As part of LGBT+ History Month this February we’re exploring Quirk!
Quirk! has been running in the afternoons of the third Sunday of the month at St Catharine’s, Bo’ness since October 2024, with the tagline ‘Church for queer people, by queer people’.
Its founder Rev Amy Jo Philip explains its background:
“Quirk! came about because, when I moved to Bo’ness, I swiftly discovered that there was nothing in the Falkirk area for LGBTQ+ folk – not only nothing faith based, but no secular groups either. As a queer trans woman, I felt the absence of that in-person LGBTQ+ community and wanted to do something about it. As a (non-stipendiary) priest, I wanted to do something that gave my fellow queer people a space to explore faith and belief. It took me a while to bite the bullet, but I spent that time praying, reflecting and speaking to clergy colleagues about the idea. A similar group started up in Linlithgow just before I launched Quirk! so it definitely seems like the time is right.”
There have been five Quirk! services since its launch in October, with activities including writing a psalm, marking November’s Trans Day of Remembrance, Advent and Epiphany and exploring the theme of activism. The stars in the picture below were decorated during the Epiphany service. Amy Jo says: “We were reflecting on the Epiphany story and picked star words to guide our reflection and action through the year. We talked about the words that we each had received and what they meant to us, then we wrote them on the stars.”
Amy Jo takes great care in planning the activities and visual cues used during Quirk! services. She explains the significance of the various aspects of the table display for the Epiphany Service:
“I always cover the table in the room with the intersex-inclusive Pride flag to emphasise that all are welcome and that we are gathering as queer people.”
The candle “is representative of prayer, so subtly emphasises that we are gathering in God’s presence, not merely for a nice social chat. The rainbow candle was given to me at Christmas by our rector so it feels like it joins together the sense of being part of the LGBTQ+ community and the wider church community.”
“The rock I picked up from the riverbank when I was at Camp Trans Scotland last year. The queer community is often associated with glitter and this is such a naturally sparkly stone I couldn’t help but see it as a celebration of queerness! It, again, connects us to the wider LGBTQ+ community through that story. And there are so many Scriptural connotations to the rock, aren’t there, that it feels like it, too, represents God’s presence for me.”
This safe and welcoming space has found a welcome in the local community, too. Amy Jo says: “It has been well received in the town. When I or others have posted about it in the Bo’ness Natters Facebook group, the comments have been overwhelmingly positive. Sure, there have been one or two negative responses, but the vast majority have welcomed the group’s existence, with some even saying things like, ‘This is a great thing for the town.’”
To find out more about Quirk!, visit its Facebook page.
