Meet our new trustees from across & beyond the Open Table Network
WELCOME to Rosemary Hill, Peter Jones, Andrew Howord, and Roo Stewart
AT OUR AGM on Thursday 2nd March 2023 we welcomed FOUR new trustees to our board for the next three years.
Our trustees are responsible for thinking through and putting into practice plans which will develop the Open Table Network (OTN).
They play a very important role in our life as a charity, for which they are unpaid. Sarah Hobbs, Co-Chair of OTN’s board of trustees, said:
We are simultaneously fortunate and proud to have such amazing people join the team. We can’t wait to work with them to develop the OTN even further.
Join us in welcoming:
Revd Rosemary Hill (she/her)
Rosemary is a priest in the Church in Wales. She is Vicar for Children, Family and Community in the East Cardiff Ministry Area in the Diocese of Monmouth and a school priest in St Teilo's Church in Wales High School. She is studying part-time for a PhD at Westcott College, Cambridge, focussing on trauma and loss of faith in LGBTQIA+ Christians. She is a lesbian and has been openly out in the church for 2015. She is part of the team that is developing an Open Table community in East Cardiff. Having experienced the sheer joy of worship and fellowship in Open Table she welcomes the opportunity to help make that available for others.
WATCH: Rosemary’s intro video [1.5 mins].
Peter Jones (he/him)
Peter is a PhD researcher at the University of Leicester, researching the experiences of LGBTQIA+ Christians; their identities and sacred spaces, and how they are shaped through creativity and creative methods. He interviewed members of Open Table communities as part of a case study. Peter is a trans man who was out and openly queer before becoming a Christian in 2012. He is now a member of St Nicholas’ Church in Leicester which a diverse and inclusive community. WATCH: Peter’s intro video [2 mins]
Revd Andrew Howarth (he/him)
Andrew is the Chaplain at the University of Bradford. He worked in mental health for 27 years before becoming an Anglican priest. In a civil partnership, Andrew works alongside his partner to develop safe spaces for those who identify as Christian in the LGBTQIA+ community. Together, they are part of the team that is developing an Open Table community in Bradford, the first to meet in a place that is not a church. WATCH: Andrew’s intro video [2 mins].
Roo Stewart (he/him)
Roo is the Programme Support Officer for Church & Society at the United Reformed Church (URC), working with the Joint Public Issues Team, a partnership between the Baptist Union of Great Britain, the Methodist Church, and URC, to help churches work together for peace and justice through listening, learning, praying, speaking and acting on public policy issues. Roo’s specialism is in communication; he aims to help the Open Table Network communicate who we are to a wider audience. WATCH: Roo’s intro video [2.5mins].
At the same meeting, two of our founding trustees were elected to stay on for a further three years:
Revd Anne Bennett, Vicar of the Church of the Ascension in Blackheath, south London, which has hosted an Open Table community since January 2018.
Neil Rees, whose 27 years in international mission is helping OTN respond to the growing number of enquiries for support we are receiving from beyond England and Wales, as far afield as Australia, easter Europe, Africa, Asia and North America. Neil was also elected as Secretary to the Trustees to support the board with minutes and financial administration.
We also said thanks and farewell to another founding trustee, Revd Lucy Berry, who has given so much over the last three years to help OTN communicate clearly and simply about why it matters that OTN creates and supports safer spaces for LGBTQIA+ people in our churches. A great example is the reason we no longer say ‘All are welcome’ when what we really mean is ‘More than welcome’.
