Thanks for all who came along back in May to hear Ruth Valerio - if you missed it, you can hear her talk on our talks page.

Don’t forget the Pride march in London on Saturday 29th June – we’ll be marching with Christians at Pride – Click here to find out more.

The day before the Pride march, there’s a lecture in honour of Brenda Harrison, a much loved campaigner for LGBT inclusion who sadly died in 2010.  Find out more here.

If you’re coming to Greenbelt on 23rd – 26th August 2013 (and you really should) and would be able to help out on the Two:23 stall in the G-Source, then please let us know at two23network@gmail.com

Don’t forget to put Saturday 21st September 2013 in your diary – the next Two:23 meeting, when we’ll be hearing from Pádraig Ó Tuama.


Then on Saturday 30th November2013, we’re thrilled to be welcoming Steve Chalke from Oasis.

What is Two:23?

 We are a network of Christians, connected by LGBT (Lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender) issues, who have discovered that God loves us just as we are. This realisation frees us to unashamedly include and encourage all to discover the love of God for themselves, pursue the call of Christ and live in a way that cherishes others just as God cherishes us.

Where are we from?

We are a new network, established in late 2012, emerging from a variety of groups and individuals, who share a common experience of having had to seriously engage with personal issues of faith and sexuality. Some of us have been involved with Courage, an LGBT-affirming ministry run by Jeremy Marks. Jeremy retired in 2012 but his pastoral work with LGBT people continues – you can read his story here.

Where does the name ‘Two:23′ come from?

The name references a verse from the Old Testament prophet Hosea, who uses his own life as an allegory for God’s promise of love to the outsider, the excluded, to those who don’t comfortably fit in. Throughout the history of scripture this has had resonance for many people who feel they don’t quite belong for whatever reason.

 

I will say to those called ‘Not my people’, ‘You are my people’; and they will say ‘You are my God’.

Hosea 2:23

 

We’ve written a reflection on the passage which you can find here.

What do we do?

We hold four key meetings a year in a central London location on a Saturday afternoon. These involve some prayer and worship as well as a talk, and of course creating lots of opportunities for people to connect with new people, as well as catching up with old friends.

 

At a time when many of our churches are still sadly struggling to cope with fully affirming and including lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people, our vision is to create a space where absolutely everyone is welcome, whoever you are and wherever you’re at in terms of church or issues of sexuality and sexual identity. Whether you’ve been out and proud for years, or whether you’re still working through your beliefs regarding faith, gender and sexuality, we hope you will find a welcome here, with no pressure to be anything other than yourself. If you’ve never been to an LGBT-affirming event before, we hope you’ll feel especially welcome and safe.

 

Many of us are from evangelical backgrounds, but we now represent a broad church and aim to make all feel welcome.

 

Listen to some of our previous talks here.

Come along

You can find the rest of our forthcoming meeting dates for 2013, as well as directions and more information about where and when here.

 

Stay in touch

We’re on Facebook and Twitter, and you can sign up for occasional email updates here, with an option to unsubscribe at any time: