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"Accepting
Evangelicals? - Is it possible to be Evangelical and pro-gay?" was the title for our first
expedition into General Synod and it was a great success.
Thirty people signed up to
come, and despite Synod’s Evangelical Group arranging their own meeting at the same time, to
discuss their reaction to Jeffrey John’s installation in St Albans, 42 people turned up! The
only problem was making the food go round!
That is not to say that everyone there was
of one mind. There was the widest possible spectrum of views, ranging from Gay and Lesbian
Evangelicals, to several leading figures in ‘Reform’, a very conservative Anglican lobby
group. It was also a great pleasure to see Bishop John Gladwin (Bishop of Chelmsford) and his
wife there, despite a very heavy schedule, but the real triumph of the evening was the quality
of the conversation & discussion, and the high degree of Christian love and respect which was
shown to all.
This was in marked contrast to some of the other fringe meetings at
Synod which touched on this issue.
Several people talked about their increasing
discomfort at the hard-line views being expressed on behalf of Evangelicals, and their relief
at being somewhere where they could talk about the issue more openly. Two or three also said
that the traditional conservative line had meant that they had stopped attending Evangelical
meetings because of fear that this would dominate the agenda.
As we drew to a close,
someone asked if we could meet again at future Synod sessions - there was a general murmur of
approval, so this meeting will not be the last.
We also gained a number of new members
for the network.
The clear balance of the views expressed was "Yes - it is possible to
be Evangelical & pro-gay!" and this is a great foundation on which to build for the future.
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