FIVE YEARS after our first independent research into the impact of Open Table, we're delighted to publish our new Research & Case for Support 2026. The research paints a powerful picture of a growing network that continues to transform lives through welcome, belonging and inclusive Christian community.

THE OPEN TABLE NETWORK (OTN) has launched an urgent Crowdfunder to raise £16,000 after the charity was unable to secure new funding to replace a three-year national church grant that came to an end in March.

OPEN TABLE marked its 18th birthday on Sunday 21 June as around 85 people gathered at St Bride's Church, Liverpool, and online to celebrate the growth of the movement from a single community into a network of communities across England and Wales. Representatives from around a quarter of those communities joined the celebrations, alongside people from churches interested in exploring the possibility of hosting an Open Table community in their own context.

The Open Table Network (OTN) stands unequivocally with trans, non-binary and intersex people in response to the UK Government laying the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC)’s updated draft Code of Practice for services, public functions and associations before Parliament this month. The draft Code was laid in Parliament on 21st May 2026 but has not yet commenced and does not currently have the force of law.

THE SECOND community in the Open Table Network (OTN) has relaunched with gratitude for all that has gone before, and hope for what is still to come.

FIVE YEARS AGO, the Charity Commission said ‘yes’ to a partnership of LGBT+ affirming Christian communities. What had already been growing organically - support for communities offering welcome, belonging and spirituality for LGBTQIA+ people - was given a new foundation, a new level of recognition, and new possibilities for the future. We’re taking a moment to pause, to give thanks, and to reflect on what that ‘yes’ has made possible.

FEBRUARY is LGBT+ History Month, an annual celebration of lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans and non-binary history. The Methodist Church in Britain has published resources for this month since 2022. This year they asked a minister who could tell the story of a church that had walked the sometimes difficult journey to becoming truly inclusive and hosting an Open Table community.

2025 was a landmark year for the Open Table Network. With five new communities, our network now stretches across more of the UK than ever before. From Haverfordwest to Canterbury, Sunderland to Weymouth, our network now spans around 300 miles from west to east and north to south.

The Open Table Network is a proud member of the Ban Conversion Practices Coalition, and we’re calling on the Prime Minister to finally follow through on his Government’s manifesto commitment to ban harmful conversion practices.

The Open Table Network (OTN) is celebrating a record-breaking fundraising milestone thanks to the Big Give Christmas Challenge. OTN raised an incredible £11,785 in just seven days, exceeding its £10,000 target and doubling the impact donations will have in 2026.

LAST SUNDAY, at Liverpool Cathedral's annual Pride service, Revd Cate Jacobs, a long-standing member and supporter of Open Table, reflected on Jesus' parable of the net (Matthew 13:47-51). Speaking to a congregation of LGBTQIA+ people, friends, families and allies, Cate addressed a passage that has often been used to condemn queer people, offering instead a message of hope rooted in the expansive love of God.

Open Table's first national gathering in 2017 became a turning point in Dr Sharon Peters' life. In this guest blog, she reflects on how that experience led to Master's research exploring the spiritual formation of lesbian Christians, and why LGBTQ+ stories of faith have much to teach the wider Church.

OPEN TABLE marked its 18th birthday on Sunday 21st June 2026 as people gathered from across the Network, at St Bride's Church Liverpool and online,  to celebrate the growth of the movement from one community to many across England and Wales. The thanksgiving service was led by Revd Steve Chalke MBE, founder of Oasis Charitable Trust. Preaching on Jesus' parable of the Great Banquet (Luke 14:12–24), Steve reflected on what it means for Open Table to come of age in a society that often feels increasingly divided.

JUNE is celebrated around the world as Pride Month, remembering the long struggle of LGBTQIA+ people to live openly and safely, free from fear, shame, and discrimination. Last Sunday, OTN Director Kieran shared this reflection on the theme of Pride with Wesley Church Centre in Chester, which has hosted an LGBTQIA+ led Open Table community since 2018.

TRUE BELONGING is not a byproduct of agreeing with one another; it is the radical act of staying together at the table when we don't. Open Table Network Director and Methodist minister-in-training Kieran Bohan reflects on how his journey through Catholic, Anglican, and Methodist traditions has shaped a ministry rooted in shared presence rather than uniform belief.

IN THIS powerful reflection, retired Methodist minister Stephen Kingsnorth describes his evolution from a place of theological opposition to finding a spiritual home and ‘truth’ within the inclusive Open Table Chester community.

THE CHURCH OF ENGLAND’s governing body voted this week to end its Living in Love and Faith (LLF) process exploring identity, sexuality, relationships and marriage. Fr Robert Thompson who leads the Open Table community in West Hampstead, London, prepared a speech which challenges the Church to move past ‘theological fear’ and recognize queer love as a site of God's grace.

LATE LAST YEAR the first person to be ordained in the Church of England post-gender-change, toured churches from Birmingham to Edinburgh. Revd Canon Sarah Jones is priest-in-charge of St John the Baptist Church in Cardiff, a gifted public speaker and folk musician. OTN Co-Chair Carol Joyner reports on an evening of wit, wisdom and warm humanity.

SOMETIMES a line of a poem or hymn can open something deep within us - offering comfort, challenge, or a glimpse of hope we didn’t know we needed. In this reflective piece, Katie shares how a familiar hymn met her in a moment of resistance, weariness and trauma, and how its words gently invited her towards a different way of being with God.

A PHOTOGRAPHY COLLECTION aiming to stimulate conversation between ‘two of the greatest paradoxes that exist today’ now includes an Open Table community leader. Queer Religion is an exhibition by Frances Marshall seeking to spotlight and celebrate prominent openly queer leaders in religion. The latest addition is host to the longest-running Open Table community in London.

IN UGANDA the government’s recent anti-homosexuality legislation is widely supported by Ugandan Christian groups. Ivan, an LGBTQIA+ Christian living in Uganda, spoke with OTN trustee Neil about how he sustains both his faith and his hope in such challenging circumstances.

LIFE is incredibly tough for so many people at the moment… we all need access to psychologically (and physically) safe spaces where we can feel loved unconditionally. OTN’s Funding & Governance Advisor Sarah Jones argues that this should be the primary role of the local church. Where church falls short of this, that’s why Open Table communities where LGBTQIA+ people are not just welcomed but truly belong are needed.

ON PALM SUNDAY 2025, Craig Bailey from the Open Table Chester community was baptised, and confirmed. The next day, he set out on a pilgrimage for the duration of Holy Week. Here Craig reflects on his experience of becoming a Christian and committing to this journey of faith.

ON WORLD AIDS DAY, 1st December, since 1988, communities across the globe have come together to show strength and solidarity against HIV stigma and to remember lives lost to the HIV pandemic. At this year’s vigil in Liverpool hosted by Sahir, the region’s largest and oldest HIV and LGBTQ+ charity, Revd Cate Jacobs shared this reflection on the role of faith in both causing stigma around HIV and challenging it.

LAST MONTH, King Charles III joined nearly 300 armed forces veterans, serving personnel and guests for the dedication of the LGBT+ Armed Forces Community Memorial at the National Memorial Arboretum in Staffordshire. Sue Jack from our Open Table Northallerton community reports on the event.

EACH YEAR, on 20th November, Transgender Day of Remembrance [TDOR] is observed in memory of trans people who have lost their lives through prejudice and violence during the past year. Last Saturday, as part of his training for ordination in the Methodist Church, Open Table Network Director Kieran Bohan shared this reflection for TDOR in the chapel at the Queens Foundation for Ecumenical Education in Birmingham.

LAST SATURDAY members of the first Open Table community in Liverpool and friends from other Open Table communities in the region gathered at St Joseph’s Prayer Centre in Formby for a retreat day. Warren Bohan, LGBTQIA+ Ministry Facilitator at St Bride’s Liverpool, shares their creative reflection on our images of God.

AS BLACK HISTORY MONTH comes to an end for another year, we’re delighted to share this reflection from our Open Table Liverpool community on why racial justice matters all year round, not just for this month, and why it’s everyone’s business.

IN THE FIRST of a new series of blogs highlighting stories from our LGBTQIA+ siblings in other countries, journalist André Aram reports from the largest country in South America and the fifth largest nation in the world. Content warning: Brazil has a high incidence of transphobic violence.

DURING the Chester Pride parade on Saturday 16th August, dozens of members of the city’s Wesley Church Centre marched with a Christians At Pride banner. This Methodist congregation, which has hosted the Open Table Chester community since 2018, received a huge amount of support from the public and other churches in Chester. Church member and Centre Co-ordinator Kate Matthews explains what happened next.

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.

LIVERPOOL’S PRIDE on Saturday 26th July included a vigil at Liverpool Parish Church to remember LGBTQ+ people who are no longer with us - including those lost to violence, illness, social isolation and the long-term impacts of discrimination and exclusion. OTN Trustee Sue Say offered this reflection in solidarity with our LGBT+ siblings around the world, whose rights, safety, liberty and even their lives, are often at risk.

ON SUNDAY 6th July 2025, our Open Table East Cardiff community celebrated two years with a simple Communion service. Revd Ruth Greenaway-Robbins offered this reflection on Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount, also known as the Beatitudes (from the Latin beatus, meaning both ‘happy’ and ‘blessed’.

What may appear to be a simple question encompasses many components such as chromosomes, hormones, genitalia, and reproductive capacity. For most people, these are in alignment and so we could formulate a definition. But any simple definition could not include the rich diversity of human biology. OTN trustee and biologist Revd Jayne Taylor explains.

ON SUNDAY 15th June 2025, the Open Table Liverpool community celebrated 17 years since its first meeting with a thanksgiving communion service. Revd Dr Barbara Glasson, a Patron of the Open Table Network and former President of the Methodist Church in Britain, shared this reflection on Jesus meeting Nicodemus (John 3:1-17).

LAST MONTH OTN Director Kieran Bohan shared a reflection on news reports of his civil partnership - the first to be registered in a place of worship in the UK - on our ‘This Is My Story’ podcast. This response is by Moon from our Open Table Liverpool community.

OTN Patron Right Revd Cherry Vann celebrated Pride Month with our community in Cardiff on 1st June. She has preached at several Pride events, including one last September in Newport Cathedral, when she offered this reflection on how love that is truly inclusive casts out fear - especially the fear LGBTQIA+ people experience in the face of rejection, hostility, and exclusion from the Church.