The official website for the Church of England’s shared conversations on scripture, mission and human sexuality has been launched: www.sharedconversations.org.
CofE
Coalition meeting with David Porter about shared conversations
20 January 2015: LGBTI Anglican Coalition meeting with the Archbishop of Canterbury’s reconciliation officer to discuss the progress of the shared conversations.
A report of the meeting will be published soon…
Appointment of first woman as CofE bishop
Libby Lane has been announced as the first female bishop for the Church of England, just a month after a historic change to canon law. She will become the new Bishop of Stockport, a post that has been vacant since May.
Pat Storey was installed by the Church of Ireland as Bishop of Meath and Kildare, the first female Anglican bishop in the UK and Ireland, on 29 November 2013.
Progress report on shared conversations
The LGBTI Anglican Coalition held a meeting in London on 13 December 2014 about the Mutual Conversations in the absence of David Porter, the Archbishop of Canterbury’s Reconciliation Officer, who had to cancel at the last minute owing to a family bereavement.
Transformation of civil partnerships to marriages
From today, many members of the Church of England, lay and ordained, will be able to convert their civil partnership to marriage. Jeremy Pemberton and Andrew Foreshaw-Cain will no longer be the only married gay priests in the Church of England – numbers of lesbian and gay clergy are known to be converting. The House of Bishops is confronted with the challenge of disciplining or ignoring or accepting the presence of same-sex married clergy across the country.
Sexuality: The Inclusive Church Resource (book launch)
Tuesday, 2 December 2014, 19:30 at St Mark’s Church Mansfield
Sexuality: The Inclusive Church Resource
will be launched on Tuesday, 2 December 2014 at 19:30.
The venue is:
St Mark’s Church,
Nottingham Road,
Mansfield
NG18 1BP.
The event is free, but with limited availablity.
RSVP to confirm your attendance to: Ms Ruth Wilde at ruthajwilde@gmail.com
Women as bishops in the Church of England
On 17 November 2014 the Church of England formally approved plans for women bishops. The vote on Monday at the general synod meeting at Church House in Westminster gave the final seal of approval to the legislation, following its passage through Parliament in October. The decision has been welcomed by long-term campaigners for change, who see it as step towards widening female participation in the Church.
Members of the Coalition warmly congratulates all those who have been involved in the campaign, and gives thanks for a long overdue change.
More Perfect Union? (book launch)
We regret that the the book launch meeting on 15 October has now been cancelled. The book is available to purchase.
To Have and to Hold – the Theology of Marriage
Saturday 27 September 2014, 10:30–16:00 at St John’s Waterloo
Recognising current unease in the Church of England over same-sex marriage, the conference asked whether there is a theological basis for expanding the definition of marriage. If so, what might a theology of equal marriage include?
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Coalition supports shared conversations
From 15 to 17 September, the College of Bishops of the Church of England will be meeting for two days to start the process of Shared Conversations on Sexuality, Scripture and Mission.
The LGBTI Anglican Coalition welcomes this first step and our members will be praying for a successful outcome to the meeting. Although we have reservations about the context in which this is taking place – articulated very clearly in the recent letter sent from the Trustees of Changing Attitude to all those attending the meeting – nevertheless we welcome the initiative, and hope it bears fruit…