Find your place at the table: Watch our new video
“Stepping into a community like Open Table, it’s safety, nurture, welcome.”
WATCH our new short film: Find your place at the table [5 mins]
WHEN THE FIRST Open Table community began in Liverpool in 2008, it was responding to a simple human need: to provide a place where LGBTQIA+ people could find belonging and flourish in a faith community.
18 years later, that first community has grown into a national network of almost 40 communities across England and Wales. Each month, hundreds of volunteers give thousands of hours to create the kind of safe, affirming space that they too once needed.
Now, in our new short film, people across the network share what these communities mean to them, and what would be missing if they didn't exist.
Making the film
Our new film, Find your place at the table, was made possible after OTN was selected as one of ten winning charities, from more than 300 applicants, to receive a free day's filming from Big Picture Charity Films. The Essex-based charity has produced hundreds of films for good causes since it was established in 2012. The team already knew something of the difference Open Table can make, having been present at the launch of the Open Table community in Colchester in 2022.
The filming took place in June at Liverpool Parish Church, home of the OTN office. The day brought together Open Table community members and leaders from across the network. It was designed to capture short, heartfelt reflections on how Open Table communities create safe and affirming spaces, reduce isolation, build belonging, improve wellbeing, and help people integrate faith and identity.
Those who took part came from communities across England and Wales, reflecting just how far Open Table has grown since our first film in 2017.
Our first short film, ‘Will it be Open Table?', told the story of that original community in Liverpool and helped us share the story as we began to grow into a network. The new film looks much further: at the people, communities and experiences that make up Open Table today.
A place to belong
The new film reflects the findings of our latest independent research, which found that:
94% of Open Table members said being part of their community had improved their wellbeing,
84% said it had significantly reduced their feelings of isolation.
But the statistics only tell part of the story.
As one community member from Bradford says in the film:
‘Stepping into a community like Open Table, it’s safety, nurture, welcome.’
Another from Salford describes the overwhelming experience of discovering that sense of belonging:
‘I remember actually crying a little bit, because I was so overwhelmed with this feeling of love and acceptance, and of belonging.’
For some people, that welcome has helped them begin to heal from painful experiences of religion and reconcile their faith with their identity. For others, it has meant finding somewhere they no longer have to hide or pretend. A member from Liverpool describes the exhaustion of hiding part of yourself:
‘Hiding any part of your identity is just really tiring and quite exhausting… A faith space where you can just be yourself highlights how important the spaces are that do exist in those ways and remind you of how special they are and that needs to be protected.’
These stories reflect why Open Table communities matter, and why the work of sustaining and growing them is so important.
Telling our story together
The filming day was about more than sitting in front of a camera. People travelled from different Open Table communities to meet one another, share their experiences and think about the future of the network.
In their evaluations of the day, people described valuing the connection and hope, meeting members of other communities, sharing food and fellowship, hearing different experiences, and discovering just how extensive the network has become. One person summed it up:
‘We are definitely stronger together!’
That sense of connection is part of what we hope comes through in the film.
Watch the new film
Find your place at the table is just five minutes long and brings together voices from Open Table communities across the country.
We hope you’ll watch it, share it, and help us tell the story of what Open Table communities mean to LGBTQIA+ people, their families, friends and allies.
WATCH: Find your place at the table
At the end of the film, Kieran Bohan, OTN Director, says:
‘We want to extend this table even further. We’re building communities where people can truly belong, and we’d love you to be a part of it.’
That’s the invitation at the heart of Open Table.
