Lambeth Conference Resolution 1.10
We have to find a way of pouring the energy of the groups campaigning for justice and equality for all in the progressive coalition and in the lives and energies of individual LGBTQIA+ people and our allies into the parishes and congregations, churches and cathedrals, where the Mystery of unconditional, infinite, intimate divine love manifest in the life and teaching of Jesus is celebrated despite the years of attrition.
Andrew Goddard claims in a recent Psephizo blog that revisionists are responsible for the decision of a number of Global South Provinces and bishops to stay away from the 2022 Lambeth Conference. The Lambeth Conference resolutions passed in 1978 and 1988 and the Global South conference held in Kuala Lumpur in 1997 show that the Global South movement itself is entirely responsible, organising a homophobic and transphobic movement to sabotage any progressive developments. Archbishop Justin worked to restore to Lambeth 2022 the Gospel vision of love, wisdom, justice and truth proclaimed by Jesus. I pray for the College and House of Bishops and for the members of General Synod, responsible for translating the deepest Christian faith in God’s infinite, intimate, unconditional love into the life and faith of the Church of England, making present radical new Christian inclusion for LGBTQIA+ people.
Has this Lambeth Conference successfully achieved a breakthrough leading to a successful outcome for the Living in Love and Faith project and a transformation of the status of LGBTQIA+ people leading to our radical new Christian inclusion? The failure of all but two Church of England bishops to sign the letter supporting LGBTQIA+ people is deeply distressing for us and our allies. Many are understandably very angry and feel betrayed.
The Lambeth Calls fiasco has broken the trust that LGBTQIA+ people had placed in the LLF process. It has shown that we cannot trust the bishops to act honestly and with transparency. It shows why the Church of England needs to change. The bishops of the church need to admit that homophobia and transphobia are endemic, systemically, in the structures of the church and the ethos of the LLF material and process.
Bishop Kevin Robertson of the diocese of Toronto has posted an article on Facebook about the Lambeth Calls document that was released last week, days ahead of the Lambeth Conference. He is a member of the Human Dignity Call drafting group that wrote the Call. Kevin says the group did not discuss the reaffirmation of Lambeth I.10 and it never appeared in any of the early drafts of their work together. He says that the Human Dignity Call in its current form does not represent the mind of the drafting group and distances himself from the reaffirmation of Lambeth I.10 in the strongest possible way.
Changing Attitude England is one of the seven groups who have written an open letter to the Archbishops and Bishops of the Church of England expressing our concern about the draft Lambeth Call on Human Dignity, to be discussed and possibly issued by the forthcoming Lambeth Conference. This Call has been drafted with reference to Resolution 1.10 of the 1998 Lambeth Conference. It says: “It is the mind of the Anglican Communion as a whole that same gender marriage is not permissible. Lambeth Resolution I.10 (1998) states that the “legitimizing or blessing of same sex unions” cannot be advised. It is the mind of the Communion to uphold “faithfulness in marriage between a man and a woman in lifelong union.” Were it to be accepted, it would fatally sabotage the Living in Love and Faith process and rule out any possibility of progress towards the Archbishops’ vision of a radical new Christian inclusion for LGBTQIA+ people.
The Living in Love and Faith process has evolved from the 1998 Lambeth Conference resolution 1.10 that committed the church “to listen to the experience of homosexual persons”, via, in July 2011, the House of Bishops review of its 2005 Pastoral Statement on civil partnerships. From this they set up a Working Group on Human Sexuality chaired by Sir Joseph Pilling resulting in the ‘Pilling Report’ that proposed the Shared Conversations. The outcome of 23 years of an evolving process is a report to General Synod that is no longer focused on listening to us, or on civil partnerships, or even on a radical new Christian inclusion for LGBTIQ+ people, but listening to our lament, fear and pain. Changing Attitude is determined to ensure they hear our anger, frustration, and determination to achieve justice and equality for LGBTIQ+ people within God’s unconditional love manifest in Jesus the Christ.
