The House of Bishops met in October and, in a subsequent statement, they significantly delayed both progress towards standalone services of blessing for same sex couples and permission for gay clergy to marry in the Church of England. This has been devastating for many of our anglican members and supporters, whose lives have been and will be directly impacted by these decisions. We wrote this letter to show support to our queer siblings in the Church of England, as well as challenge the narrative that the majority of young people are in agreement with the conservative position. 305* young Christians signed the letter to show the House of Bishops that their lives and their voices matter.
The Letter
"Dear Bishops and Archbishops,
We had never expected to write you this letter. Most of us were children when you began the Living in Love and Faith process in 2017. We believed that the Church of England was changing and, unlike the generations before us, we were to be fully included, alongside those who see LGBTQ+ people differently. In 2023 you said that our Church has not loved LGBTQ+ people as God has loved them, and that this was ‘profoundly wrong’. We know that whether we are straight or queer, God loves us. We no longer trust that you know that, because you have failed to show it, and you have not even troubled to restate it in your recent statement.
We listened countless times to speeches in General Synod which dehumanised us, and we had to hear our hopes being debated as political abstractions. We believed you when you said that our understanding of the Bible on the matter of same-sex relationships and marriage, and the God-given identities of our LGBTQ+ selves or siblings, were going to be honoured. We believed that with simple services of blessing, you were making it possible for us and our friends to publicly show how much God’s love is evident when LGBTQ+ people marry. We believed that we were not going to have to choose between the partner we love and the ordination that some of us are being called to. Some of us got married and are waiting to begin the discernment of ordained vocation. Others began discernment and are waiting to begin relationships.
We have all been waiting with as much grace as we could manage, whether we are straight allies or LGBTQ+ identifying ourselves. You have let us down. It is not ‘disappointment’ as Archbishop Stephen describes it. It is devastation. We have been bearing with the long, drawn-out processes which have marked out our adult lives. We believed you would honour that patience. You had our lives and loves in your hands, and you have not treated us as the treasure of the Church, but as acceptable collateral damage. The lives of LGBTQ+ young people in the Church of England have been on pause, please do not allow us to grow old waiting.
We are tired of seeing our friends leave the Church of England and having to justify why we stay. We are tired of defending processes which keep letting us down. We are tired of crying to God for you to see us and really care about us. We are tired of always being less important than those who are powerful, rich and threaten to withdraw their wealth. We need you to do better, we expect you to deliver the change you promised.
With conversations largely being held about us without us, we feel unheard. You declared, at your consecration, that with the help of God you would ‘be gentle and merciful for Christ’s sake to those who are in need, and speak for those who have no other to speak for them.’
Please – be gentle to us and speak up for us."
