This evening I went to meeting of CAGS (Croydon Area Gay Society) at the Spread Eagle Pub in central Croydon
with the Bishop of Croydon The Rt. Rev'd. Jonathan Clark who was speaking on homosexuality and the Church of England. It was a very interesting evening, the Bishop spoke well and with authority, and was happy to admit to what he didn't know, a refreshing change compared to our politicians. It was quite refreshing to hear somebody from within the Church actually talking with enthusiasm about inclusion and diversity. My own Church is on the Charismatic Evangelical (Happy Clappy) wing of the Church of England and I am sad to admit that I suspect quite a lot intolerance lurks around. We may all talk of love but as a Church the good old C of E struggles to find a coherent consistent way of showing it, especially to the LGBT community.
I did recognise one attendee that I wasn't expecting to see, the Vicar of one of my local churches, I played there a few weeks back and had quite a chat with him then, so it's not surprising that he also recognised me, although today I was Paula rather than the male me I was then. This could have been embarrassing but he accepted the situation happily and made it clear I was welcome to attend his Church, dressed however I like. Jeffrey John will be preaching there in a few weeks time so I may just take him up on the offer, one way or the other I plan to go.
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