I ran through Nottingham City Centre, unfit and out of breath, like my life depended on it. From the 10th floor of the Lace Market multi-story car park, through town towards Marks and Spencer’s on a cloudy Sunday afternoon, I grabbed my phone and tried to text as I ran; “nearly there!”.
It was January 22nd this year and I was heading for St Peter’s church. Having been brought up Catholic and finding it problematic, going to church for anything other than a wedding is rare for me these days. Yet here I was, already late and rushing after a series of traffic problems, but determined to get there.
So why did I go? Because it was the inaugural St Peter’s celebration service for LGBT+ folks, and I had been invited to do a reading. That’s a different kind of church gathering if ever there was one.
Organised by the marvellous Richard from the Notts LGBT+ Network (formally Lesbian & Gay Switchboard), it’s an event people have been requesting for a while.
As I slipped breathless into the back of the church, the first hymn was already in full swing and I found myself surrounded on three sides by tall men with voices like boom boxes. I squeaked along and remembered for the first time in ages how much I loved singing hymns at church when I was at school.
There were a few hymns, a few readings and some beautiful words spoken about community. Afterwards there were chats and laughter alongside homemade cakes, cookies and cuppas. About forty people came and they were all smiling, so I think that’s a yes and it may well be repeated.
You don’t have to be religious to join in, it’s a celebration on many levels. Whether it’s about faith in God, faith in our LGBT+ community or faith in the simple, peaceful gathering of humans to connect, it’s a beautiful thing.
I hope that whatever your faith, or if you are of no faith, you’ll pop along when it happens again, you might just find it makes you smile too. Make sure you leave plenty of time for travel though, heavy breathing in the back of a church might not be the done thing.
