Revd Steve Chalke
“…the tide of gracious inclusion is sweeping gently in, and it’s overwhelming this sandcastle of hostile resistance… I know you have a key role to play in that.”
THE FIRST Open Table community in Liverpool invites YOU to our eighteenth birthday celebration and communion service.
YOU are more than welcome to come as you are.
In June 2008, six people gathered at the first Open Table service with a vision to start a regular communion service for the LGBTQIA+ community, family and friends. 18 years later, the Liverpool community has grown and is still going strong, and 36 other communities now meet across England and Wales, hosting hundreds more each month, and reaching thousands online, with more to come.
There is much to celebrate and much to look forward to!
Join us for a celebration and thanksgiving communion service led by Revd Steve Chalke MBE.
Flyer for Open Table Liverpool’s 18th birthday. DOWNLOAD HERE.
Steve is a Baptist minister, broadcaster, author and social activist, best known as the founder of Oasis Charitable Trust and Stop the Traffik. Across more than four decades of ministry, Steve has worked to put faith into action through schools, community hubs, anti-trafficking work, church renewal and advocacy for those pushed to the margins.
Steve is also a long-standing advocate for the full inclusion of LGBT+ people in church life. In 2013, he published A Matter of Integrity, making a biblical and pastoral case for the full inclusion of LGBT+ Christians, including support for faithful same-sex relationships and equal marriage. Oasis Church Waterloo, where Steve was Founding Minister, is now known for its inclusive stance and regularly conducts same-sex marriages.
For Open Table Liverpool’s 18th birthday, Steve joins us as someone whose ministry has consistently centred justice, reconciliation and welcome.
Steve is no stranger to Open Table:
In 2013 Open Table Liverpool hosted an open conversation with him on church, sexuality and inclusion
In 2015 he encouraged Open Table as it prepared to become a network through the Oasis Open Church conference
In 2017 he recorded a video message for the emerging Open Table Network’s first national gathering: Dreaming Around An Open Table.
We’re delighted to welcome him back as we celebrate 18 years of Open Table Liverpool and the start of the movement that became the Open Table Network!
Doors open at 6pm - refreshments will be served before the service at 6.30pm. The service will be followed by refreshments, and of course rainbow cake!
If you can’t join us in Liverpool, you can also join us on Zoom. For details, please email liverpool@opentable.lgbt