Big decision over new priest for Sussex gay community (From The Argus)
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Big decision over new priest for Sussex gay community
5:50pm Tuesday 11th December 2012 in News By Tim Ridgway, Local government reporter
A ground breaking scheme to appoint a priest for the county’s gay community is being considered.
Church of England bosses in Sussex are viewing the move as a way to reach out to the large LGBT community.
If approved, it would be the first position of its type in the country.
Campaigners welcomed the scheme as a sign of progress towards equality in the church.
Dr Keith Sharpe, chairman of Changing Attitude Sussex, which campaigns for LGBT equality in the Anglican Church, said: “As the established church of the land, the Church of England has a pastoral care for everybody, and in the Diocese of Chichester this includes a very large LGBT community, particularly in Brighton and Hove.
“While many parish churches are open and welcoming towards gay people, what is needed is a specific designated priest who can act as a bridge between the church and our community.
“There is alienation from the church among gay people because of what some church leaders have said, and there is a lack of understanding of what it is like to be LGBT among the churches.
“I see the role as helping each side better understand the other, for the benefit of both and the whole community.
“This would be a first for Brighton, as there is no priestly post operating in this way anywhere else.
Future model
“It could be a model for other areas with big LGBT populations to copy.”
The idea was put forward by Dr Sharpe and Father David Clues, of St Bartholomew’s Church, Brighton.
It comes just weeks after Henry Ware became the new Bishop of Chichester, the head of the Church of England in Sussex.
Douglas McKittrick, Archdeacon of Chichester, said: “The clergy who serve in the Church of England’s parishes in Brighton have a commitment to honouring the LGBT community that form an important part of this city.
“In Brighton we are talking with representatives from the LGBT community and with representatives of other groups, as well as those within the Diocese.
“The determination to serve all people equally remains at the heart of our mission.”
The news comes as Downing Street looks set to fast-track legislation for equal marriage in churches.
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Comments(8)
sussexram40
says...
6:47pm Tue 11 Dec 12
Crystal Ball
says...
7:57pm Tue 11 Dec 12
John Steed
says...
8:32pm Tue 11 Dec 12
Mr Sworld
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12:04am Wed 12 Dec 12
John Steed wrote:Unless you want to be a female bishop of course. 0_o
completely wrong idea, being LGBT should not involve special clergy, they should be able to happily integrate with any existing congregation, after all we are all equal in the eyes of the lord
Angryoldman
says...
8:06am Wed 12 Dec 12
I'm just glad the new census has shown religion to be dying on its back side. Sky fairies for people who cant handle the fact that one day they will be worm food.
Santa clause for adults that can’t think for themselves.
Religion is a state sanctioned mental illness that lies to people in order to control them.
sjames6621
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10:07am Wed 12 Dec 12
The bottom line is that when people discover they know gay people - the closet broken - they become supporters of gay people.
this idea is cruel in several ways
tooned_in
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1:19pm Wed 12 Dec 12
eastendpriest says...
6:02pm Tue 11 Dec 12
Perhaps you mean Dr Martin Warner?