Bishop says C of E change of stance on sexuality would spark exodus

A Church of England bishop has said he and other conservative evangelicals may leave the church if it changes traditional teaching on sexuality and identity.

Julian Henderson, the bishop of Blackburn, said such a move would be “a moment for people to have to reconsider their allegiance to the church”.

He made the comments in a slick 30-minute video, produced by the C of E Evangelical Council (CEEC), which sets out orthodox biblical teaching on sexuality and relationships.

The Beautiful Story urges evangelical members of the church to stand for election to the C of E’s ruling body, the General Synod, in order to oppose and vote against any change to traditional teaching.

Henderson, who is president of the CEEC, says on the video: “As and when the church gets to the point where it changes its teaching and its liturgy and its practice in these areas, it is going to be a moment for people to have to reconsider their allegiance to the church.

“At the moment I want to be in the Church of England, I want to fight for the traditional teaching of the church on these matters. But the time may come when it’s going to be essential for those who hold to scriptural teaching on marriage and same-sex relationships to say: ‘We cannot operate under this particular system and support this kind of doctrine and practice within the life of our church.’ And that may then lead to having to look for alternative solutions.”

This month C of E leaders said a decision on sexuality and identity issues that have divided the church for decades would be taken in 2022.

At the moment the church does not allow same-sex marriage and does not officially bless same-sex civil marriages. Gay clergy are permitted to be in relationships so long as they are celibate.

The bishops’ pledge came after a three-year mission to examine issues of sexuality and identity, known as Living in Love and Faith, produced a raft of materials designed to facilitate yet further discussion by parishes and congregations.

Addressing an online meeting of the synod on Monday, Justin Welby, the archbishop of Canterbury, spoke of the “complexity of the issues” in which there were “few or no binaries”. “It is not as simple as some on all sides of the discussion like to pretend,” he said.

Jayne Ozanne, a leading campaigner for LGBT equality in the C of E, said the video “sets out the harmful teaching to which many evangelical churches are subjecting their congregations – including their LGBT+ congregants”.

She wrote in a blog: “Make no mistake about it, Church of England, this sort of teaching is wrong, harmful, dangerous and must be stopped. What is it going to take? Another young person deciding to take their life?”

She called for an independent inquiry into the “harmful practices and rhetoric that LGBT+ people are being subjected to in our society, and by certain religious groups in particular.”