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Inclusive Church Newsletter June 2021

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.
From the National Coordinator

Hello everyone, and welcome to your monthly newsletter.

We have a date and a speaker for our AGM and Annual Lecture, which will this year be online again. See below for more. We're hoping that having it online will be more accessible for some of you, although of course for others is might be less so. This is the problem with online v in person - it can be more inclusive and sometimes also less inclusive. With some of our partners, we are preparing a survey of our supporters on the subject of making online church and meetings accessible and inclusive. We hope to have that ready to send out very soon.

Enjoy July - I hope the weather is as good as it has been recently and that progress continues to be made on vaccinating the public, so we can all get out more and do things together.

Thank you for your continued support. Enjoy the newsletter!

Ruth Wilde, National Coordinator
Features
Save the Date: AGM and Annual Lecture
 

On the 23rd August 2021 at 7pm, we will be holding our 9th IC Annual Lecture alongside our AGM on Zoom. The AGM didn't happen last year, due to Covid-19, but it's back now, and it will be an important one. Booking for the AGM with Annual Lecture will be open soon.

The lecturer this year will be the Revd Dr Ellen Clark-King, Dean of King's College London. Ellen is the first female Dean of the college. You can read more about her here. We look forward to seeing you there!
IC Stories: Mike Bishop

I guess I became aware of Inclusive Church when our Parochial Church Council agreed to apply for membership, quite a few years ago. We had always tried to be inclusive and welcoming, and Inclusive Church’s principles seemed to line up with what we sought to do. I didn’t realise just how much this might mean to others, especially those motivated to join us because of that attitude, until individuals began to tell me about it. I chaired a group informally called ‘Mind the Gap’, which looked for gaps between our church community and those who felt outside it, and tried to find ways of bridging them. That was when I came across the IC series of books, with the individual stories they told about real people who wanted to join in but were prevented from doing so by discrimination and bias, whether intended or merely tolerated by a failure to do anything about it.

It was just over two years ago that Dianna Gwilliams (IC’s Chair, whom I knew in several other contexts) asked me if I would be prepared to take on the role of Treasurer for IC, as the previous incumbent was standing down after a number of years. That was when I began to get a clearer view of the work that Inclusive Church does, in a variety of contexts, both to educate those who do not appreciate the extent and effect of existing discrimination and exclusion, and to support those who suffer from it. It has been quite a steep learning curve, and I still feel that the other trustees know much more than I do, often from first-hand experience.

We are enormously blessed, as an organisation, by the energy and dedication of those we work with, but also by the generous and regular giving of many individuals and a number of churches. We could not manage without this support. But I soon discovered that the actual cost of what we do (and we want to do so much more) substantially exceeds this regular income. We have relied on other income, from events for example, which has dried up in the last 18 months, but in truth, we have been living off reserves for several years.

My message to those who read this is: please pray for the work Inclusive Church is trying to do. Join in, and encourage others to do so, to the extent that you can. If you feel also moved to support the work financially, that too would be wonderful, but it is not perhaps the most important thing – however strange it may be for a treasurer to say so!

Mike Bishop is an IC Trustee and Hon. Treasurer. You can find out more about Mike and the other trustees here.
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Update on General Synod Elections

The General Synod elections are just around the corner, with seats for clergy and laity up for election in every diocese. Nominations are due to open around 30th July, close on 8th September and voting opening from 17th September. We are working in partnership with a range of other inclusive church groups to organise for these elections, making sure that a strong inclusive voice is present in the Church of England’s national assembly.

So what’s happening?

1) We are organising candidates, aiming to have inclusive clergy and laity standing in every diocese. We still need more candidates to come forward, so if this is something you might be interested in please contact synod@inclusive-church.org. Without inclusive candidates on the ballot paper we can’t get inclusive candidates elected, so we would be delighted to hear from you.

2) We are compiling a list of Supported Candidates who are happy to sign up to this statement:

“I am committed to equality for everyone, at all levels and roles within the church, regardless of gender, disability, ethnicity, socio-economic status, mental health or sexuality.”

The Supported Candidates list will be distributed through our partner organisations and posted online at www.inclusive-synod.org shortly before voting opens. This will signpost voters who care about inclusion to candidates who share their values. If you are standing in the election and would like to be a Supported Candidate, please email synod@inclusive-church.org and say you support the statement. 3) We are supporting inclusive candidates. There is information on the website www.inclusive-synod.org and anyone opting to become a Supported Candidate can also receive a copy of the Candidates Guide to the elections by contacting Nic Tall at synod@inclusive-church.org.

These elections will set the debate in the Church of England for the next five years, so please consider how you can support them. Whether it’s standing for election, encouraging someone to stand, making sure you use your vote or praying for all involved, this outcome of these elections will make a significant difference in the life of the church.

This update was written by Nic Tall, the General Synod Elections Co-ordinator for Inclusive Church and partners. You can contact him on synod@inclusive-church.org
Blogs and News

IC blogs and news

The IC Story this month is from Mike Bishop. You can read it above and on the website.

Other news

Open Table have a research report out on their website, which shows the impact they have on many LGBTI+ lives. It's worth a read.

Holy Rood House have sent us this message:

'Holy Rood House, Centre for Health and Pastoral Care, in Thirsk, North Yorkshire, is a community of hospitality, welcoming people of all ages and backgrounds as ‘the place to turn to’ at a time of need, retreat or respite. We provide safer space for those of us who are finding life unsafe, looking at what makes us unwell and addressing issues of justice. We are partnered with Inclusive Church and our liturgies try and mirror the inclusivity that we offer here, including healing of the earth.

'Within a gentle Christian ethos, our community works on the margins of society, giving voice to the voiceless, and empowerment for healing and change. We explore how we can flourish together through pastoral care, chaplaincy and spirituality, education, our Counselling and Psychotherapy Service, creative arts, nature, and complementary therapies, whilst being nourished with home-cooking and produce from the gardens.

'Our facilities include comfortable bedrooms, healing gardens with animals and labyrinth, a therapeutic and theological library, study and conference rooms, creative arts centre and chapel space. Our continual therapeutic and theological exploration and reflection, underpins the work of the Charity. This enables Holy Rood House to offer a professional model of well-being; caring for one another, and the planet; with the aim of moving towards a more just and healthy world.

'We offer many events including a residential LGBTQI+ retreat led by Urs Mattmann, a psychotherapist and Christian author on spirituality – on Friday 29th to Sunday 31st October 2021 (please note change of date).'

You can find out more about Holyrood House on their website or by emailing enquiries@holyroodhouse.org.uk
Regional Ambassadors

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 National Coordinator.

Ambassadors Needed

We have organised the ambassadors on the new website into regions under headings like 'South-West' and we may need more in certain areas. Have a look on the ambassadors page to see if your area could do with more ambassadors or if you can link up with counties near you to work more effectively.

Ambassador's Training and Retreat

We are partnering with Holyrood House in Thirsk to offer two online training retreats in September and October for our regional ambassadors. Helen Warwick from Holyrood will be leading the retreat element while Ruth will be leading on the training side of things. We're excited to be able to collaborate with Holyrood in this way!
Events

Every Wednesday, between 6 and 6.30pm, One Body One Faith are hosting an online space for prayer called 'Rhythm'. Find out more on their website.

MOSAIC are hosting a conference on the 26th June between 10am and 12pm. Keynote speakers are the Bishop of Liverpool, Paul Bayes, and the Dean of Manchester, Rogers Govenden. Further details and booking information will be advised in the near future. Keep an eye on MOSAIC's website.

The Student Christian Movement (SCM) have a national conference from the 9th - 11th July. Students and recent graduates (less than 3 years) are welcome. The event is called 'Waiting in Hope' and is happening in Ledbury at the Poplars conference centre. SCM say: 'We will be making sure that as far as possible we are taking all the necessary precautions [re. COVID].' For more and to book, go to the SCM website.

On the 21st July, Progressive Christianity Network (PCN) are hosting a question time with John Dominic Crossan. Questions need to be submitted before the 4th July. For more information and to buy tickets, click on this link.

From the 29th to the 31st October, Holyrood House are offering a residential LGBTQI+ retreat led by Urs Mattmann, a psychotherapist and Christian author on spirituality. You can find out more on the Holyrood House website. 

To ensure that you continue to receive this newsletter, please make sure you let us know if you change your email address.

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.

office@inclusive-church.org

07935 374877