The Church in Wales may be small (a weekly attendance of 25,000 and falling) but as this blog has noted in the past it seems determined to shrink further. The Church Growth Modelling website predicts that it might be close to extinction in less than fifteen years, with just a few large urban congregations surviving.
John Heyward, who made this prediction, explains why the Church in Wales faces such a bleak future:
“Sadly, this liberal transformation of the church is likely to hasten its decline rather than reverse it. Churches do not grow by becoming like society and attracting people, but by becoming like Jesus and converting people. For that to happen, it needs a clear understanding of the gospel of salvation and the power of the Holy Spirit to change people. The church needs to confront the current cultural norms rather than embrace them. I hope and pray that the Church in Wales will turn from its current liberal path and re-embrace the truths of Christianity before it is too late.”
At the Governing Body meeting in Lampeter this week, the Bishop of St Asaph, Rt Rev Gregory Cameron, demonstrated that the bishops of the Church in Wales have no intention of answering John Heyward’s prayer and are planning to double down on their liberal agenda.
The Bishop of St Asaph’s comments were made in response to a question from Rev Geraint John who asked whether the Bench of Bishops would, “support a more robust course of action to protect LGBTQI+ people across the province by leading the way and banning conversion therapy (in all its forms) within the Church in Wales ahead of any government legislation.”
Rev John’s written question suggested four proposals to achieve this. This blog will consider each proposal in turn, along with the Bishop of St Asaph’s response.
Watch Bishop Gregory’s speech here, or read a transcript below.
Bishop Gregory response to Q on Conversion Therapy
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FIRST PROPOSAL- “Properly defining conversion therapy in a Christian context (which would include the concept of ‘praying the gay away’ under the guise of ‘healing ministry’)”
The Bishops of the Church in Wales made a statement in June 2021 welcoming the UK Government’s proposal to ban gay conversion therapy. Bishop Gregory quoted this statement at length in his answer to the question, saying:
“We believe that human sexuality is a gift of God to be cherished and honoured. It is an intrinsic part of who we are as human beings and an expression of God’s glorious diversity in creation.
Anything which seeks to suggest that there is something inherently wrong or sinful in those who are non-heterosexual or which seeks to force people to try and change their sexuality is, we believe, wrong. It is both abusive and traumatising; as those who have experienced such ‘therapy’ can testify.”
At the time, EFCW (Evangelical Fellowship Church in Wales) wrote privately to the Bench of Bishops to ask whether, “open discussion, and grace filled prayer with someone who wants to explore biblical teaching on the issue of sexuality should, in the opinion of the bishops, fall under such a ban.”
This week, Bishop Gregory chose to bring this letter to the attention of the Governing Body, in order to make clear to that such an approach would indeed fall foul of the Bishops’ ban. His explanation insinuated that the model of prayer and bible study that EFCW were suggesting would:
- put pressure “upon vulnerable LGBTQIA persons”;
- lead to “attempted exorcisms and worse”;
- signal that people had to “conform to heterosexual norms” to be “true disciples of Jesus”; and that
- “A toxic mixture of motivation to avoid embarrassment, to please a revered spiritual leader, to assuage long standing guilt or shame can be triggered, which we as bishops believe would be abusive.”
It is hard not to think that it is the way in which the Bishop of St Asaph manipulates and misrepresents the evangelical members of the Church in Wales that is abusive. But on the basis of these unsubstantiated assertions, he went on to advise, “All ministers of the Church in Wales... to avoid any practice which comes close to being capable of being interpreted as abusive in this way.”
“The church’s role” he said, “is to offer welcome, acceptance, and friendship, and if requested, prayer that God’s grace can be operative in the situation and that a person would know God’s guidance and blessing without a defined outcome.”
It seems that open discussion, biblical teaching and prayers for God’s help are not only no longer considered a blessing in the Church in Wales, but to engage in such practices is to risk being called out for being abusive.
SECOND PROPOSAL- “Affirming that gender dysphoria and same-sex attractions are not sinful and therefore do not require “healing”. Instead, pastoral care and support to help individuals embrace their LGBTQI+ identity and to live authentically and openly as themselves is more appropriate;”
This proposal is slippery, and reveals a number of underlying assumptions.
First, it unhelpfully conflates gender dysphoria and same-sex attraction.
Secondly, it fails to wrestle with the question of concupiscence (the idea that our desire to sin is itself sinful), how it affects us all and requires God’s forgiveness. In that sense, any faithful Anglican would accept that we all need ‘healing’ from our desires. However, the context of this proposal suggests that ‘healing’ would require someone to be ‘converted’ to heterosexuality.
For those wishing to explore the issue of concupiscence, this discussion involving Matthew Mason, a former Anglican Futures trustee, is highly recommended.
Thirdly, the question of what it means “to embrace their LGBTQI+ identity and to live authentically and openly as themselves,” is one that could be interpreted in any number of ways. For example, in this article, Andrew Bunt is open about his same-sex attraction, he explains that he does not feel the need to be converted to heterosexual desire, but he does value the support of his church and therapist in living a celibate life. Bishop Gregory would however deny Andrew the support he is receiving and would therefore imply that while seeking celibacy he is not living authentically.
It seems that Rev Geraint John is hoping that the Bench of Bishops will both affirm the view that sexual activity outside of heterosexual marriage is not sinful and discourage, or even prevent, those who maintain the biblical sexual ethic from living according to their conscience.
THIRD PROPOSAL – “Informing the Welsh Government that the Church in Wales does not require any religious exceptions in the upcoming civil legislation;”
Bishop Gregory finished his statement by explaining that the Welsh Government has put its own work on hold in order to work with Westminster to “develop a four nations approach,” to conversion therapy. He ended by assuring Governing Body that the bishops of the Church in Wales continue their support for such legislation. No comment was made about ‘religious exemptions’ but given that what the Bench of Bishops is proposing goes further than the latest consultation from the UK government, it is unlikley they will be looking for any exemption on religious grounds.
FOURTH PROPOSAL- “In recognition of the documented harm conversion therapy causes, holding to account – and potential taking disciplinary action against – those participating in conversion therapy (in all its forms) across the province.”
Bishops Gregory’s ‘advice’ that ministers in the Church in Wales should “avoid any practice which comes close to being capable of being interpreted as abusive in this way,” and his assertion that, “Conversion therapy [as he defines it] clearly falls within the ambit” of the work the Doctrinal Commission on spiritual abuse, would suggest that disciplinary action has not been ruled out.
And just to be clear…
In case there was any doubt about the bishops’ intentions for the Church in Wales, Bishop Gregory explained:
“… the bench is currently reconsidering the Statement of 2002 concerning the position of the Church in Wales on the matter of sexuality and seeking to update it for the contemporary context. It would not be wise in this answer to anticipate the outcome of these two pieces of work, but the Reverend Geraint John can be assured that all four of the proposals in his question are broadly consonant with the direction of the work which is being undertaken.”
It is expected that plans to introduce same-sex marriage will be brought to the Governing Body of the Church in Wales in 2025.
If John Heyward’s analysis is correct, it appears the Bishops of the Church in Wales seem determined to drive the church over the precipice.
