by Julian Mann
A group of revisionist campaigners in the Church of England has launched a bid to cancel an event in support of gay conversion therapy at the July meeting of the General Synod.
The campaigners say the Archbishops of Canterbury and York should ban the ‘People Change: Sexual Identity Transformation’ fringe meeting on July 13 and the organisers’ exhibition stand to safeguard LGBT people from harm.
Christian Concern’s chief executive Andrea Minichiello Williams is among the advertised speakers at the event on York University campus.
In a letter signed by 82 Synod members to Archbishops Sarah Mullally and Stephen Cottrell, Revd Robert Thompson, a vicar in London’s West Hampstead, says:
“The Fringe Meeting Guidelines expressly reserve to you, as Presidents of the General Synod, the right to refuse a fringe meeting where its subject matter would be contrary to the ethos of the Church of England, may adversely affect its reputation, or would be inconsistent with House of Bishops’ safeguarding guidance.”
The letter claims the concern of the signatories “is heightened by the Church’s own safeguarding commitments”.
It says:“General Synod has previously endorsed the Memorandum of Understanding on Conversion Therapy, recognising the harms associated with conversion practices and supporting legislative action to prohibit them. The House of Bishops’ safeguarding guidance has likewise made clear that ministry should never seek to change or influence a person’s sexual orientation through deliverance ministry or comparable pastoral practice.”
The letter says the recent publication of the Government’s Draft Conversion Practices Bill “has further focused public attention on these issues”.
“Whatever differing views may be held about aspects of that legislation, we believe it makes it all the more important that the Church of England is able to explain clearly how decisions of this nature are reached and how they are reconciled with its own safeguarding commitments,” it says.
“We would therefore be grateful to know whether safeguarding assessments were undertaken in relation to both the fringe event and the exhibition stand and, if so, whether they specifically considered the potential psychological and spiritual impact upon LGBTQIA+ members of Synod.”
Mr Thompson’s letter concludes: “For transparency, I have copied this correspondence to those with responsibilities for the governance of General Synod, safeguarding, the bishops in the Diocese of London in whose ministry I share, and those with interest in the Church’s relationship with Parliament and government.”
Also among the speakers at the fringe meeting is a former X Factor Malta Finalist, Matthew Grech. He is co-director of X-Out-Loud, an international organisation which says on its website:
“We are passionate about our freedom! Our lives are living proof that Jesus is still transforming lives and that the gospel offers full hope to those voluntarily moving away from LGBT. We celebrate our identities by sharing our stories and supporting and giving a voice to those who no longer identify as gay, lesbian or trans.”
In 2022 the Maltese authorities brought criminal proceedings against Mr Grech for promoting ‘conversion practices’ in a podcast interview. After a protracted legal battle he was acquitted last March but the authorities have now appealed that decision, according to the organisers of the Synod event.
Mr Grech is due to “share his personal story and reflect on the wider implications of his case for freedom of speech and religious liberty”.
The letter to the Archbishops is published on the Unadulterated Love website, hosted by Anglican LGBT campaigner, Revd Colin Coward.
Among the signatories are the Archdeacon of Liverpool, Ven Miranda Threlfall-Holmes; the Dean of Bristol, Very Revd Mandy Ford; the Archdeacon of Salford and Bolton, Ven Rachel Mann; and Professor Helen King, a lay member for Oxford Diocese, who is due to propose a Private Member’s Motion at the July Synod affirming the compatibility of faithful same-sex relationships with Christian discipleship.
Julian Mann, a former Church of England vicar, is an evangelical journalist based in Lancashire.