our YouTube channel), former Open Table Network Co-Chair Sarah Hobbs was in conversation with OTN Director Kieran Bohan in the third of a new series of webinars.
Charitable Incorporated Organisation [CIO] no. 1193868 in England & Wales.
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