Andrew Goddard writes at Fulcrum:
Just over eighteen months ago the membership was announced of the House of Bishops Review Group on sexuality chaired by Sir Joseph Pilling. Its work was never going to be easy but, with the recent passing into law of same-sex marriage, the Church of England now faces even greater challenges. As Archbishop Justin told General Synod “we must accept that there is a revolution in the area of sexuality, and we have not fully heard it.” In the face of this “we are called by God to respond radically and imaginatively to new contexts — contexts that are set up by revolutions.”
The report of the Pilling Group (due to go to the House of Bishops in December) will play a major part in shaping any radical or imaginative response. They have taken evidence from a range of individuals and groups. My own submission just over a year ago (text) tried to map out the challenges then facing the Church of England and I’ve recently been thinking about how the report might help us in our revolutionary situation and the importance of reason in its work.
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.
