Despite definitive advice from trans priests and Changing Attitude England and following eight months of intense conversation, the House of Bishops decided at their March 2022 meeting to ignore the deep concerns of trans people and announce for a second time their intention to “review attempts to explore questions of gender identity and transition and agreed to seek and commission an appropriate group to take this work forward.” There is absolutely no need for any such work to take place because it is potentially harmful.
In May 2021 the House of Bishops made a proposal to revisit questions about trans people already discussed in the Living in Love and Faith (LLF) book. The press release for the House of Bishops meeting on 18 May said “The House discussed additional working groups related to the LLF process and agreed in principle to the formation of a working group on gender identity and transition under the auspices of the LLF Next Steps Group (NSG), details of which will be announced in due course.”
This decision by the House of Bishops provoked a strong negative reaction from trans people, and in particular those involved in the LLF Coordinating Group where they had experienced serious abuse. Over the next ten months an email and in person conversation developed between Tina Beardsley, with the support of two other trans clergy, the Changing Attitude England steering group, the Bishop of London and Dr Eeva John, the Enabling Officer of the Living in Love and Faith Project.
Protracted engagement with the Next Steps Group
The Trans clergy pointed out that it was a really bad idea to focus on one group in this manner and that it risked undermining the Church of England's position and practice in this area - the work of two decades - not least the unequivocally affirmative statement included in the House of Bishops' own pastoral guidance. They asked the Bishop of London to ensure that any such working group on gender identity and transition would be composed of a wide range of trans members, including transfeminine, transmasculine and non-binary people together with those who are recognised specialists in the field of gender identity and in overseeing people’s transitions.
The Bishop of London replied saying the House of Bishops’ decision was only an ‘in principle’ agreement.
In July the Bishop of London said the Next Steps Group had come to a clearer articulation of what they hoped to do. “It would be a resource gathering exercise, enabling the Church to be better informed about the multiple questions being raised in society about gender and transition and the serious pastoral impacts these debates are having on trans people and others affected by them.” At a meeting in August with Eeva John, trans representatives were told that the status of the proposed trans working group would not now be a group but desktop research looking at articles, books, etc. and preparing a digest for those who need it.
An annotated bibliography proposed
Ignoring this, the NSG emailed a proposal for an annotated bibliography, listing people who might be consulted. Changing Attitude England shares the deep concern that people hostile to the full and equal inclusion of trans people were included in the circulation. The trans representatives pointed out that a bibliography was unnecessary as there is already an extensive range of materials in the LLF library. The NSG representatives were emailed requesting that they abandon the proposal to produce an annotated bibliography. The Bishop of London replied on 12 November saying the NSG were not inviting people to engage with one another or even with one another’s views and acknowledged how potentially damaging and difficult that would be.
Meeting with trans clergy representatives
In December 2021 representatives of the Next Steps Group met with the trans representatives, who pointed out that a church working party is highly unlikely - and probably ill-equipped - to resolve the societal debates about trans people, which the Next Steps Group, was concerned about, in the short or even a longer time frame. The outcome of this meeting was the suggestion that something was needed about the pastoral care of trans people and that the trilogy of books Tina had co-authored might contain some of the resources.
Eeva John emailed the trans clergy in January 2022, glad that they had agreed to move ahead with a resource for good practice in pastoral care of trans and gender fluid people. Eeva acknowledged that the conversation had helped the NSG understand that the necessary exploration of questions of gender identity and transition needed to take place within a ‘boundaried’ context so as to avoid – or at the very least minimise – any harm to trans- and gender fluid people and others affected. She said it was likely that they would need to gather a small working group to progress this work further.
It became clear to Tina that it would be inadvisable for her to contribute to the work, given the views on gender fluidity of those who had also been consulted and who operated with a very different model of pastoral care. Tina communicated her decision to the NSG noting that LLF’s online library already offers a range of texts and resources. She could see no point in contributing to pastoral resources until House of Bishops had resolved its own disagreements about gender identity and transition acknowledged in the LLF book.
House of Bishops ignore advice and commission a new group
Yet on March 24 2022, despite the objection of trans clergy and the Changing Attitude England Steering Group, the House of Bishops agreed for a second time to “review attempts to explore questions of gender identity and transition and agreed to seek and commission an appropriate group to take this work forward.”
How did this happen?
Who brought the proposal, totally opposed by trans clergy and CAE, to the House of Bishops for a second time? Whoever it was has wilfully overridden the patient representations made over a period of months to the NSG. This is an astonishing and unnecessary decision. The repeated abuse of trans and LGBTQIA people in the Church of England must end now.
The majority of British society including members of the Church of England agreed that questions of gender identity and transition have been broadly resolved and enshrined in law. These questions were resolved by the Church of England in 2017. The House of Bishops fails to understand this.
The majority of people believe that to question the reality and integrity of trans people is wrong and un-Christian. Lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, intersex, queer and asexual people are understood to be natural variants of human gender and sexuality and not perverse choices made by people against the will of God as some extreme conservatives believe. These attitudes are seen to be un-Christian, contrary to God’s unconditional love manifest in creation and contrary to the teaching of Jesus.
Changing Attitude England would like to know why the members of the Next Steps Group through the Bishop of London allowed this proposal to be brought again to the House of Bishops and why the House agreed to pursue a course of action rejected repeatedly as unnecessary by trans people.
No place for homophobic and transphobic teaching
The House of Bishops must take responsibility for creating a radical new Christian inclusion for LGBTQIA+ people. There is no place in Christianity and the Church of England for teachings and theologies that are prejudiced against the equality, full inclusion and well-being of any group of people because of their God-given identities.
Homophobic and transphobic teachings have no place in the Christian Church. They are no longer acceptable as authentic, valid expressions of the teachings of Jesus. These beliefs about gender and sexuality are not legitimate, orthodox variants of Christian teaching and doctrine but remnants of church traditions from the past that reflect an understanding of biology and anthropology that has long been rejected.
Trans people do not want any further attempts to explore questions of gender identity and transition to be made by the House of Bishops. They are most certainly not asking for an ‘appropriate’ group to be commissioned to take any such work forward.
To pursue a vision of the Church where LGBTQIA+ people will be welcomed and loved unconditionally you might like to join Changing Attitude England on Facebook.