@BloomsburyBaptistMay 04
AN OPEN LETTER TO OUR BAPTIST FAMILY Dear siblings in Christ, We write as some of those who supported the proposed change to the ministerial rules, which would have allowed for the accreditation of ministers in same sex marriages. We are ministers and members and churches. We belong to or represent congregations of different sizes and demographics and traditions. Some of us signed one or both of the earlier letters to Baptist Council. Others of us engaged with the conversation primarily through the subsequent consultation. This letter has grown out of informal conversations, as did the two letters to Council. We have no structure or agenda, and our first priority remains loving God and following Christ as led by the Spirit in the communities we are blessed to serve. We do not claim to make any kind of official representation on behalf of a distinct group, but as we have reflected on the consultation report and Council statement, we have wanted to speak to our Baptist family. It is with a sense of lament that we acknowledge the decision of Baptist Council to retain the ministerial rules as they are. We are also saddened that so many of our fellow churches and ministers indicated that they would struggle to remain in covenant relationship with those who thought differently to them. We recognise that the majority of those who took part in the consultation are opposed to the accreditation of ministers in same sex marriages, but we believe that our ecclesiology is strong and supple enough to bear the tension of difference in this matter, as it has borne the tension of difference in other matters since the inception of the Baptist Union of Great Britain, and it was never our intention to cause harm or fracture. We are however encouraged that more churches have engaged with important conversations around sexuality, and we delight in the ways that we have seen God moving in many of our congregations as they have committed to broader inclusion. Our continued hope is that we might each hold our own convictions with integrity while walking alongside other convictions with grace, and so we wish to restate our commitment both to the Baptist family and to holding safe and affirming spaces for LGBTQ+ folk within it. In her Easter message, Lynn Green spoke of leaning into the richness of our differences, and encouraged us to remember our commitment to seeking and sharing Jesus. However we feel about the consultation report and the Council statement, may we be a prophetic voice to the world as we love one another in our differences and even in our disagreements, and may we ever be true to our calling to share the good news of Christ as we have received it. In hope and grace, the below signed. A version of this letter with 201 signatories was sent to the General Secretary and Moderator of Council as representatives of our Baptist family. A live link will be maintained and updated at https://www.shorturl.at/kyFO7. If you would like to add your name, please email leigh@stoneygatebaptist.org.uk