Tina Beardsley and Alex Clare-Young have written to the Rt Revd and Rt Hon Sarah Mullally, bishop of London and chair of the LLF Next Steps Group, asking her to confirm that the new working group on gender identity and transition will be composed of a wide range of trans members, including transfeminine, transmasculine and non-binary people together with those who are recognised specialists in the field of gender identity and in overseeing people’s transitions.
The House of Bishops’ meeting held on Monday 17th and Tuesday 18th May “agreed in principle to the formation of a working group on gender identity and transition under the auspices of the LLF Next Steps Group.” Tina Beardsley and Alex Clare-Young argue that the membership of the proposed working group should embrace a broad range of trans and gender variant people. It must also include people who are specialists in the field of gender identity and in overseeing people’s transitions. It should not include those who dismiss trans people’s experience as a mental illness, a fantasy, a sinful temptation, a gnostic claim to secret self-knowledge, or a symptom of the decadence of Western self-consciousness.
The Church of England’s General Synod Motion of 2017 was unequivocal in its call for a ban on so-called conversion therapy. The UK Government has not only delayed taking action but has recently begun to add the qualifying word ‘coercive’. Is a distinction being drawn between so-called conversion therapy that is coercive and other practices, such as prayer ministry, that are thought to be acceptable? Clarity about the meaning of coercive and non-coercive in this context is urgently needed. The Government seems to be consulting with those determined to protect harmful faith-based practices.
The LLF course comes with videos of people telling their stories. One of them shows Debbie Hayton who has been repeatedly condemned for transphobia. She is a rare example of a member of a minority who sides with those who fight against their rights. She doesn't speak for trans people. Despite these significant concerns raised by Changing Attitude England with the LLF Next Steps Group, all bishops, they have decided to retain Debbie’s film story as part of the LLF resources. This decision demonstrates the fantasy of ‘fair play’ that is at work in the LLF process, blind to the inequalities of power at work.
This blog describes the abuse experienced by Rachel Gillingham at St Luke’s, Kentish Town, and the complaint for misconduct raised against Fr Robert Thompson, Vicar of St James’ Church, West Hampstead in the same Deanery under the Clergy Discipline Measure. Fr Robert is supporting and advocating on behalf of Rachel. The hierarchy of the Church of England when dealing with cases of abuse has repeatedly prioritised the defence of the reputation of individual bishops and of the Church rather than recognising the impact on victims and the priority to deal effectively with the abuse perpetrated on them. Rachel’s abuser has not been effectively dealt with by the Bishop of London, the Rt Revd Sarah Mullally, nor by the Bishop of Edmonton the Rt Revd Rob Wickham, who instead pursue Robert, a gay priest.
Wilhelm Reich, the renegade disciple of Sigmund Freud, was driven to try and understand why his patients might want to escape or subdue their bodies and emotions and why, despite that, the body remains a naked source of power. An article about Reich provoked me to realise that although the Changing Attitude England campaign for equality in ministry and relationships is driven to reject biblical fundamentalist homophobic teaching, it also has to become a campaign against the abuse of LGBTIQ+ people by the Christian Church in general and the Church of England House of Bishops in particular. The House of Bishops, supported by various conservative movements and a toxic reading of the Bible, seek to maintain teachings that prohibit intimacy and sexual activity for clergy and licenced lay people, suppressing our bodies, emotions and life energies.
On Monday the Rt Revd Dr Emma Ineson’s appointment as the Bishop to the Archbishops of Canterbury and York was announced. In October 2016 Revd Dr Emma Ineson was among evangelicals who signed a letter to all members of the College of Bishops. The letter said the Bible is clear that God has given the marriage of one man with one woman as the only context in which physical expression is to be given to our sexuality and any change in the Church’s teaching or practice – such as the blessing of sexual relationships outside of heterosexual marriage - would represent a significant departure from the authority of the Bible. Where does her appointment leave the Archbishops’ commitment to a new radical inclusion? Bishop Emma will be in a powerful position, able to influence the outcome of the Living in Love and Faith process and having huge influence over the content and culture of the next Lambeth Conference.
Sex, Power, Control: Responding to Abuse in the Institutional Church by Fiona Gardner has valuable lessons for those involved in the Changing Attitude England Campaign to challenge the bishops, the people who are ultimately solely responsible for the LLF process and its outcome. The steering group for CA England believes we must reclaim our narrative for the full equality of LGBTIQ+ people in ministry and relationships, taking back the narrative from the Bishops, clear that we are not objects to be analysed but people with explicit demands and expectations. We will spell out for the bishops and the Next Steps process exactly what equality means for us, saying explicitly what we want and do not want when bishops present LLF to Synod. LLF is a distraction - the now is the time for radical challenge.
In A Bigger Table: Building Messy, Authentic, and Hopeful Spiritual Community, John Pavlovitz argues for a Church that manifests the characteristics of radical hospitality, total authenticity, true diversity, and agenda-free community, a Church seeking the Bigger Table. Pavlovitz grew up in Central New York, a white, middle-class, suburban, Italian, Roman Catholic boy, raised on gluten and guilt. Later, living among artists, musicians, dancers, and actors, a decidedly bohemian alternative congregation in Philadelphia, he worked out that people’s gender identity and sexual orientation made them no less image bearers of the Divine; their love was a reflection of the heart of God, not because of who they loved but because of how they loved – deeply, truthfully, and sacrificially.
For seven decades the bishops have taken to themselves the right to decide who we are and what we are allowed to be and how we are allowed to function in the Church, lay or ordained. And still we play along with this, suppressing what we know about ourselves, playing the Church game according to Church rules. I have been edging my way towards saying “we refuse to conform to your rules any longer.” That is what re-launching Changing Attitude England is doing – refusing to play by House of Bishops’ rules.
