There's a bright and colourful church in Blackpool which welcomes all members of the LGBT community

Being a member of the LGBT community can be quite difficult for a practising Christian.

Whilst some churches can be accepting, others have been quite discriminatory, telling people they can’t be a Christian if they are gay. Some members of the LGBT community have even had to hide their sexuality and enter into a same sex marriage to fit in. But one church which welcomes everyone, especially the LGBT community, is Liberty Church, based at St Paul’s Church, Egerton Road, Blackpool.

Nina Parker. Photo by Dan Martino

Read more: 'You can't be Christian if you are gay': Tales from the LGBT community who felt they had to deny their sexuality because of religion

The organisation was set up in 2006 by Nina and Jim Parker as a safe space for people of all sexualities, as well as people with mental health issues and learning difficulties. There is a traditional service on a Sunday, as well as a meal, songs and Bible readings on Wednesday evenings.

Jim says: “Early on as a Christian, I was taught to discriminate against people who were lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgendered, but always deep inside I knew this was wrong. “I would often meet people who were gay and transgendered and I found that over time, going out of my way to engage these people in conversation, my prejudices began to recede. The fact that LGBT people would not be welcome in many of the local churches disturbed me and I felt that it was important that they too had the opportunity to know the love of God and be accepted by other Christians.

Lynn Cawley, Ruth Wood and Nina Parker with Big Jesus

“Over the years I have sensed that Jesus may be calling me to a ministry with LGBT people.”

With this calling in mind, Jim and Nina attended Metropolitan Community Church (MCC), in Manchester, which accepted people of all sexualities. They gained a great insight into the faith and set up Liberty Church a year later, in 2006.

Nina, who entered her faith in 1968, admits regretting seeing a Christian friend feel conflicted over her sexuality and not knowing how to encourage her. But it was meeting her now husband Jim in 2002, who showed her how the Bible could be used to re examine and get rid of her previous prejudices, that she became aligned to the thinking there was a need for a LGBT church.

Members of Liberty Church. Photo by Dan Martino

For more information, visit www.libertychurchblackpool.org.uk

A fuller version of this article first appeared in Lancashire Post and Blackpool Gazette (JPIMedia) To read the full article visit https://www.lep.co.uk/news/people/how-liberty-church-in-blackpool-is-proud-to-accept-all-members-of-the-lgbt-community-1-9944624