Bishop speaks to Synod with love and understanding for lesbian and gay people

The bishop of St Edmundsbury and Ipswich spoke today about the problems faced by lesbian and gay people within the Anglican Church. In his Presidential Address to his Diocesan Synod the Rt Revd Richard Lewis urged all involved in the debate on human sexuality to treat with other respectfully:

Speaking in response to the bishop's words the Revd Richard Kirker, General Secretary of the Lesbian and Gay Christian Movement said:

"While I am sure the bishop of St Edmundsbury and Ipswich and I would not agree on every aspect of the debate on sexuality, he has shown himself to be a man both worth talking with and listening to.

"Only a matter of hours ago we were confronted by another wicked statement from the Bishop of Chester who thinks we are sick and need to be cured.

"Here we have a bishop who genuinely represents the true spirit of Anglicanism that is both compassionate and willing to listen.

"Bishop Richard has felt our pain, not as if he were another creature, but as if he were in our skin. He has seen at first hand the hurt that is done, in the name of God, to lesbian and gay Christians in his own diocese.

"He shares our sadness at the blind condemnation of people because of their sexuality and been frustrated by those filled with a certainty that has no room for dialogue or debate.

"He too is shocked by the violent language from bishops in Nigeria and elsewhere, and worried at the trend to cast out rather than gather in.

"The Church of England's future hangs on bishops like Richard Lewis - their calm good sense and pastoral heart must prevail against the spectre of division that haunts us today." 

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