Meet our Director: Kieran Bohan in conversation with Sarah Hobbs
OTN Director Kieran Bohan and former Co-Chair Sarah Hobbs
FOLLOWING the success of our Q&As with our Patrons in 2020-21 (still available on our YouTube channel), former Open Table Network Co-Chair Sarah Hobbs will be in conversation with OTN Director Kieran Bohan in the third of a new series of webinars.
If you missed our Q&A webinar with Kieran and Sarah on Wednesday 23rd April 2025, or want to watch it again, now you can catch up below or on our YouTube channel (56 mins).
Kieran and Sarah recorded a Q&A in July 2021, when Kieran was the national Co-ordinator of the newly registered Open Table Network charity. You can watch it here [60 mins].
Now, nearly four years on, the number of our communities has more than doubled, and much has changed for both of them - Kieran became OTN’s first Director in 2023, and began part-time training for ordination in the Methodist Church in 2024. Meanwhile, Sarah has stepped down as Co-Chair after five years to focus on training to become a priest in the Church of England.
Kieran answered a wide range of questions, including:
Can you give us your potted history?
When did you realise you are gay, and how did your family respond?
Has faith always been a big part of your life?
What brought you to Liverpool?
Your civil partnership in 2012 made the national press. What was that like? How did your church respond?
What brought you to the church where Open Table began in 2008? What stands out for you about those early days?
How did you go about multiplying from one to many Open Table communities?
OTN became a charity in 2021, and the network of communities has more than doubled in size since then. What have been your highlights? What have you found challenging?
You’ve heard so many stories through OTN - is there one that’s really stayed with you?
Why do you think faith spaces still struggle to affirm LGBTQIA+ people?
What can a church take to become more welcoming and inclusive?
What are the key principles for setting up a new Open Table community?
How has your role changed, from being Co-ordinator to becoming Director of the network?
What’s your vision for the future of the Open Table Network?
How is OTN ensuring a smooth transition to a new Co-Chair?
Did you give up completely on your call to ordination?
How is the Methodist Church enabling you to continue supporting Open Table communities? How might this change once you’re ordained?
What would you say to someone who feels they must choose between their LGBTQIA+ identity and their Christian faith?
How is Open Table affirming trans people at this difficult time?
What gives you hope now?
How can people support OTN or get involved?
