‘To be trans is to enter a sacred journey of becoming whole’

[tabbycatstripy]

This isn’t a quotation from India Willoughby. It’s from a letter signed by senior religious leaders, including Rowan Williams, ex Archbishop of Canterbury, to Boris Johnson, urging him to ban trans conversion therapy.

I’m not a member of the CoE, but I don’t think I’m unreasonable in thinking they are going outside their religious remit. If I attended their church I would be seriously questioning whether these people shared my religious faith, and whether they had lost their ability to lead me in faith.

Be trans, don’t be trans. I don’t mind. But I don’t think it has anything to do with Christianity and see nothing in any Christian thought that would regard being trans as ‘sacred’ (obviously being kind etc is a Christian way to live your life - that’s different to calling being trans ‘sacred’).

All a bit odd.

I'm lucky enough to worship in a cathedral, so I have a wide choice of services to go to.

@tabbycatstripy

The Church of England makes errors. It’s a human institution and it will return to sanity as human institutions do.

Maybe. It seems these days to be rushing towards making itself irrelevant and ridiculous with real gusto.

[quote Watermonster]The Cof E has also ended freedom of speech for clergy and church members who don't believe TWAW. It has passed a service telling clergy to gaslight entire congregations, inc abuse victims, about someone's sex if the individual says so.

No assessment or even consideration of the impact or distress on women and child abuse victims, or even the ex wife/ kids of the TW concerned. No assessment of the safeguarding risks of telling children that males are women- the guidance was written by 3 males, all transwomen. Another abuse scandal just waiting to happen- the 'sacred caste'.

-www.churchofengland.org/sites/default/files/2018-12/Pastoral%20Guidance-Affirmation-Baptismal-Faith.pdf

www.churchofengland.org/news-and-media/news-and-statements/guidance-welcoming-transgender-people-published[/quote]
That’s appalling. And one more piece of evidence that the trans lobby is male supremacist. Did they even bother to wheel out one transman as a figleaf?

Isn’t it funny how the c of e knew exactly what a woman was when it came to female vicars and bishops? Would this mean that if women hadn’t fought so hard to become ministers, that any male priest who transitioned would have to leave? I bet they’d have allowed women priests then.

The naivete and ignorance is utterly dispiriting. Any such statement implies any journey of “transition” is right and good and (worse) cannot be questioned.

Of course, they may well have a few bishops or other high-ups who love wearing frilly knickers under their cassocks. I have long suspected that part of the reason it appealed to so many in government or the civil service was for the same reason.

I would be happy for the Church to fight to root out religiously based conversion therapy both for sexuality and gender nonconformity, because all the abusive 'therapy' i have read about has originated in religious settings. It would be nice if someone could actually challenge St Aldates in Oxford on this. But these churches are financial and spiritual powerhouses so nothing happens.