AT THE CLOSE of Pride in Liverpool on Sunday 28th July 2024, Liverpool Cathedral and Open Table collaborated to host a reflective service that brought us together and celebrated the vulnerability and visibility of Pride. Revd Lu Skerrat-Love, ordained at the city’s cathedral in June to serve the parish which hosts the first Open Table community, offered this reflection inspired by the festival’s theme.

‘This is my story’ is an occasional series of short devotions, based around the Bible, the experiences of Open Table members, reflection and prayer. This month, Sarah Jones wonders how we can honour who God has created us to be.

TODAY the governing body of the Church of England, General Synod, gathers in York for the next five days. Nic Tall, a founding member of our Open Table Taunton community, and National Co-ordinator of Together for the Church of England, which campaigns to unite those seeking to remove all discrimination in the Church of England, explains how we can support them this weekend.

IN JULY 2015, Open Table began to multiply from one to many communities and become the growing partnership and charity that it is today. Taking inspiration from the title a hymn one of our founding members heard on returning to church after many years, we created a logo for the new Open Table network in 2016 with the slogan ‘Come As You Are’. The hymn-writer, Sister Deirdre Browne, has kindly written this reflection for our anniversary.