At Candlemas, we baptised Aelyn. She is four and a half, fiercely herself, and has always known her own mind. Baptism was no exception. She chose the music. She chose her godparents. She chose an “everything unicorns” outfit. We provided kazoos.

It was gloriously ecumenical: Church of England liturgy (adapted, of course), a Methodist preach, URC-led prayers, Roman Catholic and mostly Anglican godparents. Live music and recorded. Rainbows, laughter, grace.

During the service I was introduced to a line from the Methodist baptism liturgy:
“Before ever you were known…”

Before achievement.
Before opinion.
Before argument.
Before baptism. Before church.

The following week I sat through the pastoral paradox that is General Synod. Five days of debates and conversations that were at times faithful, at times frustratingly disconnected, at times deeply uncomfortable. And beneath it all that baptismal truth kept echoing.

We are known.
Completely.
Public and private selves.
Courage and compromise.
Conviction and confusion.

And loved, not because of what we do, say or believe correctly, but because we belong to God.

Lent often invites us into reflection. Many of us are holding complex feelings about the Church right now. About leadership. About justice. About whether we still recognise the institution we serve or worship within.

But before ever we were known by committees or congregations…
before ever we were labelled conservative or progressive, ally or agitator, straight or queer, insider or outsider…
we were known by God.

And loved.

That is the ground beneath our feet.
That is the foundation that no vote can undo, no lack of courageous leadership can derail.

As we move into this season, may we rest there.
May we act from there.
May we speak from there.

You are so very loved.
Before ever you were known.

May we not have to wait till our lives are nearly over, to see the love in every eye*. I commend this really short, yet incredibly powerful, final video from James Van Der Beek, who died last week. Many have been remembering him not simply for fame, but for the way he carried his identity with integrity and spoken allyship, gracious and courageous to the end. A reminder that being known by God and others in truth is a gift we’re called to reflect. A faithful ally and advocate for LGBTQ+ equality, this is him reflecting on his own journey of adjustment, acceptance and recalibration as he encounters his mortality and internalised ableism.

*Yes, I've paraphrased the song most connected to Dawson's Creek

https://youtube.com/shorts/K7y33c5WUEA?si=W-NCyqR5ZXE05yCJ

In January Sarah Mullaly was officially confirmed to the See of Canterbury and DLT have collated a book to mark the occasion, which is now available to buy. 

There are 10 chapters from a range of Anglican writers, including Chantal Noppen, IC National Coordinator on Mission and Emily Richardson, an Inclusive Church Trustee, on Inclusion of Disabled People. 

Do please read and share it with others. We hope to share a review of the book soon but in the meantime you can buy a copy from all good book stores! Published by Darton, Longman & Todd Ltd.

Alongside this we are introducing some visual icons that we hope will complement and broaden the accessibility of our material. Each icon has a positive symbol connected with an area of diversity and inclusion, and has a main colour assigned to it. Some will be instantly recognisable; others may be new, and that’s okay. Over time, these icons will help people quickly find the materials most relevant to them.

We recognise that colour-coding and images are not helpful for some people, but we hope that by offering these alongside our written and audio resources, more people will be able to engage with our work. Part of equitable inclusion is being able to provide options that fit the diversity of needs. Everything doesn't work for everyone, and that's ok! This is an expansive, not restrictive process that we expect will evolve over time. More info will be available soon, but here is a preview:  

We are very grateful to our Regional Ambassadors who support the work of Inclusive Church in their local area. More info on them and the regions is on the IC website.

Last month I was able to join a zoom with London regional ambassadors, and I have a number of visits lined up soon in the North-East and God's own country (which is Yorkshire, obviously). 

Gwilym Stone is in the process of organising a get together for those in the South-East, do get in touch with him if you'd like to be included. Email: gwilym@grstone.me 

Inclusive Church and Together for the Church of England are combining forces to try and enable this to happen. There is more info available through these links and on our websites.

For anyone who followed last week's debates it is completely understandable to feel disappointed and frustrated. I do too! But, as someone who was there, I do believe that the negative spin being shared by the mainstream media is not the full picture. There is a lot more positive progress and ground being gained in reality. There has also been some enormous shifts in understanding, even during just this last 5 years, across various areas of inclusion including mental health, disability, neurodiversity, gender equity and working class vocations. 

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