On 25 July I posed a blog asking how we change the House of Bishops.
“How do we turn the practical reality of Church of England parishes, churches, clergy and laity already providing a national network of inclusive, affirming congregations celebrating full inclusion into a vote in General Synod to change the Canons and rules that prevent lesbian and gay couples (and clergy in particular marrying and being married in church? It has to be a campaign that focuses time, attention and energy on the bishops.”
On 29 July I posted a blog arguing that it was time to change the Marriage Canon.
“It has become clear that the task for those of us campaigning for the full inclusion of LGBTQI people in the Church of England is to pursue amendment of the Marriage Canon and extend marriage in church to same-sex couples.”
I believe it is time we LGBTQI+ members of the Church of England together with our tens of thousands of allies across every diocese held the bishops to account for their indifference to our patience over half-a-century as the toxic, abusive elements of Christian culture have been revealed in the Church. As the debate on Helen King’s motion in the recent Synod shows, the House of Bishops are the primary problem because a minority of bishops repeatedly vote to delay progress
I said I’d flesh out the actions we can and should take in my next blog. But first! I want to review, briefly, the history of LGBTQ activism in the C of E. Remember - I’m a contemplative activist.
1975 Gay Christian Movement
The Gay Christian Movement, ecumenical in membership but dominated by Anglicans, was formed in 1975. A service of Holy Communion to celebrate the new group was held in St Botolph’s Church, Aldgate. In 1985 GCM expanded to include lesbians, becoming LGCM. LGCM developed a network of local groups and a number of caucuses representing different denominations plus a group for evangelicals
1976 The Lesbian and Gay Clergy Consultation
Within a year a second organisation, the Gay Clergy Consultation, a more specifically Anglican group, was formed. Following the ordination of women in March 1994 the group expanded to include women and transgender clergy. Malcolm Johnson, vicar of St Botolph’s, was integral to both groups.
1991 Southwark Diocese Lesbian and Gay Support Network
South Bank Religion was a transformative theological movement born in the Diocese of Southwark in the 1960s, related to the publication of Honest to God by John Robinson, bishop of Woolwich, nurtured by Mervyn Stockwood, bishop of Southwark, Ernie Southcott, David Edwards and Coliin Slee, Provosts and Deans of Southwark, Hugh Montefiore bishop of Kingston, and clergy such as Paul Oesteicher, vicar the Ascension Blackheath.
In 1991 Bishop Ronnie Bowlby, who had succeeded Mervyn Stockwood, took the clergy of the Diocese away to Caister, Norfolk, for a residential conference. I was there as a member of the steering group organising the conference. One of the keynote speakers was Jack Spong, Bishop of the Diocese of Newark, New Jersey from 1979 to 2000. I can’t remember who the keynote guest speaker was, but to ensure that people knew Jack wasn’t the keynote speaker, his session was designated to be held in a secondary space. This ensured that his session was packed out with an enthusiastic crowd, standing room only.
Jack’s presence helped focus the awareness and confidence of the gay clergy present at Caister. At a meeting not registered on the agenda, a group met and decided to form a support network for lesbian and gay people in the diocese. The Southwark Diocese Lesbian and Gay Support Network inevitably became known as SLAGS for short. I was the vicar of St Faith’s Wandsworth and this church became the regular home for the quarterly meetings of the group. One of the members of the steering group worked at the Diocesan Office and this became the regular venue for our meetings. The Network developed a very active presence in the diocese. A valuable innovation was our decision to invite each new bishop appointed to the diocese.to come and meet the group. We asked them to talk about themselves first and then introduced them to the Network’s priorities. The meeting with Bishop Tom Butler was particularly memorable.
1995 Changing Attitude
In 1995 Changing Attitude was formed as a group actively campaigning for change in the Church of England for the equality of LGBTQI people, lay and ordained. The Southwark Network was the model on which the foundations of Changing Attitude were laid. It was to be a grass roots organisation with diocesan groups where active local support could be provided and campaigning initiatives taken. The network expanded very quickly. Eventually there was a CA group in every diocese except the Isle of Man. LGCM also had local, ecumenical groups and for a number of years there was a strong LGBTQI grass roots presence across the dioceses of the Church of England. Changing Attitude England continues to exist as a Facebook group.
2003 Inclusive Church
in 2003 in response to the nomination of the Revd Dr Jeffrey John as Bishop of Reading the campaign presence of LGBTQI people in the Church of England was enhanced by the formation of Inclusive Church. Jeffrey was subsequently forced to withdraw from the nomination when it became publicly known that he was in a committed same-sex relationship. This led to the creation of an online petition, asking individuals and churches to support an Inclusive Church Vision Statement. The response was immense with the Petition reaching nearly 10,000 signatories. A public meeting held in St Mary’s Putney attracted an overwhelming response. As a result, a new charity, Inclusive Church, was formed.
2015 OneBodyOneFaith
In 2015 following my retirement, the boards of Changing Attitude and LGCM agreed to merge the two organisations, becoming OneBodyOneFaith. As a result, LGCM’s strong campaigning ethos and Changing Attitude’s strong activism were lost. Over a period of time, local groups had also ceased to function. The result is that there are now, to my knowledge, no active diocesan groups left.
2015-2026
Other organisations have come into existence to complement the work of Inclusive Church and OBOF. The Campaign for Equal Marriage in the Church of England was active for some time and still exists as a Facebook group. The website Thinking Anglicans has for two decades become an invaluable record of news and progressive activity in the Church of England. The Open Table Network is a growing partnership of local communities, 37 at the moment, which welcome, affirm, include and empower people who are lesbian, gay, bisexual, Trans, Queer or Questioning, Intersex and Asexual plus families, friends and anyone who wants to belong to an accepting, loving community. MoSAIC (the Movement of Supportive Anglicans for an Inclusive Church), after a brief, independent life, became part of Together for the Church of England.
2024 Together for the Church of England
Together for the Church of England is “a group of Anglicans aiming to support and work with all those desiring a more diverse and loving Church of England.”
“We hope to see full inclusion and equality in the Church of England. We recognise that we all understand the unconditional love of God for all people in different ways but seek to grow a church which gathers all who profess faith in God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit.”
Together already has a significant active and effective presence on General Synod through elected members in the Houses of Clergy and Laity focused on the failure of the Church to model full inclusion regardless of sexuality, gender, status or ability. Together is now actively campaigning to ensure those standing in the elections for a new General Synod are well supported, building on the successful campaign developed in 2021.
Together’s website says the organisation “acts as the umbrella body for the wider “Together” network, including “Together on General Synod (TOGS)”, and the “Together in” networks across the dioceses.” From the Together website:
“We work locally through diocesan-based networks of Christians, both clergy and lay, who share our aims. These networks support one another in local campaigning, work to ensure strong representation in the governance structures of the Church of England, and are a voice in their diocese for greater equality. We are also aware that there are many inclusive-minded people currently in churches of a more conservative outlook who would appreciate being in touch with inclusive Christians in their area. Forming those connections is something that a diocesan network could help with. The diocesan networks are supported centrally by the national Together team.”
The website lists contacts in all but one diocese.
2026 The Diocese of Southwark
Finally we get to my key focus. How do we prioritise and pursue amendment of the Marriage Canon to includer same sex couples? I believe pressure has to be exerted on every bishop within their diocese by pursuing Together’s vision of creating a network in every diocese, effectively re-creating what Changing Attitude had achieved in the early 2000s. I’ve been researching present reality in the Diocese of Southwark. I’ve made contact with the Together representative and he’s promised to be in touch after his holiday. Southwark already has other potential resources. Fifty LGBTQIA+ people marched in recent London Pride, assembled by the Sub-dean. I’m told there is a WhatsApp clergy group, though I haven’t yet been added. There are numerous churches registered with Inclusive Church. Inclusive Church has a network of voluntary Regional Ambassadors but no one to represent Southwark at the moment. An Open Table group meets at St John’s Waterloo. The diocese also has Together allies such as Charlie Bell active on Synod.
There are similar groups and resources, Synod members, Regional Ambassadors and Together contacts in every other diocese. All we need are for these various resources of LLGBTQI+ people and our allies to get our acts together (an ability Queer people are usually very gifted at doing) to create a movement equal to the conservative lobby and pressure groups, focused on breaking through the barrier to equal marriage.