Someone said something to me earlier this week which quite shocked me. They said there was no Episcopal congregation in Edinburgh which was welcoming to LGBT people.
By this, they did not mean that there was an absence of any Episcopal congregations with happy gay people in them. That is clearly not so. The question is, is there any such church which says publicly either by saying so on its website or its literature that LGBT people are welcome or which runs an LGBT group or equivalent which it advertises?
Before we all get ourselves in a tiz saying, “Oh, my church welcomes everyone, we say we welcome everyone therefore we must by definition welcome gay people…” just think it through. You don’t have to spend very long in the company of any group of gay people before you hear someone express the view that they’ve been negatively treated by some church or religious body or another. Also, though churches say that everyone is welcomed, it doesn’t stop them welcoming people explicitly who are for example, students, men, children, fabulous sopranos etc. Saying you welcome everyone is wonderful and I’m sure that lots do. Actually saying you welcome LGBT folk is quite another thing and appears to be considerably more rare.
Anyone want to make nominations.
Didn’t a wise man once say that all clergy are camp ;-)?
Although the wedding show photo does feature hot *female* models! It’s the sort of thing one might find in nuts or zoo (er, one would imagine) 😉
OK.OK, I’m no more camp than any other member of the clergy who finds themselves dressed head to toe in gold on a catwalk with glamorous models.
That’s not very camp, is it?
Jargon explanation: “spikey” V. High Church. Incense, liturgical precision and stuff like Mass & Benediction etc.
“boat boy” – small human being often male who carries the vessel with the incense grains in it.
“camp” – default position of many Scots clergy, especially the spikey one’s:-)
Re the class thing: Spikey Mikes has welcomed me in spite of my going to Beath High! Mind you, we do count a Nobel prize winner, a former Scottish Rugby international and the odd MP promoted to the Lord’s amongst our FP’s so…
At St Columba’s this morning there was the usual welcome printed in bold on the front of the service sheet:
“We believe God affirms all regardless of age, gender, sexual orientation, background or ethnicity and we welcome any who wish to worship and share Communion with us. We welcome and support LGBT people, affirm their lives and ministries, and celebrate their relationships.”
Ooh, we don’t get that at St.Silas! 😉