Christian Writer to Walk to Repent for Homophobia
Three churches to host talks by Symon Hill – although none of them are Anglican or Catholic
Detail from Symon Hill's Repenting of Homophobia website
"City centre churches to host events encouraging repentance of homophobia." Given the turmoil in Christianity (ie the Anglican Communion) over the issue of homosexuality, it's an eye-catching subject heading for an email. The email continues:
Churches in Birmingham, Oxford and London are to host events in June and July encouraging Christians to repent of homophobia and support full equality for gay and bisexual people. All three churches will host talks by Symon Hill, a Christian writer who is walking 160 miles on a pilgrimage of repentance for his former homophobia. The pilgrimage has been welcomed by the former Bishop of Oxford, Richard Harries, and the human rights campaigner Peter Tatchell.
Awesome. Does this mean the Church of England has seen the error of its ways, experiencing a Damascene conversion? Not quite. A call to Hill reveals that the three churches are neither Church of England nor Roman Catholic. They are Methodist, Reformed and Baptist. So still churches, just not the right ones. Hill, who last year admitted to Pink News that he used to campaign against gay ministers and Christian acceptance of LGBT people, told me:
It has been harder than expected to find churches willing to host me. There have been churches who were very interested but later found the congregation or the vicar to be opposed to the idea. There are lots of people who support inclusion but avoid talking about for fear of creating a row.
So not so much "don't ask, don't tell" as "don't ask, don't ask". The Church of England - and the communion generally - is pretty good at rowing over gays and lesbians, especially when they're clerically flavoured. Most recently it - or rather its hierarchy - has got its cassocks in a twist over how it can legitimately avoid appointing gay bishops. This unholy row - involving shouting matches, tears and arm-twisting - has exercised the already excitable Anglican online community, withruminations from a prominent LGBT activist on whether to out 13 bishops (almost 10% of them) in response to "collusion, dishonesty and hypocrisy" from senior figures in the C of E.
The Catholic bishops of England and Wales are not having nearly as many debates on the subject - reasons for which would fill a book - but they do at least acknowledge there are gays and lesbians who are Catholic. Soho Masses has the support of the Archdiocese of Westminster. It's not perfect, but it's a start - although of what I don't know given Rome is unlikely to change its views of sexual relations outside heterosexual marriage any time soon.
The presence of gays and lesbians in churches, mainstream or otherwise, is too often perceived as a threat rather than an as expression of devotion. After all, you don't go to church for a laugh do you? You go there to worship. It is with some understatement, and more than a little wistfulness, then that Symon writes on his blog: "It is great to have Richard Harries's support. I wish more church leaders would be prepared to take this sort of stance." Full details on the repentance pilgrimage can be found here.
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