The Student Christian Movement’s Honest Church campaign asks churches to write with “greater honesty about the true welcome that LGBTQ+ people receive in a church.” And this is an attempt to do so by saying something about who we are and trying to answer the questions that they ask.
Honest Church suggest that there is a spectrum of welcome. We would suggest that we are at 4 on that spectrum. We have publicly affirmed our support of LGBTQ+ people, in particular by registering as a church where we can conduct Same-Sex Marriage. We have had LGBTQ+ people in the congregation, although at the moment none in active leadership (some have been in the past). We have parents and grandparents of LGBTQ+ people in the congregation and they wish to ensure anyone attending would get the same support they would want for their own children elsewhere. We do also have some people who are not sure about the steps we have taken – our resolution to register for same-sex marriage did not pass unanimously. The Minister has preached in favour of LGBTQ+ relationships and we have talked openly and honestly about our responses in Church Meeting.
We are open to hearing your questions and any suggestions for the way we can be more supportive of the LGBTQ+ community. We would be willing to have our rooms used as a support space and to be far more active in creating a safe space for people to be open about their sexuality.