Tag: Protestant Clergy

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Most Church of England priests back gay marriage, survey finds

— Major shift in attitudes in England since 2014 survey, when only 39% approved of same-sex weddings

The archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby, faced sharp criticism last year for affirming a 1998 declaration that gay sex is a sin.

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Most Church of England priests want the C of E to allow same-sex weddings and to drop its opposition to premarital and gay sex, according to a survey.

In a major shift in attitudes over the past decade, a survey of priests in England conducted by the Times found that more than half supported a change in law to allow clergy to conduct the marriage of gay couples, with 53.4% in favour compared with 36.5% against.

The last time Anglican priests in England were asked, in 2014, shortly after the legalisation of same-sex civil marriage, 51% said same-sex marriage was “wrong”, compared with 39% who approved.

Last year a row erupted at the first Lambeth conference (a meeting of Anglican bishops from around the world) in 14 years, with the archbishop of Canterbury faced sharp criticism for affirming a 1998 declaration that gay sex was a sin.

But the new poll found that 64.5% of priests in England backed an end to the teaching that “homosexual practice is incompatible with scripture”. It also found that 27.3% of priests supported an end to any celibacy requirement for gay people, while 37.2% said they were willing to accept sex between gay people in “committed” relationships such as civil partnerships or marriages, and around a third (29.7%) said the teaching should not change.

Andrew Foreshew-Cain, founder of the Campaign for Equal Marriage in the Church of England, said the survey showed there was “no excuse for further delay and equivocation” in welcoming gay people into the church.

“The clergy of the Church of England are kinder, more generous, and more welcoming towards LGBTI people than the current official position allows,” he said. “The C of E, and in particular our bishops, needs to stop wringing its hands over gay people and move forward towards blessings and, in time, to celebrating same-sex marriages in our parishes.”

The survey results were encouraging, said Robbie de Santos, director of communications at Stonewall. “We hope that church leaders reflect on these findings,” he said. “Too often, LGBTQ+ people of faith face discrimination and prejudice simply for being themselves.”

The survey also found that three-quarters of respondents thought Britain could no longer be described as a Christian country. Almost two-thirds (64.2%) said Britain could be called Christian “but only historically, not currently”.

In the 2021 census of England and Wales for the first time fewer than half of the population described themselves as Christian.

The Times poll found that two-thirds of priests in England thought attempts to stop the drop in church attendance would fail, with only 10.1% thinking it would be halted, and 10.5% believing that congregations would grow again. Average attendance for Church of England Sunday services in 2021 was 509,000, down from 1.2m in 1986.

The survey also found that 80% of respondents would back the appointment of a woman as the archbishop of Canterbury, while two-thirds wanted an end to the system that allowed parishes to reject female leaders.

The survey also asked priests how slave trader memorials and statues should be dealt with: 15% backed the removal of such memorials, 14.1% said they should be left alone, while two-thirds said information should be added alongside them to highlight their links to slavery.

The survey analysed 1,200 responses sent out to 5,000 randomly chosen serving priests.

Responding to the survey on behalf of the church, the bishop of Leeds, the Right Rev Nick Baines, said: “The church is the church, and, as such, not a club. It has a distinct vocation that does not include seeking popularity. Repentance means being open to changing our mind in order that society should encounter both love and justice. And this means sometimes going against the flow of popular culture, however uncomfortable that might be.”

Complete Article ↪HERE↩!

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Gotta have faith

— LGBTQ-inclusive spirituality books, part 1

by Brian Bromberger

At a time when evangelical/fundamentalist Christians are renewing their backlash against queer people, it’s imperative to remember there are other Christians appalled at this injustice and lack of compassion, who are supportive of their queer brethren, especially mainline Protestants and progressive Catholics.

Spurred on by the pandemic, these books mostly written by queer believers who want to supply succor and strength to those who have remained in the institutional church.

In this survey, many of these books are forming a nascent queer spirituality, which not only affirms LGBTQ people as loved by God and recognize the goodness and beauty of their experiences sexual and otherwise, but with spiritual practices helps them develop an existential well-being enabling them to weather oppression. We begin with Christianity, with other faiths in next week’s issue.

Called Out: 100 Devotions for LGBTQ Christians by E. Carrington Heath, $20 (Westminster John Knox Press)
Heath is a nonbinary Senior Pastor of the Congregational Church in Exeter, New Hampshire. These 3-5 minute devotions consist of a bible verse, a reflection, then a short prayer. Designed for progressive Christians, he covers topics such as coming out, relationships, chosen family, religious trauma, with such enticing titles as ‘Afraid of God?,’ ‘Alligators and Ice,’ ‘Open to Rearranging,’ ‘Compassion for the Bully,’ and ‘The Gifts of the Disagreeable.’ Perfect for a quick read right before you start your day for inspiration, strength, and fortification.

Queering Black Churches: Dismantling Heteronormativity in African American Congregations by Brandon Thomas Crowley, $29.95 (Oxford University Press)
Thomas, an African-American minister and a lecturer in Ministry Studies at Harvard Divinity School, provides an systematic approach for dismantling heteronormativity within African American congregations by first outlining a history of trans-and-homophobia in black congregations.

Then using the lenses of practical theology, queer theology and gender studies, he examines the theologies, morals, values, and structures of black churches and how their longstanding assumptions can be challenged. Drawing on the experiences of several historically Black churches that became open and affirming (United Methodist and Missionary Baptist examples) he explores how those churches have queered their congregations based on the lived experiences of Black Queer folks trying to subvert their puritannical ideologies.

Crowley wants to move beyond surface-level allyship toward actual structural renovation. At times theoretical, he winds up offering practical proposals for change that can be a valuable resource for students clergy, and congregants.

The Gospel of Inclusion, Revised Edition: A Christian Case for LGBT+ Inclusion in the Church by Brandan J. Robertson, $23 (Cascade Books)
An exercise in queer theology, Robertson is the Lead Pastor of an LGBTQ Missiongathering Christian Church in San Diego who makes a compelling case for queer inclusion based on an original contextualized reading of the six traditional passages referring to homosexuality in the Bible. He suggests that the entire thrust of the Christian gospel calls the church towards the deconstruction of all oppressive systems and structures and the creation of a world that celebrates the full spectrum of human diversity as honoring God’s creative intention.

Family of Origin, Family of Choice: Stories of Queer Christians by Katie Hays and Susan A. Chiasson, $21 (Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co.)
A social scientist and a pastor asked their LGBTQ friends from church to help them understand how they navigate relationships with their affirming, non-affirming, and affirming-ish families of origin, even as they also find belonging in other families of choice. These are first-person personal stories and testimonies written by queer evangelical Christians as they come to terms with their sexuality and its impact on those closest to them. Useful for both cis-het and LGBTQ Christians who are interested in reconciliation and resiliency rather than walking away from the pain inflicted on them by the institutional church.

Queer Holiness: The Gift of LGBTQI People to the Church by Charlie Bell, $22 (Darton, Longman, and Todd)
Bell is a gay psychiatrist and ordained deacon in the Church of England. The book is a critique of that denomination’s treatment of queer Anglicans, but is also trying to develop a healthy LGBTQ spirituality that’s psychologically sound. Human experience, science, and reason are essential elements in developing a theology that celebrates God’s diversity in sexuality. “The Church has failed to provide good role models for LGBTQI people and we are wounding the body of Christ if we don’t repent and change our ways.” Bell is calling queer Christians to be prophets to the Church.

LGBTQ Catholics: A Guide To Inclusive Ministry by Yunuen Trujillo, $19.95 (Paulist Press)
Immigration attorney Trujillo has written a guidebook on how to start an inclusive LGBTQ ministry at your church, including the different types and levels, their purpose, their structures, the most common challenges, and best practices. She believes in a listening church and church of supporting people where they are, in whatever part of the journey they are in. She longs to see the day when queer Catholics will no longer need to ask, “Why stay?” LGBTQ Catholics are no longer invisible and dialogue has commenced. This seminal book focuses on Catholic parishes, but much of the guidelines would fit a church of any (or non) denomination.

LGBTQ Catholic Ministry: Past and Present by Jason Steidl Jack, $27.95 (Paulist Press)
A good companion book to Trujillo, Jack, who teaches religious studies at St. Joseph’s University in NY, provides a history of queer-friendly groups that have ministered to LGBTQ Catholics in the last 50 years, including Dignity (LGBT rights and the Catholic church), New Ways Ministry (support for queer priests and religious), Fortunate Families (straight allies/families), St. Paul the Apostle (a Paulist pro-LGBTQ parish in Manhattan), and Fr. James Martin, a Jesuit, whose ministry is trying to bridge the gap between the institutional church and the LGBTQ community. The book culminates in trying to create a new understanding of church that includes queer people and combats homo/transphobia.

God’s Works Revealed: Spirituality, Theology and Social Justice for Gay, Lesbian, and Bisexual Catholics by Sam Albano, 29.95 (Paulist Press)
Albano is the national secretary of DignityUSA and lays out well-argued theological arguments critiquing the Catholic Church’s treatment of Gay, Lesbian, and Bisexual Catholics as unjust and ignores their inherent dignity as God’s creation. He proposes a Catholic vision for same-sex marriage, a queer liberation theology, and an LGBTQI spirituality of suffering. He has some bold proposals but the schema is marred by its lack of inclusion of transgender Catholics, especially since he believes LGBTQI Catholics are called to be God’s friends in creating, loving, serving, and raising this world to new life.

I Came Here Seeking A Person: A Vital Story of Grace, One Gay Man’s Spiritual Journey by William D. Glenn, $29.95 (Paulist Press)
Glenn, a SF Bay area transplant, who began as a devout Catholic boy joining and later leaving the Jesuits religious order. He progresses go AIDS counselor and then later President of the SF AIDS Foundation, clinical psychologist, spiritual director, chair of the Board of Trustees of the Graduate Theological Union in Berkeley, as well as with husband Scott Hafner, is the cofounder of its Center for LGBTQ and Gender Studies in Religion. The book highlights key moments illustrating the above milestones in his life.

The title comes from Trappist author Thomas Merton, “suggesting the human journey is a series of seekings, the encounters we have with ourselves, others, and the divine presence.” He writes that the book isn’t a classical memoir, but “a recounting of two dozen+ encounters I have experienced that changed the direction of my life both in almost imperceptible ways and in ways that were utterly transformative,” whether it be a book, a person, a dream, an intuition, or a prayer experience. It’s evocative rather than full of biographical details.

It’s an honest, warts and all account of Glenn’s spiritual journey often moving and inspiring, integrating all his milestones through both a Jungian psychological lens, but also an Ignatian (founder of the Jesuits) spirituality prism too. The best chapters are the ones about AIDS and how it impacted his life. Also, Paulist Press, a mainstream Catholic publisher, is to be commended for producing four queer religious books in the last year, atoning for their previous absence of titles through the decades.

Gay Catholic and American: My Legal Battle for Marriage Equality and Inclusion by Greg Bourke, $26.00 (University of Notre Dame Press)
Compelling and inspirational memoir about information technologist Bourke, who became an outspoken gay rights activist after being dismissed as a troop leader from the Boy Scouts of America in 2012 and his historic role as one of the named plaintiffs in the landmark U. S. Supreme Court decision Obergefell vs. Hodges, which legalized same-sex marriage nationwide in 2015. After being ousted by the Boy Scouts, he became a leader in the movement to amend antigay Boy Scouts membership policies.

The Archdiocese of Louisville, because of its vigorous opposition to marriage equality, blocked Bourke’s reutrn to leadership despite his impeccable long-term record as a distinguished boy scout leader. Bourke describes growing up in Louisville, Kentucky living as a gay Catholic. With his husband Michael De Leon he has been active in a Catholic Church for more than three decades, bringing up their two adopted children in the faith. Bourke proud to be gay and Catholic was tenacious enough to fight for inclusion, that they are not mutually exclusive. Heartwarming and deeply affecting with the inside story behind the historic Obergefell case.

The Queer Bible Commentary, 2nd Edition, edited by Mona West and Robert E. Shore-Goss, $112 (SCM Press)
First published over a decade ago, it has been newly revised including updated bibliographies and chapters with new voices taking into account the latest literature relating to queer interpretations of scripture. Contributors, both English and American, draw on feminist, queer, deconstructionist, utopian theories, the social sciences and historical-critical discourses. The focus is both how reading from lesbian, gay, bisexual and/or transgender perspectives affect the interpretation of biblical texts and how biblical texts have and do affect LGBTQ+ communities.

It’s scholarly but accessible to the educated reader with cutting-edge contributions exploring faith, gender, sexuality, bodies, activism, and queer rights. Probably definitive for now and yes very expensive, but it’s the type of book you will use continually whether it be for preaching, education, or your own spiritual enrichment. Extensive citations allows one to research topics and themes. Indispensable and monumental.

Transforming: The Bible and the Lives of Transgender Christians, Updated and Expanded Edition with Study Guide by Austen Hartke, $20 (Westminster John Knox Press) and Margins: A Transgender Man’s Journey with Scripture, $19.99 (Wm. Eerdman’s Publishing Co.)
Both these authors weave their personal trans experiences into reflections on well-known biblical stories, such as eunichs for Christ/Acts’ Ethiopian eunich, Jacob wrestling with God, sex worker Rahab and the Israelite spies, Ezekiel and the dry bones, the transfiguration of Jesus, and trans implications of the resurrection, not as a moment but a process. They reveal how these stories have helped shape their own identities. Both believe transgender Christians have unique and vital theological insights for the church, especially new ways to think about gender with clever chapter titles like “God Breaks the Rules to Get You In” and “The Best Disciples Are Eunuchs.”

They unpack the terminology, sociological studies, and theological perspectives that affect transgender Christians, contradicting the notion God makes mistakes. Hartke is the founder of Transmission Ministry Collective, an online community dedicated to the spiritual care, faith formation, and leadership potential of transgender/gender-expansive Christians.

He has an MA in Old Testament/Hebrew Bible Studies. Kearns is an ordained priest, playwright, and theologian, who has given popular TED talks. Both books provide scriptural ammunition against religious critics who attack trans people as defying God’s binary creation of man/woman, promoting a more diverse, expansive view of the divine. “We know what it is to not fit in, to have to fight for a place for ourselves in the world and in the church.”

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Colors of Hope: A Devotional Journal from LGBTQ+ Christians, edited by Melissa Guthrie, $16.99 (Chalice Press)
Inspired by the colors of the original Pride flag, the book explores the themes of sexuality, life, healing, sunlight, nature, art and magic, harmony and serenity, and spirit matched with a color encompassing a weekly scriptural reading and a daily reflection or activity that reminds readers we are all children of God.

Then each section has faith sharing questions, making this book ideal for prayer, Bible, meditation, and recovery groups plus the wider non-LGBTQ church, since the whole project is inclusive and the broadest spirituality imaginable. Each of the contributors are part of Alliance Q, the queer affirming ministry of the Disciples of Christ (a very progressive Protestant denomination). “What color is hope? Hoping in color brings the joy, beauty, and power of the rainbow to life.” Hope is presented here as an embodiment of all faiths and an act of resistance.

Complete Article ↪HERE↩!

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Divided Church of England to debate blessings for same-sex unions

The Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby attends the Church of England General Synod meeting in London, Britain, February 9, 2023.

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  • The assembly is due to meet from July 7 to 11
  • Synod to discuss blessings for same-sex couples
  • Church of England has refused to allow gay marriage
  • ‘This has not been an easy period’ – Bishop Sarah

The Church of England’s governing body will deliberate on how priests could carry out blessings for same-sex couples when it gathers in the cathedral city of York for a five-day meeting on Friday.

The assembly of bishops, clergy and laity – called the General Synod – is also due to discuss on Saturday how to protect vicars who might choose not to pray over the union of same-sex couples.

The CoE, which does not allow same-sex marriages in its 16,000 churches, in January set out proposals to let gay couples have a prayer service after a civil marriage, and apologised to LGBTQI+ people for the rejection and hostility they have faced. The synod voted in favour of the plans in February.

That caused a conservative group of Anglican church leaders from around the world to declare they no longer had confidence in the Archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby, saying he had betrayed his ordination.

At home, however, there is pressure to go further, with some bishops publicly voicing support for same-sex marriages in churches.

Divisions have run deep for decades on how the centuries-old institution – mother church for the world’s 85 million Anglicans across 165 countries – deals with homosexuality and same-sex unions. Homosexuality is taboo in Africa and illegal in more than 30 countries there.

Welby, who is the spiritual leader of the wider Anglican Communion, called on bishops last year to “abound in love for all”. But he backed the validity of a resolution passed in 1998 that rejected “homosexual practice as incompatible with Scripture”.

Bishop Sarah Mullally told reporters last month: “This has not been an easy period for people right across a range of traditions and we know that has maybe been harder since February than it may have been before.”

She reiterated that the proposals would not change the doctrine that marriage is between a man and a woman, and that there would be protection for those who “on grounds of conscience” choose not to bless same-sex couples.

‘SLAP IN THE FACE’

Lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) activists have long been fighting for the same rights as fellow Christians who are heterosexual. Gay marriage has been legal in Britain for a decade.

“Faith is important to many LGBTQ+ people, which is why the Synod’s suggestion that blessings be provided in place of marriages (is) a real slap in the face to our communities,” Sasha Misra, Associate Director of Communications at LGBT rights group Stonewall, told Reuters via email.

Mullally said the CoE was absorbing different views on the complex matter, and that it would take time to produce the full proposals, which are expected when the synod meets in November.

Complete Article ↪HERE↩!

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Archbishop of Canterbury urges Ugandan Anglicans to reject anti-gay law

The Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby attends the Church of England General Synod meeting in London, Britain, February 9, 2023.

by Estelle Shirbon in London and George Obulutsa in Nairobi

The Archbishop of Canterbury has urged the Anglican Church of Uganda to reject the country’s new anti-LGBT law, saying there is no justification for Anglicans anywhere to support legislation that goes against the Christian teachings of the Gospel.

Under the law, approved by President Yoweri Museveni in May, gay sex is punishable by life in prison while “aggravated homosexuality”, including transmitting HIV, attracts the death penalty.

Justin Welby, leader of the worldwide Anglican Communion, said he had written to Archbishop Stephen Kaziimba, the Primate of Uganda, to express “grief and dismay” at the church’s stance.

“There is no justification for any province of the Anglican Communion to support such laws: not in our resolutions, not in our teachings, and not in the Gospel we share,” Welby said in a statement on Friday.

Kaziimba said in May he was grateful for the new law. He said homosexuality was being forced on Uganda by “foreign actors … who disguise themselves as human rights activists” and went against Ugandans’ religious and cultural beliefs.

The Church of Uganda says 36% of Uganda’s population of around 45 million are Anglicans.

The Anglican Communion, which numbers tens of millions of people across 165 countries, is deeply divided over the ordination of gay clergy by some churches in some Western countries, and attitudes towards same-sex marriage.

The Ugandan church has been at the forefront of the Global Anglican Future Conference (GAFCON), a conservative group. In April, GAFCON said it no longer had confidence in Welby because of his comments in support of the blessing of same-sex unions in churches.

Welby said in Friday’s statement he was deeply aware of the history of colonial rule in Uganda but “this is not about imposing Western values on our Ugandan Anglican sisters and brothers”.

“It is about reminding them of the commitments we have made as Anglicans to treat every person with the care and respect they deserve as children of God,” he said.

Complete Article ↪HERE↩!

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St. Mark’s Episcopal Church, Capitol Hill: Faith in inclusion

— Faith in inclusion

St. Mark’s Episcopal Church

‘Members strive to create a tolerant and open world’

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St. Mark’s Episcopal Church (stmarks.net) is the Episcopal Church closest to the United States Capitol building. In the last decade, it is perhaps best known for hosting the annual National Vigil for All Victims of Gun Violence, the most recent of which President Joe Biden and Speaker Nancy Pelosi spoke on Dec. 7.

The church is less well known as a “straight” faith community that has provided a home for LGBTQ people since the late 1980s, when “faith community” often meant “homophobia.”  LGBTQ people have always been a minority of members, but have never felt like a minority because being queer is just like being a lawyer: an interesting fact that does not define us. Perhaps the defining characteristic of St. Mark’s is that we live our faith by telling and listening to our stories. Here following are several that illustrate that point.

For example, Keith Krueger started coming to St. Mark’s in the mid-1980s and found a welcoming, mostly straight community. “During the start of the AIDS crisis, St. Mark’s immediately stepped up to support the Episcopal Caring Response to AIDS (ECRA), and the community particularly supported my late partner in me during difficult times…. I stay because it is a community that values questioning and living together as we journey through life. The best part of St. Mark’s are its members who strive to create a tolerant and open world,” Krueger said.

John Lineberger, a long-standing member who recently died, took adult confirmation in 1989 where everyone was invited to be “authentic,” and share their story. He asked the clergy how welcome gays were at the church and told they had held every office of authority, but gay issues were “not talked about.” So, he asked if that meant “you have a place here, but don’t make trouble.”

That question sparked a loud, overheard discussion between the Rector and Associate Rector, and he was then told, “You are absolutely invited to be honest about your life here with us without exception. There is no disconnect between being a member of St. Mark’s and being gay.” John was relieved, and felt like he had been overhearing his parents having an argument. “I liked the people of St. Marks and didn’t want to have to go back to church shopping. I had found home. Maybe it was messy, but it was home,” Lineberger wrote.

Rob Hall’s first Sunday was in 1988 on the 100th anniversary of the church on the invitation of a straight work friend. He was closeted then because he came from a southern tradition and was involved in Democratic politics. He found that “St. Mark’s was the perfect place for me to find my path as a progressive Christian and to help guide me spiritually as I came out while serving on the Vestry (the Church’s governing board) “with the help of great friends, compassionate clergy, and a good therapist.”

One of the clearest signs of queer acceptance came in 1997. Jim Adams had retired and we were in the search/discernment period for our next rector. Interestingly, our Priest-in-Charge during the search was Jim Steen, an openly gay man. The race for Senior Warden (lay leader of the Vestry and Parish) was probably the most consequential election in parish history. One candidate was a pillar of the community and former senior warden who advocated for continuity, including possibly installing as Rector the most recent Associate Rector Susan Gresinger (who had recently departed so she could be considered). Rob was the other and told the community that he favored an open process and wanted to see the work of the search committee. The questions parishioners asked him showed that they realized he represented change. Rob remembers that, “My sexuality was brought up in every single conversation. . . . I would be St. Mark’s first gay senior warden serving with a gay interim priest. Would the community think we were becoming a gay church? Would I take the parish in another direction before a new rector could be installed? At 36, was I too young to take the helm of the parish?”

Rob won and led us through a period of change, including calling an African-American rector, Paul Abernathy, who would serve for the next 17 years (and sometimes included in his sermons that his gay brother had died of AIDS). In 1999, the parish, after a series of meetings, also decided to embrace same-sex unions. At the final meeting, about 80 of us were grouped in tables who talked and then reported to the rest of meeting. What was amazing was that virtually every comment was positive. One parishioner quipped during one of those meetings that “We already decided this issue when we elected Rob.”

Lesbian Belle Elizabeth McCain came to St. Mark’s in 1989. She came at Rob Hall’s invitation and, though she identified as straight, she was naturally welcomed by the gay men in the choir. “We were preparing to go on a tour in England and I came out at the choir retreat. Actually, somebody sort of outed me by saying ‘We hear there is a lesbian soprano.’” She says she has always felt accepted as a lesbian at St. Mark’s. “Jim Adams defended me to my homophobic and fundamentalist brother” telling my brother that “I was a respected member of the church and that I was accepted as a lesbian.”

Years ago, she recalls, LGBTQ members formed the Lavender Lions (now the Lambda Lions). The group continues to meet on a sporadic basis. The parish now has several gay couples who are parenting children, at least two couples engaged and planning weddings.

As for me, I came — and came out —- much later. I was a married “straight” man when my then-wife and I came to St. Mark’s. After a horrible divorce, I finally figured out I am gay in 2001. I don’t really think about being gay at St. Mark’s because there are so many of us in so many roles, including our Rector, Michele Morgan, a married lesbian, and our Seminarian, Joel Martinez, a married gay man. I’m now the church’s treasurer, continuing the tradition of LGBTQ people in church leadership roles.

Complete Article ↪HERE↩!