A five week course exploring God’s call to the Church today regarding issues of identity, sexuality, marriage and relationships.
“How do questions about identity, sexuality, relationships and marriage fit within the bigger picture of the good news of Jesus Christ? What does it mean to live in love and faith together as a Church?
The Church of England is keenly aware that issues of gender and sexuality are intrinsic to people’s experience; their sense of identity; their lives and the loving relationships that shape and sustain them. We also know that the life and mission of our Church – and of the worldwide Anglican Communion – are affected by the deep, and sometimes painful, disagreements among us which have been debated and discussed on many occasions over the years.
These divisions have come into sharper focus because of society’s changing perspectives and practices, especially in relation to lesbian, gay, transgender, bisexual and intersex people. The Church wants to understand what it means to follow Christ in love and faith given the questions about human identity and the variety of patterns of relationship emerging in our society, including marriage, civil partnership, cohabitation, celibacy and friendship.
The LLF resources explore these matters by studying what the Bible, theology, history and the social and biological sciences have to say, and by telling the real-life stories of followers of Christ with diverse experiences and convictions.”
We aim to provide, not only the CofE resources, but the safe, respectful space in which to engage with these issues with one another; we may or may not agree on everything, but we can listen well, deepen our understanding of various points of view, and their origins, and be inspired by God’s intentions for human life.
The course will run on Wednesday evenings, from 7 - 9pm on 27th April and 4th, 11th, 18th and 25th May
You can read more information, and access videos and other resources at the Church of England’s LLF Resource page.