Present, yet Invisible: the Church’s Problem with Gay People

Since the House of Bishops of the Church of England effectively pulled the plug on the ‘Living in Love and Faith’ (LLF) process – and so any chance of the church offering a proper affirmation of same-sex partnerships - there have been many reactions of dismay, anger and hurt.

Two stand out. One is this beautiful, moving and honest sermon by Mark Oakley, the Dean of Southwark cathedral. In it, he talks of his own experience of being gay in the church. He describes the contrast between those who would label him as unnatural, and the reaction of his grandmother when he told her about his sexuality at the age of eighteen. He remembers her saying that her only fear had been that he would not be able to tell her. What a contrast between this woman’s joyful acceptance and the lives of denial, silence and shame that many LGBTQ+ people have had to live because of their fellow Christians.

The second remarkable reaction is one that Mark quotes at length in his sermon, the article ‘Winded After the Death of LLF’by David Monteith, the Dean of Canterbury cathedral. Here, David writes of the ‘gut wrenching and hurtful’ impact of abandoning LLF. Once again, he writes, gay people are told that ‘our minority lives and loves must remain marginal, hidden and uncatered-for’. Reflecting on the lack of any support or even contact from senior clergy, he says ‘We are invisible despite being