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THE FOURTH SUNDAY in Lent has been celebrated as Mothering Sunday in the UK for many years, and some claim it has a long history in our churches. Andi from Open Table Warrington takes a closer look and argues for a more inclusive understanding of the celebration.

THIS WEEK the 2022 Global Interfaith Commission on LGBT+ Lives Conference (GIC+) brought together more than 150 religious leaders from 30 countries and a range of faiths, along with academics and lay leaders, to agree a set of Safeguarding Principles to protect LGBT+ people from harm.

THIS MONTH, two OTN supporters feature in My Faithful Ally, the podcast that shares the stories and testimonies from queer people of faith.

IN THIS challenging reflection on the story of Abraham and Isaac, Peter, a queer trans masculine academic researcher, reflects on how forgiveness can be, and often is, a very loaded topic, especially within a faith and church context.

OTN TRUSTEE Augustine Tanner-Ihm reflects on the experience of being uninvited to a student ministry outreach event because of his involvement with the Open Table Network, and being targeted with a racial slur at a gay club.

FAITH AND CIVIC LEADERS will come together with Liverpool City Region’s LGBT+ community and allies on Saturday 14th May for a celebration and LGBT+ affirming service to show that ‘Liverpool Loves You’.

ON ASH WEDNESDAY, one of the Bible readings recommended for the day is the story of Jesus forgiving the woman ‘caught in adultery’ [John 8:1-11]. Warren from Open Table Liverpool shared this reflection on the story after sharing Glitter Ash, a practice intending to capture the relationship between Ash Wednesday and Easter, between death and new life.

MORE THAN 2,500 signatures from Christian leaders have been added to a letter in support of a full ban on 'conversion therapy' in less than 10 days since it was published. The letter will be sent to the Government on 1st March 2022.

AS LGBT+ History Month draws to a close, our Patron Cherry Vann, Bishop of Monmouth, the first lesbian bishop in the Church in Wales, and in a civil partnership, shares her reflection on being able to bless same-sex couples in the Church In Wales.

FOR LGBT+ HISTORY MONTH 2022, OTN co-hosted an affirming online story-telling event sharing true LGBTQIA+ Christian stories from members of OTN, plus our partners Diverse Church, House of Rainbow, OneBodyOneFaith, Quest and Two:23 Network. Here is Grace’s story for OTN.