Meet our new trustees - could you be next?
Craig and Esther, our newest trustees.
JUNE 1st-7th is Volunteers’ Week - a chance to recognise the fantastic contribution volunteers make to our network.
AT OUR AGM on Saturday 25th April 2026 we welcomed two new volunteer trustees to our board.
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.
Dr Carol Joyner, Co-Chair of OTN’s board of trustees, said:
‘We are blessed and proud to continue to attract such experienceed new Trustees to our team. We can’t wait to work with them to develop OTN even further.’
Join us in welcoming:
Craig Bailey (he/him)
Craig is part of the Open Table communities in Chester and Nantwich. Alongside experience in local government, charitable and church governance, and serving as a magistrate, Craig brings a deeply personal commitment to OTN’s mission. After first attending Open Table in 2024, he found a renewed sense of faith, belonging, and purpose. He is passionate about helping create spaces where LGBTQIA+ people can encounter welcome, inclusion, and God’s love.
WATCH: Craig’s intro video [2.5 mins]
Esther Dix (she/her)
Esther works in the arts, and is currently writing a survival guide for LGBTQIA+ Christians. She is an alumni of the Journey of Hope, a project for faith leaders working in areas of conflict. She loves walking, cooking, climbing, messy creativity, and great coffee. She lives life as a pilgrimage, and is delighted to be journeying with OTN - accompanied by Robin, a cockapoo who always offers ‘more than welcome’.
WATCH: Esther’s intro video [2.5 mins]
Farewells
At the same meeting, we also said thanks and farewell to Revd Andrew Howorth. Andrew has stepped down as a trustee and Co-Chair after three years to focus on leading the Open Table Bradford community, and hos new role as LGBT+ Chaplain in the Church if England Diocese of Leeds.
Andrew said:
‘Serving as Co-Chair of the Open Table Network has been a privilege. I am grateful to the trustees, coordinators and community members who make this network what it is. Guided by the Holy Spirit, OTN continues to grow, creating safe worshipping communities for LGBTQIA+ people. While we pray for the day when every church embraces God's inclusive love, it is encouraging to see our network going from strength to strength.’
The trustees elected Revd Calum Crombie as the new Co-Chair to serve alongside Co-Chair Dr Carol Joyner. Calum said:
‘I’m proud to be able to support an organisation that affirms people in the fullness of who they are and works to ensure that faith and identity are never seen as competing parts of a person’s life.’
We are grateful for all our trustees who have guided us through the last five years of challenge, change and phenomenal growth since OTN became a charity in March 2021.
Could you be next?
We have ONE more space on OTN's trustee board. We can co-opt new people at any meeting to serve until next year's AGM.
