The letter is as follows:-
An Open Letter from the LGBT Anglican Coalition to
The Archbishop of Uppsala, the Most Revd Anders Wejryd
The Archbishop of Canterbury, The Most Revd and Rt Hon.
Rowan Williams
23rd November 2009
Dear Archbishop,
As Anglican clergy and lay people, we were dismayed to see
that there was no official representation from the Church of England or any
other Anglican Church from the British Isles at the service of consecration of
Bishop Eva Brunne of Stockholm and Bishop Tuulikki Koivunen Bylund of H�rn�sand.
We do understand that, as the Church of England has not yet
finalised plans for the ordination of women as bishops - though we hope and pray
that will happen soon - it might not have been possible for an Anglican bishop
to have laid hands on the ordinands as part of the consecration. But that should
not have prevented a bishop from attending and representing the Archbishop of
Canterbury at the consecration on November 8th in Uppsala.
It was also unfortunate that The Revd Nicholas Howe was
unable to attend the service, though we were pleased to hear that The Revd Karen
Schmidt was able to attend, and indeed participate in the service, representing
the Diocese of Portsmouth, with which Stockholm has a partnership link.
Many of us are indeed very grateful that the Church of
Sweden has taken such a clear lead in affirming the rightful place of lesbian
and gay people at all levels in the life of the Church. The recent decision of
the Church of Sweden's Kyrkom�tet to conduct same-sex marriages has filled us
with a real hope that such a courageous and prophetic act might one day be
possible in the Church of England.
The Porvoo Agreement has brought many blessings to our
sister churches, Anglican and Lutheran, which share so much in our inheritance
of faith and action. The interchangeability of ministers and exchange of
resources continues to bring many blessings to dioceses which have a partnership
link with a Porvoo church. May these links increase and continue to bear much
fruit.
It is our prayer that we may continue in an ever-deepening
partnership of mission with the Porvoo member churches, and together celebrate
the gifts of all God's people who are called to be ministers of God's Word and
Sacraments, regardless of their sexual orientation or gender identity.
Your partners in the Gospel,
The LGBT Anglican Coalition - including
Revd Benny Hazlehurst - Accepting Evangelicals
Revd Colin Coward - Changing Attitude
Revd Chris Newlands - The Clergy Consultation
Jeremy Marks - Courage
Mike Dark - The Evangelical Fellowship of Lesbian and Gay
Christians
Canon Giles Goddard - Inclusive Church
Revd Sharon Ferguson - Lesbian and Gay Christian Movement
Revd Christina Beardsley - Sibyls
The LGBT Anglican Coalition is a new network of groups
working for the full and equal inclusion of LGBT Christians within and beyond
the Church of England.