Letter to the Archbishop of Canterbury - 12th March 2005

Nick writes to Dr. Rowan Williams on behalf of YLGC.

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Dear Archbishop Rowan,

We would like to express our deep disappointment with the contents of the communiqué released by the Anglican primates, meeting at Newry in Northern Ireland on the 20-25th February. We are particularly saddened by its consideration of human sexuality and its request that the Canadian and US churches withdraw from the Anglican Consultative Council for three years.

As young lesbian, gay and bisexual Christians, we are hurt by the Communion’s continuing inability to fully accept us as human beings created in the image of God. The Communion’s commitment “to the pastoral support and care of homosexual people” is simply not enough, especially given that the Church’s views on human sexuality are often used to justify the very “victimisation or diminishment of [lesbian, gay and bisexual] human beings” you are trying to condemn.

While the Communion would like to assure us that we are “children of God, loved and valued by him,” its actions speak louder than its words; the US and Canadian churches are being punished precisely because they (in some dioceses, at least) fully recognise us as children of God, through blessing our unions and allowing us to serve God’s people through ordination to the diaconate, priesthood and episcopate.

For us on the margins, it is sometimes possible to believe that the work of God’s Spirit is being thwarted in the Anglican Communion, especially when Britain’s secular society often shows us more compassion than does the Church. The churches in Canada and the US give us hope that the Communion can indeed become a place where all are welcomed. If the Communion does not have room for them, does it have room for us?

Though expressing our disappointment, we remain people of hope and we pray that the Holy Spirit will guide the Anglican Communion at this difficult time. If there is some way in which we could help the Church move forward on this issue of human sexuality (perhaps through sharing our experiences with Church leaders), do let us know.

With prayers and good wishes,