The Book of Queer Prophets Edited by Ruth Hunt

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Although each contribution is short this gathering is so rich, definitely greater than the sum of the parts, it is so good to hear these voices – not ignoring the pain but not raging with anger.

From Lucy Knight “what if churches didn’t see gay couples as a slightly different ‘version’ of a straight couple, but instead fully celebrated the breath of diversity in people…?” (p155)

This is an awkward reflection about some of the “inclusive” spaces, it is inclusion on their terms not yours, and given how few spaces that manage any kind of inclusion at all we often uncritically grab hold of them, and maybe celebrate them more than is actually healthy.

From Jarel Robinson-Brown “ Perhaps I should have lied. Perhaps I should have cared less about truth, about honesty, about being real. Perhaps God (and the Church) would have honoured my silence...” (P104)

This speaks of the challenge of vocation conversations, the way that somehow it is your fault for mentioning your sexuality rather than the Church’s discrimination that has stopped the process.

From Keith Jarrett “Perhaps it is time to be vocal, to provoke… years ago, silently slipping out of the pews and away, having neither the strength nor self-esteem to advocate for ourselves.” (p215)

This image of those who are missing, who went away from the church because the church had made it clear they were not really welcome – that is not just an LGBT+ issue, it is about race, and disability, and too many other “differences”.

From Jack Guinness “All were welcome. Instead of clear distinct memories, for those early years, I have this warm, fuzzy feeling of chaotic community. … It was only later that I started to think about the Church , with a capital C, as a distinct, faceless institution. For the first ten years of my life, it was indistinguishable from the faces of Floss… Gloria… Fanella… They were the church. All of them. All of us. Together.” (p78)

This image of growing up in a vicarage really spoke to me – it would have been Joan Kay that would have been top of my list of faces