by Paul Chamberlain, Psephizo
I’m a priest in the Church of England, the vicar of a parish in Portsmouth Diocese, the Area Dean of Gosport, and a member of General Synod. Same-sex attraction is part of my story, although my wife and I will celebrate our 25th wedding anniversary later this year, and we have two teenage boys.
My story
I became aware my same-sex attraction when I was a teenager, and have always had Christian friends with whom I have been able to talk about it. I first publicly spoke about my same-sex attraction in 2019, in a sermon on sex and sexuality. Prior to this, I spent the previous couple of years telling my parents and others, who I felt should hear directly from me, rather in a public message. If you want to know more of my story, you can listen to this edition of the Living Out podcast.
I told my story of same-sex attraction in 2019, because I wanted to share my positive experience of being same-sex attracted in evangelical churches. I was (and am) very conscious of a narrative in parts of the church which says that holding a traditional/orthodox view of sex and marriage is toxic to same-sex attracted people. This has not been my experience, and I wanted to be able say so.
I also wanted to be able to contribute to the wider Church of England discussions on sexuality in a grounded way—not as an abstract theological “issue”, but as something which has affected, and continues to affect, my life. Since I first told my story publicly, I have been grateful to find others doing the same, and continuing to hold to the traditional teaching of the church. The Living Out podcast, among other places, shares some of their stories; they are very much worth a listen.