JDS Resources

Reflection on LGBT+ History Month, February 2025

February is LGBT+ History Month, an annual celebration of lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans and non-binary history. The 'plus' sign after LGBT indicates that our identities are more diverse than labels can represent, so all are included.

In the UK it is celebrated in February each year, to coincide with the 2003 abolition of Section 28, a law passed in 1988 by the UK government that stopped councils and schools: 'promoting the teaching of the acceptability of homosexuality as a pretended family relationship.' It was first celebrated in February 2005 – 2025 marks its 20th year.

A Prayer for LGBT+ History Month

Life-giving God,

in You we live and move and have our being.

We thank You that You made each one of us unique,

in Your own image,

as Your beloved child.

We trust that You love us for all that we are,

and all that we can be,

through the grace of the Spirit and the example of Jesus.

Help us to glorify You,

by living more fully in that knowledge

• for ourselves,

for everyone You entrust to our care,

and everyone with whom we struggle to live in harmony.

We ask this in the name of Jesus,

who came to live among us

so we might live more abundantly.

Amen

Prayer by Kieran Bohan, a student presbyter at The Queen's Foundation, Birmingham, and Director of the Open Table Network: -Open Table are a growing partnership of communities across England & Wales which genuinely welcome and affirm people who are Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans, Queer or Questioning, Intersex, & Asexual (LGBTQIA) + their families, friends & anyone who wants to belong in an accepting, loving community.
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Racial Justice Sunday, 9th February 2025

Racial Justice Sunday takes place on Sunday, 9th February; marks the 30th anniversary of Racial Justice Sunday and its theme is 'Coat of Many Colours'. Churches Together in Britain and Ireland (CTBI) have a wealth of resources to help prepare for the day.

DID YOU KNOW?
This year is an important one for racial justice on these shores as it marks the 30th anniversary of RJS. RJS was established by the Methodist Church in 1995 following the tragic racist murder of Black teenager Stephen Lawrence in southeast London in April 1993. The Lawrence family attended a local Methodist Church in that part of the capital, and the Methodist Church agreed to support the family's justice campaign to find young Stephen's killers. A few years later, the Churches' Commission for Racial Justice (CCRJ), a Churches Together in Britain and Ireland programme, agreed to mainstream the special Sunday so that all the churches could engage with it. We will discover more about this history from the Revd David Haslam, a former Methodist minister and head of the CCRJ during these times, who reflects on the anniversary and what it means for racial justice on these shores today.

Churches Together in Britain and Ireland have produced a set of excellent resources for Racial Justice Sunday, titled: 'Coat of Many Colours'. which can be found via this link: https://ctbi.org.uk/resources/racial-justice-sunday-9-february-2025/