‘The bishop made clear to me that there would be consequences.’ Meet Clive Larsen, the reverend who left the church to marry his gay lover

Aug 16, 2016 by

by India Sturgis, Telegraph:

Reverend Clive Larsen had just finished his regular Sunday service at St Agnes Church in North Reddish, Stockport when he dropped a proverbial bombshell on his faithful congregation.

Taking a deep, restorative breath, the 60-year-old Church of England priest announced that, after 25 years working in the diocese of Manchester (11 of them spent at St Agnes), he was stepping down. But it was not all sad tidings.

His next words were thus: “The first thing I will be able to do is marry John. John, will you marry me?”

His partner of 14 years, John Marcombe, 49, who was sitting in one of the front few pews, was flabbergasted.

“Everyone cheered,” recalls Larsen, of the bittersweet day in May. “He said yes, of course. It was a bit of a risk in front of all those people.”

Read here

See also: Questions about the Manchester blessing, by Peter Ould, Psephizo  [Editor’s comment: there is an interesting discussion which follows, which includes the comment:

A visit to the St Agnes website raises further questions about the extent to which this is actually a Christian church: http://northreddish.org.uk/elevate-the-tapestry/

in other words this vicar has for years been operating a new age-type cult at St Agnes, so his decision to marry his same sex partner should not be a surprise, as it is consistent with his theology.

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