Savi Hensman Ekklesia Welcoming transgender Christians and valuing discipleship: letter to Bishops misses the point
Rosie Harper ViaMedia.News Transphobic Letters, Mansplaining & Male Violence.
Katie Gaddini and Linda Woodhead The Conversation Brexit shines light on Church of England rift between leadership and Anglican majority
So, two-thirds of English Anglicans support Brexit on the basis of imposing immigration controls, while Welby and charismatic evangelicals are staunch Remain: wow, that’s gonna make a few heads spin stateside! “We’re welcoming, unlike those nasty evangelicals … now build that wall.”
“Katie Gaddini’s research, interviewing members of Holy Trinity Brompton, confirmed that immigration was a linchpin issue determining their vote for Remain, based on their belief that Christians are meant to welcome outsiders.”
I rarely am in accord with the HTB movement but on this they are spot on.
Holy Trinity Brompton isn’t exactly typical when it comes to English parishes. Mass immigration is unlikely to affect the lives of these Chelsea tractor drivers as it would in poorer neighbourhoods where Leave voters feel pressured. It’s sad that the Church’s present leadership is determined to graft a different denomination onto our beloved Church, replacing the mainstream ‘brand’ with a ‘happy-clappy’ religion which is alien to the English psyche. Mr Welby may be a remainer who babbles in tongues. This is more likely to repel, rather than attract, more people if Katie Gaddini’s survey is correct.
Yet the Leave vote tended to be heaviest in areas with the least immigration, while many poor urban districts voted heavily for Remain, despite the supposed “pressure.” Pattern repeats in lots of rich areas with voters of a certain age. It’s almost as if, contra Giles Fraser’s furious insistence that it’s all about sovereignty, it’s about something else entirely. If charismatic evangelicals are here alien to the English psyche all I can say is good on ’em.
The Gaddini/Woodhead research confirms a lot of intuition about worshippers in the Church of England (let’s name names here, because it’s very different in Scotland and Ireland, and to some extent in Wales, too). Gaddini and Woodhead will also know (not least from the work of people like Grace Davie) that where there are high levels of migration, the Church grows. David Goodhew’s recent research on the Dioceses of London and Europe being the only two in the Church of England showing growth when all the others are in decline, bears this out. You will also find that Roman Catholics… Read more »
Any church worth the name would’ve excommunicated Theresa May the second she told Parliament that she was willing to slaughter 100,000 civilians with nuclear weapons.
Just goes to show the fundamental incompatibility between church and state, and why the notion of a state church is so flawed.
I enjoyed Rosie Harper’s article very much. I’ve thought for a while that if your theology means that you seem to end up in the side of prejudice and oppression, it doesn’t mean that it’s necessarily wrong, just that you’ve got to work extra hard to show why it isn’t.
Savi Hensman, as usual, hits the nail squarely on the head with her comments about the dismissive attitude towards the ‘Bishops’ Letter’ affirming the value of welcoming transgender Christians into their rightful heritage as co-members of the body of Christ in their renewal of Baptismal Vows under their new identity. It may be that ingrained prejudice against the possibility of any sign of the expression of one’s true identity that does not cohere with the traditional binary sexual model is the real problem for the protesters. However, the pastoral, spiritual and social welfare of LGBTI+ Christians needs to be graciously… Read more »