Open letter of 7 Jan 2016 to the Archbishops of Canterbury and York from over 100 senior church figures released on the eve of the Primates gathering
The Rt Hon and Most Revd Justin Welby
The Rt Hon and Most Revd Dr John Sentamu
January 7th 2016
Your Graces
We the undersigned ask you, our Archbishops, to take an unequivocal message to your meeting of fellow Primates next week that the time has now come for:
Acknowledgement that we, the Church, have failed in our duty of care to LGBTI members of the Body of Christ around the world. We have not loved them as we should, and have treated them as a problem to be solved rather than as brothers and sisters in Christ to be embraced and celebrated. We have made them feel second-class citizens in the Kingdom of God, often abandoned and alone.
Repentance for accepting and promoting discrimination on the grounds of sexuality, and for the pain and rejection that this has caused. We, the Church, need to apologise for our part in perpetuating rather than challenging ill-informed beliefs about LGBTI people, such as the slanderous view that homosexuals have a predisposition to prey on the young.
We understand that the Primates come from a variety of contexts with differing ways of interpreting the Scriptures, but we urge you to be prophetic in your action and Christ-like in your love towards our LGBTI sisters and brothers who have been ignored and even vilified for too long.
Please be assured of our prayers for you at this time, and that the world will know by our words and actions that everyone who is baptised into the faith is of equal value in our Lord Jesus Christ.
Yours sincerely
Father Peter Allan CR, Principal, College of the Resurrection, Mirfield
Anthony Archer, House of Laity, General Synod and Member-Elect, Dioceses Commission
The Very Revd Christopher Armstrong, Dean of Blackburn
The Rt Hon Canon Sir Tony Baldry, House of Laity, General Synod
Christina Baron, House of Laity, General Synod
Vicky Beeching, Theologian and LGBT Campaigner
The Revd Wyn Beynon, House of Clergy, General Synod
The Very Revd Mark Bonney, Dean of Ely
The Very Revd Mark Boyling, Dean of Carlisle
The Rt Hon Ben Bradshaw, MP for Exeter
Susan Breen, House of Laity, General Synod
The Very Revd David Brindley, Dean of Portsmouth
The Rt Hon Chris Bryant, MP for Rhondda
The The Very Revd Roger Bush, Dean of Truro
The Revd Canon Simon Butler, Prolocutor for the Convocation of Canterbury
Tracey Byrne, Chief Executive, Lesbian and Gay Christian Movement
The Revd Bob Callaghan, National Co-ordinator, Inclusive Church
Prof Mark Chapman, Vice-Principal, Ripon College Cuddesdon and House of Clergy, General Synod
The Revd Canon Chris Chivers, Principal, Westcott House, Cambridge
Imogen Clout, Warden of Readers, Diocese of Sheffield
The Venerable Gavin Collins, Archdeacon of the Meon and House of Clergy, General Synod
The Revd Julie Conalty, House of Clergy, General Synod
The Very Revd Christopher Dalliston, Dean of Newcastle
The Revd Canon Jeremy Davies, former Canon Precentor, Salisbury Cathedral
The Rt Revd Michael Doe, former Bishop of Swindon
The Very Revd Adrian Dorber, Dean of Lichfield
The Revd Duncan Dormor, Dean of St John’s College, Cambridge
The Revd Andrew Dotchin, House of Clergy, General Synod
The Very Revd Dr Jonathan Draper, Dean of Exeter
Dr Martin Elcock, House of Laity, General Synod
The Rt Revd Dr Tim Ellis, former Bishop of Grantham, and Assistant Bishop in the Diocese of Sheffield
Margaret Evans, House of Laity, General Synod
The Revd Amanda Fairclough, House of Clergy, General Synod
The Revd Canon Kathryn Fitzsimons, House of Clergy, General Synod
Father Andrew Foreshew-Cain, House of Clergy, General Synod
Anne Foreman, House of Laity, General Synod and Elected Member, Business Committee
The Venerable Judy French, Archdeacon of Dorchester
Philip French, House of Laity, General Synod
The Rt Revd David Gillett, former Bishop of Bolton and former Principal, Trinity College, Bristol
The Revd Canon Giles Goddard, Chair of Human Sexuality Group on General Synod
The Very Revd Nigel Godfrey, Dean of Man
The Revd Canon Andrew Godsall, House of Clergy, General Synod
The Revd Timothy Goode, House of Clergy, General Synod
Lucy Gorman, Chair of Changing Attitude and House of Laity, General Synod
The Venerable Martin Gorick, Archdeacon of Oxford
The Revd Kevin Goss, House of Clergy, General Synod
The Very Revd Rogers Govender, Dean of Manchester and House of Clergy, General Synod
Carolyn Graham, House of Laity, General Synod
The Rt Revd Dr Laurie Green, former Bishop of Bradwell
Jay Greene, House of Laity, General Synod
The Very Revd Dianna Gwilliams, Dean of Guildford and Chair of Inclusive Church
Canon Malcolm Halliday, House of Laity, General Synod
Canon Robert Hammond, Convenor, Affirming Catholics in General Synod
The Revd Canon Rosie Harper, House of Clergy, General Synod
The Rt Revd the Lord Harries of Pentregarth, former Bishop of Oxford
The Very Revd Nicholas Henshall, Dean of Chelmsford
Savi Hensman, Chair, Lesbian and Gay Christian Movement
Tim Hind, former Vice-Chair, House of Laity, General Synod
Canon Jenny Humphreys, House of Laity, General Synod
The Very Revd Dr David Ison, Dean of St Paul’s and House of Clergy, General Synod
The Venerable Alan Jeans, Archdeacon of Sarum and House of Clergy, General Synod
Dr Rachel Jepson, House of Laity, General Synod
The Very Revd Dr Jeffrey John, Dean of St Albans
The Revd Canon Joyce Jones, House of Clergy and Elected Member, Business Committee, General Synod
The Revd Canon Peter Leonard, House of Clergy, General Synod
The Revd Prof Diarmaid MacCulloch, Professor of the History of the Church, University of Oxford
The Revd Jonathan MacNeaney, House of Clergy, General Synod
The Revd Canon Dr Judith Maltby, Corpus Christi College, Oxford and House of Clergy, General Synod
Izzy McDonald-Booth, House of Laity, General Synod
The Revd Canon Maggie McLean, House of Clergy, General Synod
The Revd Canon Richard Mitchell, House of Clergy, General Synod
The Very Revd David Monteith, Dean of Leicester
The Revd Dr Jeremy Morris, Master of Trinity Hall, Cambridge
The Revd Chris Newlands, House of Clergy, General Synod
The Venerable David Newman, Archdeacon of Loughborough
The Very Revd Andrew Nunn, Dean of Southwark and House of Clergy, General Synod
The Revd Bertrand Olivier, House of Clergy, General Synod
Jayne Ozanne, House of Laity, General Synod
The Venerable Ricky Panter, Archdeacon of Liverpool
The Revd Neil Patterson, House of Clergy, General Synod
The Revd Canon Jeremy Pemberton, Senior Chaplain, United Lincolnshire Hospitals NHS Trust
The Very Revd Prof Martyn Percy, Dean of Christ Church, Oxford
Dr Scot M. Peterson, Bingham Research Fellow in Constitutional Studies, Balliol College, Oxford
The Revd Canon Mark Pilgrim, House of Clergy, General Synod
The Rt Revd Stephen Platten, former Bishop of Wakefield
The Revd Charles Read, Director of Reader Training (Norwich) and House of Clergy, General Synod
Professor Muriel Robinson, House of Laity, General Synod
The Revd David Runcorn, Associate DDO and Warden of Readers, Diocese of Gloucester
The Revd Michael Sadgrove, former Dean of Durham
Simon Sarmiento, Chair, LGBTI Anglican Coalition
The Rt Revd Dr Peter Selby, former Bishop of Worcester
Martin Sewell, House of Laity, General Synod
The Rt Revd Humphrey Southern, Principal, Ripon College Cuddesdon
The Revd Kate Stacey, House of Clergy, General Synod
The Rt Revd David Stancliffe, former Bishop of Salisbury
The Venerable Dr Tim Stratford, Archdeacon of Leicester
The Hon. Laura Sykes, Convenor, Lay Anglicana
The Revd Simon Talbott, House of Clergy, General Synod
The Very Revd Michael Tavinor, Dean of Hereford
Jeremy Timm, National Co-ordinator, Changing Attitude
The Revd Dr Miranda Threlfall-Holmes, House of Clergy, General Synod
The Very Revd Stephen Waine, Dean of Chichester
The Very Revd Dr Frances Ward, Dean of St Edmundsbury and House of Clergy, General Synod
The Rt Revd Dr Alan Wilson, Bishop of Buckingham
Professor Linda Woodhead, Department of Politics, Philosophy and Religion, Lancaster University
