Survey of Church Attitudes to LGBT People/Relationships
Phase One: Anglican Churches in Brighton and Hove
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Notes:
a) Most churches simply identified one of the four boxes:

Category 1. affirming – positive visible inclusion
Category 2. accepting – implicit inclusion
Category 3. tolerating – traditional teaching but open
Category 4. disapproving – ‘incompatible with scripture’

b)Some churches added comments – these are reproduced under the church name

c)Churches which did not identify themselves with one of the four boxes have been assigned to a category by the survey team on the basis of comments received from the incumbents. The box number for these churches is shown in brackets, and the rationale for the assignation is shown underneath.


HOVE DEANERY

D01 St Leonard and St Philip, Aldrington 1

D02 St Helen and St Richard, Hangleton 2
Church comments: the churches conducted a congregation wide enquiry and produced the following statements:
1. The churches of St Helen and St Richard welcome all people of all races, religions, and sexual orientation.
2. We welcome all people in same sex relationships.
3. As individuals within a Christian community we believe it is important to be sensitive and caring toward those whose views may differ from our own. Christ is at the centre holding us together as a church community, not our individual personal opinions or feelings. We must care for one another as He cares for us.

D03 All Saints 2
Church comments: As with many churches there are probably a range of opinions within the community. There are a good number of LGBT people in the congregation, some clearly in relationships. This has never been a problem, in fact quite the opposite. There have for many years been LGBT people in positions of authority in the church community and again this has not been a source of comment. As the poster says ‘Some people are Gay, get over it’. All Saints has never been a campaigning church really – one sometimes wishes that it was! Having said that, it is in its quiet way inclusive and caring.

St Andrew (Old Church) 2

Holy Trinity Blatchington Road closed

St John the Baptist, Palmeira Square (2)
Church comments: The PCC were very grateful to have had the opportunity to engage with the survey and also to reflect upon the wider issues that were inevitably considered in such a debate. As with any debate there were many differing views and it became apparent early on that a consensus of which box best related to the position of St John’s was not going to easily be achieved. I know that in many ways this will be a disappointment to you as it is clear from the descriptions that a lot of time has been spent reflecting upon them. However the PCC of St John’s also found that in discussion it wished to affirm that as a community the welcome of all people, regardless of basis, was at the very foundation of who and what we are as a Church congregation. A fully inclusive welcome is at the forefront of our mission because we firmly believe that as God’s children, all are loved. Because of this the PCC felt that it was difficult to differentiate between and specifically welcome one group of people over another. St John’s is a Church that is comfortable with and affirming of difference. And in upholding, recognising and affirming difference we will always recognise that there will also be differing views and opinions within our community. If we didn’t recognise and show tolerance to such difference then we believe we would struggle to be authentic to our call to be the body of Christ in our very diverse part of Hove. We also recognise that many people with the LGBT community have had difficult and painful encounters with Churches in the past. Such prejudice and hostility is clearly unacceptable, and it saddens us as a Christian community that such situations have occurred at all; not only because they damage the relationship of the LGBT community with the Church, but also because they clearly prevent LGBT Christians from deepening their relationship with God.
Survey team analysis: The incumbent took time and trouble to write a thoughtful lengthy letter setting out his church’s position. It focuses entirely on the welcome the church offers and its understanding of the alienation felt by many LGBT people. At the same time it recognises that there may be a diversity of view with in the congregation. This is clearly not a category 3 or 4 church. But it also identifies itself as not fully affirming so it has been assigned to category 2.

D04 Bishop Hannington Memorial Church (3)
Church comments: To be honest with you I find your survey difficult to complete, because none of the four options accurately describe where I stand on the issue. I want our church to be warm and welcoming to gay people, and I genuinely think that we are. But you’ll also know from my (statements during a recent public debate on whether the Bible is homophobic) that when it comes to a physical relationship that I would have difficulty with that from my understanding of the Bible. One area where my understanding has grown since meeting you though is that the physical side of a gay relationship will vary, probably very significantly from couple to couple.
Survey team analysis: The church believes that the Bible teaches homosexual practice is a sin. But the church also seeks to be understanding of LGBT people, engage in dialogue about the issue, and to offer a warm welcome to everybody. It is therefore clearly in category 3.

D06 St Barnabas and St Agnes 1
This is a warm, welcoming church. LGBT folk are fully represented in the congregation and in leadership.

D07 St Patrick 2

D12 St Julian, Kingston Buci 2

D13 St Nicolas and St Andrew, Portslade (3)
Church comments: Anyone coming to our parish churches can expect to hear the traditional teaching that any physical sexual relationships expressed outside marriage are less than perfect and therefore sinful. However sexual sins are not thought to be the only or most important sins. Everyone is regarded as an individual and their roles within the parish family depend on skills, opportunity and what is within the law (ecclesiastical and secular).
Survey team analysis: In this statement the traditional teeaching in relation to homosexuality (ie not acceptable because outside marriage) is reaffirmed but with a sense of proportion (not the most important sin) and a pastoral concern for individuals which allows for flexibility in roles they can play. This view seems best related to category 3.

D14 Good Shepherd, Portslade interregnum

D16 Good shepherd, Shoreham Beach 2
Our literature and our welcome affirm our openness to all-comers. We have a number of LGBT folk in our congregation, and we encourage them to take up positions of responsibility when they feel called so to do. At present, they are represented in our Welcome Team, our Altar Servers and among the leadership of our Children and Youth Work, and any would be welcome to serve on our PCC or as Wardens, although we do not make specific mention of this in our literature.

D17 St Mary de Haura, Shoreham New (4)
St Nicolas, Shoreham Old
Survey team report: There was no response to the survey from this church, and no response to a follow up email. In a subsequent follow up telephone conversation the incumbent reported that the PCC had discussed the issue but they were not prepared to state what their view of LGBT people was, and they did not wish to say whether they were inclusive or exclusive. They did not wish to say anything at all about their church’s teaching.
Survey team analysis: It is difficult to see how this church could be inclusive and yet insist on refusing to say so. Combined with the negative tone overall, this church does not appear welcoming to LGBT people and so is evidently not in categories 1 and 2. The church seems also extremely unwilling to dialogue, and this is the identifying characteristic of category 3. Consequently this church is tentatively assigned to category 4.

D 20 St Michael and all Angels, Southwick 2

D21 St Peter, West Blatchington interregnum