SAFEGUARDING LGBT+ People in the Church: 2 day conference in Oxford AND ONLINE 6th-7th October with talks, forums and workshops focusing on protecting and supporting LGBT+ people in church communities: bit.ly/SafeguardingLGBT1025

TODAY our communities in Nantwich, Nottingham, Wigan and Wirral - Heswall gather. Check out our communities page for details: opentable.lgbt/our-communities #ComeAsYouAre #FaithfullyLGBT #LGBT #Christian #Church

THIS is #RetreatWeek. We're co-hosting an #LGBT+ #Christian #retreat weekend 7-9 November @ St Beuno's Spirituality Centre, north Wales, home to this beautiful Rock Chapel. The theme is #RefugeAndStrength. READ MORE & BOOK HERE: bit.ly/BeunosRetreat25 #FaithfullyLGBT

THIS is #RetreatWeek If you want a weekend #retreat by and for #LGBT+ #Christian people, check out #RefugeAndStrength led by the Open Table Network in partnership with Quest for LGBT+ Catholics and St Beuno's Spirituality Centre in north Wales? READ MORE & BOOK HERE: bit.ly/BeunosRetreat25

THIS IS #RetreatWeek which this year takes the theme #RenewAll. LISTEN to Open Table Network Patron John Bell reflect on how it is not the likely suspects but people of no significance who are the ones who are key in getting God’s will done: renewall.org.uk/project/retreat-as-renewal-with-john-bell

THIS #BiVisibility Day we celebrate our bisexual Co-Chair Carol Joyner. Carol is a tutor, writer, wife, mother, lay preacher - & now stand up comic: As 'Binocchio' she playfully busts myths about bisexuality! Catch her show at Augustine United Church, Edinburgh 27 Sept 👉 binocchio.bpt.me

OUT OF OFFICE: Kieran our Director will be back in the office on Wednesday 1st October and will respond to any correspondence ASAP. Social media content until then has been scheduled in advance.

TODAY our communities in Birmingham, Cambridge, Kendal, Lincoln, Liverpool, London - West Hampstead & Salford are gathering. FFI: opentable.lgbt/our-communities #ComeAsYouAre #MoreThanWelcome #FaithfullyLGBT

SAFEGUARDING LGBT+ People in the Church: A two day conference in Oxford 6th-7th October 2025 with talks, forums and workshops focusing on protecting and supporting LGBT+ people in church communities: bit.ly/SafeguardingLGBT1025

IT'S Bisexual Awareness Week #BiWeek What does it mean to be #bisexual and #Christian? READ this really helpful article from #QueerGrace, an online encyclopedia for #LGBTQIA+ and Christian life: queergrace.com/bisexual

"Queerness could be transformative for the life of the church!" Explore how online at @sarumcollege.bsky.social with Charlie Bell's "Queer Spirituality: An Introduction" on 22nd Oct. Book now: www.sarum.ac.uk/short-course... @inclusivechurch.bsky.social @opentablelgbt.bsky.social

LOVELY launch of our #Haverfordwest #Pembrokeshire community last night. 29 people including the @urc.org.uk Moderator for Wales gathered for a Communion service and simple meal - plus a lush homemade cake!

TODAY - Launch of our community in #Haverfordwest #Pembrokeshire 6.30pm Refreshments, 7.00pm Communion service followed by a simple meal. OTN Director Kieran will lead a reflection on the Open Table story. READ MORE: bit.ly/OThaverfordwest0925 #ComeAsYouAre #MoreThanWelcome #FaithfullyLGBT

TODAY 17 Open Table communities gather: Bath, Canterbury, Chester, Colchester, Fareham, Leyland, London: Bromley, Wanstead & Waterloo, Ormskirk, Sefton, Sunderland, Taunton, Warrington, Widnes & Wirral: New Brighton PLUS our new community in Haverfordwest. FFI: opentable.lgbt/our-communities

'GOD IS DIVERSITY.'🌈✝️ Inclusive churches in Brazil are offering love without judgment & faith without fear. Full story here 👉 bit.ly/GodIsDiversityBrazil

THIS SUNDAY - Launch of our community in #Haverfordwest #Pembrokeshire 6.30pm Refreshments, 7.00pm Communion service followed by a simple meal. OTN Director Kieran will lead a reflection on the Open Table story. READ MORE: bit.ly/OThaverfordw... #ComeAsYouAre #MoreThanWelcome #FaithfullyLGBT

REFUGE & STRENGTH: LGBT+ Christian retreat in north Wales 7-9 November PLUS option to stay on for guided silent retreat the week after. With St Beuno's Spirituality Centre & Quest for LGBT+ Catholics, embracing different Christian traditions. READ MORE & REGISTER: bit.ly/RefugeStrengthRetreat25

WE DID IT! £2.5k in pledges for our #BigGive #ChristmasChallenge. Our campaign will now be shared with Charity Champions, funders who match up to the amount pledged. We will find out by early October if we've been awarded match funding to double your pledges. THANK YOU! bit.ly/OTNpledge0925

TODAY our communities in Bradford, Bristol, Cambridge, Cardiff, Exeter, Guildford, Liverpool, London - Bow & Bethnal Green, Manchester - Wythenshawe, Reading, and Weymouth gather. FFI: opentable.lgbt/our-communities #ComeAsYouAre #FaithfullyLGBT #MoreThanWelcome

OUT NOW: Our latest e-news with hope from #Greenbelt, our Christmas Challenge, Bi Bi to Issues of Human Sexuality, the final #InTheAffirmative blog, love & resistance at Pride, TWO new community lauches, a consultation and a retreat. READ MORE: bit.ly/OTNenews050925

'THIS was a painful reminder that our belief in an inclusive God often makes us a target for those with opposing views.' Members of the city centre Methodist church marched in Chester Pride parade last month. Church member Kate Matthews explains what happened next: bit.ly/ChesterPride25

'ONE DAY church will be more Greenbelt as we take it home with us.’ On the last night of this year's evening of this year’s festival, the Open Table Network co-hosted a chance to pause, reflect, and share stories of hope for the coming year: bit.ly/GreenbeltHop...

NO Open Table communities meeting today, as it's the fifth Sunday of the month. #PleasePray for all our communities across England and Wales, especially THREE new communities preparing to launch later this year: opentable.lgbt/our-communities

JUST ONE MORE PLEDGE needed to meet our £2,500 target for our Big Give Christmas Challenge this year. The Pledge deadline has been extended to 11pm on Sunday 7th September. Your pledge helps us unlock match funding so that donations made in December can be doubled. PLEDGE NOW: bit.ly/OTNpledge0825

'DOES IT sound possible to bring people closer to God by telling them they’re forever separated from God?' Oour most read blogger since 2022 is back with the twelfth and last in the series sharing her story: bit.ly/InTheAffirmative12

AND WE'RE OFF... to #Greenbelt, the annual celebration of art, activism & belief. If you're there check OUT@Greenbelt for LGBTQIA+ led & themed events including our reflective review of the weekend with non-binary country music trio Them There Cowboys. The Table Sunday 24th 8-9.15pm #HopeInTheMaking

LAST MONTH, the governing body of the Church of England, General Synod, finally decided to shelve the 1991 document 'Issues in Human Sexuality'. OTN Co-Chair Carol Joyner reflects on what it meant for her and other bisexual Christians: bit.ly/IssuesHS0825

BOOKING NOW OPEN for 'Refuge & Strength' #LGBTQ+ #Christian retreat weekend 7-9 November 2025 in North Wales led by the Open Table Network and Quest for LGBT+ Catholics thanks to the hospitality of St Beuno's Spirituality Centre. READ MORE: bit.ly/BeunosRetreat25 #MoreThanWelcome #FaithfullyLGBT

TODAY our communities in Birmingham, Cambridge, Kendal, Lincoln, Liverpool, London - West Hampstead & Salford are gathering PLUS Chester and Sunderland. FFI: opentable.lgbt/our-communities #ComeAsYouAre #MoreThanWelcome #FaithfullyLGBT

TOMORROW 6.30pm Pride & Protest: Open Table Chester celebration with Open Table Network Patron Alex Clare-Young, author of Transgender. Christian. Human. and Trans Formations: Grounding Theology in Trans and Non-Binary Lives: bit.ly/OTchester0825 #ChesterPride

'GOD IS for us a refuge and strength, an ever-present help in time of distress.' - Psalm 46 #LGBTQ+ #Christian retreat weekend 7-9 November in North Wales led by the Open Table Network in partnership with Quest for LGBT+ Catholics and St Beuno's Spirituality Centre. READ MORE: bit.ly/BeunosRetreat25

ONE WEEK TO GO until the #GreenbeltFestival 2025 with the theme #HopeInTheMaking. We're co-hosting a chilled reflective space on Sunday 24th with partners Inclusive Church & OUT@Greenbelt on 'Hope-making around an open table'. Come and join us if you're there! bit.ly/OTNgreenbelt25

THANK YOU to our supporters who raise free funds for us on #easyfundraising. If you're not signed up, you can raise free donations for Open Table Network every time you shop online. All the big names are ready to donate at no extra cost to you. Join today: join.easyfundraising.org.uk/opentablenet...

TODAY Open Table communities gather in: Bath, Canterbury, Colchester, Fareham, Leyland, London: Bromley, Wanstead & Waterloo, Ormskirk, Sefton, Taunton, Warrington, Widnes & Wirral: New Brighton NOT Chester or Sunderland. FFI: opentable.lgbt/our-communities

THIS YEAR OTN is taking part in the #BigGive #ChristmasChallenge. Our goal is to secure £2,500 in Pledges by 5pm on 29th August. Pledges are promises of funding to double donations made during the campaign in December. READ MORE & PLEDGE HERE: bit.ly/OTNpledge0825

FIRST DAY in our new office today - Here it is on Google Street View. The yellow rectangle shows our office window. Kieran our Director will be here most weeks from Wednesday to Friday 9.30am-5pm. Visits by appointment only please. READ MORE about our office move: bit.ly/OTNmove0825

TODAY our communities in Bristol, Cambridge, Exeter, Guildford, Liverpool, London - Bow & Bethnal Green, Manchester - Wythenshawe, and Weymouth gather. NOT Bradford, Cardiff or Reading today. FFI: opentable.lgbt/our-communities #ComeAsYouAre #FaithfullyLGBT #MoreThanWelcome

GOING TO GREENBELT? The app for the annual celebration of art, activism & belief is out now. You can find us at The Table on Sunday 24th August 8-9pm hosting a reflective review of the weekend with the non-binary country music trio Them There Cowboys. #HopeInTheMaking

ARE YOU an experienced finance professional looking to make a difference? The Open Table Network [OTN], the national charity dedicated to creating safe, sacred, and supportive spaces for LGBTQIA+ peopl in UK churches is seeking a Volunteer Treasurer: bit.ly/OTNtreasurer0725 Closing date 5th August.

OUT NOW: Our latest e-news with our Patron's promotion, our Volunteer Treasurer vacancy, our office move, solidarity with LGBT+ people globally, a new #InTheAffirmative blog, an essay on biological sex, TWO birthday celebrations, and TWO new community lauches. READ MORE: bit.ly/OTNenews310725

THE CHURCH IN WALES has elected its first female archbishop - Bishop of Monmouth Cherry Vann, a Patron of the Open Table Network since 2020. When she became a bishop in 2020, she was the first lesbian bishop in the Church in Wales, and has a civil partner. READ MORE: bit.ly/ArchbishopCherry0725

WE ARE MOVING! From 1st August 2025 the Open Table Network (OTN) will relocate to a new office in central Liverpool, less than two miles from where the first Open Table community began. The move builds on a long partnership with Liverpool Parish Church: bit.ly/OTNmove0825

LIVERPOOL’S PRIDE on Saturday 26th July included a vigil to remember LGBT+ people who are no longer with us - including those lost to violence, illness, social isolation and the long-term impacts of discrimination and exclusion. [1/2]

TODAY our communities in Nantwich, Wigan and Wirral - Heswall gather - NOT Nottingham. Check out our communities page for details: opentable.lgbt/our-communities #ComeAsYouAre #FaithfullyLGBT #LGBT #Christian #Church

🌈 TODAY 6pm 🕯️ Remember with Us Liverpool's Pride Vigil, a powerful, inclusive moment of reflection with partners Sahir House, the city's oldest LGBT+ & HIV charity PLUS OTN Director Kieran & Trustee Sue. 📍 Liverpool Parish Church, L2 8TZ ⏰ 6-6:45pm L2 8TZ 🔗 sahir.org.uk/pride-2025/remember-with-us

TODAY our Open Table Nottingham community is joining The Parish of St Peter and All Saints, Nottingham for a #PrayersForPride service at 10am, then marching alongside other Christians at Pride for Notts Pride. Parade starts at 12. They will NOT meet tomorrow.

LIVERPOOL's #Pride festival is tomorrow! Liverpool is the home of the Open Table Network, and about a fifth of our communities are on Merseyside. READ MORE about how you can join #ChristiansAtPride on 26-27 July: bit.ly/LiverpoolPride25

TONIGHT 7-9pm: Open consultation in #Runcorn to explore the need for an Open Table community there, and what kind of experience they want to create. You're #MoreThanWelcome to join us: bit.ly/OTconsultRuncorn #ComeAsYouAre #FaithfullyLGBT

'WHY WOULD GOD send me this unexpected, entirely unlikely love relationship if we weren’t allowed to be together?' Our most-read blogger is back with the eleventh of her series on life as a queer Christian. This month she recalls the most heart-breaking night of her life: bit.ly/InTheAffirmative11

LGBTQ+ people in the UK are less likely to feel safe in public, though seeing the Pride flag displayed makes two thirds feel safer, according to a new YouGov survey: bit.ly/YouGovLGBTQ0725