What is an ‘Inclusive Church Search’? This was the place to find out – St James URC (near the City Pool, and our own church, in the city centre) on Thursday 12th October 5-7pm, but should you not have been there, it was at “LGBTQIA+ friendly church search for students of both Newcastle and Northumbria universities” (and indeed anyone else who was present). Thanks to Canny Yem for hosting the webpage!

We had around 70 attendees, with representations from 12 local congregations, donated food from Greggs, an art exhibition, the chance to light a candle, and a Taize service to close with. Discussing it afterwards, we felt there were lessons to be learned – we could have reached out even more to local LGBTQIA+ groups, and perhaps there was a lot going on in two hours! Overall, it was an excellent event to be part of, and a sound base to build on in future.

Here’s our photos of the event: