On behalf of the trustees and supporters of Changing Attitude I have written to the acting Bishop of Southwell and Nottingham, copied to both Archbishops: Dear Bishop Richard, I am writing to convey the deep concern felt by myself and the trustees of Changing Attitude England at your refusal to issue Canon Jeremy Pemberton with a licence as Head of Chaplaincy & Bereavement Services at a hospital in the Diocese of Southwell and Nottingham because of his marriage. We ask you to change your mind and issue Jeremy with a licence. You have set a precedent which may well be illegal and we hope the legality of your action will be tested in court. You have set a precedent for punitive action against every lesbian and gay priest and Reader in the Church of England who marries or converts a civil partnership into a marriage. There are several hundred who plan to do this. Your action will inhibit any wise young person contemplating ordination from putting themselves forward. Changing Attitude discourages any lesbian or gay ordinand from proceeding until the House of Bishops accepts clergy in equal marriages. Changing Attitude finds your action intolerable for a number of reasons. Firstly, for the whole of my thirty five years in ordained ministry bishops have quietly colluded in supporting partnered lesbian and gay clergy and Readers, many living with their partner in a Vicarage or clergy house. Partners have been welcomed at diocesan events and acknowledged publicly by bishops. Now that lesbian and gay couples can marry and legally formalize their relationship, bishops are taking legal action against them. You place lesbian and gay clergy and Readers in an intolerable position. Either you reinforce the hypocrisy of ‘don’t ask, don’t tell’ or you destroy faithful, loving relationships which are foundational to the fulfilment of many lives given generously to God in ministry. Both Paul Butler, previously Bishop of Southwell and Nottingham, now Bishop of Durham and Christopher Lowson, Bishop of Lincoln issued Jeremy with a PTO and licence respectively in the full knowledge that he is gay and living in a relationship. Jeremy currently works as a Chaplain in an NHS Trust in Lincolnshire and retains his general licence from the Bishop of Lincoln. Your action now is deeply hypocritical. You claim that Jeremy does not model the Churchs teaching in his life knowing the Church of England teaches that it is better to marry than cohabit. We are told that there has been no disciplinary process, no hearing and there is no right of appeal against this decision. Changing Attitude England represents over 1,500 people, lay and ordained, gay and straight. They are outraged at the punitive action being taken against Canon Pemberton. The culture of the House of Bishops is dysfunctional at best and guilty of internalized homophobia at worst, resulting in the direct and indirect homophobic bullying of lesbian and gay church members. We urge you to change your decision to refuse Canon Pemberton a licence. Yours sincerely, Revd Colin Coward MBE Director of Changing Attitude England
Posted on: Wed, 09 Jul 2014 12:32:39 +0000
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