Back from an excellent weekend at the Greenbelt Festival packed with opportunities to meet people, hear thought provoking speakers, and be immersed in inspiring music.

OuterSpace, the LGB&T affirming group at Greenbelt arranged daily prayers and worship, as well as filling the venues for their workshops. 

But there were also other speakers in the Greenbelt programme who took on issues around sexuality and Biblical interpretation in a refreshing and creative way. 

The highlights for me were:

John Bell:  Ubiquitous Gayz – where he considered the issue homosexuality and the church from a number of different angles.  John Bell is, of course, a Church of Scotland Minister, member of the Iona Community, and regular contributor on Radio 4’s ‘Thought for the Day’

Richard Burridge:  How not to read the Bible – in which his passion for the Scriptures came across clearly, alongside the need to study the Bible in context if we want God to truly speak to us through it.  Richard Burrage is the Dean and Chair of Biblical Interpretation at Kings College London.

(Both talks can be ordered as a download from Greenbelt by following the links above)

But the best part of the weekend was the LBGT Communion on Monday lunchtime.

Over 200 people of all ages attended – from a group of teenage girls with neon day-glow crosses painted on their arms and faces, to old ‘married’ couples.  There was a wonderful sense of God’s presence, and a number of people went up to receive Communion with tears of joy rolling down their cheeks – the joy of being fully real and fully accepted at the table to God with the people of God.

So if you were there, what were your highlights?  Post your comments below…

God Bless You

Benny Hazlehurst

If you are going to Greenbelt this year you may be interested in a number of sessions which are being put on by ‘OuterSpace’ an LGBT Christian group. A number of members of Accpepting Evangelicals are among the organisers of OuterSpace, and others like Benny Hazlehurst will be there for the weekend.

Details are as follows:

9.30pm Friday – ‘Dreams of Home’

Finding a spiritual home for LGBT Christians can seem like an unattainable dream. This panel session will be an opportunity to hear from individuals who have managed to find a spiritual space they can call home, whether that is within formalised church or without. This session will be in one of the Workshop rooms in the grandstand

9.30pm Saturday – ‘Parents of Gay Children’

Dreams of home can become a nightmare for Christian parents who discover their child is gay. This session is led by parents who have been there and have come out of it stronger. They will talk about their personal experiences, the on-going implications for their family and non-family relationships, and their own faith. This will be in one of the Workshop rooms in the grandstand

Sunday Evening – OuterSpace social on the campsite. They’ll organise an easy-to-find rendezvous point for everyone to meet and go over to the campsite together.

11pm Sunday – Entertaining Angels Unawares

Join members of Outerspace for a late-night reflection on home and hospitality, encounter and grace – for home-makers and pilgrims, boundary-dwellers and guests, whatever you’re leaving and wherever you’re headed, whether you feel at home in the world or at home with yourself, you’re welcome. This will happen in SoulSpace at the top of the Grandstand.

12.30pm Monday – LGBT Eucharist

Join Outerspace for a celebration of the eucharist to draw together their time together at the festival; everyone is welcome. This will take place at the Worship Co-operative (formally New Forms)

As well as these sessions, OuterSpace will have its usual presence in the G:Source area, where you can meet to share ideas, browse resources, and have a chat! There will be meetings on the campsite for corporate prayer and worship on Friday at 6pm, and on each morning at 9am.

See you there!!!

I can’t say that I often find myself studying the Anglican Communion’s official statements and conference resolutions!

But in recent days, I have found myself reflecting afresh on ‘Lambeth 1.10’ – the resolution of Anglican Bishops from around the world in 1998 on sexuality.  This resolution will from a backdrop to the reviews announced recently by the Church of England, and has become something of a bedrock for Anglican thought on the subject.

As I went back to consider the resolution, I realised that back in 1998 I was on the other side of the argument.  I was still convinced that same-sex relationships were wrong – contrary to Scripture, and to the will of God.  I was simply content to hear the affirmation of conservative theology which it contained.  And indeed there its conclusions were predominantly conservative. 

They included clear statements such as

“rejecting homosexual practice as incompatible with Scripture”

 and pronounced that the conference

“cannot advise the legitimising or blessing of same sex unions nor ordaining those involved in same gender unions”

 As a conservative evangelical at the time, that was all I needed to hear, and never went on to read the resolution as a whole.

So it has only been more recently that I have begun to realise that the resolution as a whole is much less dogmatic, and not set in stone.   I had not noticed the statements within it which were much less certain, and the variety of opinion which clearly existed among the bishops. 

The resolution is quite open in saying that:

“We must confess that we are not of one mind about homosexuality…

… we have prayed, studied and discussed these issues, and we are unable to reach a common mind on the scriptural, theological, historical, and scientific questions which are raised. There is much that we do not yet understand.”

In the light of the substantial level of disagreement which existed, the conference called for more work on the issue:

“We request the Primates and the Anglican Consultative Council to establish a means of monitoring work done in the Communion on these issues and to share statements and resources among us…”

and crucially, recognised the need to listen to homosexual people in the process of continuing to seek the will of God.

“We commit ourselves to listen to the experience of homosexual persons and we wish to assure them that they are loved by God and that all baptised, believing and faithful persons, regardless of sexual orientation, are full members of the Body of Christ..”

It also recognised that the process would not be an easy one,

“The challenge to our Church is to maintain its unity while we seek, under the guidance of the Holy Spirit, to discern the way of Christ for the world today with respect to human sexuality.”

So in spite of some who have portrayed Lambeth 1.10 as a line in the sand, a fuller reading reveals it to be more akin to a milestone along the way.  Rather than being a final statement, it was a statement of its time, offering the opportunity for further study, prayer, listening and reflection. 

Now the House of Bishops have given themselves the opportunity  to put into practise the continued study and deeper understanding that it calls for.

If you haven’t read Lambeth 1.10, I would encourage you to – not for the pronouncements which it makes, but for the potential which it contains – and do feel free to leave your comments below…

Benny Hazlehurst

Dear Friends

This month we focus on International news & articles – with a bit of UK news thrown in at the end…

New Zealand begins to decide…

The Anglican Church in New Zealand has set up a commission to report on the ordination of openly gay and lesbian priests. The commission is expected to complete its work and recommend a way forward in time for the 2014 General Synod. A full report can be found at http://www.anglicantaonga.org.nz/News/General-Synod/Decision-time

Prejudice in North Carolina…

Sadly, prejudice is still rife elsewhere, as demonstrated by the story of a gay Presbyterian minister who was literally pre-judged before ever preaching a sermon in a southern states town in the USA.

http://www.salon.com/life/feature/2011/07/04/gay_minister_in_southern_town/

Marriage in New York…

Elsewhere in the United Sates, New York has become the 6th US State to vote for marriage equality for same-sex couples. One of the notable elements of the vote in the state senate was the role of Republicans whose vote was needed for the bill to pass. Traditionally Republicans have tended to support the concerns of the conservative Christian groups in opposing such moves but several Republican senators changed their minds to vote the bill through. One Christian lobbying group has vowed to make Republican senators pay for their ‘betrayal’ in next year’s elections.

Controversy in Sydney…

In June the Archbishop of Sydney, Peter Jensen took the opportunity to speak out against same-sex marriage. Arguing that same-sex marriage “could open the way for other forms, such a polygamous marriages, or perhaps even marriage between immediate family members,” he warned of dire consequences if marriage rights are given to same-sex couples.

But others are not convinced. Australian Marriage Equality convenor Alex Greenwich is quoted as saying, “The Archbishop should acknowledge we live in a secular, multi-faith society, and … that his views should not be imposed on those religions that want to perform same-sex marriages, such as the Quakers and progressive Synagogues. Not one of the alarmist predictions made by the Archbishop have come to pass in any of the countries that allow same-sex marriages to take place.”

Human rights vote at the UN…

In a historic vote, the United Nations has, for the first time, passed a resolution addressing human rights violations which arise from sexual orientation or gender identity. The landmark resolution was tabled by South Africa and Brazil, and approved by 32 votes to 19. Among the countries which voted against were Uganda & Nigeria.

MCC writes to the Archbishop…

And finally, Metropolitan Community Church leaders in the UK have written an open letter to Rowan Williams on the Church’s treatment of homosexuality. One paragraph offers a different approach to ministry and mission…

“We are an LGBT(lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender)-led church, yet we talk far more about mission than we do about sexuality. We commend this approach to you.”

To read the letter in full follow this link – MCC Open Letter

God Bless and Keep You

Accepting Evangelicals