Speaking the truth...

Historians may look back and see June and July 2015 as something of a watershed in the life of the Church of England.

The events perhaps speak for themselves. Senior female clergy called for liturgy which refers to God as ‘she’; the then Presiding Bishop of The Episcopal Church was invited to preach at Westminster Abbey, despite her unorthodox theological statements; the Revd Jeremy Pemberton took his bishop to the employment tribunal for refusing to grant him Permission-to-Officiate because he had entered into a same sex marriage; the Bishop of Buckingham gave evidence at this tribunal, stating that the doctrines of the Church of England were ‘lousy’; Bishop Richard Inwood, who had refused to grant the licence, defended his action, but said it was the timing of the marriage that was a problem, not the act itself; Canon Michael Smith announced that he was looking forward to ‘welcoming and affirming the LGBT community from our city and beyond and saying a short prayer and a blessing as they begin their [Gay Pride] parade’ and proceeded to do so with much fanfare and media interest; and, in the wider Anglican Communion, The Episcopal Church (TEC) in the USA changed the definition of marriage to remove any mention of gender in their canons and have authorised liturgy to be used for same sex marriages.

What responses?

It is perhaps more concerning that it is only the last of these events that caused a murmur of concern amongst the bishops of the Church of England and then the concern was only about the impact it might have on relationships within the wider Communion rather than the inherent sinfulness of the action.

So, has everyone been asleep, on holiday or too busy? Well, no. The Archbishop of York has found the time to write a public statement, investigate the events surrounding one event and rebuke the person in question. Who, you may ask, is this scoundrel and what could they possibly have done?

It is Melvin Tinker, a vicar in Hull, who protested against the actions of Canon Michael Smith, saying: ‘York Minster’s leading the way in the Gay Pride march is symbolic of what the Church of England’s leadership is doing generally on this issue – leading people away from the clear teaching of the Bible and the gospel. One would hope that the Archbishop of York would do his duty and speak clearly, upholding the Bible’s position.’

Tinker then dared to state publically that homosexual acts fell in to the ‘morally wrong category’, along with other actions such as ‘murder, stealing, lying, serial adultery and paedophilia’. He was careful to say that not all these acts bear the same moral weight but made clear that they were all wrong. In response the Archbishop of York issued a media statement, in which he insinuated that Melvin Tinker’s actions had been ‘strident’, whilst seemingly affirming the actions of Canon Michael Smith. He has also said he plans to publically censure Melvin Tinker for ‘equating homosexuality with paedophilia’. This makes me wonder whether the same should be said of Jesus who famously equated saying ‘Raca’ with murder and looking lustfully at another with adultery? It is not issues of sexuality that are dividing the CofE but an unwillingness by some to recognise our moral paucity before God and so call people to repentance. Instead, love has become synonymous with affirmation, and the really Good News that it was whilst we were still sinners that Christ died for us – not to affirm us – but to rescue us from the consequences of our sinfulness, has been lost.

Please pray our churches would be places where all find a loving welcome and where we encourage and emulate those, like Melvin Tinker, who are willing to speak the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth.