Church of England - no longer a church

The Church of England no longer follows the Bible but follows culture. 

On Sunday, the Church of England’s governing body, the General Synod, voted by an overwhelming majority not simply to welcome but also to affirm transgender people. The world now feels a better place. Casting doubt on their lived experience is well known to be harmful to trans people, who often have to assert the reality of their gender identity when those around them are perplexed by or hostile to what they are saying. The Church of England’s apparent uncertainty about trans people had contributed to this.

TINA BEARDSLEY STORY ILLUSTRATES THAT THIS CHURCH IS GONE

It tells the mess that results when a church follows culture and not scripture.

My own journey, as someone who transitioned to transgender in 2001, having been ordained for more than 20 years, illustrates the church’s ambivalence at that time. Being transgender was not a barrier to ordination in the Church of England, though much still depended on one’s bishop, as Church of England bishops have a degree of autonomy in their dioceses. The church’s view of trans clergy at the time was perhaps less significant than its attitude to women. 

At the same time, people were offering themselves for ordination who had transitioned earlier in their lives, and the Church of England put provisions in place that enabled them to enter the discernment process.

The Church of England’s then-implacable opposition to same-sex marriage, and its initial reservations about civil partnerships, also had unfortunate consequences for trans people who were heterosexually married. The Gender Recognition Act 2004 stipulated that they could obtain full gender recognition only by first divorcing their spouse and then, if they wished, contracting a civil partnership. It was odd to find the church’s position apparently encouraging divorce.

At the time of my transition, I was in a long-term partnership with the man who is now my husband. Since the Gender Recognition Act, trans people legally confirmed in their gender identity under its provisions are able to marry someone of the opposite sex in their parish church. If clergy are aware of someone’s gender journey, and have conscientious objections to such a marriage, they are not obliged to conduct the ceremony. Nevertheless, the Church of England did not object to the Gender Recognition Act in the way it did to the Marriage (Same Sex Couples) Act 2013, under which it has extensive exemptions. (Surprise surprise)

The Church of England has lost the plot completely!