National church invests in LGBT+ charity

Revd Dr John Bradbury speaks to the Open Table community in Cambridge in 2019. A minister of the church where Open Table Cambridge began, he became the General Secretary of the URC later that year. In 2020, John became a Patron of the Open Table Network.

A CHARITY which affirms and empowers lesbian, gay, bi and trans (LGBT) people to build communities hosted by welcoming and understanding churches has received a large cash boost from one of Britain’s national churches.

Revd Fiona Bennett (centre), URC General Assembly Moderator, with OTN Co-Chairs Revd Dr Alex Clare-Young (left) and Ms Sarah Hobbs (right) at a vigil for Trans Day of Remembrance at Downing Place United Reformed Church, Cambridge, in November 2022.

The United Reformed Church (URC), which agreed in 2016 to allow local churches to vote on performing marriages of couples of the same gender, has committed to supporting the Open Table Network (OTN), a growing partnership of communities across England and Wales run by and for LGBT+ people, their families and friends.

The grant, for £50,000 over the next three years, is the first donation OTN has received from any national church in the 15 years since it began with a group of six LGBT+ people at St Bride’s Anglican Church in Liverpool in 2008.

At a time where most other public places welcome them equally, LGBT+ people are still not always welcomed in Britain’s churches. They are significantly more likely to experience mental distress, which research has shown relates explicitly to discriminatory pastoral practices of local churches, and the church’s substantial contribution to negative attitudes toward LGBT+ people in society (In the Name of Love, Oasis Foundation 2017).

As OTN has grown, from one community in Liverpool to 33 across England and Wales today, more and more LGBT+ Christians are finding their way to communities where they can feel safe to explore their faith among friends.

The second Open Table community began at St John’s URC in Warrington in 2015. Gail Yorke, who now leads the community and is an elder in the church, said:

‘Open Table means everything to me. It has truly saved me.’

Gail explained:

‘I was at a point of really hating who I was, but Open Table gradually brought me to a point, now, where I can stand and look at myself in a mirror and say, "You know what? I actually like you." That’s a point I never thought I would get to’.

Four more Open Table communities are now hosted by United Reformed churches, in Cambridge, Birmingham, Guildford and Bromley. With the help of this grant, OTN will support more URC congregations across Britain to welcome, include, affirm and empower LGBT+ people from any Christian tradition, or any or no faith background.

The Open Table community in Cambridge is one of the largest and most active across the Open Table Network, gathering around 35 people twice a month. This community, in partnership with Downing Place URC which hosts it, led a Sunday morning service to mark LGBT+ History Month in February 2022 and 2023, attracting hundreds of people in person and online, the biggest congregations of any service in that church.

Revd Dr Alex Clare-Young, a trans URC minister and Co-Chair of the Open Table Network, said:

‘It is profoundly encouraging to us that the URC has seen and understood the need that OTN addresses, and the potential of our growing Christian communities. By giving such a large grant, they have witnessed to the expansive and just love of God, and committed to helping us create safer spaces for all.’

Alex added:

‘This gift gives us hope that other national churches, and other organisations, will soon want to understand the pain and harm which rejection from churches creates, and support us to enable more spaces, where LGBT+ people can find the specific welcome, affirmation and full participation that allows them to come as they are to meet and to be themselves.’

Editor’s notes:

• The first Open Table community began in 2008. It began to multiply and become a network in 2015. It became the Open Table Network (OTN) charity in 2021.

• OTN is a growing partnership of communities across England & Wales which welcome and affirm people who are: Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans, Queer or Questioning, Intersex, & Asexual (LGBTQIA) + our families, friends & anyone who wants to belong in an accepting, loving community.

• Here are some examples of research which shows why we need to create communities for LGBTQIA+ people.

• Independent research into the experience of Open Table community members showed that:

  • 56% said being LGBTQIA+ is a barrier to belonging in a faith community.

  • On average, our members experienced a 40% improvement in well-being after joining an Open Table community.

  • 87% feel less isolated and more socially connected after joining an Open Table community.

  • 92% said being part of an Open Table community increased their sense of belonging.

  • 89% said being part of an Open Table community provided a safe space for them.

  • 78% said there is a need for an LGBTQIA+ organisation to bridge the gap between the Christian community and the LGBTQIA+ community.

• Open Table communities are also hosted by churches in the Church of England, Church in Wales, Methodist and Baptists traditions. Each community is open to everyone, from any or no faith tradition.

To find out more about OTN: contact Kieran Bohan, Coordinator. Email: network@opentable.lgbt. Mobile: 07501 753 618

To find out more about the URC, visit urc.org.uk or phone 020 7916 2020.