This is the second of our Q&A webinars with our new Patrons.
“It’s often not easy as LGBT folk to find places where we can be welcomed simply as we are and enabled to worship God, live lives of discipleship, witness to Christ’s love and serve within the world.”
Watch John Bradbury’s message to the Open Table Network (2 minutes)
The Open Table Network (OTN) is becoming a charity. So we have asked several notable Christians who identify as LGBTQIA+, or as allies, to become our patrons. They will be advocates for OTN, speaking about us and supporting us in the public eye. We are proud that these individuals believe in what we’re doing and want to have their names associated with us.
Revd Dr John Bradbury is General Secretary of the United Reformed Church, co-editor of Thinking Again About Marriage and co-founder of Open Table Cambridge.
John was ordained in Liverpool in 2004 to work as part of the ecumenical team in the centre of the city. John worked closely with the Somewhere Else community, an early Fresh Expression of church. The Somewhere Else community also hosted an LGBTQIA-affirming Christian group.
In 2007, John was appointed to teach Systematic Theology and Church History at Westminster College, Cambridge, where he ultimately served as Vice-Principal. In 2017, John was inducted to serve in a pastorate in Cambridgeshire, where he supported an Open Table community.
He has been heavily involved in ecumenism and has served on various groups for the Community of Protestant Churches in Europe (CPCE). He is the author of Perpetually Reforming: a theology of church reform and renewal.
John will be in conversation with Kieran Bohan, Co-ordinator of the Open Table Network. Kieran is a Missional Leader in the Anglican Diocese of Liverpool, with responsibility for outreach and pastoral care for the LGBTQIA+ community, and training around gender and sexuality issues for faith communities, in the Diocese of Liverpool and beyond. Between 2015 and 2017 he volunteered to support the development of OTN. In 2018 he became the part-time freelance Network Coordinator, to support active Open Table communities and enable those seeking to host an Open Table community in their churches. In 2020, thanks to a grant from the National Lottery Community Fund, he begun working full-time to raise our online presence to reach more isolated LGBTQIA+ folk. This funding has made these webinars possible.