LGBTQI+ Clergy research project: Call for interview participants
WHEN WE SING All are welcome, are we sure that we are welcoming of everyone? And how warm is our welcome?
Sometimes it is those on the inside who are the best barometer of temperature, for they experience the Church in all its forms. Four LGBT clergy are looking for other LGBT clergy in England to share their experiences.
The end of the last century and the beginning of this have seen the most dramatic changes to the rights of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) people. Some churches have also made huge efforts to reach out to LGBT people. Others have not. And while there have been varying degrees of acceptance for LGBT ministers, perhaps now is the time to take stock of how far we have come, by listening to the voices of those clergy who have lived through these changes and experienced their impact directly upon their lives and ministries.
This is exactly what four researchers, Tina Beardsley, Chris Dowd, Helen Garton and Tom Atfield, are setting out to do in their current research project. By interviewing LGBT clergy and listening to their experiences, positive and negative, they are seeking to lift the lid on how prejudice and discrimination have affected and continue to affect LGBT clergy within those Protestant denominations in England which have withdrawn the ban on having LGBT clergy, to a greater or lesser extent.
Tina, Chris, Helen, and Tom, who are themselves LGBT, are looking to interview people about their experiences as LGBT clergy.
Tina and Tom are priests of the Church of England, Chris and Helen are United Reformed Church ministers, and between them they have over a century’s experience of ordained ministry, and of working in several different denominations, also including the Methodist Church and Metropolitan Community Church.
They would be interested to hear from anyone who has experience of being an ordained LGBT minister in active ministry in England, especially underrepresented groups:
bisexual clergy
ethnic minority clergy
younger clergy,
retired clergy.
Their research project has ethical approval from The Queen’s Foundation, Birmingham, and is overseen by a reference panel of LGBT academics/writers (including Open Table Network Coordinator Kieran Bohan).