ANGLICAN COMMUNION NEWS

PRESS RELEASE

Inclusive Communion

Thursday, 16 June 2005

Inclusive Communion has submitted a paper to the Anglican Consultative Council outlining their recommendations for the listening and dialogue process which will be set up at the ACC meeting in Nottingham on June 22. Inclusive Communion is an international network of 10 lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) Anglican groups representing 8 Provinces in the Anglican Communion

Lesbian and gay Anglicans would have confidence in a process that:

The Revd Colin Coward, Co-ordinator of Inclusive Communion, said: “We have very high expectations that the commitment to listen to gay people, first made at the 1978 Lambeth Conference, is at last being taken seriously.”

“It is essential that lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people are consulted from the beginning, to ensure that the process has integrity as an exercise in listening. The structure must be set up to be accessible to us and appropriate to our own experience“.

“Our groups have developed skills and resources over many years which can be made available to the ACC to ensure that LGBT voices can be heard in safe and appropriate contexts. Our members can tell personal stories of the integration of their faithful Christian lives with loving, committed, faithful gay relationships.”

“We know, often at painful personal cost, of the effect on LGBT Christians in all provinces, of the prejudice and abuse to which they can be subjected. This is often with the collusion of the church, when the Bible is used to support intolerant attitudes and people are taught that LGBT people do not have the same entitlement to loving relationships as heterosexuals.”

Notes:

Inclusive Communion was formed at the Half-Way-to-Lambeth Conference held in Manchester in November 2002 by LGCM. The member groups of Inclusive Communion are:

Anglican Matters LGCM UK

Changing Attitude England

Changing Attitude New Zealand

Changing Attitude Scotland

General Synod Human Sexuality Group UK

Integrity USA

Integrity Canada

Integrity Uganda

Integrity Brazil

Lesbian and Gay Clergy Consultation UK

The Anglican Consultative Council will discuss the setting up and structure of the Listening Process as requested by Lambeth Resolution 1.10 at 16.30 on Wednesday 2 June 2005.

For further information please contact:

Revd Colin Coward, Co-ordinator of Inclusive Communion

Tel. Office: 01380 724908

Mobile: 07770 844302

email: colin@changingattitude.org

Office: 12 Lavender Gardens, London, SW11 1DL

Telephone 01380 724908
E-mail office@changingattitude.org

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