OTN Coordinator celebrates second fruitful year in full-time role
Open Table Network Coordinator Kieran Bohan. PHOTO: Tanith Holloway
TODAY marks the second anniversary of the Coordinator of the Open Table Network taking on the role full-time.
Thanks to the success of our first major funding bid, our Co-ordinator Kieran Bohan began a six-month contract on 1st October 2020.
This enabled us to increase peer support we offer to LGBTQIA+ Christians, to support our communities with their online outreach, and enable emerging communities to join the Network more easily. Further grants, plus one-off and regular donations from several supporters, enabled him to extend this programme of development for the Open Table Network until September 2021.
During the last 12 months, we:
published our first annual report as since became a charity in March 2021.
supported six new communities to begin meeting, and relaunched three communities which had struggled to meet in the previous two years.
guided more churches than ever to join the Network - four communities plan to launch in Autumn 2022, nine more in the next 12 months, and 30 more churches have begun the process of considering whether they might host an Open Table community.
expanded this website to offer more resources for our members and friends, including Answering a great need, Our impact, Words we use, and updated our resources page: Speaking & singing to God, and regular blog posts reflecting the diversity of issues and experiences we face across and beyond our Network.
published 20 new videos on YouTube including a webinar for Black History Month, a vigil for Trans Day of Remembrance, and celebrations of LGBT+ History Month and Pride Month - subscribe to our channel for updates.
took part in online partnerships with other LGBT+ Christian organisations, including the Gathering Voices conference: Exploring Christian safe space for LGBTQIA+ people, a World AIDS Day vigil, and Seen & Heard, a story-telling event for LGBT+ History Month.
worked in partnership to endorse the Inclusive Church statement as good practice for everyone, and to publish results of an inclusive online church consultation and an LGBT+ Safeguarding survey.
supported a campaign to ban conversion therapy which received overwhelming support from Christian leaders, and spoke out against the exclusion of trans people from the ban.
gave media interviews, including ITV Granada Reports in response to controversial US Evangelical preacher Franklin Graham’s UK tour, and BBC local radio stations across England for Pride Month.
took part in podcasts including Faith In Kind Cities, My Faithful Ally, Nomad and The Mic Drop.
hosted a national gathering on the theme More Than Welcome.
celebrated with Christians At Pride in Liverpool and Manchester Cathedrals.
presented at meetings and conferences including Modern Church and the University of Wales.
raised more than £11,000 thanks to the generosity of donors to our Crowdfunder campaign.
OTN Coordinator Kieran Bohan said:
“It’s been an extraordinary year - on behalf of the trustees of the Open Table Network, we’re grateful to all our members, volunteers, supporters, donors and funders who have made all this - and more - possible. Thank you!”
IF YOU VALUE the Open Table Network, here’s how you can support us:
A single or monthly donation through our Crowdfunder or PayPal Giving Fund profiles - they take no fees.
Through online shopping with Easyfundraising or Amazon Smile - at no extra cost to you.
A gift from you today could help provide a safe space for an isolated LGBTQIA+ person. Even a fiver - or a fiver a month - would really make a difference.
With your support, we can continue to be there for even more LGBTQIA+ people struggling to reconcile their faith with their LGBTQIA+ identities.
