tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-84434478426114993592024-03-13T16:54:41.218+00:00The Changing Attitude BlogWorking for Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual & Transgender affirmation within the Anglican Communion.Alexhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09163737925142519555noreply@blogger.comBlogger379125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8443447842611499359.post-41906739860246892192011-03-09T21:51:00.002+00:002011-03-09T21:59:14.395+00:00New web site location for the CA blogDear followers of the CA blog,<br /><br />A new Changing Attitude web site has been under construction since November and is now just about ready to go live - which it should in the next 24 hours. The new site is an exciting opportuinty for us to increase content and present the extraordinary breadth of work undertaken by our supporters and local groups across the country as well as our media and lobbying work.<br /><br />This blog will become an integral feature of the new site, and you'll be able to follow us on Twitter (if the Director ever finds time to work it out) and our Facebook page will also be integrated.<br /><br />We thank you for your support in following our work and my musings and hope you will find the new web site provides a sharper focus for the campaigns we are pursuing in the Church of England and the Anglican Communion to transform the place of LGBT people in our Church.<br /><br />Blessings,<br />ColinColin Cowardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00030093527945687306noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8443447842611499359.post-66927619129934775352011-03-09T14:30:00.004+00:002011-03-09T14:48:13.890+00:00Ash Wednesday<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQQq9Le_m-ZQXfRKogwThj0YDwgJ2d5yU418ZT3ZFHs5jdHNvZATcT-K-vaLSiTebE-3FHjo7xyVmuf2h19lRjigoqAk73f-cdVIZmgCGcxZKvHwIAKhCEB6i2g7QJqfUXApGc8_zYr_E/s1600/sunhands.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 226px; height: 150px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQQq9Le_m-ZQXfRKogwThj0YDwgJ2d5yU418ZT3ZFHs5jdHNvZATcT-K-vaLSiTebE-3FHjo7xyVmuf2h19lRjigoqAk73f-cdVIZmgCGcxZKvHwIAKhCEB6i2g7QJqfUXApGc8_zYr_E/s400/sunhands.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5582091311967571090" /></a>What kind of Lenten discipline does my heart and soul seek this year? I yearn to inhabit more deeply my experience of God in which I feel called and invited to live by love, grace, Spirit, by the infinite, eternal, transforming, creative, sacred energy of life.<br /><br />In contrast there is the Church, with its expectation of prayerful discipline through Lent and the suppression of pleasures, desires and addictions. The Church is an institution which requires people to live by rules and laws (Biblical or otherwise) creating in the process categories which include and exclude.<br /><br />Far from encouraging people to live into and believe in the sacred energy of life the Church divides the human community in categories of people in which some are less entitled than others to the fullness of their humanity.<br /><br />Today’s lessons can be read as providing support for a disciplined Lent but I found evidence for a contrary perspective when I read them this morning.<br /><br />Isaiah 1.10-18 rejects as futile the countless sacrifices and idolatrous ceremonies and instead encourages the people to do good, pursue justice, guide the oppressed; uphold the rights of the fatherless and plead the widow’s cause. But it was the next verse, 19, which caught my attention: “... you will eat the best that earth yields.” The problem is, the first half of the verse will be taken to support those who believe Lent is about following the rules: “If you are willing to obey ...” it begins.<br /><br />1 Timothy 6.6-19 concludes with an invitation to fix our hopes on “God, who richly provides all things for us to enjoy.” We are exhorted "... to do good and to be rich in well-doing ...” and if we follow the advice, we will “... grasp the life that is life indeed.”<br /><br />Luke 15.11-end is of course the parable of the Prodigal Son. As I read it, I wondered why the Church drills verse 21 into us: “Father, I have sinned against God and against you; I am no longer fit to be called your son” rather than verse 20: “While he was still a long way off his father saw him, and his heart went out to him; he ran to meet him, flung his arms round him, and kissed him.” This is the God I yearn to encounter and who in truth I do encounter, but often with no thanks to the Church, especially since I’m a gay man.<br /><br />My life task, the task I will adopt this Lent and for the remainder of my life, (in the words of James O’Dea who I heard speaking in North Reddish, Manchester last Sunday) is: “... to grow and deepen our awareness of the concentrated living essence which has the capacity to align us with our own core. And not only to wake up to who it is we really are but who we can become in those moments when greatness, wisdom or unusual generosity are called for.”<br /><br />My project for Lent may seem to be very different from the traditional Lenten disciplines but I suspect it is something which resonates with many more people than the fasting tradition and is in truth much closer to the teaching of Jesus who clearly experienced in his body, heart and soul a tender intimacy and love which is the essence of his Father.<br /><br />Writes James O’Dea:<br /><br /><blockquote>“These moments when you are picked up and carried towards the seemingly infinite reserves of essence are a reminder that the truly great adventure in your life is the fullest realisation of your inner wholeness and where it wants to take you.”<br /><br />“When you begin to surrender to <em>‘I don’t know’ </em>you break the control that <em>false certainty </em>has over your life. Admitting doubt is a dimension of the authentic journey of faith.”</blockquote><br />My faith, my spiritual life, is anchored in an hour of deep attention every morning where I discover an inner awareness that is carrying me through all of life’s many challenges and difficulties. This is a faith which has no need of an intermediary between me and my Life, life in all its fullness, eating the best that earth yields. This is Life filled with a raw, elemental energy - a truly spirit-anchored, inner, soul life.<br /><br />Jesus’ reply to the Pharisees in response to their question about the greatest commandment in the law is: ‘“Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul and with all your mind.” That is the greatest, the first commandment. The second is like it: “Love your neighbour as yourself.”’<br /><br />For those of us who have or are struggling with deep anxieties about whether or not we have been created as we experience ourselves in the core of our being – lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender – or who are haunted by the many prejudices of the Church against us, leading us to question whether our SELF is to be honoured, loved and cherished, James O’Dea’s statement about the first commandment needs to be internalised and trusted as a true reflection of Jesus’ teaching – to love our neighbour and to love God as we love ourselves:<br /><br /><blockquote>“The first commandment is ‘Be yourself.’ It is a commandment which strikes terror in the hearts of many. We wonder, <em>‘Do I have permission to be myself? How will I be received if I am really myself? Is it safe to be myself? Who am I?'</em> And sometimes we find ourselves utterly amazed: <em>‘Wow, how did I achieve that? I had no idea I was capable of such things! Where are these incredible ideas and feelings coming from? What is this charged feeling I have about my own destiny? How do I stay true to myself?’</em></blockquote><br />I pray that all followers of Changing Attitude, our supporters, trustees, patrons and the Director himself; will have a holy, healthy and creative Lent in which we are enriched and nourished by a deepening awareness of God’s tender love in the very core of our being.<br /><br />Colin CowardColin Cowardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00030093527945687306noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8443447842611499359.post-88700657645785868172011-02-17T13:33:00.002+00:002011-02-17T13:38:08.953+00:00Changing Attitude England’s campaign for civil partnerships to be held in Church of England churches.Changing Attitude England welcomes today’s government announcement that it plans to remove the ban in England and Wales on civil partnership registrations being held on religious premises. Changing Attitude expects to be involved in the public consultation on the detail of the changes to be made before the new arrangements are implemented.<br /><br />Changing Attitude will now campaign more directly for the Church of England to allow civil partnerships and the blessing of same-sex relationships to be celebrated in church buildings. The trustees are already formulating the details of our campaign and we invite all who are working and praying for our Church to become fully inclusive of and welcoming to LGBT people to support the campaign by becoming a <a href="http://www.changingattitude.org.uk/support/subscription.asp">supporter</a> of Changing Attitude or sending a <a href="http://www.changingattitude.org.uk/support/donations.asp">donation</a>. We are going to need all the resources, practical and financial, that we can muster.<br /><br />Church House and a number of conservative Christian lobby groups have already issued negative statements about the government proposal, statements which misrepresent the reality of life in the Church and the careful proposals being made by the government.<br /><br />The Communications Office at Church House, Westminster, issued a statement “on behalf of the Church of England”. On whose behalf was it issued? It wasn’t issued on behalf of the tens of thousands of Anglicans who support the blessing of same-sex relationships in church.<br /><br />The statement says the House of Bishops has consistently been clear that the Church of England should not provide services of blessing for those who register civil partnerships. This is absolutely not true. Changing Attitude knows that about 50% of diocesan bishops have either actively encouraged lesbian and gay clergy to enter a civil partnership or deliberately ignored those who do and have taken no action against them. Blessings of civil partnerships in church, sometimes with the formal permission of the Parochial Church Council, take place routinely in England. The House of Bishops has not been consistently clear. It is colluding in a state of affairs in which many bishops dissent from their agreed pastoral statement. Changing Attitude will be asking the House of Bishops to research the numbers of licensed lesbian and gay clergy who have contracted a civil partnership and those who have blessed same-sex relationships.<br /><br />The Church House statement says there may be a number of difficult and unintended consequences for churches and faiths. It says change could only be brought after proper and careful consideration of all the issues involved, to ensure that the intended freedom for all denominations over these matters is genuinely secured. Lesbian and gay members of the Church of England, our friends, families and congregations, are also among those seeking freedom – the freedom to have relationships blessed by God in our parish churches.<br /><br />The government recognises the place of individual conscience and says the provision will be permissive and religious organisations that do not wish to host civil partnerships will not be required to do so.<br /><br />Anglican Mainstream has issued a statement containing deliberate misinformation. The policy of issuing false information followed by the conservative evangelical lobby groups is something that we will monitor and challenge as our campaign develops.<br /><br />Anglican Mainstream claims that “public figures have been terrified to be seen as ‘anti-gay’, hence their unwillingness to discuss and debate LGBT issues. Moreover, many are relatively ignorant, and as the subject matter is not everyone’s ‘thing’, they have neither known nor been too curious to find out.” This is far from the truth, a deliberately constructed lie. I don’t know any public figures who are terrified to be seen as anti-gay. If there are politicians and public figures who are anti-gay or who are ignorant of the experience of LGBT people in our society, they should rightly be ashamed of their prejudice and ignorance.<br /><br />Anglican Mainstream says the state is claiming the right to dictate morality and the gay religious lobby is using the government and sympathetic quasi-Christian groups to do its bidding. That comes as news to Changing Attitude (and who are these quasi-Christian groups?). Mainstream says that being ‘gay’ is now perceived like being ‘black’ etc. Yes, it is – prejudice against LGBT people in our society is now seen for what it is – prejudice. Mainstream claims that complete ‘gayification’ of religion, including the CoE, is on the cards. That isn’t part of Changing Attitude’s aims and objectives. We simply want a Church in which we are free to pray, worship and love faithfully.<br /><br />Anglican Mainstream then raises all the old canards - the damage of gay marriage on children; members of other sexual minorities whose demand for rights actually place in question the legitimacy of the LGBT agenda; public health issues; and the significant loss of religious liberty.<br /><br />The Christian Institute, Christian Concern and Reform are also concerned to protect themselves against the possibility, now and in the future, of any kind of legal action being brought against churches which conscientiously disagree with civil partnerships because permission often turns rapidly into coercion. They list faith-based adoption agencies, Christian marriage registrars and Christian B & B owners as examples of those who have been coerced as a result of legislation.<br /><br />Christians who are committed to ending the injustice perpetrated by Churches against their LGBT members don’t want coercive legislation. We want to be given the freedom, the space, in which our Christian lives and ministries can flourish, space where we can celebrate in church with our friends the life commitment we make with our partners, in love and prayer.<br /><br />Colin CowardColin Cowardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00030093527945687306noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8443447842611499359.post-55377535219662202762011-02-14T16:47:00.004+00:002011-02-14T16:57:39.528+00:00Civil Partnerships and Gay Marriage in church - yes, we want it NOW!<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgcYmG2oH7PtlNif6aKsBdZZd1qFc9bHIjwjGVe4d6N0br48I41-OgncGsttF5x8mhyphenhyphenougeUTp-g-kfsU6Q_gKiMQvWysPdHylO8mMTX9HRph0UCLD7kc4NNS-otjrp2X4JvIqSx_nrm8I/s1600/Just+married.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 261px; height: 193px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgcYmG2oH7PtlNif6aKsBdZZd1qFc9bHIjwjGVe4d6N0br48I41-OgncGsttF5x8mhyphenhyphenougeUTp-g-kfsU6Q_gKiMQvWysPdHylO8mMTX9HRph0UCLD7kc4NNS-otjrp2X4JvIqSx_nrm8I/s400/Just+married.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5573589048718548210" /></a><br />St Valentine’s Day is a good day on which to welcome the leaked news that later this week the government is expected to announce full marriage equality for gays and lesbians under reforms to the marriage law as well as allowing civil partnerships to be held in religious buildings.<br /><br />Changing Attitude England has been involved in consultations with the government that tested public and LGBT opinion before the decision was made. We will now campaign vigorously for the Church of England to adopt the changes being proposed by the government, open Church of England doors to welcome gay marriages and civil partnerships and grant clergy persons the freedom to preside over and register them.<br /><br />The Archbishop of York has other ideas. He says he “believes in a liberal democracy, and actually wants equality with everybody,” but the Church of England does not support the introduction of gay marriages or civil partnerships being held in churches. Sadly, Sentamu doesn't want equality for LGBT Christians.<br /><br />A Church of England spokesman said: “Given the Church’s view on the nature of marriage, the House of Bishops has consistently been clear that the Church of England should not provide services of blessing for those who register civil partnerships.” He said the change will “lead to inconsistencies with civil marriage, have unexplored impacts, and lead to confusion, with a number of difficult and unintended consequences for churches and faiths. Any change could therefore only be brought after proper and careful consideration of all the issues involved, to ensure that the intended freedom for all denominations over these matters is genuinely secured.”<br /><br />Here’s the arrogant Church of England again, claiming the right to oppose equality legislation and gay marriage in church on the grounds that it is protecting all other denominations.<br /><br />LGBT Anglicans and our families and friends want this change enacted as much as our friends in the Quakers, Unitarians and in Liberal Judaism. The spokesperson doesn’t speak for us but for a controlling and unrepresentative minority at the centre of church affairs. He doesn’t even speak for the House of Bishops but for their mythic Pastoral Statement on Civil Partnerships, observed as much in the breach.<br /><br />The argument against change has become untenable in the church. Last week at General Synod I learnt of yet another bishop who has encouraged a priest to contract a civil partnership to provide both him and his partner with the appropriate emotional and legal security that partnerships can provide. <br /><br />We know what church spokesmen say about the House of Bishops and it’s a fantasy. The House of Bishops is not clear. It is deeply divided and dishonest. It is impossible for bishops to speak the truth to one another. This dishonesty seeps into national church life and affects LGBT Anglicans and clergy. In practice the majority of bishops affirm LGBT people to the extent of knowingly approving blessings and civil partnerships. The rest are still blissfully and dangerously ignorant of the LGBT clergy in their diocese or act dishonestly – the Archbishop of York being a prime example.<br /><br />I took part in an interview on this morning’s Radio4 Today programme with Rod Thomas, chair of Reform. As one friend commented, I’m not sure he and I were answering the same questions! The card which Reform, Anglican Mainstream, Forward in Faith (home to so many closet gays), and other conservative groups are going to play is the inequality of the proposals.<br /><br />Rod claims that if a right is given for anything to happen, perverse consequences follow as we are discovering in Europe. I’m not sure what it is that’s happening in Europe that makes Rod so anxious. The crux for him is that the legislation that will have vicars up before the courts. They will have to permit gay weddings and civil partnerships to take place even if they are against it. It’s unfair, you see, as the Bed & Breakfast and Christian Registrar cases show – Christians are now the victims of legal and social change.<br /><br />Rod then played the numbers card. There were 6000 civil partnerships last year and 250,000 marriages. There are fewer civil partnerships and plenty of places where they can now take place, so why add church buildings as a venue? Why? - because many LGBT Christians want to get married and contract civil partnerships in church, Rod, that’s why. Reform doesn’t represent the whole Christian community. It represents a set of very theologically-minded Christians for whom the Bible is the sole source of authority.<br /><br />We will have to wait and see how permissive the proposed legislation is when it is published. A Whitehall source told the Sunday Times: “This is not just about gay rights but about religious freedom. Quakers and liberal Judaism want to do this. Attitudes have changed to gay marriage. We are going to look at what legislative steps we could begin to make gay marriage possible.”<br /><br />Exactly, it’s about religious freedom, and we who are Anglicans and part of the Changing Attitude network want the freedom to celebrate our love and relationships in church – legally and without fear of being judged and condemned.<br /><br />My guess is that not all churches will be forced to host civil partnership ceremonies under the legislation and individual priests will be free to refuse to conduct such ceremonies, just as they can decline to marry divorced people. But I hope all Church of England buildings will become available for civil partnerships.<br /><br />The Changing Attitude trustees meet next Saturday in Derby and our campaign for equality, truth and justice in the Church of England for LGBT people will be a major focus of our discussions. To enable us to campaign effectively for change in General Synod and the House of Bishops, please send a <a href="http://www.changingattitude.org.uk/support/donations.asp">donation</a> or become a <a href="http://www.changingattitude.org.uk/support/subscription.asp">supporter</a> of Changing Attitude right now!<br /><br />Colin Coward<br />Director of Changing Attitude EnglandColin Cowardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00030093527945687306noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8443447842611499359.post-68927750262387917772011-02-01T11:41:00.004+00:002011-02-01T11:50:13.546+00:00The murder of David Kato – Michael Kimindu of CA Kenya writes an open letter to the Archbishop of CanterburyDear Archbishop Williams,<br /><br />Happy New Year, may God endow you with wisdom to lead<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTnsEJdqVf62PACVm_E3T2IB3HeY4nIOQaxfVOBf6WjfeES2Vsaezt4xnLQJ8x38PVRkUUadU07xEwjvIlBjg4HfQ7L9q8jBVcGq22WwbqXPF-3U1omMAFqk7rUai8PZZ3l4Hh8-19N0w/s1600/012+Michael+Kimindu.jpg"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 109px; height: 200px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTnsEJdqVf62PACVm_E3T2IB3HeY4nIOQaxfVOBf6WjfeES2Vsaezt4xnLQJ8x38PVRkUUadU07xEwjvIlBjg4HfQ7L9q8jBVcGq22WwbqXPF-3U1omMAFqk7rUai8PZZ3l4Hh8-19N0w/s200/012+Michael+Kimindu.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5568686437246391618" /></a><br /> the people of God in the Anglican Communion and globally.<br /><br />I take this opportunity to thank you for adding your voice to the call for an end to homophobia and bigotry, the result of which may have contributed to the death of our brother David Kato. The death of David and the root cause may not lie in the position held by the Church of Uganda alone.<br /><br />Since 2009, missionaries of hate and homophobia especially from USA have been spreading false teachings and interpretations on some selected texts of the Bible to some Charismatic Pentecostal believers, the results of which include the Bahati Anti-Homosexual Bill. Ignorance of the holistic interpretation of Scripture on the part of these missionaries of hate and their converts is much to blame.<br /><br />These missionaries take advantage of the poverty affecting most of their followers, who are vulnerable, enticing them with money. Some of those confessing healing from homosexuality are heterosexuals who are simply after money. Homosexuality, like HIV/AIDS, has attracted large interest from people who see it as a way of getting rich. Even well meaning allies are accused of being affirming for the sake of money from the USA and EU Countries.<br /><br />Personally, I have been involved in LGBTI advocacy for the last 7 years. I was at the last Lambeth Conference as part of the Voices of Witness Africa and I am the Coordinator for Other Sheep East Africa. David Kato, an Anglican, was part of Other Sheep Chapter Uganda.<br /><br />Your Grace, homophobia in Africa cannot be fought by one denomination let alone one religion. It is time now for the Ecumenical Movement to take a step towards the concerted effort to fight homophobia. Leaving every member denomination to have their own position is not helpful. How many people are enough to wake up the WCC to action?<br /><br />Christians alone will not win, Interfaith cooperation is necessary, and even then non-religious communities have to be included in this campaign. You have heard the false claim that homosexuality is imported from Europe and America. Africans do not formally talk about human sexuality including same-sex even when they come across it. They know sexual acts of all forms take place, but bury their heads like the proverbial ostrich.<br /><br />If we are to save Africa, homophobia will have to be fought from all fronts, but the army must be united. Deliberate disunity among early missionaries succeeded in dividing the people hence creating suspicions which haunt us to this day. Homosexuals are homosexuals whatever religion or culture.<br /><br />It is my plea to you and those in a similar position to think of new approaches in the fight against homophobia.<br /><br />Poverty eradication should not be left out as a strategy in fighting homophobia. So is holistic theological training in our theological Institutions. Time is now to embrace Jesus' teaching on the importance of LETTING THE TARES TO GROW WITH THE WHEAT.<br /><br />My last point to Your Grace is for the fight against homophobia in Africa to be led by an African Human Resource to avoid the claim that the West is imposing homosexuality on Africa.<br /><br />I hope you will find some of these ideas useful.<br /><br />Your obedient servant,<br /><br />Rev. Michael Nzuki Kimindu, Anglican Priest<br />Changing Attitude Kenya contact<br />Coordinator for Other Sheep, East Africa<br />MCC Licensed, but Anglican flesh and blood<br /><br />To enable Michael to develop his work with Changing Attitude and Other Sheep in Kenya, please send a <a href="http://www.changingattitude.org.uk/support/donations.asp">donation</a> or become a <a href="http://www.changingattitude.org.uk/support/subscription.asp">supporter</a>. The time for action is now and the need is urgent.Colin Cowardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00030093527945687306noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8443447842611499359.post-56303301600815718402011-01-31T18:12:00.004+00:002011-01-31T18:23:30.203+00:00Primates’ statement on David Kato's murder brings them closer to the moment of truth<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZwEq20BGn_EHiO1yy6JgN7hVgObdEAPY8SSnhG-PMsxe6We3O3EH3ssgG9aR06MGnvkAZ8IX33PD7iYKl7u4xrGxp3f0GBRJI1wicvskwVo29UjqmriyGOYE25vBiC1mA46d5SPoF-mo/s1600/David+Kato+funeral.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZwEq20BGn_EHiO1yy6JgN7hVgObdEAPY8SSnhG-PMsxe6We3O3EH3ssgG9aR06MGnvkAZ8IX33PD7iYKl7u4xrGxp3f0GBRJI1wicvskwVo29UjqmriyGOYE25vBiC1mA46d5SPoF-mo/s400/David+Kato+funeral.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5568416912638391794" /></a><br />The Primates issued a statement following their meeting in Dublin, supporting the Archbishop of Canterbury’s response. They described the murder as horrific and joined him in saying that no one should have to live in fear because of the bigotry of others.<br /><br />They quoted from three Anglican documents in support of their judgment:<br /><br /><blockquote>“We reiterate that ‘the victimisation or diminishment of human beings whose affections happen to be ordered towards people of the same sex is anathema to us’” (Primates Meeting 2005).<br /><br />“We reaffirm that ‘any demonising of homosexual persons, or their ill treatment, is totally against Christian charity and basic principles of pastoral care’” (The Windsor Report).<br /><br />“We call on all our people to minister pastorally and sensitively to all irrespective of sexual orientation and condemn irrational fear of gay people.” (1998 Lambeth Conference).</blockquote><br />I’ve been highlighting the positive elements of Lambeth 1.10, The Windsor Report and other Anglican statements for many years. It seems to me that this is a huge development, the Primates themselves highlighting sentences that affirm the place of LGBT people in the Church and condemn anything that demonises us or provokes ill-treatment.<br /><br />The next step is a difficult one to make for conservative Christians for whom the Bible is their prime source of authority, let alone for Global South Primates and bishops who believe the Bible judges and condemns lesbian and gay people and legitimizes our persecution. They wouldn’t have agreed the statement, of course, and I wonder what will happen if and when they return to the table.<br /><br />But let’s stay with the conservatives, many of whom I meet often and count as friends. I think the Primates have drawn closer to the point where the conflict between so-called traditional Christian teaching and the Gospel demands of love and justice, including God’s love for ‘homosexual persons’ who are ‘full members of the Body of Christ’ becomes impossible to resolve.<br /><br />The Anglican Communion will <strong>NEVER</strong> overcome its homophobia, <strong>NEVER</strong> be able to ensure that lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people are free from persecution and demonisation, <strong>NEVER</strong> be committed to our welcome and full inclusion, until it changes its mind and rejects all aspects of teaching and Biblical interpretation which count us as less than others.<br /><br />Changing Attitude England will never cease reminding the Church, Synods, bishops, Primates, Instruments of Unity, that there is no alternative but to commit to the full inclusion of LGBT people, admitting us to every order of ministry and blessing our relationships and lives which are marked by love every bit as profound, deep, complex and holy as heterosexual marriage.<br /><br />David Kato’s murder marks the beginning of a new campaign which will not end until justice has been achieved.<br /><br />Colin Coward<br /><br />Get on board with the Changing Attitude campaign for justice and full equality for LGBT people – become a <a href="http://www.changingattitude.org.uk/support/subscription.asp">supporter</a> or send a <a href="http://www.changingattitude.org.uk/support/donations.asp">donation</a>Colin Cowardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00030093527945687306noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8443447842611499359.post-68926212682604015322011-01-29T16:26:00.009+00:002011-01-29T16:56:15.583+00:00David Kato RIP<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEih7ZM_FbQvgI_BShgh4CLSxjHOVtSychVRRPcv6BK_t-fGIIVPHzr_p9IwdFpeaW9LzBWi5vB_04WUc-ICYFF4aAYMtfdc2k_QwT2wepPJ0GHDqT-zztOglI4VFTdjt9hZL5GLFf97tBs/s1600/David+Kato.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 271px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEih7ZM_FbQvgI_BShgh4CLSxjHOVtSychVRRPcv6BK_t-fGIIVPHzr_p9IwdFpeaW9LzBWi5vB_04WUc-ICYFF4aAYMtfdc2k_QwT2wepPJ0GHDqT-zztOglI4VFTdjt9hZL5GLFf97tBs/s400/David+Kato.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5567649051855093346" /></a><br />David Kato, was attacked and beaten to death with a hammer at his home in Kampala on Wednesday 26 January 2011. David was known as ‘the grandfather of the kuchus”, a brave and passionately committed activist who had been campaigning for gay rights for more than a decade. He had been leading the campaign against David Bahati’s Anti-homosexuality bill, which demands that homosexuals be executed and which has intensified the climate of hatred and prejudice against LGBT people not only in Uganda but across Africa.<br /><br />Changing Attitude England has been campaigning for fifteen years for the full inclusion of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) people in the Anglican Communion. By implication, we are campaigning against everything, every attitude, every theological position, every use of scripture, every sermon, teaching and episcopal attitude which allows or encourages prejudice and hatred against LGBT people.<br /><br />The Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr Rowan Williams, issued a statement following the murder. He said, in part: “No one should have to live in such fear because of the bigotry of others. This is a moment to take very serious stock and to address those attitudes of mind which endanger the lives of men and women belonging to sexual minorities.”<br /><br />Changing Attitude England welcomes the Archbishop’s forthright stance. Following David’s murder, the time has come to demand that the Anglican Communion abandons the parts of the teaching enshrined in Lambeth Conference resolution 1.10 of 1998 that rejects homosexual practice as being incompatible with scripture (para. 4) and cannot advise the legitimizing or blessing of same sex unions nor ordaining those involved in same gender unions (para 5).<br /><br />The Anglican Communion must move to adopt as policy the commitments made in paras 3 and 5 to assure homosexual people that they are loved by God and are full members of the body of Christ, and to minister pastorally and sensitively to all irrespective of sexual orientation.<br /><br />The Most Revd Henry Orombi, Primate of Uganda, is one of 7 Primates who have absented themselves from the Primates’ meeting in Dublin this week because The Most Revd Katharine Jefferts Schori, the Presiding Bishop of The Episcopal Church is present and because of TEC’s policy which breaks the moratoria on ordaining gay bishops and allowing same sex blessings.<br /><br />TEC has led the way towards the full inclusion of LGBT people in the Church and in the global Christian community, reflecting theologically on human sexuality and listening for over 30 years to LGBT people. TEC has committed itself to integrating us into every level of Church life. For doing this it is demonized. Conservatives, in the words of <a href="http://www.anglican-mainstream.net/2011/01/24/global-south-primates-rsvp-to-the-archbishop-of-canterbury-–-sorry-we-cannot-come/">Canon Chris Sugden</a>, bear false witness against The Episcopal Church and claim, wrongly, that Anglicans have been persecuted and driven from their homes, buildings and jobs in the USA and Canada.<br /><br />In contrast, the Church of Uganda in a <a href="http://churchofuganda.org/news/press-releases/church-of-uganda-and-the-anti-homosexuality-bill">statement</a> issued on 9 February 2010, whilst not fully endorsing the Bahati bill, argued that homosexual behaviour should be prohibited and penalized and the licensing of organisations which promote homosexuality should be prohibited. In conclusion it reiterated the Church of Uganda’s desire to provide love and care for all God’s people “caught up in any sin” (which is not what Lambeth 1.10 says). <br /><br />A local Anglican priest, the Revd Thomas Musoke, at Friday's funeral for David Kato, grabbed the microphone in the middle of the ceremony and decried homosexuality, causing a fight to break out and leading villagers to refuse to bury the body. Reports say he screamed:<br /><br /><blockquote>"The world has gone crazy. People are turning away from the scriptures. They should turn back, they should abandon what they are doing. You cannot start admiring a fellow man. It is ungodly.” </blockquote><br />One woman responded:<br /><br /><blockquote>"Who are you to judge others? We have not come to fight. You are not the judge of us. As long as he's gone to God his creator, who are we to judge Kato?"</blockquote><br />Marking a stark contrast with the attitude of the Church of Uganda, the Kampala-based Daily Monitor carried an editorial comment which concluded:<br /><br /><blockquote>“People like David Kato and others who might be gay are Ugandans and enjoy the same rights and protections of the law as heterosexuals. We cannot send them into exile neither, lock them away, or hang them. We need to have an honest discussion about how to ensure that their rights are upheld without violating the rights of other Ugandans. Peaceful and stable societies only emerge when we understand and try to accommodate those who are different from us, or who disagree with us – not by ostracising or killing them.”</blockquote><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjg9nKPRP165UQbILzz7ajE9cbCjvU5_nUvF_bfIuDoFfXBsE6IRI3qBNZwDyjHF3vDU6id1OvFw5DP9w_7RlwGaqgkUuQLVkeTEj_DngkX2CK7NAEdTMbglDx2Q3Jbtd-4yd3trXqopv0/s1600/David+Kato+Rolling+Stone.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 264px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjg9nKPRP165UQbILzz7ajE9cbCjvU5_nUvF_bfIuDoFfXBsE6IRI3qBNZwDyjHF3vDU6id1OvFw5DP9w_7RlwGaqgkUuQLVkeTEj_DngkX2CK7NAEdTMbglDx2Q3Jbtd-4yd3trXqopv0/s400/David+Kato+Rolling+Stone.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5567649201433616402" /></a><br />Changing Attitude England calls on every Province of the Anglican Communion to urgently review attitudes to homosexuality.<br /> <br />The abusive use of Lambeth 1.10 which focuses on negative, judgmental attitudes towards LGBT people must be reversed.<br /><br />Affirmation of the unconditional love of God for all people, pastoral care and support which is undiscriminating, and opposition to homophobia and all prejudice against LGBT people must become the policy of the Communion.<br /><br />The Archbishop of Canterbury has said that this is a moment to take very serious stock and to address those attitudes of mind which endanger the lives of men and women belonging to sexual minorities.<br /><br />The Primates who are meeting in Dublin have an opportunity to reflect on the effect of Christian teaching which diminishes the humanity of LGBT people and puts our lives in danger. They must initiate a review of Lambeth Resolution 1.10 in response to David’s murder, the continuing violence against LGBT people in the global community and the loss of so many faithful LGBT Anglicans who are abandoning the Church they love because of its deeply ingrained prejudice.<br /><br />The Anglican Consultative Council and the Standing Committee of the Anglican Communion must engage in a similar review of Anglican policy when they next meet.<br /><br />The next meeting of the Lambeth Conference in 2018 will be too late. By then, more LGBT activists and individuals will have been murdered and more teenagers committed suicide, and tens of thousands of LGBT Anglicans will continue to live in secrecy and in fear for their safety and their lives.<br /><br />The need for action to combat the evil of prejudice and violence against LGBT people is urgent and changes in Anglican Communion teaching and policy must be made NOW.<br /><br />Colin Coward<br /><br />To enable Changing Attitude England to campaign for urgent change in Anglican Communion policy towards our LGBT members please become a <a href="http://www.changingattitude.org.uk/support/subscription.asp">supporter</a> or make a <a href="http://www.changingattitude.org.uk/support/donations.asp">donation</a>.Colin Cowardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00030093527945687306noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8443447842611499359.post-28778122779712639092011-01-24T12:51:00.006+00:002011-01-24T13:03:37.925+00:00On not being present at the Primate’s meetingI’m going to be absent from the Primate’s meeting in Dublin. Will my presence be missed? Not in the same way as the absence of about a quarter of the Primates themselves.<br /><br />I was present in Dar Es Salaam with Davis Ma-Iyalla, Caro Hall and Scott Gunn, a number of international journalists and lobbyists and a significant number of local journalists. I was present in Alexandria with a diminished number of journalists and lobbyists and no one from the local media.<br /><br />Who is going to be there in Dublin to monitor events, patrol the outer limits of the meeting and influence Primates (as happened at Dromantine), or even attend the final press conference? The Global South Primates will be absent, removing the incentive to be there of those most addictive of lobbyists David Virtue and Chris Sugden.<br /><br />The absent Primates will not be there to engage with their brothers and sister in plenary and group discussions, dinner table and after dinner conversations, nor in the making of decisions, prayingrotyh together or the breaking of bread. That’s one of the reasons they will not be present, of course. They refused to share communion at Dromantine, and at Alexandria, communion was abandoned.<br /><br />But it is still not clear whether their absence is another stage of deconstruction of the Anglican Communion and another building block in their movement to form a separate Communion. They might portray such a Communion as a rebirth of the historical, ‘orthodox’ Anglican Communion which TEC has abandoned, or as a new international church network independent of the authority of Canterbury.<br /><br />An article about the French essayist Montaigne and <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjt4ZyUOx7_VYTCl1dfC5GigLTSdD6Yvn-D9F-KPxyjvKnt_vID5HYM_LGi1bxv4iJdKlbMCK8z9x1xDuZDvFR8WFO_Ac0v1VLcbZ7CoEN5Jut8ZlbznP8WC3qNNnoG0wQL2Aielg42ykE/s1600/montaigne+2.jpg"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px; height: 184px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjt4ZyUOx7_VYTCl1dfC5GigLTSdD6Yvn-D9F-KPxyjvKnt_vID5HYM_LGi1bxv4iJdKlbMCK8z9x1xDuZDvFR8WFO_Ac0v1VLcbZ7CoEN5Jut8ZlbznP8WC3qNNnoG0wQL2Aielg42ykE/s200/montaigne+2.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5565734815476789042" /></a><br />research involving macaque monkeys in the Guardian review on Saturday by Saul Frampton suggested that there is indeed something of much greater significance in the absence of a number of Primates and even in my own absence from the Primates’ meeting.<br /><br />Montaigne was concerned with the power of personal presence in moral life and a fascination with how people act on, influence and affect each other through their physical being. I connect this with Christian ideas of incarnation and real presence. We are more fully ourselves and more truly living the divine nature when we are more fully embodied and really present.<br /><br />A team of neuroscientists at the University of Parma discovered something surprising about the behaviour of certain neurons in the brains of macaque monkeys. The neurons fired not only when the monkeys grasped food but when they saw the experimenter grasp it. These neurons have come to be known as “mirror neurons” or “empathy neurons”. Similar neurons have been found in humans.<br /><br />Saul Frampton connects this discovery with the intuition of Montaigne and of David Hume who argued that “No quality of human nature is more remarkable, both in itself and in its consequences, than that propensity we have to sympathise with others”. The research has shown that humans do indeed have an inbuilt imitative, sympathetic capacity. <br /><br />Frampton asks why, if mirror neurons are such an important factor in our makeup, human history is not a series of pacts, congresses, get-togethers (and successful Lambeth Conferences and Primates’ Meetings) to which all are drawn, rather than a chain of wars and massacres? Hi answer, drawn from Montaigne’s essays, which constitute not only an argument for people’s capacity for sympathy, but also an extended disquisition on how and why it breaks down, is that our ability to feel sympathy with others is directly proportional to our proximity to them.<br /><br />Montaigne’s language of emotion is couched in a language of spatial intimacy: we feel “close to”, attached to” and “touched” by others. For Montaigne, human proximity is at the heart of morality. Piety is easily faked, says Frampton: “Its essence is abstract and hidden; its forms easy and ceremonial.” But “to hold pleasant and reasonable conversation with oneself and one’s family ... this is rarer and more difficult to achieve”. <br /><br />This link between moral urgency and proximity is something that seems to be hard-wired within us. The scientific research suggests that mirror neurons can fire in ways that are dependent on spatial proximity. Our moral responses to others seem to be more vivid and more relevant to ourselves the nearer the other person is. Following from this, Montaigne says, is a fragile but significant fact: that the preservation of our moral awareness relies on the nearness between us.<br /><br />Frampton concludes his article with a story about Montaigne meeting the Pope, showing that even the Pope was not immune from the affective influence of the nearness of others. Nor are Anglican Primates, and the decision of some to boycott the meeting has the effect of keeping themselves at a safe distance from the energies, emotions and ideas of their brother and sister Primates.<br /><br />I don’t need Montaigne’s essays or macaque monkey research to tell me something I believe and know in the core of my being; that God calls us to relationship and intimacy; that getting close to other people, especially those we find difficult and who hold different views, can be uncomfortable, risky and challenging. This is the essence of the Christian faith, of the parable of the good Samaritan, the sheep and the goats, the story of the woman at the well and the power of the crucifixion itself, of Jesus standing in the same place as Pilate, and nailed between two thieves.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7exxtU1EgrHc-1KGNfs-HGu4YEjVh6n2S-Rj9YEeis9jvzJHzSrAwZO0dALYOJnkojrUAO-Bk_kGRpS6wuj7XH92r-9rJcaCOl8GL0HpCBP2TEf8w_h5_k3qERJsQ68E4SwEoLJo8-Cg/s1600/Josiah+Idowu-Fearon+installed+as+6+Preacher.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px; height: 198px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7exxtU1EgrHc-1KGNfs-HGu4YEjVh6n2S-Rj9YEeis9jvzJHzSrAwZO0dALYOJnkojrUAO-Bk_kGRpS6wuj7XH92r-9rJcaCOl8GL0HpCBP2TEf8w_h5_k3qERJsQ68E4SwEoLJo8-Cg/s200/Josiah+Idowu-Fearon+installed+as+6+Preacher.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5565735447962256578" /></a>I expect priests, bishops and Primates (above all) to be up to the task of being open to one another, capable of trust, not blame. Archbishop Rowan sets a courageous example, opening himself to the presence of others and making himself vulnerable in the process. So has Nigerian <a href="http://www.churchtimes.co.uk/content.asp?id=106003">Bishop Josiah Idowu-Fearon</a>.<br /><br />This isn’t an argument conservatives can ever win. One day they will have to deal with the presence of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people in their Global South Provinces – better sooner than later.<br /><br />The ability or inability of people be in the same room, get close, and relate to each other, is a far bigger issue than the claim that in ordaining gay priests and bishops, the Church has abandoned the historic teaching of the Church and torn the fabric of our life together at its deepest level. What tears human beings apart at the deepest level is the refusal to acknowledge another person’s humanity and enter their presence with respect and love.<br /><br />Colin Coward<br /><br />Become a <a href="http://www.changingattitude.org.uk/support/subscription.asp">supporter</a> of Changing Attitude and help us create a Church in which love and intimacy are the marks of Christian witness or make a <a href="http://www.changingattitude.org.uk/support/donations.asp">donation</a>.Colin Cowardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00030093527945687306noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8443447842611499359.post-59693296652555879752011-01-23T12:39:00.003+00:002011-01-23T12:50:58.657+00:00Changing Attitude Ireland statement on the Anglican Primates’ Meeting in DublinOur sister group, <a href="http://www.changingattitudeireland.org/">Changing Attitude Ireland</a>, has issued a statement today, 22nd January 2011, in advance of the Primates' meeting which begins on Tuesday 25th:<br /><br />As the senior bishops from Anglican Churches worldwide prepare to meet in Dublin for their Primates’ Meeting (25th-31st January) there has been a call on the Irish Government by an Irish Anglican group to request the visiting Archbishops to address the problem of Christian-backed persecution of gay persons.<br /> <br />The call comes from Changing Attitude Ireland and its Secretary the Church of Ireland clergyman Canon Charles Kenny requests Ireland’s new Minister for Foreign Affairs, Mr Brian Cowen, who is also the Prime Minister, “<em>to maintain the interest shown by the Department of Foreign affairs under his predecessor Micheal Martin in the persecution of gay persons in Uganda and Malawi</em>”.<br /><br />Dr Richard O’Leary of Changing Attitude Ireland called in addition on Mr Cowen “<em>to match the concern of his former British counterpart, Prime Minister Gordon Brown when Mr Brown used the November 2009 meeting of the Commonwealth to speak out about the threat to gay persons from the Ugandan government</em>”. <br /><br />Dr O’Leary said “<em>In the month that Ireland recognised Civil Partnership for same-sex couples, let us not forget the recent violence against and imprisonment of a gay couple in Malawi</em>”. He continued “<em>Archbishop Rowan Williams and the leaders of the Anglican Communion who are meeting in Dublin this week need to assume their responsibilities in tackling homophobia and the Churches collusion in it</em>”. Canon Charles Kenny added “<em>The Meeting of the Anglican Primates takes place over a whole week so I think they should be capable of finding some time to discuss the scandal of homophobia that exists in the Church, especially in Uganda, Malawi and Nigeria</em>.” The Primates from all the Provinces of the Anglican Communion have been invited to the Meeting in Dublin by the Archbishop of Canterbury Dr Rowan Williams and are hosted by the Primate of all Ireland, Archbishop Alan Harper.<br /><br />Last year the Ugandan parliament was presented with a draconian Anti-Homosexuality Bill which would introduce the death penalty for some behaviour by gay persons. The Irish government is a major development aid donor to Uganda and Malawi and last June the Director of the Human Rights Unit in the Irish Government’s Department of Foreign Affairs was briefed in Dublin by the retired Anglican Ugandan Bishop Christopher Senyonjo on the problem of the Christian-backed anti-gay crusade in Uganda. Bishop Senyonjo in his address at Christ Church Cathedral Dublin called for education to counteract homophobia because, "<em>I have found that a lot of the prejudice against Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender people comes from ignorance</em>." Bishop Senyonjo, a rare courageous voice in the conservative Anglican Church in Uganda, and who speaks in support of gay persons, visited Ireland on the invitation of Changing Attitude Ireland, and urged people in Britain and Ireland to oppose the Bill.<br /><br />Canon Charles Kenny<br /><br />Secretary, Changing Attitude Ireland<br />1st Floor War Memorial Building, <br />9-13 Waring St,<br />Belfast<br />BT1 2DX <br />UK +44(0)28 90669632<br />e-mail: changingattitudeireland@hotmail.co.uk<br /><a href="http://www.changingattitudeireland.org/">www.changingattitudeireland.org</a>Colin Cowardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00030093527945687306noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8443447842611499359.post-65586361610413969422011-01-20T11:51:00.005+00:002011-01-20T12:07:48.304+00:00Towards an understanding of human sexuality at Windsor<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvI6JOah5cKPW6Fhq_W_Ghj823_KUyvucvro8zJIF05uZLhR9KFIWtwYXxme8w9a4Kv1QfnKkGIEwYU1zXcpkgKhp7eDjnln5t77XwB3BGtxS-fx-_2mddWITFdJvnkHWkFR0EVDpEs1Y/s1600/St+Georges+House.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 300px; height: 200px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvI6JOah5cKPW6Fhq_W_Ghj823_KUyvucvro8zJIF05uZLhR9KFIWtwYXxme8w9a4Kv1QfnKkGIEwYU1zXcpkgKhp7eDjnln5t77XwB3BGtxS-fx-_2mddWITFdJvnkHWkFR0EVDpEs1Y/s400/St+Georges+House.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5564237448437910050" /></a><br />I’ve been invited to take part in what is described as a major Consultation at St George’s House, Windsor with the title ‘Nurturing the Nature? Towards an Understanding of Human Sexuality’. It begins today at 4pm and ends tomorrow at 3pm which doesn’t allow much time for genuine engagement and discussion.<br /><br />The invitation says:<br /><br /><blockquote>…the intention is to work towards a greater understanding of issues pertinent to human sexuality. In order to reach such understanding, and therefore for society to make appropriate judgements on sexual morality, important questions about religious and cultural principles, biology and lifestyle need to be tackled.<br /><br />It is the aim of the Consultation to explore some of the different perspectives in current thinking about human sexuality. Among the questions the Consultation will seek to address are:<br /><br />How appropriate are traditional religious and physiological attitudes towards sexual practice and sexuality in the contemporary world? <br />Is there any evidence to suggest that sexual identity is conditioned by genetics rather than by conscience? How do we respond to this evidence? <br />Is freedom of lifestyle choice a helpful way to approach sexual ethics? How serious are the risks to sexual health? <br />To what extent are individuals and institutions still governed by prejudice or social conditioning in their views of sexual ethics?</blockquote><br />At the last minute, the person invited to deliver the second of two papers was unable to attend. I have been invited to present a paper on the theme ‘Sexuality and Equality – Attitudes to Sexuality in Contemporary Society’. I’ve done my best to prepare a paper, consulting the Changing Attitude trustees and my Facebook friends. Robert Key, member of Salisbury Diocesan Synod was among those who responded.<br /><br />The protocol of St George’s House says that the identity of speakers or participants may not be divulged but information received while at a Consultation can be used freely. I may publish my paper here following the Consultation but I can’t reveal who the other contributors are. Reports of Consultations are published only if that is the collective decision of the participants. Participants are encouraged to speak openly, listen carefully and be open to the possibility of changing your mind.<br /><br />It is an environment receptive to new ideas, to taking risks, to living at the intellectual edge, a focus that encourages creative thinking, informed debate and imaginative engagement. Not much like the environment of the Church of England, then. I’ve participated in previous Consultations at St George’s, the previous one in 2006.<br /><br />I am less patient with church attitudes to LGBT people now than I was in 2006. If St George’s is genuine about taking risks and encouraging creative thinking, then the Consultation has the potential to excite me. But if I’m expected to talk about being gay as a lifestyle choice and even worse, spend time debating whether my orientation is the result of nature or nurture or a gay gene, then I’m not going to be engaged. Changing Attitude has moved beyond the expectation of the Church that LGBT people have to change and conform to norms, teachings and laws which have no relevance to us and are used to inflict terrible damage and pain.<br /><br />Colin Coward<br /><br />To enable Changing Attitude to participate in gatherings such as this, please join <a href="http://www.changingattitude.org.uk/support/subscription.asp">Changing Attitude </a>or send a <a href="http://www.changingattitude.org.uk/support/donations.asp">donation</a> to help our work in transforming church attitudes.Colin Cowardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00030093527945687306noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8443447842611499359.post-67592389111307251922011-01-18T12:41:00.004+00:002011-01-20T11:51:24.723+00:00Judge defines a change in attitudes – wakey-wakey time for the Church<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsy_HPo2D-kVoVUm0q1gYGBKvAuNKDq0d7anFCNuYU806PG3mRDjAEX-xFhcavL3xwjzQgEz2JtkdM5D1dQ5hS3Ollh8WUDlJ-98O2vjeAV7DdOZaw8gBvTpRpWRLRGGLla4hARKSS6LE/s1600/gay+Bristol+couple.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 288px; height: 171px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsy_HPo2D-kVoVUm0q1gYGBKvAuNKDq0d7anFCNuYU806PG3mRDjAEX-xFhcavL3xwjzQgEz2JtkdM5D1dQ5hS3Ollh8WUDlJ-98O2vjeAV7DdOZaw8gBvTpRpWRLRGGLla4hARKSS6LE/s400/gay+Bristol+couple.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5563507511223691842" /></a>At Bristol County Court, Judge Rutherford has ruled that the Christian owners of a hotel who refused to allow a gay couple a double room acted unlawfully. He said that, in the past 50 years, social attitudes in Britain had changed and it was inevitable that laws would "cut across" some people's beliefs. He awarded each of them £1,800 each in damages. He said:<br /><blockquote><br />"It is a very clear example of how social attitudes have changed over the years for it is not so very long ago that these beliefs of the defendants would have been those accepted as normal by society at large. Now it is the other way around."</blockquote><br />The Bull’s, owners of he hotel, discriminated not only against lesbian and gay couples but against heterosexual couples who chose not to marry but live as a couple. If they had refused a heterosexual couple a double room, would the couple also have won a case of discrimination? How many hotels and B&B’s are there in the UK which would refuse to let unmarried straight couples occupy a double room?<br /><br />The last 10 years have seen a transformation in social attitudes to LGBT people as the judge said. Views that were normal a decade or two ago are now seen as unacceptable and illegal. One of the places where such prejudice is still acceptable is in certain areas of some Christian denominations.<br /><br />The Christian Institute and Anglican Mainstream will claim that such views are not prejudiced, are held with integrity, and are what all Christians believe. They are wrong. Most Christians in the UK have overcome their prejudice about same-sex relationships. It is a minority who are holding the Church of England (in particular) to ransom. General Synod and the House of Bishops are constrained by the undue influence of conservative lobby groups and the strongly held views of a small number of leaders elsewhere in the Communion. They are doing untold to damage to Christian witness and ministry in this country.<br /><br />UK social attitudes towards LGBT people have changed dramatically in my lifetime, and the attitudes of the majority of Christians have changed as well. Their faith is not determined by a fundamentalist or literal reading of the Bible but by a relationship with God which is nurtured by an experience of love, truth and justice.<br /><br />Will the Church learn anything from this judgement? I hope to God the answer is yes, but sadly, I think business will continue as usual. The Christian Institute will maintain that Christians are being subjected to discrimination. So am I, a gay Christian man, along with many of my friends. <br /><br />The institutional Church will continue to allow itself to be intimidated by those holding what they claim are traditional Christian views which enable them to maintain a culture of prejudice, dishonesty, abuse and corruption in the Church. It’s time for change, bishops and Archbishops and members of General Synod. You are out of touch with the majority of people in this country, with the majority of Christians and with people’s awareness of God. People know the church is peddling a lie about God. That’s why they’ve deserted the Church in droves. God is about the outrageous, creative, infinite possibilities of holy love, not about policing adult sleeping arrangements in a Cornish hotel.<br /><br />Colin Coward<br /><br />Please support our work to overcome prejudice and discrimination in the Church by becoming a <a href="http://www.changingattitude.org.uk/support/subscription.asp">supporter</a> of Changing Attitude or sending a <a href="http://www.changingattitude.org.uk/support/donations.asp">donation</a>.Colin Cowardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00030093527945687306noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8443447842611499359.post-54974324966043961562011-01-09T22:56:00.003+00:002011-01-09T23:09:01.887+00:00We'll keep the Trans flag flying here<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9nzvrB9m9KiZrGaJ8HJh9i6JEhvwYQGaLGtbbQF4T9XJfCWceeMo5QNltgvB_l6EbyLRfSayVriGUdZaa_h-oKCdRNh6oE6_cATJVidLNOT6FEPZ1x8WsRlmqWvs07EL_u8_QH3ASmnyC/s1600/sonia+portrait.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 126px; height: 200px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9nzvrB9m9KiZrGaJ8HJh9i6JEhvwYQGaLGtbbQF4T9XJfCWceeMo5QNltgvB_l6EbyLRfSayVriGUdZaa_h-oKCdRNh6oE6_cATJVidLNOT6FEPZ1x8WsRlmqWvs07EL_u8_QH3ASmnyC/s200/sonia+portrait.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5560324229984419010" /></a><br /><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 19px; line-height: 21px; ">Changing Attitude’s work for LBGT people is, as Colin has said many times, well-respected for its integrity – and that includes its work with Trans people. Through our links with Trans Christian group, the Sibyls, and other Trans organisations we have gained a reputation for being able to offer advice and support to Trans people, especially if they are having difficulty with their church during their transition, or when they wish to marry in church, and I will be posting some simple guidance on these and other matters on our new website.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 19px; line-height: 21px; "><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; "><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 21px; font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; ">Our blog posts too have sometimes been important in promoting networking. My recent obituary of the late Sonia Burgess, for example, did this in two ways.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; "><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 21px; font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; "><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; "><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 21px; font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; "><a href="http://changingattitude-england.blogspot.com/2010_10_01_archive.html">http://changingattitude-england.blogspot.com/2010_10_01_archive.html</a><o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; "><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; "><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 21px; font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; ">It immediately prompted Trans Media Watch to ask us to join their campaign to improve the portrayal of Trans people’s lives in the media and the organisation has been added as a link on the Changing Attitude website.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; "><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 21px; font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; "><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; "><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 21px; font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; "><a href="http://www.transmediawatch.org.uk/tmw/pages/tmw101.asp">http://www.transmediawatch.org.uk/tmw/pages/tmw101.asp</a><o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; "><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; "><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 21px; font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; ">A few weeks later I was approached for an interview by <i>Observer </i>journalist, Elizabeth Day, and her lyrical and comprehensive feature about Sonia/David was published in that paper today and is also available here:<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; "><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 21px; font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; "><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 21px; font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; "><a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2011/jan/09/david-burgess-sonia-lawyer-death">http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2011/jan/09/david-burgess-sonia-lawyer-death</a><o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; "><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 21px; font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; ">In a beautiful, but tragically broken, and often polarised world what we do seems little enough, but we know, from the feedback we receive, that it is important for us - as an organisation, and as individuals - to continue to demonstrate the same combination of strength and gentleness, courage and compassion which was, it transpires, incredibly highly developed in Sonia’s life and work.<o:p></o:p></span></p><div><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 21px; font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; "><br /></span></div>Christina Beardsleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10046362838933510480noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8443447842611499359.post-86638217003192348922011-01-08T21:47:00.006+00:002011-01-09T23:14:59.599+00:00Trans people in India<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkvcBFE5gDCk2gzPfZVc7RdIBunWPSFU35StEvDah0mxW4KbRxmxuASbzfDQTwIDhMHz0kuZvzcR3wf4nQgZCApERdG4W8f0cyPWJWon3O8RDVoh746YWgN2HWGPs4wuhmt0jnXU-xVTax/s1600/hijra.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px; height: 134px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkvcBFE5gDCk2gzPfZVc7RdIBunWPSFU35StEvDah0mxW4KbRxmxuASbzfDQTwIDhMHz0kuZvzcR3wf4nQgZCApERdG4W8f0cyPWJWon3O8RDVoh746YWgN2HWGPs4wuhmt0jnXU-xVTax/s200/hijra.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5559935453452017042" /></a><br /><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 18px; " >Face Book, as Colin has noted, has been a great resource for LGBT people in Africa – and just recently the Trustees of Changing Attitude have begun to realise its potential.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 18px; " ><br /></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; " >I’m grateful to Face Book for this link relating to Trans people, posted by my friend Cameron Partridge, of TransEpsicopal, about the work of the Church Missionary Society with the transgender community in the Pune area of India.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; " ><br /></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify"><span class="Apple-style-span" ><a href="http://mission.typepad.com/church_mission_society_cm/">http://mission.typepad.com/church_mission_society_cm/</a><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; "><o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify"><span class="Apple-style-span" ><br /></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; " >During the podcast you will hear Stephen Edison refer to India’s trans people as the lowest social group of all – partly, it seems, because many of them have to rely on the sex trade to make a living - and yet, paradoxically, who are in demand still for their spirituality, especially blessings at weddings and at funerals.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; " ><br /></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; " >Interestingly he doesn’t use the Hindu term ‘Hijra’ and seems to imply, incorrectly I would guess, that many Indian males seek castration because of same-sex attraction (though it is believed that this does happen in some societies, Iran for example, where homosexuality is unacceptable). <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; " ><br /></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; " >Scholars and activists debate whether Hijras and other cross-gender phenomena in traditional societies are the equivalent of trans people in the West. I’m sure that they are, and that one reason why this is questioned is a lack of historical awareness of cross-gender variance in Western culture, with the consequence that ‘transsexualism’ can be dismissed by some as a 20<sup>th</sup> Century invention. Treatment options for trans people have certainly expanded in the last eighty years but ‘transitioning’ from one gender to another seems to have existed throughout human history.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; " ><br /></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; "><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" >Towards the end of the podcast Stephen refers specifically to ‘transsexual people’ as distinct from the broader term ‘transgender’ with which the item begins, which seems to continue the westernization of the client group. </span></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; "><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" ><br /></span></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; "><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" >As well as providing training so that clients can aspire to mainstream jobs he and his co-mission partner Lalita Edwards are trying to ‘change attitudes’ – YES, the phrase is actually used – so that employers will be willing to take them on. God bless the CMS!</span><o:p></o:p></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify"><span style="font-size:12.0pt; line-height:115%;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p>Christina Beardsleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10046362838933510480noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8443447842611499359.post-75601011241159993692010-12-31T13:13:00.004+00:002010-12-31T13:27:29.849+00:00Changing attitudes in Africa in 2011<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgpzFWKoIiL1wAvsfpv7U_FAa-I3W3LRnTVYWXtkXC59Lryh11-8QmNCmQ8eVhEW1oMWjSpDiGpCqWBFlLGsCEHEgPkU2Am_oEHLTvxCddZm-J_06NK0rmsjwIKmSa4g8VTE-UN_-RIfM/s1600/IMG_1915.JPG"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgpzFWKoIiL1wAvsfpv7U_FAa-I3W3LRnTVYWXtkXC59Lryh11-8QmNCmQ8eVhEW1oMWjSpDiGpCqWBFlLGsCEHEgPkU2Am_oEHLTvxCddZm-J_06NK0rmsjwIKmSa4g8VTE-UN_-RIfM/s320/IMG_1915.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5556835559844205522" /></a>Changing Attitude has a small foothold, a presence, in three African countries. In Nigeria, Uche was appointed Director earlier this year to succeed Davis Mac-Iyalla. He is working with a small group to reactivate the local groups and plan for change in 2011. In Kenya, Michael Kimindu is making connections with bishops and with groups like the Mother’s Union in dioceses, inviting them to listen to LGBT Kenyans. The group around him in Nairobi continue to meet for worship. In Ghana, Richard is leading a group of gay Christians who meet twice a week in Accra, encouraging them to be confident in their faith and their commitment to Christ and the church as gay Christians.<br /><br />These are small beginnings in a huge continent where attitudes to human sexuality are beset by prejudice, hostility and unexamined beliefs. British colonial law and C19th theology and Christian teaching are the foundation underlying African attitudes to homosexuality.<br /><br /><strong>The search for love</strong><br />The rapid spread of mobile phones and access to the internet across Africa in the last decade is transforming the awareness of LGBT people, most of whom are under 30. Ten years ago, young gay Africans began to discover gay dating sites such as gaydar and manjam. Many still access these sites but are repeatedly disappointed by their failure to meet the man of their dreams. What they repeatedly tell me is that all the other guys want is sex, revealing that what many also seek is love, a relationship, commitment, someone who will take them and respect them. These are elusive ideals in reality for LGBT Africans.<br /><br /><strong>Facebook</strong><br />Their frustration and inability to connect with others who share their desire to meet a life partner has begun to change, however, in the last two years, thanks to Facebook. There are now thousands of LGBT Nigerians and tens of thousands of LGBT Africans with profiles on Facebook. They are increasingly confident in indicating their sexuality on their profiles – ‘interested in men and women, relationship status complicated’.<br /><br />Young LGBT Africans are becoming more confident, posting pictures of their real selves (though many, to protect themselves, still post pictures from dating sites, or of gay icons, or avoid pictures altogether). The more adventurous and confident post pictures taken with gay friends or a partner or of themselves in camp poses. It has become much easier for those with internet access and a Facebook profile to meet other LGBT people in their locality, in safety online and with greater safety face to face (blackmail is a common feature on gay dating sites).<br /><br /><strong>Loving relationships become a reality</strong><br />The result of this access to real people, online, who can get to know as you chat with them in real time, watch them on a web cam, and then arrange to meet for a date is that the loving relationships that young gay Africans have dreamed of are becoming a reality in their lives – potentially permanent, faithful, stable, loving relationships. Older generations complied with powerful social and family obligations by marrying and having children while discretely having a same-sex lover as an adjunct to the marriage. The new generation is not following the same, dishonest, damaging path.<br /><br />They have access to information about gay rights in the west, marriage equality, civil partnerships and the undreamt of levels of freedom we enjoy in society if not yet in our churches. They long for the freedom we enjoy to live openly and inevitably, many of them dream of escaping to the west because change in the entrenched African culture of intense prejudice and violence against LGBT people seems an impossible dream.<br /><br />Despite that, some Nigerians are reporting a growth of tolerance in some parts of Nigerian society and the opening of social space where LGBT people have more freedom to reveal their identity. But the huge majority remain hidden, meeting other LGBT people clandestinely.<br /><br /><strong>The desperate need for change</strong><br />Tens of thousands of LGBT Africans are desperate for change. Africa is sitting on a hidden reality, millions of LGBT people, with a growing confidence in their identity, engaging with each other online and their networks of friends, but hidden from their families, school mates, straight friends, and of course, in their churches. African bishops, priests and congregations have no idea how many LGBT people worship alongside them every Sunday.<br /><br />Change has to happen and will happen, but how, and when? This is the question I am raising with the leaders in Ghana, Kenya and Nigeria and with other African LGBT leaders for whom the question and the challenge is becoming increasingly insistent.<br /><br />Colin Coward<br /><br />To enable Changing Attitude’s work across the Communion to be developed and help provide modest resources to our African brothers and sisters, please make a <a href="http://www.changingattitude.org.uk/support/donations.asp">donation</a> or become a <a href="http://www.changingattitude.org.uk/support/subscription.asp">supporter</a> of Changing Attitude England.<br /><strong></strong>Colin Cowardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00030093527945687306noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8443447842611499359.post-53082663496541161422010-12-30T13:55:00.005+00:002010-12-30T14:09:40.022+00:00The Church of England’s dramatic disconnect<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYvJOQJ2VmX19vz2S-4ie8W3UiXf9NcmE6nxMPISuyuq_jlG9rUU_SiCVH-JNilcbOU97nTHsXnNkTUP2t9BwjtSPAwNV4JArS0O40rFPoi8_yxdQjwH7uUs3Kxk6pAkjFVnq6tRQRwvo/s1600/tree.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYvJOQJ2VmX19vz2S-4ie8W3UiXf9NcmE6nxMPISuyuq_jlG9rUU_SiCVH-JNilcbOU97nTHsXnNkTUP2t9BwjtSPAwNV4JArS0O40rFPoi8_yxdQjwH7uUs3Kxk6pAkjFVnq6tRQRwvo/s400/tree.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5556476678602780866" /></a><br />The George Careys, Michael Scott-Joynts and Andrea Minichiello Williams (recently elected to General Synod, Director of the “Christian Legal Centre”) of the Church of England think that Anglicans (their type of CofE Anglican, of course) are now a persecuted minority that need protected legal status.<br /><br />To me that sounds like an acknowledgment of reality – and failure. Just under 3% of the population attend Church of England services once a month and under 2% attend worship weekly, <a href="http://www.ekklesia.co.uk/node/11080">statistics show</a>. We are indeed a minority, with seats in the Lords, the Established Church of our country, with a status and privileges way beyond our significance. It’s difficult stand back and gain a realistic picture of where we, Christians in general, C of E in particular, fit into British society. It is clearly even more difficult for those living with privileged status like bishops and retired Archbishops.<br /><br />It’s difficult for Anglicans at the parish church level as well. I meet with a local support group once a month to talk about my work for Changing Attitude. The conversation is often about frustrations at the local as well as the national and international level. At the last meeting, we talked about the congregation to which most of us belong. Why is it so difficult to capture a vision of Christianity inspired by Jesus’ teaching and prophetic ministry? Why do so many feel they are just going through the motions?<br /><br />My answer is that we are all victims of our normative environment, family, school, locality and church. We internalize values and ideas and they become ‘normal’, self-referential and self-reinforcing. The way we have come to read and interpret the Bible becomes normative, the way we worship, pray, conceptualise God, all become not just ‘normal’ but universally true.<br /><br />Those of us of a certain age carry assumptions and expectations about church life and worship which we can see no longer work, when we are able to ‘take them out’ and examine them. There is a deep frustration and disillusion among many, of which church attitudes to sexuality and relationships are but one symptom.<br /><br />It is hard for people to understand what their frustration is about and even harder to have any vision of what action they might take to change it for the better. That’s because the church is locked into maintenance mode (fabric and financial) and is on the defensive, as Carey and company repeatedly show us.<br /><br />Even younger and supposedly more alert bishops like Tim Thornton, recently moved from Sherborne to Truro, can write an article about civil partnerships and marriage for the <a href="http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/8222822/Marriage-should-be-between-a-man-and-a-woman.html ">Daily Telegraph </a>which is defensive and badly argued. He talks about the blessing of ‘homosexual practice, to put it in crude terms’ which is, from Changing Attitude’s perspective, to put it in very crude terms indeed, Tim.<br /><br />Bishop Tim thinks the most significant thing is the danger of a confusion between different things, marriage and civil partnerships, which, “if we open ourselves up to blurring that difference ... would be unhelpful for all concerned.” This is a problem for a minority, for bishops who spinelessly toe the line and other Christians who still think gay relationships are unlike heterosexual relationships.<br /><br />The advice to me from his replacement in Sherborne, Graham Kings, is that I should “lie low for the moment.” I suppose Graham wants me to act like a bishop.<br /><br />From where I sit in Salisbury Diocese, the edifice looks insane at times, most especially around the way the church colludes in negative teaching about LGBT people and forces people into closets which our leaders seem all too willing to hide inside. There is a collusive corruption and deep dishonesty in our Church.<br /><br />My heart aches and yearns not simply for a change in church attitudes towards human sexuality but for a church which inspires me and nourishes me spiritually and expresses a vision of God which responds to the age we are living into, a future in which God is doing so many creative, new things. What do we get in reality? George Carey, Michael Nazir Ali, Michael Scott Joynt, Andrea Minichiello Williams. God help us.<br /><br />This is what we are up against. This is what +Rowan is up against. This is what the Holy Spirit is up against - impoverished, defensive lack of courage and imagination. The Church of England is trapped in a dualistic mode of thinking, nostalgia for a time when there was more ‘certainty’, fear of change and difference and of human beings, some of whom might be growing into greater maturity and spiritual depths despite the best efforts of the Church to restrain them and dull their hearts and minds.<br /><br />Well, pooh to that! I am not a Christian who is a member of a persecuted minority in England and I don’t need legal protection to live my faith. I have a dream of a Christian community that is inspired, imaginative, creative, filled with energy, genuine in friendship and love, open, risk-taking. Rather New Testament, in fact, Christ-like, even Pauline in challenging the old and responding to the new.<br /><br />So yes to marriage equality and civil partnerships, yes to new visions of God’s activity in the whole of creation (and not just the 2% the C of E tries to numb each week), yes to our campaign for equality in ministry for all, LGBT as well as straight, yes to a passionate, creative Christian witness and vision in the UK that is true to the infinite holiness of God.<br /><br />Colin Coward<br /><br />To help Changing Attitude campaign for a new paradigm in the church, please become a <a href="http://www.changingattitude.org.uk/support/subscription.asp">supporter</a> or make a <a href="http://www.changingattitude.org.uk/support/donations.asp">donation</a> to our work.Colin Cowardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00030093527945687306noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8443447842611499359.post-10702826459767869452010-12-29T16:43:00.007+00:002010-12-30T08:59:24.801+00:00Dreaming non-dualistic dreams and seeing visions of a new creation<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjyUBmLd2xiK3N2A9U-c0rOm0fM0nzVzqOBP9wrS68LEughKhN2Gqm8MLT_J_yFXhMDNWd7O47u5yscny9RMRvDEctGtDgDGG4F9tneGMaRDP4CQbqP3RpeuhgJ9WMeAeCfIToHD7G8sc/s1600/untitled.bmp"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 268px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjyUBmLd2xiK3N2A9U-c0rOm0fM0nzVzqOBP9wrS68LEughKhN2Gqm8MLT_J_yFXhMDNWd7O47u5yscny9RMRvDEctGtDgDGG4F9tneGMaRDP4CQbqP3RpeuhgJ9WMeAeCfIToHD7G8sc/s400/untitled.bmp" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5556151935956016354" /></a><br />We arrive at the end of 2010 with an ‘us and them’ duality still firmly embedded in the mindset of some Christian leaders. Us and them as in we who are Christians set against Moslems, we who are Bible-believing Christians set against those who have deserted the tradition, we who are faithful to Jesus set against those who have abandoned Biblical teaching, we who are destined for salvation set against those who are following Satan’s path to hell and damnation, we who are heterosexual and happily married set against those sexually licentious lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people who are promiscuous and engage in perverted sexual practices.<br /><br />The Telegraph reports that Lord Carey has written to the Prime Minister. Carey highlights one subject he defines as particularly contentious - the clash of rights between homosexuals and Christians - as if these are distinct groups at war across a great divide.<br /><br />Lord Carey mindlessly repeats the belief that those who hold traditional Christian viewpoints, “in common with millions across the globe and across history, suddenly find their position labelled discriminatory and prejudiced and then discover that it has effectively become a legal bar to public service.”<br /><br />In the same vein, the ever-reliable Bishop of Winchester, Michael Scott-Joynt, told the BBC’s World This Weekend: “The problem is that there is a really quite widespread perception among Christians that there is growing up something of an imbalance in the legal position with regard to the freedom of Christians and people of other faiths to pursue the calling of their faith in public life, in public service.”<br /><br />It doesn’t seem to occur to George Carey or Michael Scott-Joynt that Christians such as myself and the patrons and trustees and supporters of Changing Attitude and the tens thousands of LGBT Christians and their friends and families, hold a very different view of what it means to be a Christian, in deep prayerfulness and with great integrity.<br /><br />The polarities which these two bishops wish not simply to defend, but extend the reach of, are in my view a danger to the health and safety of individuals, of our society and of the well-being of our planet and the global community.<br /><br />They want to protect minority traditions, an exclusive idea of God and salvation, an us and them mentality, and a defensive, judgmental system of salvation.<br /><br />This is not the vision of God’s creative energy and of the incarnation which inspires (too small a word – how about fuels?) my faith and my work in Changing Attitude.<br /><br /><blockquote>“The Word became flesh; he made his home among us, and we saw his glory, such glory as befits the Father’s only son, full of grace and truth.” John 1.14<br /><br />“He is the image of the invisible God; his is the primacy over all creation. In him everything in heaven and on earth was created … the whole universe has been created through him and for him. He exists before all things and all things are held together in him. For in him, God in all his fullness chose to dwell.” Colossians 1.15-17, 19</blockquote><br />All things are created in the image of God, including lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people and our loves and relationships.<br /><br />Does the future of creation lie with those who want to preserve, defend and protect old paradigm, dualistic patterns of theology and human relationships? Will the Church continue to judge and find wanting those of us who are simply different from what the majority assumed to be ‘normal’?<br /><br />Are those of us who dream of a new heaven and a new earth, a new paradigm, who dream dreams and see visions of the things which the apostles and evangelists were inspired and enlightened by, are we going to live more deeply into our vision of the Kingdom of God in 2011?<br /><br />The apostles, evangelists and witnesses were given revelations into the nature of God and creation which can still transform our emotional, cognitive and imaginative ability to dream our own dreams and have confidence in our vision of this finite creation with its infinite potentialities which can transcend our destructive, dualistic thinking.<br /><br />Today’s visionaries and dreamers include Desmond Tutu, Esther Mombo, Jack Spong, Elizabeth Stuart, Ken Wilber, Carter Heyward, Marcus Borg, Grace Jantzen, Thomas Moore, Rosemary Radford Ruether, Richard Holloway, Virginia Ramey Mollenkott, James Alison, Nomfundo Walaza, Richard Rohr, Jenny Plane Te Paa, Gideon Byamugisha and many, many others.<br /><br />More tomorrow!<br /><br />Colin Coward<br /><br />To support the work of Changing Attitude in bringing a non-dualistic, LGBT inclusive vision to the church, please become a <a href="http://www.changingattitude.org.uk/support/subscription.asp">supporter</a> or make a <a href="http://www.changingattitude.org.uk/support/donations.asp">donation</a>Colin Cowardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00030093527945687306noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8443447842611499359.post-74136834305468376622010-12-07T17:11:00.003+00:002010-12-07T17:28:54.117+00:00Lesbian and gay members of Changing Attitude to be interviewed for Kenyan TV<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhI2k5zGaxTQ0-Ij6Ci7fIL-FfjyTAuKJLQ8pgFW_p5wbX_j2pOXUu5BujLj6v7HCD0zto68lmQX0AzwNu2WFZjTUClK4aOgD_B-GdTjsph8QeZX4tHR36ulEFpDPjpTK1VqZMwPwF-3gw/s1600/012+Michael+Kimindu.jpg"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 109px; height: 200px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhI2k5zGaxTQ0-Ij6Ci7fIL-FfjyTAuKJLQ8pgFW_p5wbX_j2pOXUu5BujLj6v7HCD0zto68lmQX0AzwNu2WFZjTUClK4aOgD_B-GdTjsph8QeZX4tHR36ulEFpDPjpTK1VqZMwPwF-3gw/s200/012+Michael+Kimindu.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5547993308600142850" /></a>The Revd Michael Kimindu, contact person for Changing Attitude Kenya, reports that he has been asked by <a href="http://www.ntv.co.ke/">NTV Kenya </a>, part of the Nation Media Group to assist them in finding gay and lesbian couples who are prepared to be interviewed in order to give a positive human face to Kenyan lesbian and gay people. This is also intended to challenge the orders to arrest lesbian and gay people given by the Kenyan Prime Minister. The TV company asked Michael to accompany them so that the LGBTI people could be confident in allowing themselves to be interviewed and he will feature as the Pastor for the LGBTI Christian community.<br /><br />Michael made contact with people in Mombasa, 445km south east of Nairobi, the major sea port on the Indian ocean coast. He travelled to Mombasa Tuesday last week arriving at 9pm. With his help, the NTV team was able to interview a gay couple and two single gay men and a lesbian. They also met an Italian gay couple but could not interview them, which would be seen to support the false idea that white people are the source of homosexuality in Africa. The Italians were visiting the Kenyan couple.<br /><br />They left Mombasa on Saturday travelling by night bus back to Nairobi, and on Sunday took another night bus to Kisumu in western Kenya. Kisumu is the third largest city 320 KM from Nairobi situated on the shores of Lake Victoria.<br /><br />Michael had made contact with two organisations working with LGBTI people and they were able to interview two couples, one gay, one lesbian. They also met a Dutch gay man but couldn’t interview him for the same reasons as in Mombasa. Some of those interviewed were willing to be filmed facing the camera but others requested that their faces were not filmed.<br /><br />Tomorrow afternoon a group is coming to Michael’s house in Nairobi. So far 10 Anglicans and 2 Roman Catholics have promised to come, members of the Changing Attitude group in Kenya. NTV plan to record the service led by Michael and then conduct interviews.<br /><br />For those who like to know how Changing Attitude might benefit financially from this media interest, Michael says that NTV paid his transport and hotel costs and will refund the bus fares for the group and following editing, will pay a token of appreciation to the group. Michael, being a good Anglican, will offer tea and soft drinks.<br /><br />In small ways such as this, Changing Attitude Kenya is enabling LGBTI voices to be heard and faces to be seen on Kenyan TV. This is a remarkable achievement by Michael who also works as a pastor for Other Sheep Ministries and as an MCC minister.<br /><br />Colin Coward<br /><br />To enable us to continue to provide occasional support for Michael Kimindu in Kenya and campaign for change in the Anglican Communion, please <a href="http://www.changingattitude.org.uk/support/subscription.asp">join</a> Changing Attitude or make a <a href="http://www.changingattitude.org.uk/support/donations.asp">donation</a>.Colin Cowardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00030093527945687306noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8443447842611499359.post-19156248139260469772010-12-05T17:40:00.004+00:002010-12-05T17:56:57.514+00:00Moving at the pace of the slowest?<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSYPQzwuBYjQjiPCzR12EHdHQbC3iTvlTO5JkDzLT_kYRffYJ9rl8C22NA2adut7vNfM-k8kghffVbEtwAG3v3dWAwEc-vehE5NQ3OU89efH_dD6tHjy0S1H2R4qRb08-OsV-0jNePFHDa/s1600/train+in+snow+2.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px; height: 125px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSYPQzwuBYjQjiPCzR12EHdHQbC3iTvlTO5JkDzLT_kYRffYJ9rl8C22NA2adut7vNfM-k8kghffVbEtwAG3v3dWAwEc-vehE5NQ3OU89efH_dD6tHjy0S1H2R4qRb08-OsV-0jNePFHDa/s200/train+in+snow+2.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5547257206891508738" /></a><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">‘Standing on the platform’ indeed! It serves me right for blogging about waving off the Covenant Express – last night, at King’s Cross Station, our train to Leeds was cancelled and the revised timetable offered the delights of ‘extended running times and further delays’. Reluctantly, for I had been keen to see my family in Yorkshire, we returned home.</p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">Ever since I first heard the analogy of the train departing from the station as a description of a community setting out to realise a vision I have been interested in those 'left behind on the platform’. It seemed to me then, as it does now, that they would not be forgotten by the other passengers, that they would be able ‘catch up’ if they needed to, and that the platform is at least a starting point, but that their reluctance to join in a particular excursion could not be allowed to hold up the entire train.</p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">Very often, in parish life, the people who oppose the vision, or are unenthusiastic about it, can offer a valuable critique, and prevent the community rushing off in a wrong direction. But once a community has done its homework, and is all fired up and ready to go, it should be able to move towards the vision without being inhibited by those who are still unconvinced: their resistance cannot be allowed to act as a break on the project, otherwise one is moving only at the pace of the slowest, which would mean, in the end, stagnation and torpor. </p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">In the Anglican Communion it sometimes seems as if we are being invited to move at the rate of the slowest. The Covenant certainly sounds like that. Jean Mayland, a Changing Attitude Patron, has said many times that if the Anglican Covenant had been in place thirty or forty years ago the ordination of women to the priesthood would probably never have been permitted. The pioneering ordinations to the diaconate, priesthood and episcopate by individual Provinces did cause offence in other Provinces of the Communion at the time and might, therefore, have resulted in requests for ‘gracious restraint’ or even ‘withdrawal’ from aspects of the Communion for awhile. Instead of the rest of the Communion being enabled to catch the vision, there would have been a clampdown on this particular development, and a firm hand on the break.</p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">But doesn’t the Apostle Paul counsel going at the slowest person’s pace when he writes about not offending the ‘weaker brother’ over the eating of meat sacrificed to idols; not pursuing one’s Christian freedom if it causes another to fall (1 Corinthians 8)? Presumably such texts shaped the thinking of the architects of the moratoria, and weigh heavily with those who are in favour of the Covenant, but are the parallels just? Isn’t the ordination of women, like the full inclusion of LGBT and T people, more on a par with ‘non-negotiable’ Pauline teaching about the Church as a community that must include both Jews and Gentiles? For Paul there was no concession to the weakest or the slowest over the inclusive nature of the Church – the Gentiles were most definitely ‘in’. </p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">This gracious inclusiveness of the gospel has to be our starting point. Far from the onus being on organisations such as ours, or individual LGB and T people, to make their case for belonging to, and participation in, the Church, the onus is on those who disagree with us, to justify their opposition, which does not stack up either in humanitarian terms, or theologically.</p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">At the moment it is too soon to say whether it is they or we who will be left standing on the platform. We would like to put a break on a train that seems to be heading towards an authoritarian destination where LGB and T people will be less welcome even than they are now; our opponents appear to fear a runaway train that is racing towards unbridled freedom and chaos. It all looks horribly like 'a train crash waiting to happen'. I hope I’m wrong about that!</p>Christina Beardsleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10046362838933510480noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8443447842611499359.post-85674436205335241642010-12-03T14:55:00.007+00:002010-12-03T15:15:53.448+00:00From the vanguard to the rearguard: standing on the platform waving off the Covenant Express<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh62ZCyAhHbIinuZk0me4L9JfcYYUGy35aq3D0oE19lYb83DD_0UXvBXr4A-hZAC-9ynLqXOnaSMsDLk1C9X_DbSN4zF_YJD33m2Dn_yFX0TkjFapfHnrExcd2gDE8GSaNqHC_Fi2xHQSHc/s1600/waving+off+a+train.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px; height: 145px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh62ZCyAhHbIinuZk0me4L9JfcYYUGy35aq3D0oE19lYb83DD_0UXvBXr4A-hZAC-9ynLqXOnaSMsDLk1C9X_DbSN4zF_YJD33m2Dn_yFX0TkjFapfHnrExcd2gDE8GSaNqHC_Fi2xHQSHc/s200/waving+off+a+train.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5546471431071108866" /></a><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">Back in the 1990s the diocese recommended my benefice (two parishes) and the one next-door (three parishes) to ‘cluster’. We were described as ‘the untidy end of the deanery’ and it did make sense: the five parishes (three quite rural; two semi-suburban) did indeed encircle, physically, a growing conurbation. No matter that there had been, for decades, intense rivalries between the two benefices and former incumbents, the current ‘leadership’ believed that it was right to proceed with the idea because our communities (church and civil) would be the beneficiaries of this co-operation, and one of the first things we did together was the Alpha Course.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify"><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">As you can imagine not everyone was enamoured with the notion of ‘clustering’ and an image was used to describe the various responses to the emerging vision for the future. It was a bit like setting out on a train journey: some people (the leadership of the parish) were driving the engine; others, who had caught the vision, were sitting in the various carriages, front or back, depending on the degree to which they had bought into the clustering project; and finally, as the Cluster Express began to leave the station, some people were left behind on the platform.</span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify"><span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">As one of those in the ‘driving seat’ I found it a very helpful analogy. There were some people who we were never going to convince to board the ‘train’ but that shouldn’t prevent it from setting off and perhaps, once things began to move, the people on the platform would recognise what they were missing and try to catch up (like F.W. Robertson who was left behind at Euston Station in 1849, as his lover moved off in the departing train, and overtook it later on the way to Chester).</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify"><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify"><span style="font-size:12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size:10.0pt">I’d like to play a little with this analogy in terms of current Anglican politics. First of all, we had the inclusion train, with the Episcopal Church and Canada in the driving seat. Lots of people were excited by this vision and keen to ride in the carriages of its train because they knew that it wasn’t just about sexuality (gay bishops and same-sex blessings) but <span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>signalled respect, justice and equality for all who were oppressed whether it be because of gender, race, or disability.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify"><span style="font-size:12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size:10.0pt"><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify"><span style="font-size:12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size:10.0pt">But some of the other drivers didn’t see it like that and did all that they could to derail this train. That made the rail company very nervous and so they tried to push the inclusion train into a siding and in its place began to assemble another train, with four carriages. It was called the Covenant Express and it looked a bit strange: not quite like any other train that the people had seen before. Some were shocked by it, others afraid that once you got on it you wouldn’t actually move very far or very fast, in fact, that you’d end up going nowhere; but others loved it, extolled it, and warned, that if you didn’t climb aboard, well, you’d probably end up on that rusty old inclusion train, either stuck in a siding, or, if the company decided it was OK, allowed on the network, but not on the main track.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify"><span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">So here I am, a liberal Christian, once (in my own estimation at least) in the vanguard, but now, most definitely in the rearguard, standing on the platform waving off – with no regrets - the Covenant Express. Should we try to derail it – of course! Do we have the wherewithal? Probably not, but it would be interesting to find out. In the meantime we can only hope that the commuters will see it for what it is and shove into a siding and the sideline of history where it belongs.</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify"><span style="font-size:12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size:10.0pt"><span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify"><o:p> </o:p></p>Christina Beardsleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10046362838933510480noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8443447842611499359.post-53519799951817489342010-12-02T17:43:00.004+00:002010-12-03T15:11:30.950+00:00Are you still there?<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpFortYBiuOp9wSJeGkbIkT5_0wPM5xx7ya9TnHpZSV8tgobgtJ-8wOxQHtR4cBrAX0bEw1BN_nazAZiKEXPKQJyRDj1vwmSb3OP1W6hUtS-sxioKI5mKnRn7qSixnzpr-l2xKZeuofsFy/s1600/Christina+at+the+health+summit.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 133px; height: 200px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpFortYBiuOp9wSJeGkbIkT5_0wPM5xx7ya9TnHpZSV8tgobgtJ-8wOxQHtR4cBrAX0bEw1BN_nazAZiKEXPKQJyRDj1vwmSb3OP1W6hUtS-sxioKI5mKnRn7qSixnzpr-l2xKZeuofsFy/s200/Christina+at+the+health+summit.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5546150132848576434" /></a><br /><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">'One thing surprises me: that you, Sharon and Robert are still members of mainstream churches'. We were at the LGBT Health Summit 2010 held at Hatfield University in September </span></span><a href="http://www.lgbthealth.co.uk/past-summits/2010-summit/"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">http://www.lgbthealth.co.uk/past-summits/2010-summit/</span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"> <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; ">The Revd Sharon Ferguson, Metropolitan Community Church minister and CEO of the Lesbian and Gay Christian</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; "> Movement, and Hospital Chaplain the Revd Robert Mitchell, had joined me there to lead the workshop – which has its origin in my collaboration with fellow Sibyl Michelle O'Brien - 'Gender, sexuality and spirituality: exploring the interplay' </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; "><a href="http://www.lgbthealth.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2010/09/Gender-Sexuality-Spirituality.pdf">http://www.lgbthealth.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2010/09/Gender-Sexuality-Spirituality.pdf</a></span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><span xmlns=""><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">Of the three hundred forty delegates fifty-five registered for this workshop, an indication of the huge interest in spirituality and it was a subject that sat well with the conference theme 'the emotional connection: healthy mind, health body' (the host organisation was an NHS mental health Trust). I spoke about sexuality, Sharon about gender while Robert focused on spirituality, emphasising its breadth, and that many people who do not belong to, or identify with, religious organisations, may have a profound and meaningful spirituality. Nevertheless, the three presenters were all ordained ministers – Sharon in suit and clerical collar – and </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">hence </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: large; ">the observation, made privately after the session, by one participant, who was surprised that we were - given the perceived narrowness of the churches, including a grudging attitude to gender equality, institutional homophobia, etc. - still willing to belong.</span></div><p style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">As a minister of a Church that was founded specifically to include gay people, and with a wonderful record of inclusion, Sharon's position, to me at any rate (I can't speak for Robert), looks less contradictory than mine, but maybe the comment was not just about the inclusion agenda but expressed an alienation from the whole culture of organised religion by those who were formed by it and once part of it, and who now, having 'moved on,' are surprised that others have stayed.</span></span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">Over the years there have been a number of occasions when I have despaired of the councils of the Church of England. Now, in an era when HIV infection can be treated so successfully we can easily forget the hysteria of the mid-1980s and how some people, who disagreed with the Revd Tony Higton, signed his Private Members motion about 'personal morality' in order to separate the gay issue from that of HIV, which achieved the sensitive debate on AIDS that they had wanted followed by the catastrophic compromise motion now enshrined as official Church of England policy. </span></span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; "></span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; "> </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; "><a href="http://http//www.cofe.anglican.org/info/socialpublic/marriagefamily/humanrelationships/humansexuality/">http://www.cofe.anglican.org/info/socialpublic/marriagefamily/humanrelationships/humansexuality/</a></span></span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">Some priests resigned then, Jeremy Younger's resignation being the most public, but resigning, as my husband pointed out at the time, would not help the people in our parish (though some might have been glad to be rid of me). Recently I found copies of the letters I wrote to the Synod members from my diocese prior to the 'Higton Debate' and its outcome, negative as it was, led to experiences that would have a profound effect on me personally, breaking down internal defences and barriers and enabling me to 'come out' publicly two years later, though that phrase 'coming out' does not do justic</span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">e to what was, in fact, a confession or testimony to the Divine love.</span></span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">A Mirfield Father, on being told of this, commented that my position was 'untenable' but he was proved wrong, and with the backing of my bishop, the loving support of parishioners, and – a not inconsiderable factor – the benefit of freehold, I was able to stay for another eleven years. Sometimes, as LGB or T people it is absolutely essential that we stay put and stand firm for by so doing we bear witness to the fact, for example, that one can be both a priest and gay or a Christian and trans.<br /></span></span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">This is not an easy calling to live out; to leave or transfer to another Church might – though who knows until you try it – seem an easier option; but somehow you are held there – it might be partly due to habit, or convention, or the need for stability, though my hope is that is mainly a response to God's call to be there, and stay there, because that is where you belong.<br /></span></span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">And if the institution should so change that it begins to deny and abuse you? What then? Have we reached that point now, considering the ease with which the General Synod has sent off the Covenant for consideration by the dioceses? Or is that (like 1987) yet another bit of tactical voting (in which case it will probably go wrong)? This post is becoming longer than I intended so let me come back to these questions in another one.<br /></span></span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman; font-size:12pt"><br /> </span> </p></span>Christina Beardsleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10046362838933510480noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8443447842611499359.post-2967915073809135192010-12-02T12:11:00.004+00:002010-12-02T12:41:50.526+00:00What will the pattern of the Anglican Communion look like in 10 years time?The Anglican Communion is being reconfigured at the moment. We who campaign for the full inclusion of LGBT people fear that in 10 years time we might find ourselves marginalised and excluded.<br /><br />The narrative of those conservative Anglican bodies and individuals opposed to the full inclusion of LGBT people claim that it is the Episcopal Church that has ‘walked apart’. In practice, the groups that have walked apart and distanced themselves from the Anglican Communion are those which have failed to participate in the Councils of the Church – the Lambeth Conference, Primates Meeting and Anglican Consultative Council. There is a growing and, to me, bewildering array of these bodies and alliances – ACNA, Global South, GAFCON, FCA, ACI, CANA, AMiA, etc. These are also the groups which refuse to act on the parts of Lambeth 1.10 and the Windsor Report which advocate listening to and the pastoral care of LGBT people. The multiplicity of groups also shows dramatically that those who edge towards schism are unable to agree an alternative identity or strategy between themselves.<br /><br /><strong>Strategies for dealing with the dynamic</strong><br />People in favour of full inclusion advocate a range of strategies that might be adopted in response to this dynamic. Many ideas are posted in the comments on Thinking Anglicans. Let’s take a look at some of them:<br /><br />• Form a new diocese of the Episcopal Church in England. This would need to create local churches where the pro-inclusion people could worship with the like-minded. I can’t see it happening and it isn’t what I want. Devizes already has 3 Anglican churches, one evangelical, one opposed to the ordination of women, one striving to be open and fully-inclusive. I want to be worshipping in a Church of England parish church that is properly Anglican in ethos – that’s the challenge, a challenge that my Rector is totally committed to engage with, as are the majority of the congregation.<br />• Create our own, alternative ‘liberal’ Anglican Communion, parallel with the conservative bodies. If the Church of England is a part of a liberal realignment, then the campaign for full inclusion will have been successful. If the Church of England is not a part of this new alignment, then it will be yet another schismatic Anglican Church and at the moment, that is most certainly not what Changing Attitude is campaigning for.<br />• Encourage TEC to withdraw from the Instruments of Communion and continue with its own polity in – isolation? That would be to throw another bone to the conservative forces (as +Rowan has repeatedly done, which may or may not turn out to have been a good strategy). The lesson is that the bones never satisfy them, of course. They will continue to scheme and chew away at any liberal, inclusive presence in the Church wherever they find it, CofE or Canada, Australia or South Africa, until they (in their fantasy) have destroyed everything which is against their reading of the Word of God.<br />• Campaign for a vote against the Anglican Covenant by the Church of England. For this to be effective, practical action must be taken now to canvass, lobby and persuade members of every diocesan synod to vote against when it is tabled for debate to ensure that a majority of dioceses vote NO before it returns to General Synod.<br />• With GAFCON withdrawing from the Primates Meeting and many Provinces not having attended the last Lambeth Conference, why shouldn’t those Provinces remaining fully committed to the Communion, including the Episcopal Church, the Anglican Church of Canada and the Church of England, sign the Covenant and work with the other Provinces who sign to reconfigure it to reflect Anglican polity more properly, deleting Section 4 entirely. Such a strategy is uncertain of success and is very unlikely to happen.<br />• Other individuals have moved out of the Church of England, either abandoning the Church entirely or their membership of a local congregation or moving into a different denomination – the Unitarian Church in the case of Adrian Worsfold, the Metropolitan Community Church for some LGBT Anglicans. Yet others continue to worship both in their parish church and with another congregation where they find a more open ethos and/or a deeper spirituality.<br /><br /><strong>In 20 years time?</strong><br />The outcome I fear most is that the mainstream denominations will have successfully opposed the full inclusion of LGBT people in 20 years time, and will have moved in the opposite direction, barely tolerating us, excluding us from ministry at every level and treating us as ‘intrinsically disordered’. Those LGBT people living in societies which have legislated for equality will by then, if they have any sense of self-worth, abandoned the Church.<br /><br />A less extreme outcome would see a fragmentation of denominations, schisms and realignments into churches with either a conservative, reactionary ethos or a radical, inclusive ethos. This may well turn out to be the least-worst and only practicable outcome.<br /><br />There is a third possibility. The global community is slowly, painfully slowly, being educated into knowing that LGBT people are present in every culture and every community. This largely secular movement will impact on faith communities everywhere, destabilizing their ability to deny the real presence of LGBT people WITHIN their own communities. Other signs give hope for a third possible outcome. The attitudes of the Primates who are announcing unilaterally the policy of their Provinces do not consult their bishops and priests and do not represent the views of their people. It’s impossible to know what their people really think because deference to those in authority inhibits their ability to think and speak freely - just ask Michael Kimindu in Kenya or Bishop Ssenyonjo in Uganda. Global South Provinces in the next 10 to 20 years may well change as the culture changes around them and this generation of leaders retires and lose influence.<br /> <br />One comment on Thinking Anglicans describes GAFCON as having no shame, capable of doing anything to further their ends, failing to stay true even to their own principles - demanding orthodoxy yet violating church order, lacking of integrity, plotting and planning, characterized by machinations.<br /><br /><strong>Strategies for achieving change</strong><br />How can those of us who are faithful to God and the Spirit and to the ethos of the Anglican Communion counter the conservative movement whilst maintaining our own ethos and without adopting their ruthless, unscrupulous tactics? I think the challenge is almost impossible, were it not for my faith that conservative, reactionary forces do not have unique access to the flow of God’s creative presence in the world and from my perspective, are actively working against the flow of the Spirit.<br /><br />Changing Attitude is totally committed to full inclusion of all the baptized, including all LGBT people, in every Province of the Anglican Communion, and to the Anglican ethos of scripture, tradition and reason. We have demonstrated our commitment by being the only pro-inclusion group to have been present at the Lambeth Conferences in 1998 and 2008, every meeting of the Anglican Consultative Council since Nottingham in 2005 and Primates meetings since Dar Es Salaam in 2007.<br /><br />The strategy of pro-inclusion groups has to be to oppose the Covenant if there is any possibility that it will be used to inhibit progress towards overturning Christian prejudice against LGBT people. Our strategy also has to be positive, committed to building relationships with bishops and Primates across Provincial boundaries and with the Instruments of Communion, being present and not abandoning territory to conservatives, working out what practical action we can take which will make a real difference to the outcome. I’m not an idealistic dreamer (well, not only). I am also always looking for the practical strategies that are going to affect outcomes favourably for us.<br /><br />Say No to the Covenant has to be more than an internet campaign. Say yes to LGBT people has to be more than saying no to the Covenant or strategising for our own schismatic body. And however we campaign, we have to do it in a more Christian, Bible-centred, holy way than those who wish to suppress us.<br /><br />Colin Coward<br /><br />To enable us to continue to campaign for the full inclusion of LGBT people in every Province of the Anglican Communion, please become a <a href="http://www.changingattitude.org.uk/support/subscription.asp">supporter</a> of Changing Attitude or <a href="http://www.changingattitude.org.uk/support/donations.asp">donate</a> to our workColin Cowardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00030093527945687306noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8443447842611499359.post-70962902314081915972010-11-30T18:19:00.002+00:002010-11-30T18:25:40.940+00:00Should LGBT Anglicans be more suspicious of the Covenant?Erika Baker in a comment on the last blog and Adrian Worsfold and Church Ferret (naughty little creature) on Facebook, have raised questions about the blog which they think was too tolerant in stance and tone, I suspect.<br /><br />I decided that +Rowan’s Presidential address should be take absolutely at face value. There are other leaders in the Communion whose words I would not take at face value.<br /><br />I also think you have to look at what has happened in the 13 years since the Kuala Lumpur statement was published (which initiated the conservative campaign against LGBT people) and make a balanced assessment. They have repeatedly issued threats and challenges, to evict other Provinces, that the Communion is already split, the net torn, they have absented themselves from Lambeth and Primates meetings and refused to share Communion, and where has it got them? <br /><br />Bishop Graham Kings made a case on the Radio4 Sunday programme for the GAFCON group being marginal to other conservative evangelicals in the Communion who have not rejected the Covenant. I think Bishop Graham is being fanciful. The Primates he named have announced that they are not attending the Primates meeting, so they are absenting themselves and abusing one of the Instruments of Communion and the Archbishop of Canterbury. They will not be present to contribute to any decision making process. Canada and TEC will.<br /><br />The Covenant will not come into force for at least 3 years, 3 years in which the conservatives will almost certainly absent themselves from the next ACC meeting and the following Primates’ meeting. Do you imagine that they will suddenly march back in once other Provinces have signed the Covenant and demand to be allowed to sign and take over the Communion? I know they might, their tactics are that crazy, but I think it’s highly unlikely, and who’d want to be a part of such a Communion?<br /><br />Bishop Graham also pointed out that the GAFCON Primates can’t make a unilateral decision about not signing the Covenant and that the decision will have to be put to each Province. These are Primates who are making unilateral, authoritarian decisions without any democracy or reference to their Province or House of Bishops and I think it highly likely that the decision they announced last week will stand.<br /><br />These Primates do not represent the opinions of their bishops. I have now had many reports about the unhappiness of individual bishops in Nigeria, Uganda and Kenya who disagree with their Primate. Other tensions are building in these Provinces, and Primates eventually reach retirement dates. This generation with its extreme version of Anglicanism will not live forever.<br /><br />Erika commented that Rowan clearly said that actions in one place have consequences for the Communion, whether we like it or not. Yes, but not necessarily only in one direction. The Global South/GAFCON/FCA axis has been allowed huge latitude and their actions tolerated in a way which for me and many others feels intolerable. But after 10 years of posturing and threats, they haven’t got what they demanded.<br /><br />Removing TEC from the Anglican-Orthodox dialogue certainly isn’t what the conservatives had in mind when they demanded punishment. Better they hadn’t been excluded at all, but it isn’t exactly onerous, is it?<br /><br />The Covenant may need nothing more than a group of only 15 people stating loudly that they feel offended before the offender has relational consequences imposed on them by the offended and Father Jake may be right in identifying just what those relational consequences are, and it might come to pass that punitive action is taken against a Province and they are removed from the ACC Schedule of Membership.<br /><br />I’m not pointing out to Rowan that we LGBT people really have been playing ball all this time. I’m living the faith in prayer and love and I’m not walking away and I’m not going to stop reminding the Communion of the presence of LGBT people in every Province and the scandal of homophobia and prejudice and support for punitive legislation.<br /><br />I am not becoming co-dependent and I am not colluding with my own abuse. The point at which Changing Attitude did either of those things would be seen very clearly, I think, and rightly challenged by all who care about the full inclusion of the tens of thousands of LGBT people in the Communion.<br /><br />I think a lot has changed in the last 10 years, and the Church of England has become more isolated in our society and is continuing to isolate itself. There is a lack of courage and integrity in individual members of the House of Bishops and in the corporate institutions of the Church at times, and there are also shining examples of truth-telling, courage and integrity, and I would name Jeffrey John, Christina Rees, Colin Slee and Nick Holtham among others.<br /><br />The Church of England might collude in applying the Covenant unwisely, punitively and against LGBT people 5 or 10 years down the road if it continues to allow what I consider to be unchristian forces to determine the culture of our Church.<br /><br />This is all ‘my opinion’ and others will vehemently disagree with me. To some, it does indeed look as if nothing that happened in the Anglican Communion in the last 10 years has been wise, measured and politically middle of the road. People, good people have left and others are considering leaving, in despair at the unbelievable dishonesty practiced by some bishops. I think it’s a scandal but it doesn’t get reported because those of us who know these things don’t want to make life difficult for those in the circles around us. We all, CA, IC, the Coalition, WATCH, make calculated political decisions.<br /><br />The Global South conservatives think God is on their side and not on the side of LGBT people. That is their fatal mistake. God is on everyone’s side, and God knows that the theologies we all construct are sometimes fatally flawed.<br /><br />I may not have Permission to Officiate at the moment (and that’s another, confidential story) but I know I am loved, blessed, welcomed, enriched by God, journeying into the Kingdom of God, whatever foul things the conservatives say about me as a gay man, because I have a deep, prayerful relationship with God, a relationship to which they seem blinded – and there’s many a quote I could make from Scripture to support my claim. But I’ll leave it there.<br /><br />Colin Coward<br /><br />To enable us to continue to campaign for the full inclusion of LGBT people in every Province of the Anglican Communion, please become a <a href="http://www.changingattitude.org.uk/support/subscription.asp">supporter</a> of Changing Attitude or <a href="http://www.changingattitude.org.uk/support/donations.asp">donate</a> to our work.Colin Cowardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00030093527945687306noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8443447842611499359.post-83987100909041452922010-11-29T09:37:00.006+00:002010-11-29T09:50:44.918+00:00Anglican Covenant – dangerous progress in Synod? Or GAFCON statement – dangerous threat withdraws?Archbishop Rowan began his presidential address to Synod in Church House last week by referring to a sermon preached by John Wesley on 'The Catholic Spirit' which opened with a text from II Kings 10.15: 'He greeted him and said, "Is your heart true to mine, as my heart is to yours?" Jehonadab replied, "Yes." "If so," Jehu said, "Give me your hand."'<br /><br />Rowan urged Synod to surprise those who are looking on by demonstrating their loyalty to each other: 'Is your heart true to mine?' Loyalty grows and flourishes when we spend time together exploring God who has brought us together - if our hearts are true to each other, different things become possible, Rowan said.<br /><br />Being true to each other, in our hearts, is to me obvious and fundamental to our Christian life and witness. Heart truth is important to the life of General Synod, the Church of England, the Anglican Communion, and lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender Anglicans. Is the Anglican Covenant going to lead us into more heart truth?<br /><br /><strong>GAFCON/FCA statement</strong><br />As Rowan was delivering his address a statement was released by a group of Anglican leaders under the GAFCON/FCA banner, a statement which had been written at least two weeks earlier. The statement is almost, but not quite, a declaration of independence from Canterbury.<br /><br />Those issuing the statement declare that they will no longer maintain an illusion of normalcy and will join other Primates from the Global South in absenting themselves from the next Primates’ meeting to be held in Ireland.<br /><br />They further declare that the current text of the Anglican Covenant is fatally flawed and so support for it is no longer appropriate.<br /><br />They plan to expand their ministry through other Anglican Provinces taking the ‘theological clarity’ of the Jerusalem Declaration as a solid foundation on which to engage with other Anglicans - those who affirm Biblical theological foundations of what Anglicans have always believed and practiced. They invite people in England ‘to re-affirm what they have always believed in Anglicanism by adopting the Jerusalem Declaration as a statement of their own faith and join with us in partnership in working to win the world to Christ’.<br /><br />The statement rejects the Anglican Covenant, the leadership of the Archbishop of Canterbury, the Primates’ meeting, the Anglican Communion as at present constituted and swathes of Anglican history, experience and tradition. I might describe it as both audacious and abusive – audacious in its rejection of truth and abusive to issue it deliberately at the same moment as the Archbishop of Canterbury is asking in an adult way for Christian hearts to be true to one another and loyal to God.<br /><br /><strong>The Anglican Covenant</strong><br />In his address, the Archbishop of Canterbury said:<br /><br /><blockquote>“it is an illusion to think that without some changes the Communion will carry on as usual, and a greater illusion to think that the Church of England can somehow derail the entire process. The unpalatable fact is that certain decisions in any province affect all. We may think they shouldn't, but they simply do. If we ignore this, we ignore what is already a real danger, the piece-by-piece dissolution of the Communion and the emergence of new structures in which relation to the Church of England and the See of Canterbury are likely not to figure significantly.”</blockquote><br />The GAFCON/FCA leaders had already decided to derail the process and begun the dissolution of the Communion by setting out to create new structures which will exclude the Church of England and the See of Canterbury. Rowan, your words to Synod were taken to heart by those present, Synod members and those like me in the public gallery. Of course it is right to expect us to relate in ways that are mature, loyal, exploring God together, hearts true to each other. What then of the GAFCON leaders – are you going to ask them to behave in an equally mature way? That won’t be easy since they are already going to absent themselves from your presence.<br />The Archbishop continued to address the Covenant and the whole paragraph is worth quoting in full:<br /><br /><blockquote>“The Covenant offers the possibility of a voluntary promise to consult. And it also recognises that even after consultation there may still be disagreement, that such disagreement may result in rupture of some aspects of communion, and that this needs to be managed in a careful and orderly way. Now the risk and reality of such rupture is already there, make no mistake. The question is whether we are able to make an intelligent decision about how we deal with it. To say yes to the Covenant is not to tie our hands. But it is to recognise that we have the option of tying our hands if we judge, after consultation, that the divisive effects of some steps are too costly. The question is how far we feel able to go in making our decisions in such a way as to keep the trust of our fellow-Anglicans in other contexts. If we decide that this is not the kind of relationship we want with other Anglicans, well and good. But it has consequences. Whatever happens, with or without the Covenant, the Communion will not simply stay the same. Historic allegiances cannot be taken for granted. They will survive and develop only if we can build up durable and adult bonds of fellowship.”</blockquote><br />Managing it in a careful and orderly way has already been made impossible by the arrogant and aggressive actions of the GAFCON leaders, supported by a minority of members of General Synod. It is very difficult, if not impossible, to deal with the challenges of covenant and communion in an intelligent, relational, heart to heart way when people are acting so abusively. Changing Attitude is committed to adult behaviour, but the temptation to infantile responses is strong when Communion leaders act in infantile ways themselves.<br /><br />The Synod motion moved by the Bishop of Bristol, Michael Hill, asked ‘That the draft Act of Synod adopting the Anglican Communion Covenant be considered.’ It was passed by a large majority and will now be sent to the dioceses for discussion. The Church of England did not, last week, adopt the Anglican Covenant, as some have asserted. England is continuing to discuss the Covenant and explore our differences of opinion.<br />In Rowan’s words, the Covenant offers the possibility of a voluntary promise to consult ... and disagreements need to be managed in a careful and orderly way.<br /><br /><blockquote>“It does not invent a new orthodoxy or a new system of doctrinal policing or a centralised authority, quite explicitly declaring that it does not seek to override any province's canonical autonomy. After such a number of discussions and revisions, it is dispiriting to see the Covenant still being represented as a tool of exclusion and tyranny.”</blockquote><br />Those of us who are anxious about the effects of the Covenant on progress towards the full inclusion in the Body of Christ of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people are yet to be convinced that it is not possible to use it in a tyrannical and exclusionary way. If the GAFCON Primates (with others) have already decided to leave the Anglican Communion then there is not only less anxiety about the Covenant being used in a punitive way, there is no longer any real need for a Covenant at all.<br /><br /><strong>Same-sex unions</strong><br />Earlier in his address, the Archbishop had talked about the Communion’s approach to the ‘still bitterly divisive issue’ of same-sex unions.<br /><br />He said:<br /><br /><blockquote>“The need for some thoughtful engagement that will help us understand how people who read the same Bible and share the same baptism can come to strongly diverse conclusions is getting more urgent, because I sense that in the last few years the debate on sexuality has not really moved much.” <br /><br />“And if we are not to be purely tribal about this, we need the chance for some sort of discussion that is not dominated by the need to make an instant decision or to react to developments and pressures elsewhere.”</blockquote><br />Leaders and supporters of Changing Attitude are among those who have engaged in patient and thoughtful theological discussion in many different contexts and with a wide variety of opinions. We are committed to continuing conversation and exploration but the patience of many LGBT Anglicans is being tested to the extreme. We are living with an understanding of our own integrity in Christ which means that we deliberately ignore the guidelines adopted by the Church – Issues in Human Sexuality, Lambeth 1.10 and the House of Bishops’ pastoral statement on Civil Partnerships. The conversation and exploration can continue within the Church but we have already moved beyond.<br /><br />Rowan asked for the help of Synod in working with him to create an ambience where better understanding may happen, taking the debate forward without the pressure of feeling we have some single and all-important decision to make. He pointed to the success of the 'Continuing Indaba' project in creating many such spaces for face-to- face discussion across cultures, considering a wide range of actually and potentially divisive matters. It has, he said, been pursued with heroic energy and imagination by many people of profoundly diverse convictions in the Communion and needs prayer and support.<br /><br />We LGBT people in the UK and North America have personal security and legal protections which enable us to pursue our goals in the Communion with confidence, engaging openly with the Church. In other, socially conservative parts of the Communion, homophobia and prejudice in Church and society mean that open conversation is impossible and LGBT people remain invisible.<br /><br />I am increasingly concerned about their safety and security and their inability to live spiritually, with integrity, in relationship with other Christians, when Anglican leadership in Nigerian, Uganda, Kenya and elsewhere equivocates about or actively supports punitive legislation. They need an active campaign for freedom and justice now, not at a time to suit the patient theological discussions within the Communion.<br /><br />Susan Russell on her blog <a href="http://inchatatime.blogspot.com/">An Inch at a Time </a>displays a Get out of the covenant free card and has her own take on what happened last week. Now that the folks the Anglican covenant was designed to keep at the table have turned their noses up at it, she says, it seems that sacrificing the vocations and relationships of the LGBT baptized on the altar of Anglican Unity becomes redundant at best and throwing out historic Anglican comprehensivness in response to hysteric Anglican politics becomes ridiculous at least.<br /> <br />The Episcopal Church instead of studying the Anglican Covenant that's already failed to hold the Communion together needs instead to be studying how to create something that will bring us together. “Like maybe focusing on the values that unite us rather than the issues that divide us. Like building a church for the 21st century that worries about who will COME if we proclaim the Good News of God available to all rather than who might LEAVE if we include everybody.”<br /><br />Will sending the Anglican Covenant to be discussed in the dioceses have a negative effect regarding progress for LGBT people or does the statement from the GAFCON leaders have a beneficial effect which far outweighs any potential negative from the Covenant?<br /><br />Colin Coward<br /><br />To enable us to maintain a relational, principled, heart-true campaign for LGBT people in the Anglican Communion, please become a <a href="http://www.changingattitude.org.uk/support/subscription.asp">supporter</a> of Changing Attitude or <a href="http://www.changingattitude.org.uk/support/donations.asp">donate</a> to our work.Colin Cowardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00030093527945687306noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8443447842611499359.post-13196332338650246352010-11-07T14:44:00.004+00:002010-11-07T15:00:24.473+00:00Bishop Gene Robinson to retire in 2013<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYhHNCKI_hFcoF04lZrrVkZ6K-gRtCFjk32ea-BIA72WCpssz6D33Ez7OmK7rD8ggQrLg9S40CXQmJt_SAzR6DJlMbA3THBEM_AoJTNx0is5eVJIftjet8hikMffNFxCBHTuSXSrsTriU/s1600/Gene+and+Colin+at+St+Martins.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 318px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYhHNCKI_hFcoF04lZrrVkZ6K-gRtCFjk32ea-BIA72WCpssz6D33Ez7OmK7rD8ggQrLg9S40CXQmJt_SAzR6DJlMbA3THBEM_AoJTNx0is5eVJIftjet8hikMffNFxCBHTuSXSrsTriU/s400/Gene+and+Colin+at+St+Martins.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5536821020493184978" /></a>Bishop Gene Robinson has announced his plan to retire as Bishop of New Hampshire in January 2013 when he will be 65 to give the diocese enough time to elect a new bishop. He will be retiring when he is 7 years below the mandatory retirement age for Episcopal bishops of 72. He made the announcement at the end of his diocesan annual convention and gave, as reasons for his early departure, the toll taken on him and on the diocese having been at the centre of international controversy.<br /><br />He said: "Death threats, and the now-worldwide controversy surrounding your election of me as bishop, have been a constant strain, not just on me, but on my beloved husband, Mark, who has faithfully stood with me every minute of the last seven years, and in some ways, you. While I believe that these attitudes, mostly outside the diocese, have not distracted me from my service to you, I would be less than honest if I didn't say that they have certainly added a burden and certain anxiety to my episcopate."<br /><br />I first met Bishop Gene at the General Convention of the Episcopal Church held in Minneapolis in 2003. The pressure on him was already intense and the Convention was marked by false rumours about him, designed to influence approval of his election. He retreated to a protected space leaving others to navigate the media and the conservative storm opposing his election.<br /><br />In 2005 he came to England for the first time as bishop to address Changing Attitude’s 10th Anniversary Service at St Martin-in-the-Fields. He received a prolonged standing ovation and, as he said in his announcement yesterday, made "the case for God and for God's church – either to those who have never known God's unimaginable love, or to those who have been ill-treated, in the name of a judgmental God, and who have left the church."<br /><br />Riazat Butt of the Guardian phoned me for a comment at 10 this morning, catching me as I was about to leave for the 10.30 Communion at St John’s Devizes. When I first read the news, I felt sad that he will be retiring. He has made visible for tens of thousands of LGBT Anglicans the reality that we are present in every Province of the Communion, in every congregation, many of us ordained, some bishops and primates. He won’t retire into invisibility and by 2013 further lesbian or gay bishops bishops may have been elected to join Mary Glasspool.<br /><br />Bishop Gene’s election in 2003 did indeed transform the landscape, and he has had to lie with the responsibility for, and consequences of, that transformation. At last we had somebody as a bishop who was fully visible and embodied the quality of life so many of us long for, a committed, faithful and loving relationship as a Christian.<br /><br />He has borne the cost as an iconic figure on behalf of LGBT Anglicans. But his visible presence is the tip of an iceberg. There are many thousands, if not tens of thousands, of LGBT Anglicans who experience stress, anxiety, pressure, depression and at the extreme, suicidal feelings. I know that this is true from the Changing Attitude England network and from friends and colleagues in the Church of England. <br /><br />Increasingly, I know it to be true in Africa and across the Anglican Communion. A young gay Kenyan Anglican told me yesterday that he “is living in great stigmatization due to my sexual orientation. I don’t want anyone to know. Please help me and keep my secrets close. Thank you for that understanding. I have disclosed to you so much more than I have ever done to anyone else.”<br /><br />It is people like this lonely, desperate, isolated gay Kenyan, who longs for the kind of loving relationship enjoyed by Gene and Mark, that Gene has been an icon for. He has, thanks goodness, had Mark beside him, a diocese which took him to his heart, and a personal resourcefulness and spirituality. Most Africans have none of these resources beyond a deep commitment to their faith and to Jesus the Christ.<br /><br />One conservative response to Bishop Gene’s announcement has been to accuse him of playing the victim card. After 7 years of abuse and vilification by primates, bishops and conservative pressure groups in the Anglican Communion, I might have hoped that some Christian love and wisdom might have begun to surface by now, but no, the evil and lies and misrepresentation of truth continues. Riazat reports that s spokesman for the Global Anglican Future Conference, Gafcon, said the "agonising dispute" over homosexuality was not about the New Hampshire bishop "personally". Now I wonder who might have made such a disingenuous statement?<br /><br />Colin Coward<br /><br />To help us continue and develop our commitment to the full inclusion of LGBT people in the Church of England and of the Episcopal Church in the Anglican Communion, please become a <a href="http://www.changingattitude.org.uk/support/subscription.asp">supporter</a> of Changing Attitude England or make a <a href="http://">donation</a>.Colin Cowardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00030093527945687306noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8443447842611499359.post-250890248848170392010-11-03T14:33:00.007+00:002010-11-03T15:11:10.458+00:00Changing Attitude trustees develop our vision and strategy for the coming year<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIAjrkG-bdwobp8_HyxMmKmDFV_5UF570OekXdPDsEp8HSBua2XeL207EJO7cGHywwXmMu0iIFEpwruzwuaknAW0d6SJagPeTfBncoX-h3UJ8a-lRGTQGHuEQQ-NwhXsonnI4PtbF-Hqc/s1600/011.jpg"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIAjrkG-bdwobp8_HyxMmKmDFV_5UF570OekXdPDsEp8HSBua2XeL207EJO7cGHywwXmMu0iIFEpwruzwuaknAW0d6SJagPeTfBncoX-h3UJ8a-lRGTQGHuEQQ-NwhXsonnI4PtbF-Hqc/s320/011.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5535336511768244034" /></a>The trustees and Director of Changing Attitude met at the Peace Centre in Tadcaster from Friday afternoon to Sunday lunchtime for a residential meeting. Meeting for 48 hours provides time for us to talk at length (and some of us are good at that!) reflect at leisure and discuss both the practical needs of Changing Attitude and our strategy and vision. Our vision is developing and unfolding all the time and our strategic initiatives need to evolve and change in response to the developing vision.<br /><br />On Friday evening for 2 hours and for the first hour on Saturday morning, I introduced a reflection (outlined in a previous blog) on the way in which we envisage or conceptualise ourselves in relationship to God and to the creation in which we dwell. I have become aware that we use religious language in ways traditional and radical which risk misunderstandings, and I wanted to check whether there was a common mind among the trustees of our theology, spirituality, ethics and morality. We discovered that there is, having cleared up misunderstandings and misconceptions along the way.<br /><br />In the past decade, global communications have evolved at an exponentially dramatic rate. Decoding DNA, the exploration of deep space, the origins of the universe in the Big Bang, have expanded our awareness of the finite and the infinite in similarly dramatic ways. The evolutionary pace of the church, in response to the changed status of LGBT people in British society, for example, proceeds at a snail’s pace. The resistance in the church to granting any kind of equality or dignity to LGBT people is viewed with astonishment by those who are unaware that minority forces in the Church of England combine with a commitment to maintain unity in the Anglican Communion to prevent progress to full inclusion. The church looks like a dinosaur compared with the transformation of spiritual and scientific imagination and vision in the global community. We in Changing Attitude have no doubt that many are alienated by the Church’s lack of courage and vision. It takes extraordinary and often perverse determination to stay in the church, working for the full inclusion of LGBT people, when it is so dishonest in its practice and so <br /><br />The extensive agenda covered several major topics, and I will write briefly about the most significant.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgifWBSjLLE6KiiUw9-eGpLwrvuIw4ofLaPV-C-54WVOB8ItYUg2OW7PRcS4VjdJt-k9hA9m-H75WpXkjMew8oPpEvAvplMQUgoii5bmEI0tlAB1XX8ykvIeVIu_iyrsdR2xC9MqktOouk/s1600/007.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 150px; height: 200px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgifWBSjLLE6KiiUw9-eGpLwrvuIw4ofLaPV-C-54WVOB8ItYUg2OW7PRcS4VjdJt-k9hA9m-H75WpXkjMew8oPpEvAvplMQUgoii5bmEI0tlAB1XX8ykvIeVIu_iyrsdR2xC9MqktOouk/s200/007.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5535339270335055010" /></a><strong>Marriage and Civil Partnerships</strong><br />The agenda for marriage and civil partnerships for LGBT people has developed dramatically in the last 6 months with OutRage! advocating equality for all. The trustees agreed that we should be campaigning for equality in the Church of England, recognizing that our supporters have a variety of views, and we are campaigning for the freedom to make a choice, including the blessing of relationships and marriage in church.<br /><br /><strong>Day Conference</strong><br />The overnight conference planned for October didn’t take place because too few people were able to come, apart from Birmingham residents who wanted a non-residential event. Instead of a residential conference for Changing Attitude group leaders and Diocesan contacts we are planning two one-day conferences, one in Nottingham in May and the second in London in the autumn. The vision is to create days set in the context of a Eucharist which will help create a flourishing environment for LGBT Christians in particular and for all who yearn to participate in worship in which our dreams and longings for God, for intimacy, truth, tenderness and justice can find expression. It’s an ambitious aim, but we have an ambitious vision for the days and planning will begin immediately, finding churches which will create the environment in which we can pray, praise and worship with passion and glory.<br /><br /><strong>LGBT Anglican Coalition</strong><br />The Coalition meets this coming Saturday in Waterloo. Jeremy Timm is chairing the meeting on behalf of Changing Attitude – the group responsible for preparing the agenda this time. The chair rotates every 6 months. Some of the issues discussed at our residential will be brought to the Coalition as the more appropriate context for them to be dealt with. The issues include a strategy for General Synod and encouraging LGBT people with vocations, which we would like to develop in consultation with the Clergy Consultation.<br /><br /><strong>Women in the Episcopate</strong><br />The Director and every trustee is committed 100% to the successful passage of legislation which will open the episcopate to women. <br /><br /><strong>Readers</strong><br />Our campaign to discover whether the Church has a policy for Readers which equates them with the ordained ministry is progressing slowly. Progress has been made, and Jeremy Timm agreed to draft an article for submission to the Church Times.<br /><br /><strong>Web site</strong><br />The web site is being redesigned at the moment and should be online in November. We want to include brief videos on the site in the mode of the ‘It Gets Better’ campaign in the USA, with people describing their faith as someone who is LGB or T or supportive of our full inclusion. This is a project we hope to develop very quickly – if we can master the technology!<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitw87Ff_-9Z3ZsEM2hcqqJmIzXMQYwj-MsDrjzsrp5239B5bfRLyHK_RtTKjIV2f_KtaHC06OuoA1tf4zg_PmZA69qftoUGLtCDJCZ3BtoCageIF3IGr8K3CqvSz7cYg7M_oX0wqCMZ78/s1600/009.jpg"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 150px; height: 200px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitw87Ff_-9Z3ZsEM2hcqqJmIzXMQYwj-MsDrjzsrp5239B5bfRLyHK_RtTKjIV2f_KtaHC06OuoA1tf4zg_PmZA69qftoUGLtCDJCZ3BtoCageIF3IGr8K3CqvSz7cYg7M_oX0wqCMZ78/s200/009.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5535338667822667570" /></a><strong>Sunday Eucharist</strong><br />After a final session on Sunday morning, we concluded our time together with a Eucharist in the room we had set aside for prayer and meditation. Jeremy Pemberton had prepared a service in which we were primarily silent together. It brought the energy of our discussions into our worship, calmed and focused us as we broke bread and shared wine, absorbing the stillness and beauty of our creator and celebrating our faith in God’s infinite presence and love.<br /><br />Our vision and our goals are ambitious. We are striving in faith for the Kingdom of God, in which all are welcome in a Church where all can flourish.<br /><br />Colin Coward<br /><br />To help us develop our vision and turn our strategy into reality, please become a <a href="http://www.changingattitude.org.uk/support/subscription.asp">supporter</a> of Changing Attitude England or make a <a href="http://www.changingattitude.org.uk/support/donations.asp">donation</a>.Colin Cowardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00030093527945687306noreply@blogger.com1