Inclusive Church Newsletter

Inclusive Church newsletter
December 2025

The Inclusive Church Newsletter is a digital publication produced every month. It aims to provide supporters and members with the latest news and information from the life of Inclusive Church and our partner organisations.

"Tidings of Comfort & Joy"
From the National Coordinator

Reflecting that this time of year is very busy for everyone, this edition is a very streamlined one, with a festive slant but a narrow focus...

Thank you to all of you who signed and shared the recent Open Letter on LLF from Inclusive Church.

We were so encouraged by the level of engagement and response to it!

We received over 7000 forms asking to be included, which we then sifted to remove duplicates and then sorted according to the data offered.

Every diocese, via their bishop(s) and diocesan secretaries was given a list of those from their area, along with a summary report and covering letter detailing how the data was collected, presented and shared. (Links below) If you notice any inaccuracies on the lists please let us know by emailing us at office@inclusive-church.org.

The response has been fascinating and has given us much to reflect on. For some, it came as a surprise to see just how widespread support really is for LGBTQ+ equality in the Church, though we’d hope that wouldn’t feel like a revelation! What's more, a few remain reluctant to acknowledge this reality, even when faced with the evidence. That resistance only underlines how vital the work remains across all areas of inclusion, awareness of accessibility and appreciation of diversity; we’ll keep building on this momentum.

In the meantime, thank you for adding your voice to the chorus. You ALL made a difference. Including those of you who did not sign, (as you're not CofE) but shared it so others could. Thank you!

We have also been asked to reopen the form so those who missed the opportunity to sign the first time round can do so now.

We're not done by any means, but for now, may I wish you all a peaceful, yet joy-filled and hope-full Christmas. May 2026 bring us all an ever more inclusive church!

Observations and evidence of the growing commitment to inclusion and LGBTQ+ equality from the Open Letter:

Summary Report

Names, grouped by estimated diocese

Press Release

We celebrate new churches joining Inclusive Church: Welcome! if you are nearby, why not say hello?

Inclusive Church is growing!

We're continuing to refine our systems and appreciate your patience while we do this. In the New Year we plan to roll out several resources to support our members, churches and individuals on their inclusive journey. This will include new 'ready-to-print' posters and publicity materials you can use alongside your own. (Sorry for the delay getting these finalised)

We'll also be contacting churches who joined pre-2025 to review and update the information we hold. This includes ensuring that, where a benefice has signed up, we have the details for each church listed in the directory. We'll also account for changes, such as mergers, closures or renaming, since joining IC.

This will then all feed into improvements we are making to the directory, which we are excited to share with you very soon.

All of this will strengthen the narrative we will be able to bring to the room about the reality of interest and concern over inclusion, diversity and accessibility across the church.

Alongside this, we’ll be improving how we track your (annual) donations. These contributions are vital for sustaining our work, and we’ll be in touch to confirm what we have on record and ensure everything is up to date. Your continued support makes a real difference, thank you.

Donate to Inclusive Church

Our Regional Ambassadors are invaluable in supporting the work of Inclusive Church in their local area.

You can see on the website where we currently have reps. If there is a gap in your region and you think you’d like to know more about what being a Regional Ambassador involves, please get in touch!

The Church cannot claim to be safe while LGBT+ people remain at risk.

Read a reflection from Father Jarel Robinson-Brown who was a keynote speaker at recent conference on safeguarding LGBT+ people in the church.

Safeguarding that goes further than just being about physical protection, but also includes spiritual and psychological protection.

Full post here

Jarel is Vicar of St German’s Church, Diocese of Llandaff, having moved to the Church of Wales after his curacy in London. He was until recently Co-Chair of OneBodyOneFaith.

As his reflection concludes "If the Church wants to be taken seriously when it speaks of love and safety, then safeguarding LGBT+ people cannot remain a side conversation. It must become central to its mission, and this Conference served quite simply to set the record clear: harm is being done, you are aware of this, do something to stop it."

You can find out more about the conference on the link below.

Conference flyer

The last month, while we have been very focussed on the LLF letter, here's a little snapshot of other things IC trustees and staff have also been up to.

In November I spent 4 days with the URC taking part in their Extraordinary General Assembly considering the conclusion of their 'Church Life Review'. There was a surprising positivity to the discussions as they look to the future and adapt to current realities, with some exciting possibilities and opportunities moving forward.

This was followed by a zoom gathering of CofE folks involved in ecumenical working and relationships.

I've also written two chapters for books due out in the new year, more on those imminently.

Yin-An joined a roundtable discussion with One Body One Faith looking at the summary of some research they commissioned into how LGBTQIA+ leaders could be better supported.

Emma Bennett has come onboard as a volunteer to assist with some operational admin around membership and comms.

Reuben and Jen contributed to the Student Christian Movement stunningly powerful letter to the Church of England bishops on their lack of support for LGBTQ+ Christians signed by over 300 young Christians.

Haway in a Manger

I will be speaking at the Accessible Carol Service on Saturday 20th December, 1pm at Sunderland Minster. Do join us if you're in the area!

I look forward to hearing all about your fabulous Big Queer Carols, Carols and Beer events, Messy Christmas' and Community Meals. Do send your stories and pictures over if you'd like to share!

Harry Baker: Tender

The profound, witty, perceptive and passionate about inclusion Spoken Word poet Harry Baker has a new book coming out in March. You can pre-order it on the link below. The book will be a collection of '100 poems for the first 100 days of life'.

Capturing the tiny, fragile, perfect moments of new life and, with it, new parenthood. Full of sleepless wonder and some not-so-perfect moments too.

Pre-order book

Vacancies

If you have have a vacancy in your church or will be advertising soon, make sure your commitment to inclusion is clearly stated and keep us updated so we can help spread the word for you.

If you'd like to make a financial contribution to the work of Inclusive Church, please click the link below. Thank you!

You can do this via BACs, cheque, Just Giving or through our Shop page.

Please make sure you provide a reference so we can record it correctly!

Donate to IC

office@inclusive-church.org (admin)

07375 392285 (Dan)

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The content of the newsletter is drawn from a number of sources including individuals and partner organisations. The views expressed here do not necessarily reflect a 'formal viewpoint' of the Inclusive Church trustees, individual members of Inclusive Church or registered inclusive churches.

You can see an online version of this newsletter and previous newsletters by going to the newsletters page of the IC website.

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