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opentablelgbt.bsky.social
Open Table Network
@opentablelgbt.bsky.social
360 followers 67 following 580 posts
Partnership of #Christian communities across England & Wales welcoming & affirming #LGBTQIA people + our family & friends & anyone who wants to belong in an accepting, loving community.
www.opentable.lgbt
#ComeAsYouAre #MoreThanWelcome #FaithfullyLGBT
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opentablelgbt.bsky.social
TODAY (18th Dec) on #InternationalMigrantsDay we hold in prayer those forced to flee - and those forced to stay in danger. Ivan’s story from Uganda shows why #RoomAtTheTable must stretch across borders. READ MORE: bit.ly/FearFaithResilience
A person seen from behind holding a large rainbow Pride flag stretched wide across their shoulders outdoors, with trees and people blurred in the background. Three people standing close together outdoors, wearing rainbow-coloured face masks that cover their faces, with eye and mouth cut-outs. One person grips a metal pole, and all wear hooded jackets.
December 18, 2025 at 6:00 PM
opentablelgbt.bsky.social
📣 WILL 2026 be the year the UK Government publishes a Bill to #BanConversionPractices?
Nearly 1 in 6 #LGBTQ+ young people in the UK have faced conversion practices.
As part of the Ban Conversion Practices Coalition we’ve written to the Prime Minister calling for action.👉 READ MORE: bit.ly/BCP2026
A photograph of two people embracing while wearing winter coats, with warm Christmas lights in the background. Overlaid text states: “Nearly one in six LGBTQ+ young people in the UK reported being threatened with or subjected to conversion practices.” The Ban Conversion Practices logo appears below the text. A pink-background graphic showing an envelope and a letter titled “Christmas Wish”. The letter reads: “Dear Prime Minister, will you give the LGBTQ+ community the gift of safety and acceptance by finally making harmful conversion practices illegal?” The Ban Conversion Practices logo appears at the bottom.
December 18, 2025 at 12:04 PM
opentablelgbt.bsky.social
#RoomAtTheTable Day 18:
'A PLACE where I could be accepted, loved, respected and protected... Without Open Table and the safety therein, we simply wouldn’t be able to worship or take Communion together.' - Suzanne, Chester - READ MORE: bit.ly/AcceptedRespectedProtected
Suzanne is smiling, wearing dark sunglasses and a straw hat decorated with a rainbow ribbon at a Pride event. She is surrounded by a crowd holding rainbow umbrellas and flags, with buildings visible in the background on a sunny day.
December 18, 2025 at 6:00 AM
opentablelgbt.bsky.social
THIS SUNDAY our first Open Table community in Liverpool is again hosting the parish carol service, with music led by Liverpool Rainbow Chorus, followed by soup, bread, mulled wine & mince pies Come early to get a good seat! See you there? READ MORE: bit.ly/OTcarols211225
Poster advertising an inclusive Carol Service. Decorative string lights and Christmas baubles frame the design. Text reads: “Carol Service, Sunday 21st December 2025 at 6.30pm, refreshments from 6pm, St Bride’s Church Percy Street, Liverpool. Open Table invites everyone to a Christmas service with carols followed by soup, bread, mince pies and mulled wine. Featuring Liverpool Rainbow Chorus and Open Table Liverpool Orchestra.” Logos for Open Table and St Bride’s appear alongside a rainbow-coloured Christmas tree.
December 17, 2025 at 6:02 PM
opentablelgbt.bsky.social
'IT'S OFTEN NOT EASY as #LGBT folk to find places where we can be welcomed simply as we are and enabled to worship God, live lives of discipleship, witness to Christ's love and serve within the world.' - OTN Patron John Bradbury, URC General Secretary. #RoomAtTheTable
Head-and-shoulders portrait of John Bradbury, wearing glasses, a dark suit, and a patterned tie, smiling slightly against a light background. Text alongside reads: 'John Bradbury, General Secretary of the United Reformed Church', with the Open Table logo beneath.
December 17, 2025 at 12:00 PM
opentablelgbt.bsky.social
#RoomAtTheTable Day 17:
'God didn’t make a mistake when making me... God doesn’t merely tolerate my existence but actively celebrates it.' - Roo, OTN trustee, in our #ThisIsMyStory podcast: bit.ly/otnwonderfullymade
A head-and-shoulders portrait of Roo with short blond hair and a light ginger beard, wearing a red jumper over a collared shirt, looking directly at the camera against a plain light background. A stylised fingerprint made up of curved lines in rainbow colours, arranged concentrically on a white background, by oxanaart on istockphoto.com
December 17, 2025 at 6:00 AM
opentablelgbt.bsky.social
JOY is the theme of the third weekend in #Advent. We're delighted that our Open Table communities bring #joy to so many:
‘A wonderful sense of "family" and a joy in belonging to a growing network of folk relieved to have found a safe, spiritual space.’ #RoomAtTheTable
A purple background featuring abstract, multicoloured human figures arranged in a circle. Overlaid text reads: “A wonderful sense of ‘family’ and a joy in belonging to a growing network of folk relieved to have found a safe, spiritual space.” Attribution below: “Feedback from our national gathering, June 2022
December 16, 2025 at 6:02 PM
opentablelgbt.bsky.social
#RoomAtTheTable Day 16:
'I GET ENOUGH hate and judgement in the rest of my life. At Open Table I get unquestionable God-given love. It’s that simple.' - Moon, Liverpool
READ MORE: bit.ly/ItWasThatSimple
A diverse group of people gathered at a Pride event, smiling and standing together beneath a large Open Table banner that reads “Safe sacred space for LGBTQIA+ Christians.” Clergy and lay people of different ages, genders, and ethnicities are present, some wearing rainbow stoles or Pride colours, holding signs including “God ❤️ us.” The scene conveys faith-based inclusion, solidarity, and joyful activism.
December 16, 2025 at 6:00 AM
opentablelgbt.bsky.social
THE THEME of the third week of #Advent, the beginning of the Church’s year when we prepare to celebrate the coming of Jesus at Christmas, is #JOY. This extract from a blog post on QueerTheology.com challenges us to claim our joy as beloved queer children of God: bit.ly/DefiantJoy #RoomAtTheTable
A silhouetted crowd at a concert or worship gathering, with one hand raised in the foreground. The scene is lit by vivid rainbow-coloured lights, creating an atmosphere of joy, defiance, and celebration.
December 15, 2025 at 6:00 PM
opentablelgbt.bsky.social
CHURCH OF ENGLAND research request: Former OTN trustee Gus Tanner-Ihm is researching psychological safety in the CofE.
How safe do people feel to speak honestly, ask questions, and be fully themselves in church life?
🕔 It only takes 5 minutes
📊 Your voice really matters
🔗 surveymonkey.com/r/SZBSVL5
A beige poster titled “Researching psychological safety in the Church of England,” with a simple church icon. The text explains a doctoral research project asking how safe people feel to speak honestly and be themselves in church life, notes it takes five minutes to complete, and invites participation via a link.
December 15, 2025 at 12:02 PM
opentablelgbt.bsky.social
#RoomAtTheTable Day 15:
'IT'S BEEN a privilege to develop the first Open Table community not in a church but in an LGBT+ social space. A great things about being part of the Network is encouraging new communities which enable people to feel they're #MoreThanWelcome' - Andrew, OTN Co-Chair
Andrew, smiling, with short white hair and black-framed glasses takes a selfie indoors, wearing a clerical collar and a dark zip-up jacket against a plain grey background.
December 15, 2025 at 6:00 AM
opentablelgbt.bsky.social
THE THEME of the third week of #Advent is #Joy
May you know joy this week:
'If you suddenly and unexpectedly feel joy,
don’t hesitate. Give in to it...
...don’t be afraid
of its plenty. Joy is not made to be a crumb.'
- Mary Oliver youtu.be/8tJn7TU1WhY
A pale yellow graphic featuring the poem “Don’t Hesitate” by Mary Oliver, with the title at the top and the poem text in purple, reflecting on joy, love, and not being afraid of abundance.
December 14, 2025 at 6:00 PM
opentablelgbt.bsky.social
WEEK 3 of #Advent takes the theme of #Joy.
This #AdventWreath prayer for joy is from our 2020 online carol service: youtu.be/7X3tMnoYOpM [46mins]
Litany: Revd Anna Blaedel, enfleshed.com [adapted]
#BSL & captions: Tom Pearson pearsonbsl.com
December 14, 2025 at 3:01 PM
opentablelgbt.bsky.social
TONIGHT 5-8pm 🎄 Mingle & Jingle with Open Table Warrington!
🍲 Mingle from 5pm - bring food to share
🎶 Jingle from 6:30pm - Christmas worship & communion
Come and celebrate with community leader Gail for her last OT Warrington gathering.
➡️ bit.ly/MingleJingleWarrington #RoomAtTheTable
A white graphic with the words ‘Come As You Are’ in purple, ‘You’re more than welcome here’ in black, and ‘@ St John’s United Reformed Church, Warrington’ in grey. Below are two logos: the St John’s church logo featuring a colourful tree with a cross-shaped trunk, and the Open Table Network logo of multicoloured stylised figures in a circle. Gail, wearing glasses and a maroon jacket smiles while standing in front of a large papier-mâché Jesus figure with long hair, a beard, and a rainbow-striped robe. The figure holds a bunch of rainbow-coloured balloons, inside a white marquee.
December 14, 2025 at 12:00 PM
opentablelgbt.bsky.social
TODAY Open Table communities meet in:
Bath, Canterbury, Chester, Colchester, Fareham, Haverfordwest, Horsham, Leyland, London: Bromley, Wanstead & Waterloo, Ormskirk, Sefton, Taunton, Warrington, Widnes & Wirral: New Brighton PLUS Nottingham. FFI: opentable.lgbt/our-communities
A Google maps screenshot of England and Wales marked with multiple rainbow-coloured Open Table Network location icons, showing the spread of communities across the regions, including clusters around Liverpool, Manchester, Birmingham, London, South Wales, and the South West.
December 14, 2025 at 9:00 AM
opentablelgbt.bsky.social
#RoomAtTheTable Day 14:
'I FOUND Open Table, and my heart, mind and soul began to see things in a new way. It was like a refreshing spiritual awakening to a life that I never knew could exist.' - Gail, Warrington
READ MORE: bit.ly/OTGailWarrington
A selfie of Gail, smiling, with short light hair and glasses, wearing a sleeveless blue patterned top, with butterfly-patterned wallpaper in the background.
December 14, 2025 at 6:00 AM
opentablelgbt.bsky.social
STAND UP!
Take hold of that small pearl of faith
That God has given
You
And hold on.
So will the judging arrows of your fear-filled friends
Not harm
Though hurt and pain be real
And in bewilderment of storm
Be found rare gifts of peace
READ MORE: bit.ly/ComingOutPoem
#Advent #Peace
Two cupped hands gently hold a small lit candle in the darkness, the warm flame illuminating the palms and creating a quiet, contemplative mood. The light from the candle illuminates the hands in a heart shape.
December 13, 2025 at 6:00 PM
opentablelgbt.bsky.social
WE'RE CELEBRATING a record-breaking fundraising milestone thanks to the #BigGive #ChristmasChallenge. OTN raised an incredible £11,785 in just seven days, exceeding its £10k target and doubling the impact donations will have in 2026. READ MORE: bit.ly/BigGiveThanks25 #RoomAtTheTable
December 13, 2025 at 12:00 PM
opentablelgbt.bsky.social
#RoomAtTheTable Day 13:
'Early in my Christian journey I was deeply established in a conservative tradition. I experienced sincere and profound love but also damaging rejection. Now I endeavour to use this experience to motivate me to make a positive difference in the church.' - Calum, OTN trustee
Calum, smiling, with a shaved head wears a black clerical shirt with a white clerical collar. He is indoors in front of a softly painted landscape background with warm tones of sky and earth.
December 13, 2025 at 6:00 AM
opentablelgbt.bsky.social
'MY GREATEST LESSON... was that peace and reconciliation start with me. If I don’t care for what hurts, wounds or angers me I'm more likely to repeat that pattern with others.' - In 2021 OTN Director Kieran spoke at #Peace vigil at Liverpool Cathedral: bit.ly/JusticeVigil0821 #Advent #RoomAtTheTable
OTN Coordinator Kieran Bohan speaking under the Peace Doves in Liverpool Cathedral, supported by Karl Llorca, British Sign Language interpreter. PHOTO: Jen Williams, Open Table Sefton
December 12, 2025 at 6:00 PM
opentablelgbt.bsky.social
PRESSURE GROWS for ‘genuine inclusion’ of LGBTQ+ people in Church of England: More than 7000 people signed #InclusiveChurch open letter calling on House of Bishops to rethink plan for blessing same-sex couples at Lambeth Palace meeting next week: bit.ly/LLF111225
Lambeth Palace, where the Church of England House of Bishops will meet on 16th December.
December 12, 2025 at 12:02 PM
opentablelgbt.bsky.social
#RoomAtTheTable Day 12:
'To be part of a church family means to be actively involved in the life of the church; to be part of a family means to be seen; to be known; to be loved.' -Wendy, our most read blogger on her life as a lesbian Christian: bit.ly/OTNLesbianChristian
Wendy and her wife stand arm in arm, smiling and looking upward as colourful confetti falls around them. They are outdoors in bright sunlight, wearing coordinated burgundy and black outfits, creating a joyful and celebratory scene.
December 12, 2025 at 6:00 AM
opentablelgbt.bsky.social
'IT'S OUR JOB to make #RoomAtTheTable so everyone feels welcome.'
We all need safe spaces where we can feel loved unconditionally. OTN's Funding & Governance Advisor Sarah Jones argues that where church falls short of this, that’s why Open Table communities are needed: bit.ly/RoomAtTheTableOTN
Sarah Jones with long light-brown hair and glitter face paint smiling softly at the camera. She is outdoors on a sunny day, with tall historic buildings and rooftop plants visible in the background.
December 11, 2025 at 4:34 PM
opentablelgbt.bsky.social
#RoomAtTheTable Day 11:
'I found myself becoming more passionate about seeing the grace of God manifest through more inclusive Christian communities. I'm grateful for the practical expression through Open Table for this understanding of how the gospel of God is lived out.'
- Neil, OTN Secretary
A person with short greying hair and glasses looks toward the camera with a gentle expression. He is wearing a dark jacket and a black-and-white patterned scarf. The softly lit background is out of focus, with pale walls and wooden fixtures.
December 11, 2025 at 6:00 AM
opentablelgbt.bsky.social
THIS SUNDAY 5-8pm 🎄 Mingle & Jingle with Open Table Warrington!
🍲 Mingle from 5pm - bring food to share
🎶 Jingle from 6:30pm - Christmas worship & communion
Come and celebrate with community leader Gail for her last OT Warrington gathering.
➡️ bit.ly/MingleJingleWarrington #RoomAtTheTable
A white graphic with the words ‘Come As You Are, You’re more than welcome here @ St John’s United Reformed Church, Warrington’. Below are two logos: the St John’s church logo featuring a colourful tree with a cross-shaped trunk, and the Open Table Network logo of multicoloured stylised figures in a circle. A person wearing glasses and a maroon jacket smiles while standing in front of a large papier-mâché Jesus figure with long hair, a beard, and a rainbow-striped robe. The figure holds a bunch of rainbow-coloured balloons, inside a white marquee.
December 10, 2025 at 6:02 PM