Bishop Alan’s marriage equality inbox; Churches concerned over child poverty measure; Media review
Bishop Alan’s marriage equality inbox
Since coming out firmly in favour of marriage equality in the UK, Bishop Alan Wilson of Buckingham has been getting a lot of mail. In his blog, he sorts through the pile.
Just over 500 messages of one sort or another, pretty much all so far as I can tell from Christians of one sort or another. This implies that most others in society have moved on from fretting about this subject, if not to full acceptance, to an acknowledgment that gay people are just people like them, and what people get up to in bed is their own business.
About 80% have been supportive. These include some 20-30 deeply personal testimonies from gay couples, telling of love and faithfulness, sometimes against terrible odds over many years. Legal recognition will not make these relationships stronger, but it will de-stigmatise them. Among practising Christians, I have received “Don’t tell my vicar, but…” and “not in my name” messages that imply a need for more openness, confidence and honesty, especially where clergy have attempted to whip others into shape behind a conventional party line. It is inaccurate to characterize all Evangelical Christians as anti. Many of them are far more thoughtful, nuanced and conflicted, with a strong Evangelical instinct that is not about last ditching a particular interpretation of the Bible but striving to be good news to real people. The vast majority of local Churches are personally welcoming to all.
Of the 20% agin, about 90% can only be seen as expressions of crude prejudice and bigotry. The phrase “I am not homophobic, but…” sees to mean “soft or hard homophobic statement ahoy! But don’t pick me up on it….”
…Within the 10% of 20% more reflective unfavourable comment, I have made new friends, and discovered a capacity to engage with this among Christians, however reluctantly, that is impressive. Some messages were initially very hostile and angry with me. When I engaged with them on one positive point about which we might agree, the façade crumbled and we were able to have interesting and fruitful conversations. It can be done.
I have enjoyed about half a dozen really thoughtful, helpful and reflective conversations with very Conservative Evangelical Christians — nuggets of gold amidst a steaming pile of more general railing and abuse.
Bishop Alan reflects on what this response means for the Church, our mission and our life together.
Encouraging the Church to be more aligned with the point of the Bible and less hung up about particular interpretations of its small print should be doable, especially as most Church members are there already. For them being a Christian is about loving God and your neighbour as yourself, not culture wars. That’s the good news….
The bad news is that, as a matter of shameful fact, the Church does appear to contain noisy minorities of homophobes and bigots who use verses from the Bible as a collection of soundbites to validate their disgust, and it will have to work consciously to prevent itself it becoming their last ditch.
http://bishopalan.blogspot.co.uk/2013/02/my-marriage-equality-postbag.html
Churches concerned over child poverty measure
Four Churches have criticised Government proposals to change the way child poverty is measured in the UK.
The Government ended a consultation on Friday into plans to introduce a new “multi-dimensional measure of poverty” that would include employment, family stability, education and income.
The Baptist Union of Great Britain, Church of Scotland, Methodist Church and United Reformed Church said the proposals were “confused”.
They questioned the Government’s focus on worklessness as a measure of poverty when the majority of families in poverty are working.
Stephen Keyworth, faith and society leader for the Baptist Union of Great Britain, said excluding or diminishing the experience of low-paid families from a measure of poverty would be a “serious failing”.
“Such people work tough jobs, often with unsocial hours. We agree that is vital to measure things such as unemployment and disability,” he said.
“These things can help us understand British society and the place of poverty within it. However, these factors combined make for a very bad measure of child poverty. Only robust, well-evidenced indicators of poverty should be used to measure child poverty.”
The four Churches are due to publish a major report next month confronting the “comfortable myths” about poverty.
“Poverty is not just an issue facing the poor – it’s a societal problem and one that shames us all,” added Marie Trubic, of the United Reformed Church.
“As Christians we believe that we all have a duty to take responsibility for the injustices that have become embedded in the society we have built.
“We should not simply accept the status quo and blame the poor for their circumstances. Instead, we must find new ways to build a fairer future for all.”
MEDIA REVIEW
Archbishop says: “Stop Moaning, Start Doing”.
The Archbishop of York Dr John Sentamu tlaunched his new book “John Sentamu’s Faith Stories” at Bishopthorpe Palace.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/religion/9873943/Me-me-me-culture-of-the-1980s-poisoning-society-warns-Sentamu.html
Final mass held for gay Catholics
A mass for gay and lesbian Catholics is held for the last time in central London because the Church says it goes against its views on sexuality.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-london-21490633
Williams: Pope told me of his ‘frailty’
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2279890/Dr-Rowan-Williams-unsurprised-Popes-retirement-revealed-frailty-Rome-meeting.html
“Fundamental issues” with ref to ban on “fundamentalist television channels” from Rev Dr Marcus Braybrooke, President of the World Congress of Faiths (scroll down)
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/comment/letters/9873958/After-the-EU-speech-and-gay-marriage-what-next-for-Cameron.html
Obit – Canon Keith Weston “gifted preacher who bridged the divide between town and gown in Oxford”
Canon Keith Weston, who has died aged 86, was an unusually gifted preacher, engaging blue-collar workers and university dons alike as rector from 1964 to 1985 of the medieval church of St Ebbe’s in Oxford.
The parish bordered university colleges to the north and east, while also housing some of the neediest families in the city, with a night shelter for the homeless. Weston saw his calling as pastor to all.
Keith Aitken Astley Weston was born on July 30 1926, the third son of Sir Arthur Astley Weston, Chief Legal Adviser to the Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries, and educated at Merchant Taylors’ School, Northwood.
At the age of 12, at a “Varsity and Public Schools” camp in Branscombe, Devon, Keith found the faith that would transform his life. These camps promoted the Christian faith and leadership skills, and influenced many who would become successful in the Church, the armed forces and the professions. Among them was the Rev John Stott, the rector of All Souls, Langham Place, and one of the most celebrated evangelicals in the Anglican Church; and it was in this tradition that Weston would find his voice.
From 1944 to 1948 Weston served as a captain in the Royal Artillery in Italy and Palestine, and on his return went up to Trinity Hall, Cambridge, to read French and German. He was active in the Cambridge Inter-Collegiate Christian Union (CICCU).
More at –
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/obituaries/9876072/Canon-Keith-Weston.html