Open House is a safe place where one can share their story without any hint of judgement, where one can reconcile their faith to their sexuality and gender identity, where one can just listen to other stories and ask questions, a place where the doors are flung open to show the inclusivity of God in all her/his diversity.

Many people have come to realise that God does accept them and are beginning to walk in that freedom to be themselves and to enjoy for the first time the amazing love of God. Being LGBTQIA+ a minority group in faith communities and society, can be difficult and hard to get used to. Being a person of faith in the so called ‘Gay Community’ can also be difficult. People have questions about their faith and sexuality and the practical aspects of being LGBTQIA+ and a person of faith. Open House is a place where people can ask any questions about relationships, sex, clubbing/bars etc and the Bible and can include discussions such as coming out, hate crime, confidence and dating. Open House aims to demonstrate that people of faith can be both self-assured about their sexuality and unapologetic about their faith.

Open House meets on the third Tuesday of every month, online via Zoom and onsite at the Oasis Centre community space. Here’s the schedule for the next few months – for details email Dave Moreton:

17 January – Moving on from trauma
Trauma can be like a ghost haunting a room in our souls. We daren’t open the door for fear of what is inside and we live in a constant state of fear should it suddenly open. For most, the experience of church and faith communities, rather than expelling fear, puts it within us and we can end up imprisoned by it. Trauma is real and a hard task master, but can we reclaim notions of healing, deliverance and wholeness so that we can stop living life under its shadow? Can perfect love really drive out fear and release from its grip so that we can live in and fulfil our beautiful potential as queer people of faith? Let’s gather around the flame of God’s love and see if together we can tap into the freedom that can be ours in and through Christ.

21 February – Queer History Month
What does Queer History Month mean to me?

21 March – Queering the Enneagram: Self-awareness is the original Queer superpower
“By marginalizing the queer experience, the dominant culture has deprived people living under the LGBTQIA umbrella of the basic psychological, spiritual, and material tools necessary to navigate the world successfully.” – Abi Robins

18 April – Queering the Bible

17 May – Eurovision fun (all welcome!)

20 June – Dating apps: how to be confident

18 July – Our stories

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We’ve also recently started Torch, a similar event specifically for trans people of faith, which meets on the first Saturday of every month – click here for more.