ON PALM SUNDAY 2025, Craig Bailey from the Open Table Chester community was baptised, and confirmed. The next day, he set out on a pilgrimage for the duration of Holy Week. Here Craig reflects on his experience of becoming a Christian and committing to this journey of faith.

ON WORLD AIDS DAY, 1st December, since 1988, communities across the globe have come together to show strength and solidarity against HIV stigma and to remember lives lost to the HIV pandemic. At this year’s vigil in Liverpool hosted by Sahir, the region’s largest and oldest HIV and LGBTQ+ charity, Revd Cate Jacobs shared this reflection on the role of faith in both causing stigma around HIV and challenging it.

LAST MONTH, King Charles III joined nearly 300 armed forces veterans, serving personnel and guests for the dedication of the LGBT+ Armed Forces Community Memorial at the National Memorial Arboretum in Staffordshire. Sue Jack from our Open Table Northallerton community reports on the event.

EACH YEAR, on 20th November, Transgender Day of Remembrance [TDOR] is observed in memory of trans people who have lost their lives through prejudice and violence during the past year. Last Saturday, as part of his training for ordination in the Methodist Church, Open Table Network Director Kieran Bohan shared this reflection for TDOR in the chapel at the Queens Foundation for Ecumenical Education in Birmingham.

LAST SATURDAY members of the first Open Table community in Liverpool and friends from other Open Table communities in the region gathered at St Joseph’s Prayer Centre in Formby for a retreat day. Warren Bohan, LGBTQIA+ Ministry Facilitator at St Bride’s Liverpool, shares their creative reflection on our images of God.

AS BLACK HISTORY MONTH comes to an end for another year, we’re delighted to share this reflection from our Open Table Liverpool community on why racial justice matters all year round, not just for this month, and why it’s everyone’s business.

IN THE FIRST of a new series of blogs highlighting stories from our LGBTQIA+ siblings in other countries, journalist André Aram reports from the largest country in South America and the fifth largest nation in the world. Content warning: Brazil has a high incidence of transphobic violence.

DURING the Chester Pride parade on Saturday 16th August, dozens of members of the city’s Wesley Church Centre marched with a Christians At Pride banner. This Methodist congregation, which has hosted the Open Table Chester community since 2018, received a huge amount of support from the public and other churches in Chester. Church member and Centre Co-ordinator Kate Matthews explains what happened next.

OUR MOST READ BLOGGER since 2022 is back with the twelfth and final in the series sharing her story. This month she reflects on her year of blog posts.

In the Affirmative has been a monthly blog from Open Table member Wendy Young who shares her life, thoughts and experience as a queer Christian in Britain.

LAST MONTH, the governing body of the Church of England, General Synod, finally decided to shelve the 1991 document Issues in Human Sexuality. OTN Co-Chair Carol Joyner reflects on what it meant for her and other bisexual Christians.

LIVERPOOL’S PRIDE on Saturday 26th July included a vigil at Liverpool Parish Church to remember LGBTQ+ people who are no longer with us - including those lost to violence, illness, social isolation and the long-term impacts of discrimination and exclusion. OTN Trustee Sue Say offered this reflection in solidarity with our LGBT+ siblings around the world, whose rights, safety, liberty and even their lives, are often at risk.

OUR MOST READ BLOGGER since 2022 is back with the eleventh of a series sharing more of her story. This month she reflects on the most heart-breaking night of her life.
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.

ON SUNDAY 6th July 2025, our Open Table East Cardiff community celebrated two years with a simple Communion service. Revd Ruth Greenaway-Robbins offered this reflection on Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount, also known as the Beatitudes (from the Latin beatus, meaning both ‘happy’ and ‘blessed’.

What may appear to be a simple question encompasses many components such as chromosomes, hormones, genitalia, and reproductive capacity. For most people, these are in alignment and so we could formulate a definition. But any simple definition could not include the rich diversity of human biology. OTN trustee and biologist Revd Jayne Taylor explains.

OUR MOST READ BLOGGER since 2022 is back with the tenth of a series sharing more of her story. This month she reflects on an unexpected change of direction after a heartbreak.

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.

‘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 Jo Miller, the leader of our Open Table Colchester community, reflects on how God has always worked through those the system overlooks, resists or excludes.

ON SUNDAY 15th June 2025, the Open Table Liverpool community celebrated 17 years since its first meeting with a thanksgiving communion service. Revd Dr Barbara Glasson, a Patron of the Open Table Network and former President of the Methodist Church in Britain, shared this reflection on Jesus meeting Nicodemus (John 3:1-17).

LAST MONTH OTN Director Kieran Bohan shared a reflection on news reports of his civil partnership - the first to be registered in a place of worship in the UK - on our ‘This Is My Story’ podcast. This response is by Moon from our Open Table Liverpool community.

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.

‘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.