UNITY and INCLUSION

Jesus was someone who, as they say, "pushed the boundaries" His life and death incarnated the inclusive love of God, that reached and reaches still beyond the distinctions with which we so often acquiesce. To his table came not only the religiously respectable but the excluded and socially unacceptable – and his at times scandalous fellowship incarnated and revealed the Kingdom of God.

And the Church has tried, and sometimes struggled, to be faithful to the inclusiveness of grace. Paul's great affirmation that in Christ "there is neither Jew or Greek, slave or free, male or female" (Gal.3:26) has been a witness to which, even in the pages of the New Testament, believers have sometimes failed to live up, either by accident or by design. Christian history has at times been a sad witness to exclusion rather than inclusion, but the vision of unconditional grace and love has remained as inspiration and challenge when we have wanted to draw our boundaries too tightly.

Whether we like it or not, issues of gender, race and sexual orientation have often been the place where the church has struggled to be inclusive, in its membership or its ministry. Not that we are simply to go along with the ways of the world, indeed we are called sometimes to be a prophetic challenge to the assumptions of those around us, nor are we to ignore the Gospel call to conversion of life, but it has often proven hard for believers to keep the boundaries of the fellowship open that all may come in.

Nearly four years ago, our confusions came to a head with the appointment of Dr Jeffrey John, a priest of homosexual orientation but who had been celibate for many years, to the post of Bishop of Reading. After a few weeks of frenzied and heated debate in the Church of England, Dr John withdrew his acceptance of the post, for the sake of the unity of the Church, and so as not to be a stumbling block. In the wake of this the "Inclusive Church Movement" ( www.inclusivechurch.net ) was launched, calling individuals and fellowships to reaffirm the inclusivity of God's church. The Inclusive Church declaration is this:

"We affirm that the Church's mission, in obedience to Holy Scripture, is

to proclaim the Gospel of Jesus Christ afresh in every generation. We

acknowledge that this is Good news for people regardless of their sex,

race or sexual orientation. We believe that, in order to strengthen the

Gospel's proclamation of justice to the world, and for the greater glory of

God, the Church's own common life must be justly ordered. To that end we

call on our Church to live out the promise of the Gospel; to celebrate the

diverse gifts of all members of the Body of Christ, and in the ordering of

our common life to open the ministries of deacon, priest and bishop to those

so called to serve by God, regardless of their sex, race or sexual orientation."

Inevitably it is the reference to sexual orientation and ordination that comes first to our attention, but it needs to be recognised that this is a very broad statement - about orientation rather than practice. As such, it is in keeping with the House of Bishops' document "Issues in Human Sexuality" (1990), which remains the benchmark of current practice. It is one that can be affirmed both by those who would welcome the ordination of homosexual people in stable partnerships, and by those who would have serious ethical concerns about this, and would expect abstinence from the unmarried. Both can affirm by this statement that sexual orientation is not in itself a bar to ordained ministry.

The reference to gender and ordination, could ironically be seen as the more radical of the statements, since the Church of England has yet to consecrate women as Bishops (though the Anglican Churches in the USA, Canada and New Zealand have done so for a number of years). However, the matter is "in process" in Synod, although if passed, the first consecrations would be some way in the future. Once again, this broad statement affirms the principle, rather than a course of action, and can be affirmed by those who would argue for the consecration of women bishops as a matter of urgency and justice, and those who accept it in principle, but believe that there must be greater consensus (and a healthy debate could and does take place between the two positions !)

The matter of inclusivity of race has long been affirmed structurally, though there still sadly remains some evidence of discrimination on a congregational basis. The statement is meant to record a stand against all such exclusion.

The Inclusive Church movement intends that individuals and congregations, by signing up to the statement, commit themselves to imaging the radical, inclusive welcome of God in Jesus, in those areas of church life where there remains difficultly and discrimination. Individuals have been encouraged to sign up via the website (see above), and many thousands have done so, Churches can also agree to be part of this as corporate signatories. The statement does not claim that gender, race or orientation are the only areas of exclusion, but it is believed that these are those most publicly before the church.

As a result of the discussions at the Parish Conference in 2005, the Church Council will in March 2007 be discussing the Inclusive Church statement. What do you think ? Is this something to which we as a Church could sign up ? Considered responses (preferably in writing) can be made to the Clergy or to the Church Wardens before the meeting.

Roger Clarke

February 2007

Christ, when he was lifted up, did not say,

“I draw some people to myself”.

He said “I draw all, all, All”.

Archbishop Desmond Tutu