Britain's only openly married gay vicar elected to Church of England synod

[Thorolfr]

From today’s Guardian:

Britain’s only openly married gay vicar has been elected to the Church of England’s General Synod, and will use his position to “advocate for a church that faces up to issues of sexuality in a honest and compassionate way”.

Andrew Foreshew-Cain, the vicar of St Mary with All Souls, Kilburn and St James, West Hampstead, said he was “pleased but shocked” at his election in the London section of the nationwide ballot to the church’s governing body. “I wasn’t expecting to get on – I thought the clergy were too conservative to vote for a progressive like me,” he told the Guardian.

His election reflected a hope “for a more inclusive and tolerant church”, he added. “People would not have voted for me if they didn’t want to see the change we represent.”

Foreshew-Cain, who married his long-term partner, Stephen, an atheist, last June, has been “informally rebuked” by his diocese, but no action has been taken against him. The church says it supports clergy in same-sex civil partnerships, but marriage is a union of a man and a woman.

theguardian.com/world/2015/oct/12/britains-only-openly-married-gay-vicar-elected-to-church-of-england-synod?CMP=share_btn_tw

 

[ProdglArchitect]

I knew that the CoE was falling off base, but this is ridiculous…

They’ve elected a man who is opening living in an immoral relationship (for which he has already been publicly rebuked), who has publicly stated that his intention is to advocate for acceptance of the situation for which he has been rebuked…

That’s like electing the fox to watch over the hen house after the fox has already killed one of the hens, and said that, if elected, he plans to help other foxes kill the hens as well…

 

[Michael1978]

Good grief. An openly gay vicar “married” to an atheist. The COE is falling into irrelevancy at a rather rapid clip.

 

[Used2beSherryG]

I guess the faithful will have to use their own consciences and come to a conclusion about continuing to follow the Church of England. Many more will come with come home to the Catholic church .

 

[IgnatianPhilo]

“The church says it supports clergy in same-sex civil partnerships, but marriage is a union of a man and a woman.”

This statement baffles me.

 

[Tim_D]

I know that Queen Elizabeth has been very unhappy with the course of the Church of England for some time. As the head of the church, is there anything that she can do or is it like her political authority, just the capacity to advise?

 

[Deus_tecum]

This is how Satan chips away at religious institutions. First he softens up the people morally, and then thru this they elect the immoral to leadership. Not long after that the immorality becomes part of the institution.

 

[Starwarsfan2]

“The church says it supports clergy in same-sex civil partnerships, but marriage is a union of a man and a woman.”

This statement baffles me.

, Lord have mercy. But at least it supports marriage between a man and woman