My first encounter with Inclusive Church was a few years ago when I joined St Luke’s in Clifton, York, who at the time were one of two registered inclusive churches in the city. A few of us in the congregation began a monthly gathering called OutsideIN which sought to bring together LGBT+ Christians from across […]
I grew up in Sydney Australia in what I would these days label fundamentalist Christianity. There was no room for error, and despite it being spoken about frequently, there was no room for grace. As I matured, I soon learnt that there was certainly no room for gay people like me and I spent years […]
I have been aware of Inclusive Church from its earliest days as people began to come together in response to the fiasco around Jeffery John’s nomination and then un-nomination as Bishop of Reading back in 2003. As early 2000s saw some big steps forward in the rights of lesbian and gay people in the UK, […]
I’ve always found churches difficult places to be myself. I’m disabled and neurodivergent, and I came out as bisexual in the early 2000s. Gradually, it became easier to find churches that were inclusive of LGBTQIA+ people, thanks to the work of Inclusive Church. But I continued to feel like a ‘problem’ in churches, as a […]
My Christian experience has helped shape all the reasons why I am passionate about IC – and that passion has swung from one end of the pendulum to the extreme other. My first few years in the faith which hindsight informs me were fundamentalist churches, exposed me to theology that told me that ‘same-sex attraction’ […]
I first heard about Inclusive Church (IC) when I first moved to Leicester in 2020. I’ve been immensely encouraged and inspired by the work various individuals are doing here in Leicester to promote not just inclusion but safe spaces for LGBT+ people like myself where we can support one another, walk alongside one another, and […]
I first came to Halas, a Church of England parish of 5 churches in and around Halesowen, in July last year, as their curate. Although newly ordained, I had been involved in active ministry in various roles for 9 years. During those years I witnessed discrimination in the church against women and LGBTQ+ people. As […]
I have been a regional ambassador for IC in North London since 2013. I first got involved with IC when my vicar, in response to my ‘going on about’ trying to set up specific inclusive worship services for people with learning disabilities, said, “You sound like just the kind of person to become an ‘Inclusive […]
There used to be a song which I recall from my younger days… ‘get right to the point…!’ (It wasn’t a Christian version and nor was I then.). Oddly, it pops into my head quite often. I’ve no idea where I heard it but I recall (only) that line very well.. Being a chaplain in […]
I think I first became aware of Inclusive Church quite soon after it started in 2003, in response to Church of England leaders’ appalling treatment of Jeffrey John. His nomination as Bishop of Reading was withdrawn because he was in a committed same-sex partnership – a reminder that even those lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender […]