Meg Munn Chair of the National Safeguarding Panel Annual Report 2020 National Safeguarding Panel
Rosalind Lund Modern Church How Covid-19 may have Changed the Church Forever!
Linda Woodhead reviews ‘Sex, Power, Control: Responding to Abuse in the Institutional Church’ for Surviving Church
Katy Canty Church Times Sector ministries: alongside parish and people
“Sector ministries are reaching places pastorally that others cannot”
LGBTQ Faith UK Reclaiming Lambeth I.10
The problem with reclaiming Lambeth I.10,
Vast segments of the Anglican Communion read it as saying:
“in view of the teaching of Scripture, upholds faithfulness in marriage between a man and a woman in lifelong union, and believes that abstinence is right for those who are not called to marriage; […] rejecting homosexual practice as incompatible with Scripture, […] cannot advise the legitimising or blessing of same sex unions nor ordaining those involved in same gender unions;”
and see nothing else.
A strict reading however doesn’t prohibit same sex marriages, merely advises against it (which is quite different). Moreover, it doesn’t strictly condemn lesbianism (because d) invokes the meaning of homosexuality in Scripture which is only male-male sex acts). Is that a grown up reading of Lambeth 1.10? Maybe not, but it is what we get if we read it in the same way those who pushed for it read the Bible, ignoring the clear spirit of the reading of the Gospels – selfless love. So I think Lambeth 1.10 can not only be reclaimed, it can also show how… Read more »
I think the title “Reclaiming Lambeth 1.10” to be somewhat misleading – especially as its main emphasis was to question the basic rights of LGBTQ+ people to exist and thrive in the Church.The actions of certain of the bishops involved in 1.10’s appearance on the scene (including attempts by Gafcon bishops to ‘exorcise’ an accredited priest of the Church of England) seem to me to be at odds with the aims and objectives of an ‘Inclusive Church’. Some of us still believe Lambeth 1:10 to be a dark spot in our history.
I enjoyed Rosalind Lund’s piece, especially her positive view of some of the changes churches in the UK have been undergoing because of Covid. But I think Christendom-shaped churches need to consider other approaches than just ‘doing good and sharing our buildings’. Mennonite scholar Alan Kreider has written a fascinating study of how churches grew in the first three centuries, when they actually made it quite difficult to attend and join them, and didn’t really have a ‘church growth’ plan. What they did have, he argues, is a very clear picture of what a disciple of Jesus looks like, and… Read more »
Thanks, Tim – I found this article by Alan Kreider online: http://www.internationalbulletin.org/issues/2015-04/2015-04-220-kreider.pdf. I had not come across his work before.
Savi, I had the privilege of knowing Alan a little bit. He and his wife Ellie lived in England for about twenty years; for part of that time they were directors of the London Mennonite Centre. He was one of the most loving and grace-filled people I have ever known, and very helpful to me when I was exploring Anabaptist spirituality.
Yes An interesting and perceptive article about the future of our Churches. I have just resigned as the only Church Warden of a Rural Parish as the posts of Treasurer and Secretary of the PCC have defaulted to me in the absence of anyone else. All rather overwhelming. In our area there are too many old and expensive to maintain Churches too close together. We have just had a £3000 quote to repair and paint our relatively short length of guttering from our Church Architect Approved Contractor because, of course, we are Grade 1 listed. I rather feel that I… Read more »