Inclusive Church is an organisation founded in 2003 that advocates for the full inclusion of all people regardless of ethnicity,

gender Gender is the range of characteristics pertaining to femininity and masculinity and differentiating between them. Depending on the context, this may include sex-based social structures (i.e. gender roles) and gender identity. Most cultures u ...

and

sexual orientation Sexual orientation is an enduring pattern of romantic or sexual attraction (or a combination of these) to persons of the opposite sex or gender, the same sex or gender, or to both sexes or more than one gender. These attractions are generall ...

, in the Christian churches (especially the

Church of England The Church of England (C of E) is the established Christian church in England and the mother church of the international Anglican Communion. It traces its history to the Christian church recorded as existing in the Roman province of Britain ...

), including in the threefold order of bishops, priests and deacons. More broadly, it seeks "to raise awareness about the ways that people feel excluded by the church".

Founding and organisation

Inclusive Church was founded in 2003, following the resignation of

Jeffrey John Jeffrey Philip Hywel John (born 10 February 1953) is a Church of England priest, who served as the Dean of St Albans from 2004 until 2021. He made headlines in 2003 when he was the first person to have openly been in a same-sex relationshi ...

, a

celibate Celibacy (from Latin ''caelibatus'') is the state of voluntarily being unmarried, sexually abstinent, or both, usually for religious reasons. It is often in association with the role of a religious official or devotee. In its narrow sense, th ...

gay

priest A priest is a religious leader authorized to perform the sacred rituals of a religion, especially as a mediatory agent between humans and one or more deities. They also have the authority or power to administer religious rites; in particu ...

, as Bishop-''designate'' of Reading, following controversy over his homosexuality. Its first chair was

Giles Fraser Giles Anthony Fraser (born 27 November 1964)St Mary's, Putney St. Mary's Church (in full, the Church of St. Mary the Virgin), Putney, is an Anglican church in Putney, London, sited next to the River Thames, beside the southern approach to Putney Bridge. There has been a centre of Christian worship on this s ...

and later Canon Chancellor of

St Paul's Cathedral St Paul's Cathedral is an Anglican cathedral in London and is the seat of the Bishop of London. The cathedral serves as the mother church of the Diocese of London. It is on Ludgate Hill at the highest point of the City of London and is a Grad ...

. The organisation's petition against John's resignation achieved nearly 10,000 signatures. In the decade after its creation, Inclusive Church's focus broadened away from sexual orientation. The organisation seeks to include all who feel excluded from churches. In 2014–2015, the organisation published a series of books under the title Inclusive Church Resource, dealing with disability, mental health, sexuality, poverty, ethnicity, and gender. Inclusive Church's national co-ordinator is Ruth Wilde. Its board includes elected independent trustees alongside representatives from other organisations with similar aims, such as Changing Attitude, the Association of Black Clergy,

Women and the Church Women and the Church (WATCH) is a group of women and men who have been campaigning for gender equality (and especially for the ordination of women as bishops) in the Church of England. The group was initially created during the 1990s as London WATCH ...

, and

Modern Church Modern Church is a charitable society promoting liberal Christian theology. It defends liberal positions on a wide range of issues including gender, sexuality, interfaith relations, religion and science, and biblical scholarship. In church affa ...

. Most member churches are part of the

, but there are also member churches from the

Methodist Church Methodism, also called the Methodist movement, is a group of historically related Christian denomination, denominations of Protestantism, Protestant Christianity whose origins, doctrine and practice derive from the life and teachings of John W ...

, the

United Reformed Church The United Reformed Church (URC) is a Protestant Christian church in the United Kingdom. As of 2022 it has approximately 40,000 members in 1,284 congregations with 334 stipendiary ministers. Origins and history The United Reformed Church resulte ...

, independent churches and churches outside the UK.

Lectures

In 2013, Inclusive Church started hosting an annual lecture related to the organisation's goals. The inaugural lecture was given by

Martyn Percy Martyn may refer to: *Martyn (surname), one of the Tribes of Galway and others *Martyn (given name) See also *Martin (disambiguation) *Marten (disambiguation) *Martin of Tours Martin of Tours ( la, Sanctus Martinus Turonensis; 316/336 – 8 Nov ...

, then principal of

Ripon College, Cuddesdon Ripon College Cuddesdon is a Church of England theological college in Cuddesdon, a village outside Oxford, England. The College trains men and women for ministry in the Church of England: stipendiary, non-stipendiary, local ordained and lay min ...

, and later Dean of

Christ Church, Oxford Christ Church ( la, Ædes Christi, the temple or house, '' ædēs'', of Christ, and thus sometimes known as "The House") is a constituent college of the University of Oxford in England. Founded in 1546 by King Henry VIII, the college is uniqu ...

, and was entitled "Beyond Inclusion: Whose Church Is It Anyway?" In 2014, the lecture was given by

Linda Woodhead Linda Jane Pauline Woodhead (born 15 February 1964) is a British academic specialising in the religious studies and sociology of religion at King's College London Faculty of Arts and Humanities. She is best known for her work on religious chan ...

, Professor of Sociology of Religion at

Lancaster University Lancaster University (legally The University of Lancaster) is a public university, public research university in Lancaster, Lancashire, Lancaster, Lancashire, England. The university was established in 1964 by royal charter, as one of several pla ...

, and was entitled "Whatever happened to

Liberal Christianity Liberal Christianity, also known as Liberal Theology and historically as Christian Modernism (see Catholic modernism The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 bill ...

2015 General Synod campaign

In January 2015, Inclusive Church, in partnership with other organisations, began a campaign focused on the

General Synod of the Church of England The General Synod is the tricameral deliberative and legislative organ of the Church of England. The synod was instituted in 1970, replacing the Church Assembly, and is the culmination of a process of rediscovering self-government for the Church ...

elections taking place later that year. The campaign aimed to "work against discrimination" in the Church of England during the five-year synod term. It was described by the campaign co-ordinator as "an attempt to increase the number of people on General Synod, both lay and clergy, who would take an inclusive line against discrimination on areas of gender, race and sexual orientation".

References

External links

* {{Official website, http://www.inclusive-church.org.uk/ LGBT Christian organizations LGBT and Anglicanism Christian advocacy groups