C of E bishops urged to unequivocally welcome gay Christians (Text of letter and signatories appended)
by Harriet Sherwood, Guardian:
Almost one in three clergy and lay members of the Church of England’s ruling body have signed a letter to bishops urging them to unequivocally welcome lesbian and gay Christians into the church.
Bishops are meeting on Monday to discuss what the church should do following two years of internal debate about sexuality, an issue that has caused deep divisions and threats of splits.
The College of Bishops’ meeting comes days after Nicholas Chamberlain became the first bishop to publicly declare he was gay and in a relationship. Meanwhile, an increasing number of clergy are marrying same-sex partners in defiance of church rules.
Conservatives within the C of E fear a de facto change of attitude by the church to people in same-sex relationships, in what they see as an unacceptable dilution of traditional teaching.
Last month, 72 conservatives signed a letter to bishops warning against any proposals that could leave the church “adrift from her apostolic inheritance” and lead to an “unwanted fracture” within the C of E and global Anglican church.
This week’s pro-LGBTI open letter, which gathered 131 signatures, is cautiously worded but urges bishops to “help lead us forward” with a “sense of urgency and sensitivity”.
Text of the letter and signatories:
We write as Members from across the full breadth of General Synod to thank and congratulate you for what we feel were a significant few days within the life of the Synod last July. Whilst the Shared Conversations were difficult, and at times very painful, we are grateful for the care and thought that had gone into creating as safe a space as possible for differing views to be aired, and experiences listened to.
We are particularly grateful for the way that we were encouraged to engage in Scripture together. This enabled us to appreciate the common reverence we hold for the Word of God as well as the differing ways in which we have come to understand and interpret it. We believe this has formed deeper understanding, trust and respect between those with whom we have differing views.
We now look to you and your colleagues within the College of Bishops to help lead us forward.
We hope that this will be with the sense of urgency and sensitivity that so many of us expressed within Synod. In particular, we pray it will continue to develop the new “relational approach” that has enabled us to bridge our sometimes unhelpful “tribal divides”.
Whilst not wishing to pre-empt the work of the College of Bishops, we would ask that the steps that are proposed create greater clarity and consistency in our approach to this complex issue. In particular, we are keen that the College of Bishopsis unequivocal in its acknowledgement that all, including those who identify as LGBTI, are essential to the health and future of our church and mission to the wider world.
We wish you to be assured of our prayers, and know that we are fully committed to the process of encouraging greater inclusion across the Church of England for all.
Please let us know how we might best support you in this important work,
Yours in Christ
Deans
The Very Revd Dr David Ison
The Very Revd Andrew Nunn
Ex-Officio (Archbishops’ Council)
The Revd Dr Rosalyn Murphy
Bath and Wells
The Revd Sue Rose
Ms Christina Baron
Mr Tim Hind
Canon Jenny Humphreys
Mrs Kathryn Tucker
Birmingham
The Revd Canon Catherine Grylls
The Revd Canon Priscilla White
Mr Benjamin Franks
Dr Rachel Jepson
Blackburn
The Revd Chris Newlands
Mrs Jacqueline Stamper
Bristol
The Revd Canon Prof Martin Gainsborough
The Revd Canon Mark Pilgrim
Mr Ian Yemm
Canterbury
The Ven Philip Down
Mr David Kemp
Miss Judith Rigby
Miss Rosemary Walters
Channel Islands
The Very Revd Tim Barker
Carlisle
The Revd CanonRuth Crossley
Mr Geoffrey Hine
Chelmsford
The Revd Sally Lodge
The Revd Jonathan MacNeaney
Mrs Isabell Adcock
Canon Robert Hammond
Miss Michelle Tackie
Chester
The Revd Canon David Felix
Mrs Lucinda Brewster
Mr John Freeman
Canon Dr John Mason
Chichester
Dr Graham Parr
Derby
The Revd Mark Broomhead
The Revd Julian Hollywell
The Revd Canon Dr Simon Taylor
Mrs Kat Alldread
Mrs Hannah Grivell
Durham
The Revd Miranda Threlfall-Holmes
Dr Angus Goudie
Ely
The Revd SimonTalbott
Canon Janet Perrett
Mr Francis Spufford
Exeter
The Revd Canon Andrew Godsall
The Revd Canon Anna Norman-Walker
Dr Jack Shelley
Gloucester
The Revd Canon Richard Mitchell
The Ven Jackie Searle
Mrs Margaret Sheather
Guildford
The Revd Canon Robert Cotton
Mrs Carolyn Graham
Mrs Anne Martin
Hereford
The Revd Neil Patterson
Mrs Wendy Coombey
Dr Martin Elcock
Leeds
The Revd Canon Kathryn Fitzsimons
The Revd Canon Joyce Jones
The Revd Canon Maggie Mclean
Ms Alison Fisher
Canon Malcolm Halliday
Mr Stephen Hogg
Leicester
The Ven Dr Tom Stratford
Miss Rhian Ainscough
Lichfield
The Revd Canon Pat Hawkins
The Revd Zoe Heming
Mrs Penny Allen
Lincoln
The Revd Alyson Buxton
The Ven Dr Justine Allain Chapman
Mrs Sue Slater
Liverpool
The Revd Sonya Doragh
The Revd Amanda Fairclough
Mrs Debra Walker
London
The Revd Canon Phiippa Boardman
The Revd Preb Alan Moses
The Revd Bertrand Olivier
Miss Susan Breen
Ms Josile Munro
Dr Meg Warner
Mr Richard Wellings-Thomas
Manchester
The Revd Canon Sharon Jones
The Revd Andy Salmon
The Ven Cherry Vann
Newcastle
Dr John Appleby
Miss Izzy McDonald-Booth
Norwich
Mr Andrew Gray
Oxford
The Rev Prof Mark Chapman
The Ven Martin Gorick
The Revd Canon Rosie Harper
The Revd Kate Stacey
Mrs Julie Dzeigel
Ms Jayne Ozanne
Mrs Kathryn Winrow
Peterborough
The Revd Dr Guli Francis-Dehqani
Portsmouth
The Ven Gavin Collins
The Revd Canon Peter Leonard
The Revd Canon Bob White
Canon Lucy Docherty
Mr Mark Emerton
Rochester
The Revd Julie Conalty
Mrs Angela Scott
Mr Martin Sewell
Salisbury
The Revd Canon Jane Charman
The Ven Alan Jeans
The Revd Canon Thomas Woodhouse
Miss Fenella Cannings-Jurd
Sheffield
The Revd Eleanor Robertshaw
Southwark
The Rev Canon Simon Butler
The Rev Canon Giles Goddard
The Rev Timothy Goode
The Rev Canon Dr Rosemarie Mallett
Mrs April Alexander
Ms Carrie Myers
Southwell & Notts
Mrs Joan Beck
Canon Pamela Bishop
St Albans
The Revd Will Gibbs
Father Kevin Goss
The Revd Steven Wood
Mr Anthony Archer
St Eds & Ips
The Revd Andrew Dotchin
Winchester
The Revd James Pitkin
Ms Jay Greene
Mrs Lucy Moore
Worcester
The Revd Wyn Beynon
The Revd Dr Sarah Brush
York
The Revd Jackie Doyle-Brett
The Revd Paul Hutchinson
The Revd Dr Rowan Williams
Miss Lucy Gorman
Mr Mike Stallybrass
Religious communities
Brother Thomas Quin OSB
Related Posts
Tags
Share This
