Gender: The Inclusive Church Resource
The Inclusive Church Resource book series is published by Darton Longman and Todd.
Designed as resource books for churches, each book has an introduction, theological reflection, stories from lived experience and a practical resource section
The book series include Disability by John Hull and Mental Health by Jean Vanier and John Swinton.
Sexuality by Susannah Cornwall, Poverty by Susan Durber, Ethnicity by Michael Jagessar and Gender by Rosemary Lain Priestley.
The introduction to the book is by Dianna Gwilliams, chair of Inclusive Church and Dean of Guildford Cathedral. Along with the theology of gender the book contains 4 stories of lived experience by Hilary Cotton, Natalie Collins, David Monteith and Rachel Mann. The resource section is by Ronni Lamont.
The book also includes an article by artist and broadcaster Grayson Perry.
This is a really exciting project for Inclusive Church and we are proud to be working in partnership with DLT.
A comment in from someone who has read the first 2 books:
"Have just received the first books, and dived into one of them. They are excellent, and all churches should have them for the clergy, and PCC."
Books can be ordered from the publishers, or download an order form here.
“Women comprise half the world’s population yet number 70% of those who live in poverty; they do 75% of the world’s agricultural work whilst owning only 1% of the land; they represent only 20% of the world’s parliamentarians.”
Rosemary Lain Priestley. Gender: The Inclusive Church Resource. p. 77.
The Church has long been seen as a patriarchal institution which has reinforced beliefs about inequality between gendered roles, discrimination against women, and rigid heteronormative stereotypes. We seek to educate across a range of gender-based issues within the church.
The Inclusive Church Resource book (see below) highlights a number of issues related to gender, including issues around the acceptance and affirmation of trans people.
Women and the Church (WATCH)
Women and the Church (WATCH) is an organisation ‘working together for gender justice, equality and inclusion in the Church of England’. WATCH have a seat on the trustee board of Inclusive Church.
The Church and Trans People
At this time in history, it is vitally important that Inclusive Church supports and advocates for trans people, as well as educating Christians on trans identity and gender transitioning. Trans and nonbinary people- especially trans women- face a backlash in society which bears resemblance to the backlash which LGB people faced in the 1980s.
Christina Beardsley and Susan Gilchrist wrote a briefing paper in February 2019 in response to baptismal guidance from the Church of England on transition.
More resources are on our misc resources page.