Living in Love and Faith: Message from Bishop Rachel, 14 February 2023

Last Friday, I posted a short message on the diocesan website following the outcome of the General Synod debate regarding Living in Love and Faith. Perhaps, unsurprisingly, I am going to use this letter to reflect a little further, and if you have not read previous letters on this, I encourage you to do so, as what I have written below sits within the context of all that has already been said.

A message from Bishop Rachel and Bishop Robert – Diocese of Gloucester

Living in Love and Faith – a message from Bishop Rachel and Bishop Robert – Diocese of Gloucester

It feels somewhat ironic to be writing this letter on Valentine’s Day, just as it is uncomfortable to be writing this letter against the backdrop of so much pain and division in our world, not least the agonising situation in Turkey and Syria. Yet all of it is about people’s lives, love and relationship, and our desire to see the coming of the kingdom of God on earth as in heaven.

By now, many of you will have seen and heard various things about the 8+ hour debate in General Synod last week regarding the motion brought by the House of Bishops and which was agreed. The text is below this letter so that everyone has easy access to the exact wording. It should be noted that (g) was added by an amendment which was carried by all three Houses (Bishops, Clergy and Laity) on the floor of Synod. No other amendments were agreed (and there were a lot of them).

Please do read the motion carefully rather than relying on newspaper headlines and social media to understand what has and has not been agreed. On this note, I want to be very clear that at no point was there a vote on same-sex marriage. Furthermore, in the coming weeks there will be much work undertaken as new pastoral guidance is developed.

The debate in General Synod was preceded by some group work, which refocused us on the Pastoral Principles as we interacted with one another, and also provided the opportunity for people not only to voice their thoughts and perspectives on the issues being raised, but also to write down their immediate feelings. We repeated this exercise at our own Diocesan Synod last Saturday, and it was no less poignant than the group work at General Synod, and indeed captured the same range of emotions. These included hope, devastation, joy, confusion, relief, fear and a number of expressions of disappointment across the spectrum of perspectives, i.e. disappointment that the proposals have not gone far enough, and disappointment that the proposals have gone too far. As was said in the Bishops’ Response to Living in Love and Faith, those differences exist among the bishops. Sadly, I cannot adequately convey the depth of emotion in my voice or being through these words on a page or screen.

Bishops’ Response to Living in Love and Faith

Throughout this process, archbishops and bishops have continually spoken about unity, and unity is not about an amorphous middle space but rather it is about how we walk together, ‘standing in different places – and finding a point that each of us, by stretching out our arm, can touch and reach the fingertips of the other’ (words from the Bishop of London’s Living in Love and Faith presentation to the General Synod debate). The Archbishop of Canterbury in his powerful presidential address to General Synod spoke of the unity we desire as “not one based around agreeing in everything. It can never be of our making or imposing. It can never be by forcing, it is always a gift of God’s redemption.”

I have repeatedly used the image of the vine from Christ’s words as told by John (John 15) and emphasised that our unity only ever emerges from our abiding in Christ. We cannot choose the branches even if we do not agree with them. If we belong to Christ, we belong to each other. Likewise, as members together of the body of Christ, the eye does not need to agree with the hand on all things, but neither can it say to the hand, ‘I have no need of you’ (1 Corinthians 12:21). I would also suggest that neither the eye nor the hand can claim a God-given monopoly on the truth into which the Spirit leads Christ’s body on these matters. As the Bishop of London said:

“Our call is and always will be to seek the face of Christ – yes, in each other, but above all in searching the Scriptures, examining the Church’s tradition, and exercising our reason as we strive to make sense of how truth is to be lived out with grace in our 21st century context.  The reality is that as we have done all these things – even among ourselves as bishops – our conclusions about the ‘clear teaching of Scripture’ and the trajectory of the Church’s tradition diverge. We see God at work in each other’s ministries and are forced to acknowledge that somehow, mysteriously, the people of God who seek God’s face and who want to see the Church flourish, disagree.”

And here I want to reiterate very clearly what was written in the letter from myself and Bishop Robert on 18 January 2023 in which we expressed our commitment to ensuring that ‘communities and individuals, not least our lay and ordained leaders, can live and express different views as a matter of conscience, whilst always treating one another with love respect and humility.’

When we come to that time when the final version of the Prayers of Love and Faith are commended, there will be pastoral guidance which, amongst other things, will be clear that using the prayers and resources is optional. Those who in good conscience wish to use the commended prayers can do so joyfully; and those who in good conscience do not wish to do so can freely decline without pressure. As your bishops, we are committed to living this well and ensuring that no one is penalised or ostracised for holding different theological views and using or not using the Prayers of Love and Faith. We will support everyone in the same way.

I am saddened by some of the fear that is being fanned into flame by some individuals in the Church of England across the spectrum of perspectives, and both Bishop Robert and I stand ready to meet with groups to listen and to reflect further together.

May we be thankful for each other, and pray for God to give us grace to notice where lives rooted in Christ are bearing fruit, and where the love of Christ is being revealed as the signs of the kingdom of God are increasingly evident, even among those with whom we profoundly disagree. And finally, in our interactions with one another and the wider world, may we pray earnestly for the fruit of the Spirit: ‘… love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control’ (Galatians 5:22-23).

This comes with heartfelt thanks for our partnership in the gospel, as together we seek to live and share the transforming gospel of Jesus Christ.

 

 

 

* The full motion, as amended, put to Synod was:

‘That this Synod, recognising the commitment to learning and deep listening to God and to each other of the Living in Love and Faith process, and desiring with God’s help to journey together while acknowledging the different deeply held convictions within the Church:

(a) lament and repent of the failure of the Church to be welcoming to LGBTQI+ people and the harm that LGBTQI+ people have experienced and continue to experience in the life of the Church;

(b) recommit to our shared witness to God’s love for and acceptance of every person by continuing to embed the Pastoral Principles in our life together locally and nationally;

(c) commend the continued learning together enabled by the Living in Love and Faith process and resources in relation to identity, sexuality, relationships and marriage;

(d) welcome the decision of the House of Bishops to replace Issues in Human Sexuality with new pastoral guidance;

(e) welcome the response from the College of Bishops and look forward to the House of Bishops further refining, commending and issuing the Prayers of Love and Faith described in GS 2289 and its Annexes;

(f) invite the House of Bishops to monitor the Church’s use of and response to the Prayers of Love and Faith, once they have been commended and published, and to report back to Synod in five years’ time;

(g) endorse the decision of the College and House of Bishops not to propose any change to the doctrine of marriage, and their intention that the final version of the Prayers of Love and Faith should not be contrary to or indicative of a departure from the doctrine of the Church of England.’