With a headline like that, you might be expecting the worst.
Southwark Diocese has had its fair share of recent controversy, for example back in May, when St Andrew’s Waterloo hosted a Ramadan Iftar (evening meal) to bring together the LGBT and Islamic communities during the Pride in London festival; or in July, when the cathedral hosted a service of Holy Communion to bless the civil partnership between the Diocesan Director of Ordinands and a local vicar.
This article has happier news to report. On 25 January, seven Anglican churches in the east of the Diocese got together to host an event to celebrate what the Bible teaches about identity and sexuality. The aim was not political but pastoral: the organisers wanted to help people in their congregations to live faithfully for Jesus, particularly those who struggle with their sexuality.
Gay rights haven’t delivered
The speaker was Ed Shaw, a pastor who works part time with Living Out (www. livingout.org), and who himself experiences same sex attraction. He began by referencing a startling observation in the recent gay literature. In his book Straight Jacket, gay journalist Matthew Todd notes that although the gay rights movement has got all it asked for, it hasn’t delivered the happiness it promised. In particular, the statistics on mental health within the LGBT community remain disturbing. For some reason, it’s not working.
Ed urged Christians not to keep quiet about the great news we have to share. He then embarked on a journey through the four great acts in the biblical drama – Creation, Fall, Redemption, Perfection – drawing out profound lessons along the way. For example, the fact that God made us in his own image means that we don’t have to find our own identity (as so many in our culture struggle to do); we have one already given to us, and it tells us we are greatly valued. The fact that we are fallen means that the absolute worst place to look for answers is within ourselves, amidst all the mess. The fact that we are heading for a perfect wedding day, between Christ and his church, and ‘all of life is just walking down the aisle’, reminds us that God loves us passionately, and all those who trust in him will one day experience perfect intimacy within the relationship we were made for. It is only within this ‘better story’ (the title of a recent must-read book by Christian psychiatrist Glynn Harrison) that the Bible’s prohibitions on sex outside of a lifelong commitment between a man and a woman make sense.
Standing shoulder-to-shoulder
Along with Ed’s faithful gospel proclamation (and gracious clarity during a fiery Q&A), the participating churches are grateful to God for the shoulder-to-shoulder partnership that made the event possible. Some of their congregations are small; many parishioners are confused on issues of sexuality; all of them are conscious of growing opposition. By working together, they were able to share the burden, express solidarity, and put on a really well-attended event. They are now planning another joint venture for the Autumn, on the topic of Jesus and Islam.
