Author: LGBTQFaithUK

This excellent conference was organised by the Ozanne Foundation and took place on Saturday December 8th at St John’s church in Waterloo.

There was far too much taking place to squeeze it into one blog post, so this is part 1. All the talks were videoed and it is the intention that they will be made available for people to watch. Each talk was grounded in experience, so each academic lecture was started with someone explaining how they are personally affected by the material under discussion.
The day was hosted by the Very Revd Dr David Ison, the dean of St Paul’s Cathedral and vice-chair of the Ozanne Foundation.

How do we understand truth and engage with reality? Last July, when General Synod reported on the Living in Love and Faith project, they started with St Augustine. Augustine understood a binary model of sex, based on his literal reading of Genesis. That was his reality. But the way that we see the world has changed in many ways and our newer perceptions of reality can challenge how we understand the Bible.
Genesis is not the only place in the Bible that explains how people are created. Psalm 139 also explains how we are created by God, but gives a more intimate and personal approach to our individual situation.
Dr Qazi Rahman, from King’s College London, talked on science and genetics. He spoke about the evidence for the biological basis of sexuality and the origins of human sexual orientation.
Behaviour has some biological basis. Genetics have a role in this and the evidence for this genetic role has come from twin studies. There is a closer correlation between identical twins that between non-identical twins.
Sexual orientation informs sexual attraction and this motivates behaviour and identity.
Gender non-conformity is strongly related to adult orientation. Those who are gay are more likely to gender non-conform as children. This is true for Eastern cultures as well as Western cultures. Gender non-conformity starts around 2 to 2 ½ years old. This is below the age where children start to recognise gender stereotypes, which is about 4 years old.
Gay brothers show shared markers on the X chromosomes. There is some evidence of shared markers on other chromosomes.
Twin studies have shown that family environment is not important. Evidence of ‘social recruitment’ is non-existent. Sexual orientation is not caused by social learning. The evidence for this is supported by the children of gay and lesbian parents, who have the same rate of homosexuality as the general population.
Sexual fluidity is not biologically based, but there is fluidity in sexual behaviour. Sexual attractions tend to stay constant, but behaviour can change. However, there is no bell-shaped curve for this, it is more J shaped with more heterosexuals than homosexuals and few in the middle. The curve is sharper for men, than for women, due to fewer men identifying as bisexual than women.
Biology authenticates gay people and should debunk some of the stigmatised ideas.

Click here to watch the video of this talk, which is now available on You Tube.

Coming next Prof Michael King on Mental Health.

As the Living in Love and Faith document progresses, it is important that specific goals are articulated and that we communicate what we are asking for.  This is what I think.  I have broken it down in to three sections, depending on whether a rule change would be needed.  A pdf version of this can be downloaded from the link at the bottom of the page.

Stating the current position.
There are situations where the current rules are being ignored or applied in discriminatory ways. Therefore some things need to be explicitly articulated so that they have authority through the House of Bishops and General Synod.
1. LLF should issue a statement that it is not, and never has been, the official Church of England position that being homosexual is a sin. Nor is it the position of any major Christian denomination.
2. There should be a further statement that being bisexual, trans, queer, non-binary or any other gender or sexual minority identity is not a sin.
3. It should be restated that those who are in civil partnerships can be ordained to the diaconate, priesthood and episcopacy. There should be an explicit statement that this also applies to all lay ministries, including reader ministry.

Changes which are possible within the current rules.
4. At a Bishop’s Advisory Panel, potential ordinands should not have to be assessed by selectors who will not recommend LGBT+ people on principle. All selectors should be asked to state, as a matter of record, whether they would be willing to recommend LGBT+ candidates for ordination. Either the candidate or the selector would be moved to a different panel, if necessary. This prevents the waste of time, money and resources that the rejection of a suitable candidate would cause.
5. Each diocese should appoint someone to be responsible for LGBT+ matters within the diocese. This person should have an automatic place on the Bishop’s Council and be a member of the Diocesan Synod.
6. Services of blessing should be allowed for those in a civil partnership or civil marriage. Authorised liturgy should be provided. No priest or church should be forced to do this, if they have theological objections. The default position should be that all churches and clergy would do so. Those who do not want to, would have to opt out. The opt out needing a majority of the PCC and to be reviewed at a specified time. Any church or clergy who opts out must make alternative provision. It is the responsibility of the Diocese to ensure that this alternative provision is in place.

Changes which require a change in the rules.
7. A policy that allows those who are in civil marriages to be ordained to the diaconate, priesthood and episcopacy. There should be an explicit statement that this also applies to all lay ministries, including reader ministry. Those clergy currently in civil marriages should be able to minister with a full licence. This can be achieved in several ways, as set out in the legal advice in GS2055. In the shorter term, 13d can be achieved quickly through LLF. 13b would be a better long-term goal, but would take time to achieve and would have a cost.
8. The expectation that partnered clergy should be celibate should be explicitly repudiated. This marks a change from the position of Issues in Human Sexuality. This should be done on the stated reason that ‘it is unbiblical to expect lifelong imposed celibacy from those who are not called to it.’
9. A longer-term goal should be for the quadruple lock to be removed, so that the Church of England, as the established church, is able to offer marriage services to all the people of England. No priest or church should be forced to do this, if they have theological objections. The default position should be that all churches and clergy are licensed to do this and would do so. Those who do not want to, would have to opt out. The opt out needing a majority of the PCC and to be reviewed at a specified time. Any church or clergy who opts out must make alternative provision for any one who would otherwise have a right to marry there. It is the responsibility of the Diocese to ensure that this alternative provision is in place. This is a goal that would best be pursued through parliament, rather than expecting General Synod to ask parliament to make the change.

A pdf version of this document can be downloaded here

I have added new events  for the Open Church Network tour and for Christians at Pride to the upcoming events page.

I have also added book reviews for True Inclusion by Brandan Robertson here and Building a Bridge by James Martin SJ here and The possibility of difference by Marcus Green here.

Transforming Theology Conference 16th November 2018

This excellent conference took place at Cambridge University, School of Divinity. It looked at some questions and experiences of theology in the lives of trans people.
The conference had been scheduled to be part of Transgender Awareness Week.
I apologise in advance if I make any mistakes in the use of pronouns or if I misdescribe anyone. All mistakes are unintentional.
Alex Clare-Young, one of the organisers of the conference, gave the first talk. Clare-Young, like many of the participants, was training for ministry, in the United Reform Church. This has not been an easy experience, partly because the church was not keen for him to talk about his experience of being a trans masculine person.
He explained the state of trans theology so far had been concerned with critical – apologetic – pastoral theology and what this meant. The next stage will be to take it through to anthropological – theological – practical by examining more deeply what it means to be trans in the context of the whole person.
He read a powerful poem by Lee Mokobe who is a South African slam poet. A TED Talk video of this is available to watch at:  TED Talk
The transcript of the poem taken from the talk can be found at:TED Talk transcript
The next speaker was Ph.d student Kenneth Wilkinson-Roberts who talked about the Church of England’s Regional Shared Conversations that they had taken part in. [For the record, I also took part in this].
A key feature of the Shared Regional Conversations was the idea of ‘good disagreement’. It was an exercise in trying to talk and understand others, but without trying to change people’s opinions. Wilkinson-Roberts showed that this was a direct opposite of Reconciliation. They described Lederech’s conflict transformation theory and the stages it takes as well as Butler’s ideas of performative theory.
In order for the current disagreements to be resolved, it will be necessary to allow for a process of mourning as people let go of long held beliefs and reconstruct their world view. However, the current good disagreement strategy tends to lead to people and communities solidifying their views instead of being willing to let them go. This is where peace theories can suggest ways forward to resolve the challenges and tensions which trans people experience.
In all of this it is necessary to recognise the effect of power dynamics and the challenge of partial recognition for trans people, which can lead to a culture of ignorability.
The next two speakers were both ordained clergy, one a curate in a village outside Cambridge and the other a curate in the Church of Wales.
Rev Diana Johnson spoke of her experiences in her curacy. In particular, the experience that the ecumenical partnership that had existed in the village had come to an end because the Baptist church in the village had not recognised her ordination.
She also spoke of the use of language, such as the use of the word ‘uncomfortable’, where different people can use the same word and mean different things. For some, it may be an expression of unfamiliarity and ignorance that can be addressed by education and dialogue. It could also be an expression of discrimination. Discernment of the difference was not always easy.
Rev Dylan Parry-Jones spoke of Liberation theology and Welshness. Being Welsh gave him an experience of reclaiming an identity that was an insult – ‘welsh’ was originally a Germanic word meaning ‘foreigner’, but which is now a proud identity. This is a similar way in which the word queer has been reclaimed. Reclaiming an identity like that can provide a way to be at the margins with integrity.
The keynote address was given by playwright Jo Clifford. Bad theology kills people was a powerful message. She talked of two of her plays, Gospel according to Jesus Queen of Heaven and God’s new frock and performed some extracts from these. This was theology that challenged people to see things in a new way and not accept conventional ideas. She made the point that ‘every time and culture has known us’.

An excellent conference. There was only one downside for me – the building. I had expected that Cambridge School of Divinity would be one of those magnificent old buildings, steeped in history. Instead it was a modern metal and glass place, it may be very comfortable and fit for purpose, but hardly historical.

This is a bad news – good news story.

First, the bad news.  Two weeks ago, I wrote a blog called Erased Again in which I complained about the Church of England’s Living in Love and Faith website.

https://www.churchofengland.org/LLF

Specifically, I complained about the Wider Participation page.  A significant number of individuals and churches had been nominated to talk to the LLF project and they had published the criteria used to select the ones who would be met face-to-face.  However there were significant gaps in the criteria.

Now the good news.  Their web page has been updated with new criteria and these are so much better.  Those of us who did not fit into any category, now have criteria that allow our voices to be heard.  Well done.

The new criteria can be found at wider participation

The updated webpage explicitly states that [the person asked to make the final selection] was asked to ensure the selection included as much diversity as possible in relation to sexuality, gender identity and relationship status.

There is more good news.  This change happened because there is a mechanism for people to contact those working on Living in Love and Faith.  Many people contacted them and said how the categories excluded them and those voices who would be missing from the process.  Dr Eeva John and her staff at LLF have listened to what we were saying and they have made changes that reflect that listening.  Dr John – thank you very much.  By the standards of the Church of England, this is a lightning fast response.

I have been impressed with the way that Dr John and her staff have been willing to engage with people on an individual basis.  It must have taken up a lot of time to answer so many e-mails personally.  This commitment by the LLF team gives me a lot more confidence in the process than I had before.  They are willing to listen to us and engage with what we have to say, that is something that we have never had before.  It is now up to us to engage in constructive dialogue to ensure that there is the best possible outcome for Living in Love and Faith in 2020.

To get in touch with the LLF team, go to their main webpage at Living in Love and Faith  and go to the bottom of the page for the Get in Touch section.

New 2019 events have been added to the Upcoming Events page.  Click here to for more information.

The Church of England is engaged in a process to produce a new teaching document, called Living in Love and Faith (LLF). The strap line for this is Christian Teaching and Learning about Human Identity, Sexuality and Marriage.  I really like that fact that there is a website for the LLF process, it is much more transparent and approachable than any of the previous Church of England reports have been. That is the good part.

As part of this process, there is a wider participation strand, where various organisations and bishops were asked to nominate individuals and churches for the LLF team to meet. There were a large number of churches and individuals nominated, so they have just published the criteria to choose which 20 churches and 40 individuals will take part. Unfortunately, after working on this project for over a year, I am disappointed in what has emerged. They really don’t get it.

The criteria have no bisexuals, bi erasure is one of the current hot topics in LGBTQI inclusion at the moment, bi visibility day has never been so prominent. One of the things that some of us were hoping for from the new teaching document was an in-depth theology of bisexuality and a joined-up pastoral approach.

There are no lesbians in the criteria, only the word ‘gay’. While some of us may use that word occasionally as a convenient shorthand to cover men and women, it is not appropriate in a document like this, where it comes across as another form of patriarchy. It would be more inclusive to say ‘gay or lesbian’ than ‘male / female gay’.

The criteria do not understand the reality of younger people in this country. There is no non-binary category and this is one of the identities that is growing rapidly among the younger generations of our society. In the same way, some would reject the term bisexual in favour of the identity pansexual, which gets beyond the gender binary. Why is there no mention of queer or fluid? Why are we being erased again?

The criteria take into account relationship status, but not in an equal way. Why is the word ‘married’ used for heterosexuals but not for homosexuals? Why is the word ‘celibate’ not used about single heterosexuals?

What is included in the criteria is ‘same-sex-attracted’. For those who have not come across SSA, it is based on a theology that homosexuals are ‘not God’s best’ and therefore the only way to live is to remain single and celibate. No loving relationships are allowed, only Spiritual Friendships. This is unbiblical. It is contrary to the Bible to require someone to be single for life and the Bible explains that celibacy is a gift that is only given to some. The Bible contains material showing that only those who had the gift of celibacy were to remain unmarried.

Why is there no requirement to include the experience of BAME Christians? More erasure.  The intersectional experience of those who are non-white and non-heterosexual needs to be part of the learning process.

The original criteria can be found here.

The individuals selected will need to include a balance across the following characteristics:
• Male | Female heterosexual
• Married | Single heterosexual
• Male | Female gay partnered
• Male | Female same sex attracted celibate
• Transgender Woman | Man
• Asexual
• Intersex
• Age
• Socioeconomic spectrum
• Clergy | Lay (with at least one third lay).

You can see the problems immediately. There is no parity between the criteria for heterosexuals and non-heterosexuals. Life is far more complicated than simply married / single / partnered. What about those who are divorced? Or widowed? Or separated? Or single parents? Or parents of LGBTQI+ children? Or same-sex married? All erased. Most of the people affected by this document will be lay, so will most of the experts, therefore the laity should be at least 50%. One of the problems with previous reports has been excess clericalism.

So, my suggestions for more representative criteria are:
• Male or female heterosexual, cohabiting / civil partnered / married
• Male or female heterosexual, single / separated / divorced / widowed / celibate
• Bisexual, Gay or lesbian, cohabiting / civil partnered / married
• Bisexual, Gay or lesbian, single / separated / divorced / widowed / celibate
• Trans woman or man or in the process of transitioning, cohabiting / civil partnered / married
• Trans woman or man or in the process of transitioning, single / separated / divorced / widowed / celibate
• Intersex
• Non-binary / asexual / pansexual / queer / +
• Same-sex-attracted

There should also be a balance across the following criteria:
• Ethnicity,
• Age
• Socioeconomic class (if known)
• Clergy / lay (with at least 50% being lay).

The LLF website can be found here.

This excellent conference took place at Staffordshire University last Saturday. This year’s conference title was ‘From Welcome to Affirmation’.
The fact that this conference was taking place in Stoke-on-Trent was important because it is in the Diocese of Lichfield.  All four of the bishops from that diocese had issued an ad clerum letter to all the clergy in this diocese on ‘Welcoming and honouring LGBT+ people.’ Hard copies of this were included in the conference pack. (Letter available here )
Dr Chris Whitney-Cooper, who introduced the conference, explained how the letter from the bishops had made a difference in her own evangelical church and the effect it had on her own church participation. It was helpful to see the immediate effect of the letter on a local level.
Gareth Street from Oasis UK opened his presentation with a video that had been made specially for the conference from Oasis founder Steve Chalke. Steve shared his own experiences of rejection, losing friends and eventually having membership of the Evangelical Alliance revoked. He linked the experience he had and that his organisation had experienced to the rejection many LGBTQ+ people feel from churches. It was a powerful testimony. I hope the video may be available online soon. Gareth talked through the Oasis Open Charter, which is something that churches can sign up to, through the Open Church Network. The charter is being relaunched soon.
Geoff Annas, bishop of Stafford and one of the signatories of the Lichfield letter, spoke of the particular problems that LGBT people face, mentioning homelessness and mental health issues, which are disproportionately higher in the LGBT community. But he also saw evidence of society’s desire for more diversity, especially in the entertainment industry. He spoke of the way that he sees God working through society and culture to promote increased diversity and acceptance.
Bishop Geoff also reminded us of the current position of the Church of England which the Lichfield bishops had explained in their letter. Everyone who is ordained in the Church of England has to agree to abide by the document Issues in Human Sexuality, available here
The Lambeth Conference in 1998 also passed resolution 1.10, text available here
This resolution does not have legal status in England, but has moral force. Bishop Geoff reminded the conference that this is the Church of England’s starting point. The church of England is now working on a new teaching document entitled Living in Love and Faith (more information available here).
There were breakout groups where people could explore an issue in more detail. These groups were run by stonewall, Open Table and Oasis among others. As is often the case, there were more groups you wanted to go to than sessions available.

The highlight of the afternoon was the Brenda Harrison memorial lecture, given by Revd Dr Tina Beardsley.
In July 2017 the General Synod of the Church of England addressed the Blackburn motion, calling for affirmation and welcome for trans people and for the House of Bishops to consider developing liturgy to mark significant points in a trans person’s faith journey. The House of Bishops decided not to develop the liturgy, but promised guidance. Tina, along with other trans priests Rachel Mann and Sarah Jones have been helping with the guidance. The Blackburn motion was able to address the issue of affirmation, but did not go further to celebrate trans people.
Tina described her time as a student at Westcott House, in the days before her transition. There was another student there, who would transition in the future to become Rev. Carol Stone. However, at the time when Tina was a student there, the biggest story was of the college chaplain who had come out as gay during compline the previous term.
Tina explained that she came out first as gay. She did this during a sermon, with the words, ‘God loves me, including the fact that I’m gay’. There was a positive reaction from people who were pleased to see a gay man in a caring profession. Tina’s response was ‘I never said I was a gay man’.
Coming out in private is positive, but we need to be public in our affirmation of ourselves to combat the shame and stigma that some in society try to use against us.
The story of the good Samaritan is one that is important to LGBT people. The Samaritan is the one who is willing to cross the road to break the barrier between being pure and impure, just as Jesus did so many times. Jesus reaches out to those who are not at the table, he goes to where they are.
Being inclusive is not easy, it is costly not cosy. This is because there is a tension between inclusive theology and exclusive theology. Are we willing to leave our exclusive side of the street and cross the barrier to the other side?

This conference was well attended and a great success. They have promised us another one. I will look forward to it.

Today, Friday October 26th 2018, the ashes of University of Wyoming student Matthew Shepard will be interred in the Washington National Cathedral in a service conducted by Bishops Mariann Edgar Budde, bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Washington, and Bishop Gene Robinson. It is 20 years since Matthew’s death on 12th October 1998.
In those 20 years, a lot has changed, some things have changed for the better, but some have changed for the worst. Matthew’s death in a homophonic attack has come to be one of those defining moments, that we wish had never happened, but which changed the landscape forever. His death has had a similar impact to the suicide of 14-year-old Manchester teenager Lizzie Lowe.
Matthew was picked up in a bar in Laramie Wyoming by two men, Aaron McKinney and Russell Henderson. McKinney and Henderson beat him up and left him tied to a fence to die. Matthew was found and taken to Poudre Valley Hospital in Fort Collins, Colorado, where he died six days later from severe head injuries. He never regained consciousness.
Many people around the world are attacked and some are killed, but some events take hold in the public consciousness and the attack on Matthew was one of them. The days after he was found and taken to hospital were days when anger grew at the attack. There were candlelit vigils held around the country as people prayed or him and the country.
His funeral in 1998 was picketed by Christian demonstrators from Westboro Baptist Church. Their presence caused deep hurt and outrage. Westboro Baptist church was back in Laramie to protest at the trial of McKinney and Henderson. But this time there was a counter protest, which has become famous in its own right. The Angel Action counter protest had people dressing in oversized Angel costumes, big enough to hide the Christian protestors from view.
So, why does this matter now? Many LGBTQ+ people in the UK, may never have heard of Matthew Shepard, but they will know his legacy. His murder added to the calls for a bill against Hate Crime to be introduced in the US. This took a long time, but was eventually enacted into law in 2009. Matthew’s death was one of the most visible examples of someone killed in a hate crime. The Matthew Shepard Act was adopted on July 15, 2009.
His death achieved more than that. The counter protest to Christian demonstrators that was so public and visible has become widespread. In this country we see Christians at Pride showing support for the LGBTQ+ community and acting to neutralise the effect of Christian protests at Pride events. A Christian presence at an event is no longer defined as one of hate and exclusion, those of us who believe in inclusion and affirmation can now make our voices heard in a more powerful way.
Matthew’s parents kept his ashes at home with them, but now they are being buried in the National Cathedral of the Episcopal Church that Matthew belonged to, in a service conducted with an out gay bishop. This service affirms all of us who are gay and Christian and it is a pound day for the LGBTQ+ community in America and around the world.
The Matthew Shepard foundation set up in his memory can be found here www.matthewshepard.org

The book Judy Shepard wrote about Matthew and his murder – The Meaning of Matthew – can be bought here amazon.co.uk

The film about the events in Laramie – The Laramie Project – can be bought here amazon.co.uk

The National Cathedral has the following page cathedral.org/matthewshepard
where the service can be live streamed or watched later.

The service book can be downloaded at Matthew_Shepard_service.pdf

Matthew, through the mercy of God, may you rest in peace and rise in glory. Amen.

Gathering Voices call for welcome and affirmation of LGBT people in Christian churches
A DAY conference aimed at resourcing churches to become more openly inclusive of people who are LGBT is taking place at Staffordshire University’s Stoke on Trent campus this Saturday.
The event, called ‘From Welcome to Affirmation’, will reflect on the Open Church Charter developed by the Open Church Network, an initiative of Baptist minister Steve Chalke’s Oasis Foundation.
The conference is hosted by Gathering Voices, a collaboration of Christian and LGBT organisations including:
Accepting Evangelicals
Evangelical Fellowship for Lesbian and Gay Christians (EFLGC)
Open Expression: The Stoke-on-Trent based Open Table community
The Sibyls
Stonewall
Revd Dr Tina Beardsley, a member of co-ordinating group for the Church of England’s forthcoming Episcopal Teaching Document on Sexuality and Marriage will deliver the keynote speech, ‘From affirmation to celebration: our stories as inclusive theology’. Kieran Bohan the Open Table network coordinator will lead a breakout group on ‘Creating safe sacred spaces for LGBT+ Christians’

Booking closes this Thursday 25th – Read more and book here.

Press release is accessible here.