01/06/2024
The Student Christian Movement, which says that champions "progressive, student led faith", has long welcomed LGBTQIA+ Christians and has a proud history of lobbying for compassion, dialogue and peace. It has issued a statement after the Baptist Union of the United Kingdom, which represents that particular brand of protestantism, voted in its council session to uphold a rule that any Baptist Minister who entered into a civil partnership or samesex marriage would be found to have committed "gross misconduct". The Trustees of the Student Christian Movement said "SCM grieves with our LGBTQ+ siblings in the Baptist Church over this decision to continue to see LGBTQ+ ministers in same-sex marriages as committing 'gross misconduct'. Your love is holy, as all love is holy. And while the Baptist Union Council doesn't see this yet, please know that God does, we do, and so do countless other Christians the world over. We continue to stand in full affirmation of our LGBTQ+ members from the Baptist Church, and will continue to work and pray for a future in which all of God's children are welcomed, included, and affirmed as full participants in the church". In addition, Josh, who is a blogger and a convenor of The Gathering, diverse Christian group at New Road Baptist Church in Oxford, blogged for the SCM on their experiences. Josh wrote "There are, of course, a number of inclusive churches within our Baptist movement, alongside a myriad of allies who have stood with LGBT+ Baptists as we have pushed for equality and inclusivity. These churches, because of the way our ecclesiology works, have the right to register for same-sex marriage should they wish – and a number have. This does, however, have the unfortunate effect of meaning that LGBT+ ministers can conduct same-sex weddings, but not enter same-sex marriages themselves. We are also blessed by the existence of Affirm, who have been campaigning for LGBT+ equality and inclusion in the Baptist Union for nearly 25 years. As a member of Affirm myself, I have been blessed by their support for LGBT+ ministers and leaders. We know that they will keep fighting for inclusion, equality and justice on our behalf like the persistent widow (Luke 18:1-8), not giving up until we have full inclusion of LGBT+ people in the Baptist Union. I, alongside many others, will forever be grateful for the way they, alongside a number of inclusive Baptist churches and ministers, continue to fight for us even when we run out of the energy to fight ourselves."
https://www.movement.org.uk/blog/response-baptist-union-council-decision...
