July seems to have flown by with lots of things going on – we will try to do a ‘round-up’ in the next newsletter – but before then I wanted to reflect on a couple of visits I made for Accepting Evangelicals.

At the end of June I was at St John’s Theological College in Nottingham with a range of other speakers to talk to students about Christian responses around sexuality.

My role was to present an inclusive evangelical theology and my opposite number was Andrew Goddard who was presenting the traditional view.

After we had all spoken, we had the opportunity to engage with each other and the students in a panel session which produced lots of good discussion.  In fact the whole morning was characterised by generosity and grace in tackling issues where there were clearly differing opinions.  Conversations continued over lunch in this evangelical training college for Anglicans and others.

Then a week later I was at General Synod with a small group from the LGB&T Anglican Coalition.  We had an exhibition stand which had information about Accepting Evangelicals & other groups in the Coalition, and the opportunity to talk with Synod members.

Here again, I found a real openness to have genuine conversations with people – particularly evangelicals about sexuality, Civil Partnerships and same-sex Marriage.

There was a vicar from Leicester who told me that his church had been examining how to welcome LGB&T people while at the same time holding a conservative theology on sexuality.  When I mentioned Accepting Evangelicals, he immediately responded “Oh yes – I have been on your website – it was very helpful”.

There was a fellow student from Trinity College Bristol who is now a Rural Dean and told me of a member of his family who had recently ‘come out’.  His own theology was still conservative but he made a point of thanking us for the material on our website which he had sent to the family member concerned as they wrestled with faith and sexuality.

There were conversations with several Bishops and members of staff at Church House, Westminster (the CofE HQ) who thanked us for being there and encouraged us to keep on speaking up for LGB&T people in the church.

As I came away I reflected on how much things had changed over the last 8 years since Accepting Evangelicals was formed.   Then we were treated with a mixture of curiosity, fear, and outrage.  Now we are accepted as a place where evangelicals can go to listen and learn.  It does not always result in the kind of change that some of us would hope for (at least in the short term) but people are no longer shocked or surprised at the thought of an ‘Accepting’ Evangelical.  We are accepted as a valid and integral part of the church, even by many who disagree with our aims and aspirations.

Going back to my visit to St John’s Nottingham – I was slightly disappointed that the afternoon session was much more about re-establishing a conservative line on the issue of same-sex relationships.  Perhaps there was a fear that some cracks were starting to appear in the conservative understanding?  But even here the Principal, David Hilborne, said that for his children’s generation there is no issue about sexuality – and they can’t understand why the church gets so worked up about two people of the same sex falling in love with each other.

And the week before, a former member of the teaching staff at St John’s had published an account of his change of views.  Andii Boucher is now Anglican Chaplain and Faith Co-ordinator at Northumbria University, and is still involved with St John’s as a distance learning tutor and occasional lecturer.  Andii has been a member of Accpeting Evangelicals for about 5 years now and the article shows how much his theological perceptions have changed over that time.  In his own words “During that time I’ve moved from affirming homosexual people but not behaviour, to thinking that stable, permanent exclusive unions are a good idea.”  You can read the article at http://nouslife.blogspot.co.uk/2012/06/c-of-e-same-sex-marriage-and-ethical.html#!/2012/06/c-of-e-same-sex-marriage-and-ethical.html

At the end of the day I am very encouraged.  There is undoubted change occurring in the Church of England, and that change is not limited to Liberals or Anglo-Catholics within the CofE – it includes Evangelicals as well.

Benny Hazlehurst

This is a big week for events in the UK with some of us disappointed that we are unable to be in two places at once!  So here goes…

Friday 6^th July at 7pm – The Brenda Harrison Memorial Lecture at St Martin-in-the-Fields, Trafalgar Square.

Brenda Harrison died in 2010 having worked for years for the full inclusion of LGB&T people in the Christian Church.  She was a former Convenor of Evangelical Fellowship and one of the first to sign up to Accepting Evangelicals back in 2004, as well as working with Changing Attitude and others.

The lecture is being jointly hosted by Courage, Evangelical Fellowship and Changing Attitude and the speaker this year is Rev Sharon Ferguson, the Chief Executive of LGCM and pastor of MCC North London.    For more information follow this link – Brenda Harrison Memorial Lecture flyer April 2012

Saturday 7^th July – Christians Together at Pride

will be marching in the main Parade and holding a service of Welcome and Celebration at Bloomsbury Baptist Church.

Full information on the day’s events can be found at the Christians at Pride Website and the Welcome Service has been organised by Affirm – the Baptist Network.

Also this weekend, the Church of England’s General Synod

will be meeting in York and Benny Hazlehurst will be there to chat with General Synod members as part of the LGB&T Anglican Coalition group.  He already has a number of meetings lined up with Synod members and would value your prayers.

Although the continuing debate about women Bishops is going to dominate the formal agenda, the Bishops response to the Government on same-sex marriage has prompted a petition called ‘Not in My Name’ which will be delivered to the Archbishop of York on Saturday lunchtime.

For anyone who was unhappy with the Bishops response, the petition can be found at the petition website, and for anyone who would like to be there as the petition is presented, the organisers are inviting people to meet at the West Door of York Minster at 11:30am for the 2 mile walk to York University where Synod is meeting.  Full details from the petition website.