Two:23 meeting with OTN Co-Chair Alex Clare-Young
Open Table Network Co-Chair Alex Clare-YOung joined the March 2021 Two:23 meeting
DID YOU MISS this month's Two:23 Network meeting?
It included a reflection by our Co-Chair Alex Clare-Young on transformation and recreation. Alex is also a United Reformed Church minister, theologian, writer and campaigner. As a trans-masculine non-binary person, Alex is passionate about advocating for the inclusion of, and social justice for, trans people.
The first part, including prayers and worship, is still available on the Two:23 YouTube channel and the Two:23 website.
Two:23 is a network of Christians, connected by LGBT issues, who meet five times a year, usually at Bloomsbury Central Baptist Church. Since March 2020 the first part, with a speaker, prayers and worship, starts at 2.30pm on the Two:23 YouTube channel and the Two:23 website.
The second part is a structured Zoom chat, where we break off into smaller groups and have time to get to know each other. You can get access to the Zoom code by emailing hello@two23.net.
What about the name?
The name Two:23 refers to a verse from the Old Testament prophet Hosea, who uses his own life as an allegory for God’s promise of love to the outsider, the excluded, the person considered a 'nobody':
I will say to those called ‘Not my people’, ‘You are my people’; and they will say ‘You are my God’.
- Hosea 2:23
You can read a meditation on the passage which you can read here.
Where did Two:23 come from?
Two:23 was established in late 2012, emerging from a variety of groups and individuals, who share a common experience of having had to seriously engage with personal issues of faith and sexuality. Some were involved with Courage, an LGBT-affirming ministry run by Jeremy Marks.