We have a great network of ambassadors covering different parts of England and Wales. They are the representatives of Inclusive Church on the ground. You can find out who the ambassadors are - and where they are - by looking on the Regional Ambassadors page of our website.
Details of the role description for ambassadors is also available on the website. If you want to be an ambassador for your area, get in touch with the Ruth. From our Leicestershire ambassador, Ann:
Ann Reddecliffe, the Inclusive Church ambassador for Leicestershire, is trying to encourage as many Anglicans as possible to join in responding to the Church of England’s Living in Love and Faith process. People can download a copy of the questions and can respond to the questionnaire itself. The questions focus on people’s experience of the LLF course, to help the bishops “understand what people have learned and experienced in their engagement with the Living in Love and Faith resources and to analyse the information in order to produce presentations and publications.” People have until April 30th 2022 to respond to the Living in Love and Faith process. For further information, please contact Ann at inclusivechurchleicester@gmail.com From our Europe ambassador, David:
Like thousands of other people in the Church of England, I completed the “Living in Love and Faith Course”. I was disappointed that it didn’t talk about the decision of the English Church of England Bishops in 2005 to insist on an explicit commitment to celibacy from lesbian and gay clergy and ordinands. I believe this requirement is the weakest link of institutional homophobia in the Church of England, and the abandonment of this unjust decision could set the Church of England on the long path to inclusion not just for lesbian and gay Christians but for other marginalised people. It is the responsibility of the individual diocesan bishop not the House of Bishops to decide who is licenced as a parish priest and who is put forward for ordination, so If the pressure is great enough, some liberal bishops might even be persuaded to refuse to implement a decision that clearly says that lesbian and gay priests are second-best. My plan is for a chain letter that would include my motion. This could be submitted to a local bishop, the Archbishop of Canterbury or the Living in Love and Faith consultation. We should start in a targeted and focused way to remove compulsory celibacy because equal marriage is a big step for the Church of England which risks a schism, so even sympathetic bishops would be reluctant to go this far immediately. Once the barrier of compulsory celibacy is removed, the road is open for a gradual and gentle path to inclusion of our lesbian and gay sisters and brothers, something that is already happening in the Church in Wales. I would welcome feedback and support for my project. See below for my email address.
The motion:
For over 450 years ever since its foundation, the Church of England has been opposed to the compulsory celibacy of its clergy. This doctrine is very well expressed in the 39 Articles. “32. Of the Marriage of Priests. Bishops, Priests, and Deacons, are not commanded by God’s Law, either to vow the estate of single life, or to abstain from marriage: therefore it is lawful for them, as for all other Christian men, to marry at their own discretion, as they shall judge the same to serve better to godliness.” But since 2005, lesbian and gay clergy in the Church of England have been required to “vow the estate of single life”. (Implications of the Civil Partnerships 25 July 2005) Celibacy is an entirely honourable decision for all Christian people, but it is a calling and something that should be freely entered into, not something demanded of clergy simply because their natural human instinct is to love someone of their own gender. The decision of 2005 creates two categories of priests: those who are allowed to demonstrate and express their love physically and those who are denied that gift. Some other Provinces have found a way of avoiding this unhelpful distinction.The Anglican Church in Wales, for example, whilst still not permitting the marriage of two people of the same sex in church, nevertheless does allow lesbian and gay clergy couples to celebrate their love in a physical way. It does not explicitly require celibacy of them. I find it offensive that the House of Bishops requires celibacy of its lesbian and gay clergy and believe that such a requirement causes mental ill-health and damages lives. I ask for an end to this unjust requirement. David Hawkins, Berlin, Germany: europe@inclusive-church.org |