A gay ordinand writes an open letter to the Church of England on the eve of her assessment interviews. Rose Grigg, writing from a monastic community in Cornwall, England, takes the church she loves to task, and asks that as she prepares to give herself to the call to priesthood, it acknowledges the particular sacrifices it is asking her to make.
From the blog:
I’m gay, Church of England. I’m gay and I want to give you me.
I’m offering you myself: my hands and feet, my energy, my time, my intellect, my career. And I’m doing it gladly, because I believe in you. …
But, apparently, for me the call is more.
For me, I’m only allowed to serve you if I’m celibate for the rest of my life. I’m never allowed to marry the woman I love – or I’ll be sacked (you’ve made that clear). I can never bless a marriage of friends who share a gender. And according to this transcript released last week, I can never become a bishop unless I am silent about my sexuality.
I love you. I love your bumbling, old-fashioned, slightly pompous traditions. I love your terribly English lack of cool. I love your willingness to roll up your sleeves and get stuck into the very ordinary mess of life, from foodbanks to Wonga to school assemblies.
But this – this is wrong.
Read her letter here.