In July 2018 I published a blog arguing that members of the Church of England seeking equality for LGBTI+ people should develop a strategy for change in the Church.

The hierarchy of the Church of England was engaged in writing an Episcopal Teaching document, recently renamed Living in Love and Faith: Christian teaching and learning about human identity, sexuality and marriage. The document was not being written in response to the goals pursued by LGBTI+ Christians. It was a continuation of the attempt to resolve the conflict between ‘orthodox’ and ‘revisionist’ tribes in the church. The conviction, passion, identity and experience of LGBTI+ Christians were yet again being submerged under the needs of the institution to preserve an idealised, less than radical Christian synthesis. This was not the outcome expected following the four year process that produced the Pilling Report and the three years devoted to the Shared Conversations.’ LGBTI+ Christians, I wrote, expected far more than ‘good disagreement’ at the end of this seven year process.

The blog included an LGBTI+ Agenda for Change

Approval for the blessing of same sex relationships in church
Approval of a liturgy for the blessing of same sex relationships
Acceptance that many lesbian and gay clergy live in (if we have to use the phrase) a sexually active, permanent, stable, faithful relationships with their partner
Removal of the quadruple lock preventing the Church of England from solemnising same sex marriages and revision of the marriage canons to allow clergy to solemnise and equal marriage to take place in Church of England churches.
Confront the misuse of the Bible that underpins teaching and practice towards LGBTI people justifying prejudice and resulting extreme examples of abuse.
Pay attention to the acceptance of more fluid sexual and gender identities among the under 30s.

I argued that we needed to develop a strategy for change that educates the church establishment (House and College of Bishops, Archbishops’ Council, Church House secretariat, General Synod) about what a radical new Christian inclusion in the Church means in reality, based on good, healthy, flourishing relationships and a twenty-first century understanding of being human and being sexual.

Living in Love and Faith Book published

I reposted the 2018 Agenda for Change in a blog published in November 2020 following publication of the LLF book. Meanwhile, the process, with its prolific resources, continues, I wrote. The resources are only of value to one group of people – bishops. They who commissioned the LLF process and have been integral in producing the report are the one group who need to work through their own blind spots. The majority of people in the majority of congregations have been working through this for over twenty years and have already got there – prejudice and anxieties overcome with the help of their LGBTI+ sons, daughters, fathers, mothers, siblings, cousins, aunts uncles, friends and colleagues.

The bishops controlled the production and content of the LLF book and course. The bishops are taking sole responsibility for overseeing the next stage of the process and for bringing proposals to General Synod in 2022. Nothing will change unless the bishops agree change is essential. This will not happen unless individual bishops break rank. I challenged members of the House of Bishops who claim to be fully supportive of LGBTI people to publicly dissent from this process. Apart from Bishop Alan Wilson and Bishop Paul Bayes in the months before his retirement, none did.

Changing Attitude England proposed LGBTQIA+ appointments to HoB

Changing Attitude England (CAE) proposed in our letter of 11 November 2021 that six LGBTQIA+ people should be appointed to both the Next Steps Group (NSG) and the House of Bishops, in a way that is analogous to the appointment of senior women and to the proposal for UK Minority Ethnic / Global Majority Heritage ‘participant observers’ recommendation.

The Bishop of London replied to our letter of 11th November 2021 on 18th January 2022, commenting:

“In relation to this last point, you will be aware that this was brought up in a question at the February General Synod. The Next Steps Group is now working on a proposal to the House of Bishops that goes at least some way to respond to this aspiration.”

Bishop Sarah made no reference to our proposal that six LGBTQIA+ people should be elected to the Next Steps Group.

General Synod Question

The Revd Canon Simon Butler asked a question about LGBTI+ representation in the House of Bishops at the meeting of General Synod from 7-11 February. Simon noted the past decisions of the House of Bishops to include women and UKME/GMH clergy into the House until such time as they are properly represented. He asked whether, in the absence of any openly LGBTI+ Bishops in the House, the House could outline the plans it has to ensure that identifiable LGBTI+ voices are present as it discerns and discusses how to proceed through and beyond LLF. The Bishop of London replied to Simon’s question, saying the Next Steps Group is putting a proposal to the House of Bishops about how identifiable LGBTI+ voices will be present and able to participate in the bishops’ discernment processes this autumn. She said the House of Bishops will consider this at its meeting in March.

Changing Attitude England reply to Bishop of London

Changing Attitude England has this week sent a further letter to the Bishop of London, noting that there are problems in including members of the LGBTQIA+ community both to the House of Bishops and to the Next Steps Group. These two bodies are composed exclusively of bishops. This does not of course mean that the successor to the NSG would necessarily have the same composition but the models used in the cases of including women UKME / GMH clergy in the House cannot be so easily followed. There are already gay and possibly lesbian and bisexual members of the House of Bishops, but none of them is open about their sexuality. This continuing reality is a telling reflection of the current situation in the Church of England and demonstrates that the Church of England is not a safe environment in which lesbian, gay or bisexual bishops to come out. This is a dramatic example of the extent to which the systemic prejudice in the Church of England against LGBTQIA+ people has a deeply damaging effect.

The Next Steps Group is now working on a proposal to the House of Bishops that goes at least some way to responding to the aspiration Changing Attitude England put to them. It seems logical to us that work on including LGBTQIA+ representatives on the NSG should proceed before work can begin on a proposal for the House of Bishops.

“No more conversations about us without us” has been a mantra for LGBTQIA+ people for a long time. The bishops would surely not have developed a process to include women and Minority Ethnic Clergy in the House of Bishops without seeking their input in formulating a proposal to elect representatives to the House of Bishops. Changing Attitude England argues that the same procedure must apply to LGBTQIA+ representation. Our voices must be heard in the conversations taking place in the Next Steps Group to develop this proposal.

Urgency now required

Real urgency is required in formulating these proposals. According to GS Misc 1306 on the ‘Listening to the Whole Church’ element of LLF, this process closes on 30 April 2022 with the findings being published on 22 September and the College of Bishops then beginning their discernment process. The College and House are scheduled to finalise the proposals in December prior to their being considered by General Synod in February 2023.

Changing Attitude England believes it is essential that the election of six LGBTQIA+ members takes place as soon as possible to enable those elected to participate in the final stages of the Living in Love and Faith process.

The proposal first made by Changing Attitude England to the Next Steps Group in our letter in November 2021 has been taken seriously. We expect the March meeting of the House to consider the NSG proposal and bring forward plans to enable LGBTQIA+ voices to participate both in the House of Bishops and in the continuing LLF discernment process.