The Very Rev. David Ison of St. Paul’s Cathedral in London has explored the question of how those who emphasize inclusion relate to those who stress other concerns, such as doctrine.
Ison, dean of St. Paul’s since 2012, was the featured speaker at the fifth annual Inclusive Church lecture on July 20.
“The way I put it for St. Paul’s is that we are the cathedral church for both the first Church of England priest to marry his husband, and the rector of St. Helen’s Bishopsgate who regards the cathedral as a place of false teaching,” he says in one passage.
Dean Ison adds near his conclusion: “Inclusive Church has done much to open up Christian faith to those on the margins, and support those who struggle with the exclusive attitudes of some inside and outside the Church. And in my dreams you would change your name to Inclusive and Challenging Church, as you pursue your role of promoting and sharing love and justice in Christ’s name, pursuing the burning love of God.”
Dean Ison’s text is available on Inclusive Church’s website [PDF].
Tip of the biretta: Thinking Anglicans
Matthew Townsend is a Halifax-based freelance journalist and volunteer advocate for survivors of sexual misconduct in Anglican settings. He served as editor of the Anglican Journal from 2019 to 2021 and communications missioner for the Anglican Diocese of Quebec from 2019 to 2022. He and his wife recently entered catechism class in the Orthodox Church in America.
