gay
The church where I worship, St. Catherine's Mile Cross, has become a welcoming spiritual home for a number of gay people, many of whom are in long term partnerships.
This is, however, not the full story because there are a whole range of ways in which gay people have been marginalised and made to feel unwelcome in the Church of England and we have more work to do, above and beyond same sex marriages, to turn this around.
I want what we have found at St. Catherine’s to be true for all Church of England congregations: namely that gay people as well as straight people find themselves accepted and welcomed for who they are and helped to grow in discipleship as they follow Jesus more closely.
For this reason, I will continue to advocate for greater inclusion and recognition for LGBTI+ people, and particularly LGBTI+ clergy, as the next phase of work begins to enable stand alone blessings for gay couples and to stop discrimination against clergy entering same sex marriages.
I also write as a gay man aged 78 whose loving, faithful and intimate relationship of 31 years ended in death 11 years ago.
Through my years as an Anglican, as a volunteer on Gay Switchboard and as a volunteer in a homeless persons unit I was also guided by these words from a highly regarded priest: “the church is there for those at the end of the queue, for those who have the door slammed in their face”.
For my children’s generation, the perceived exclusion of gay people from marrying in church is unconscionable.
I came out as gay and divorced in my early forties, and so left the church, fearing a lack of acceptance.
They don’t feel the warmth of God’s grace and love or hear the Holy Spirit in their lives when they enter a church and people are unwelcoming to the gay, the disabled, the different.
But we need to do better at graciously articulating this truth and lovingly caring for the many gay people (like me) for whom this is a personally painful thing to hear.
inequalities experienced by women, non-white, disabled, gay staffers in the UK Parliament.
• I am an openly gay man who is happily single.
I would have liked to be able to explore a vocation to ordained ministry but as a married gay man, that isn’t an option open to me; even if were now possible, at fifty-nine, it would be probably too late.
Together and Inclusive Church - belonging means equality I am openly gay, a member of Inclusive Church, a supporter of Together, and an advocate for equality within the Church.
I don't want another generation of LGBT+ ordinands wondering how honest it is safe to be; gay clergy editing their lives for fear of the consequences; or LGBT+ young people wondering whether the Church's welcome really includes them.
I have also been the council estate gay kid growing up on the dole who wondered if the Church had a place for me.
Open Table is a network of communities which genuinely welcome, affirm, include and empower people who are: Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans, Queer or Questioning, Intersex, & Asexual (LGBTQIA)+ their families, friends & anyone who wants to belong in an accepting, loving community.
The painful stories of gay people in our church deeply challenge me.
As a gay woman I have experienced exclusion first hand and am well placed to challenge prejudice and strive for change.
This means ensuring accessible spaces, encouraging ministry in people from underrepresented backgrounds and, as a gay man, this is close to my heart, supporting LGBT+ Christians, especially young people.
Equality. “I am committed to equality for everyone, at all levels and roles within the church, regardless of disability, economic power, ethnicity, sex, gender identity, learning disability, mental health, neurodiversity, or sexuality." I would be supportive of the Church moving to a place which values all relationships equally and would affirm a Church which accepts and supports gay marriage.
As a gay married Christian, I support the Church moving to the full inclusion of LGBTQIA+ people, including the recognition and celebration of faithful same-sex marriages.
As a mum to a son and sister to a woman, who both identify as gay, I want them and everyone to know and feel the love of Christ in the world and in the church.
I am a gay Christian, very happily married to the love of my life, Boris.
We must surely also, as a synod, condemn those Anglican provinces which support their countries’ legal measures against gay people, imposing harsh prison sentences and even death penalties.
Recognizing in the C of E a wide variety of views on marriage and sexuality, I always want to listen and understand the views of others, holding my own views with compassion; in my 10 years leading Christian Vision for Men, I would seek the sage advice from a close friend, a celebate gay man, when handling pastoral issues on matters of human sexuality.
For me, this is a matter of justice: it should be possible for gay people, as it is for straight people, to have their relationships blessed in church and for such relationships to be no bar to ordination or preferment.