Giving thanks for loving partnership - Open Table community celebrates members' relationship
Revd David Johnson led the service of thanksgiving for Jake and CJ within the monthly celebration of the Open Table Northallerton community,
FOR THE FIRST TIME in the Open Table Network, our community in Northallerton, North Yorkshire, hosted an informal and relaxed service of thanksgiving for the civil partnership of regular members CJ and Jake this month.
The couple, who met at York LGBT Forum in 2018 and have been together for four years, registered their civil partnership in May. CJ explained:
‘After deliberating between marriage and civil partnership, we decided on the latter as there is still, sadly, some lack of agreement in the church over same-sex weddings.’
The civil partnership celebration was small and intimate. Thanks to the hospitality of All Saints Church, which hosts the Open Table Northallerton community, the couple were able to extend the celebration to anyone who wanted to join them, and 80 people attended.
The thanksgiving service, led jointly by Church of England and Methodist ministers, included a time to celebrate the complexity and diversity of LGBT relationships. Jake and CJ spoke about what it meant to share publicly, and the impact on the wider LGBTQ+ community.
CJ said:
‘Jake and I would like to thank Open Table Northallerton for the wonderful welcome to our family, friends and community as we gave thanks for our Civil Partnership in a time of worship. Open Table have provided a safe space where members across the LGBTQ+ community (those of Christian, other faiths and no faith background) could gather together and celebrate with us in this special moment.’
Revd David Johnson, one of the leadership team at All Saints Northallerton, said:
‘The Open Table community in Northallerton were so pleased to host this service of thanksgiving. It was fantastic to have representatives from different denominations and to provide a warm welcome to many who would normally never enter a church. To show Jesus' love not only for CJ and Jake but all who were there was a real privilege.’
