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Accepting Evangelicals


Death of Accepting Evangelicals Founding Member: Brenda Harrison

We are sorry to have to announce that our wonderful friend and AE founding member Brenda Harrison passed away early on 24th February.

She had been battling with cancer for such a long time. Her partner Pam stated "[Brenda] has had such a long and painful struggle with this illness. She is at peace now. Many thanks for all the support and prayers from our friends."

Brenda was very enthusiastic about Accepting Evangelicals from the very beginning. She appreciated that for the debate on homosexuality to move forward in the church it was necessary to provide a place where Evangelicals could affirm gay and lesbian people and yet still be faithful evangelicals.

Despite her illness, Brenda continued to take a deep interest in the cause of gay and lesbian affirmation to the very end. Brenda was a real inspiration to us and will be sorely missed. She served us all well and encouraged us to stand up for ours, and other people's rights. May we be inspired by her memory to stand where she stood!

A fellow founding member, Jeremy Marks put it well when he said "Brenda Harrison began her new life with the Lord this morning".

May we all pray for her partner Pam that she would be upheld and comforted at this awful time. May the sweet memories of their lives together strengthen Pam as she comes to terms with the loss of Brenda.

Mike Dark


Election of Two Suffregan Bishops in Los Angeles - December 2009

The LGBT Anglican Coalition warmly welcomes the election of two new suffragan bishops for the Episcopal diocese of Los Angeles, and notes:

• that the election has been carried out with a close regard to the norms and constitution of that church;

• that its transparency contrasts favourably with the still opaque processes by which Church of England bishops are appointed;

• that the candour of the candidates about their personal lives and the maturity of the church they serve as a glowing example to the Church of England where such openness is not possible in the present climate of denial and double standards.

It is most encouraging to see that the elections have been conducted without regard to the sexual orientation of the candidates. The election of a lesbian bishop, following on so soon after the consecration of the new Bishop of Stockholm, gives heart to the many LGBT clergy and lay ministers in churches around the world.

In the light of this, we are gravely disappointed to see the Archbishop of Canterbury rush out a statement within twelve hours of the announcement suggesting that the Episcopal Church should not confirm this election. His repeated intervention in the affairs of that province contrasts embarrassingly with his complete unwillingness to speak publicly about the Church of Uganda bishops’ support for what is universally seen as oppressive and homophobic legislation in that country. That support is in direct contravention of recent resolutions by the Lambeth Conference and the Primates’ Meetings.

If the Archbishop is to retain any credibility at all he needs to reconsider. This double standard of justice is frankly perverse. It appears to most people in Britain to be a disgraceful acquiescence in the demands of homophobic pressure groups both in England and in the Communion.

LGBT Anglican Coalition partners look forward to working with the Diocese of Los Angeles and all others across our Communion in the service of Christ who are committed to a church which includes and welcomes all.

The LGBT Anglican Coalition - including

Revd Benny Hazlehurst - Accepting Evangelicals
Revd Colin Coward - Changing Attitude
The Clergy Consultation
Jeremy Marks - Courage
Mike Dark - The Evangelical Fellowship for Lesbian and Gay Christians
Canon Giles Goddard - Inclusive Church
Revd Sharon Ferguson - Lesbian and Gay Christian Movement
Revd Dr Christina Beardsley - Sibyls
 


Letter to the Archbishop of Canterbury - 23rd November 2009

A coalition of inclusive Christian groups, including Accepting Evangelicals, sent an open letter to the Archbishop of Canterbury concerning recent developments in the Church of Sweden.

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.


Letter Published in the Church of England Newspaper - 17th July 2009

Dear Sir

I read with interest your report and Comment on the launch of the Fellowship of Confessing Anglicans

Like Paul in Philippians, I will always rejoice when Christ is proclaimed, but I am concerned that there is something deeply disingenuous about the way in which FCA is setting out its stall. 

It seems clear that Gafcon and FCA came about because of the vigorous debate on sexuality which has been raging in recent years.  Yet now we are being told that their existence is due to something far more fundamental than that – it is about basic Christian identity and uniqueness of Christ.

Bishop Nazir-Ali set the ball rolling last weekend when he was quoted as saying that people who depart from their view of Biblical revelation about sexuality don’t share the same faith.  This was continued by Archbishop Gregory Venables in seeking to polarise the debate as being between “those who say that there is only one way; Jesus Christ ... and those who say there are lots of ways.”

I am sure that I am not the only one who finds this transition of purpose both alarming and misleading.

It is misleading because it is not debate on the uniqueness of Christ which will cause FCA to make the further transition from ‘movement’ to ‘organisation’ – it is, in the words of its speakers, issues of gender (the ordination of women as Bishops) and sexuality (greater acceptance of homosexuals).

Such issues are not central to the Christian gospel, do not enable or negate our salvation, and should not be seen as defining issues on which we should be pushed to decide between the ‘real’ church and a church in whose structures (in the words of Bishop Broadhurst) Satan resides.

I am a Confessing Anglican – I confess that Jesus Christ is Lord.   According to Romans 10:9 that confession along with my faith that God raised him from the dead means that I will be saved.   Biblically, that is our identity as Christians, not our attitude to gender, sexuality, or for that matter FCA.

As a pro-gay evangelical, I will not be joining FCA (nor I would imagine would they want me to) but I would appeal to them to affirm their fellowship with all who declare that “Jesus is Lord!”  If they refuse to do this, I am sad to say, they will indeed be working towards schism, not truth.

Yours in Christ

Rev Benny Hazlehurst


A joint statement from groups working together in the Church of England

We have read and reflected upon the Archbishop’s response to the Episcopal Church of the USA “Communion, Covenant and our Anglican Future” and have a number of questions about the consequences of his response. We question whether the voices of those within the Church of England who are or who walk alongside lesbian, gay, bisexual and trans [gender] people have been adequately heard within the recent discussions. These discussions have gone on in various places around the Communion, and we believe it is important in this context that the LGBT faithful and those who work alongside us speak as well.

We wish to reaffirm our loyalty to the Gospel of Jesus Christ as revealed in the scriptures, our commitment to the Anglican way and our celebration of and thanksgiving for the tradition and life of the Church of England. Above all, our concern is for the mission of the Church in our world. We have no doubt that the Church of England is called to live out the Gospel values of love and justice in the whole of its life; these values are intrinsic to the calling of Jesus Christ to follow him and it is out of this context that we speak.

While we acknowledge the intention of the Archbishop of Canterbury to seek a way forward for the Anglican Communion, we have grave concerns about the implications of his reflections in “Covenant, Communion and the Anglican Future.” For example, we consider that references to same-sex unions as a “chosen life-style”, and assertions that those who have made such a commitment are analogous to “a heterosexual person living in a sexual relationship outside the marriage bond” to be inconsistent with the Archbishop’s previous statements on committed and faithful same sex relationships

(http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/comment/faith/article4473814.ece)

and are at odds with our reading of the message of the gospel. Whilst we applaud his assertion that we are called to “become the Church God wants us to be, for the better proclamation of the liberating gospel of Jesus Christ” we find no indication of how that can be achieved for those who are not heterosexual.

We acknowledge, once again, that there are and always have been, many loyal, committed and faithful bishops, priests and deacons – properly selected and ordained - and many lay people who are LGBT or who work alongside LGBT people with delight and thanksgiving. We know ourselves to be part of the church of God in England and we work, together, to bring about the reign of God in this part of God’s creation. We pray earnestly that the Church of England will continue to select, train, ordain and deploy LGBT people and enable them to exercise their calling from God in the Church of England.

Together, we reaffirm our commitment to working for the full inclusion of all people at all levels of ministry. We will continue to work towards liturgical and sacramental recognition of the God-given love which enables many LGBT couples to thrive.

We will seek to strengthen the bonds of affection which exist between those in all the Churches of the Anglican Communion who share our commitment to the full inclusion of all of God’s faithful. We will also continue to work closely with our brother and sister churches, especially those with whom we have mutual recognition of orders such as the Nordic churches.

We will work to ensure that if the Church of England is to sign up to the Covenant, it has potential for rapid progress on this and other issues. We find the notion of a “two track communion” flawed in the way that the Act of Synod is flawed, and we commit ourselves to continuing the effort to find ways forward through which those who disagree profoundly on this and on other issues can continue to celebrate their common membership of the Church of England and unity in Christ.

Signed by representatives of the following groups working together in the Church of England

Accepting Evangelicals
Changing Attitude
The Clergy Consultation
Courage
Ekklesia
Evangelical Fellowship of Lesbian and Gay Christians
General Synod Human Sexuality Group
Group for the Rescinding of the Act of Synod
Inclusive Church
Lesbian and Gay Christian Movement (Anglican Matters)
Modern Churchpeople’s Union
Sibyls
WATCH National Committee

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