From the Revd Dr Hannah Cleugh and 45 others
Sir, - Among the findings of your current series of Church
Health Check articles is that the number of young clergy (i.e.
those under 40) in stipendiary ministry is such that shortly there
will not be "enough boots on the ground" (Church Health Check, 7
February).
Research by Professor Linda Woodhead suggests a disconnect
between the Church of England's official position on the subject of
same-sex marriage (as articulated forcefully in the House of
Bishops' Pastoral Guidance on the matter published on Saturday) and
the attitudes of many churchgoers.
Arguably most concerning is Professor Woodhead's research
finding that for many young people religion is seen as a "toxic
brand" and the Church of England as an organisation that
"discriminates against women and gay people" (Church
Health Check, 31 January).
We are all clergy under 40, and so belong to that age group that
is largely missing from the Church of England. We long to proclaim
the gospel faithfully and afresh in this generation. To many of our
friends and contemporaries, however, we are public representatives
of a discriminatory and toxic brand.
We do not all agree about same-sex marriage, nor about how the
Church of England should respond. But we are all of a mind on this:
if the Church of England is serious about intentional evangelism to
a generation that regards us with a mixture of apathy and contempt,
and if we are to reverse our fast institutional retreat from
relevance in the life of this nation, we need urgently to change
the tone and manner of our discussions on matters relating to human
sexuality.
There is much that our generation needs to hear about love,
cherishing, fidelity, and the intrinsic and infinite value of each
individual as created and loved by God, but our current debates
mean that few of our contemporaries are listening to the Church of
England, let alone taking us seriously - and why should they? The
Pilling process might yet help us advance these discussions; our
view is that the Pastoral Guidance note issued by the House of
Bishops this weekend has just made it all very much harder.
Hannah Cleugh
Chaplain and Solway Fellow
University College
Durham DH1 3RW
Neil Patterson
Rector of Ariconium
Andrew Allen
Chaplain and Fellow
Exeter College, Oxford
Andrew Davison
Tutor in Doctrine
Westcott House, Cambridge
Daniel Inman
Chaplain
The Queen's College, Oxford
William Whyte
Senior Dean, Associate Professor, Fellow and Tutor in
History
St John's College, Oxford
John Hughes
Dean of Chapel and Fellow
Jesus College, Cambridge
James Hawkey
Precentor of Westminster Abbey
James Walters
Chaplain to the London School of Economics
Johanna Kershaw
Assistant Curate,
St Mary's, Todmorden, St Michael's, Cornholme, and St Peter's,
Walsden.
Kat Campion-Spall
Assistant Curate
St Mary's, Merton
John Munns
Sam Dennis
Rosie Woodall
Priest-in-Charge of Bisley, Chalford, France Lynch and
Oakridge
Stella Bailey
Vicar
St Mary Magdalen's, Chapelfields
David Cleugh
Priest-in-Charge
Leadgate, Ebchester and Medomsley
Stephanie Nadarajah
Liam Beadle
Vicar of Honley
Phillip Johnson
Vicar of Weston
Joel Love
Gemma Burnett
Assistant Curate
St Mary's, Plaistow
Chris Bunce
Assistant Curate
St Peter's, Hammersmith
Thomas Sander
Assistant Curate
St Peter's Sharnbrook, St Mary's, Felmersham, and All Saints',
Souldrop
Catherine MacPherson
Russell Dewhurst
Vicar of Ewell
Tom Carson
Assistant Curate
Mortlake with East Sheen Team Ministry
Brutus Green
Associate Vicar
St John's, Hyde Park
Kate Tuckett
Anna Matthews
Vicar of St Bene't's, Cambridge, and Ely Diocesan Director of
Ordinands
Patrick King
Robin Sims-Williams
St John's, Hyde Park
Thomas Plant
Catriona Laing
Dominic Keech
Heston Groenewald
Alex Barrow
Matt Bullimore
Rosemary Morton
Assistant Curate
Coggeshall with Mark's Hall
Robert Mackley
Vicar
Little St Mary's, Cambridge
Benjamin Carter
Assistant Curate
St Mary's, Monkseaton
Thomas James
Assistant Curate
St Peter's, Petersfield
Chantal Noppen
St Martin's and St Michael's, Byker, with Mission Initiative
Newcastle East
Josephine Houghton
Christopher Woods
Educator in Adult Learning and Professional Development for
Stepney Area
Parish Priest, St Anne's, Hoxton
Sally Hitchiner
Senior Chaplain and Interfaith Adviser at Brunel University,
London
Julie Gittoes
Guildford Cathedral
From Dr Christopher Shell
Sir, - Your survey of Anglicans' changing opinions on homosexual
marriage (News, 7 February) makes no
mention of how public opinion actually works, a topic studied in
depth by Elisabeth Noelle-Neumann (The Spiral of
Silence).
Normally, opinion won't be grounded on fact or research so much
as on a desire not to be in the minority, especially within one's
own peer-group. This is confirmed by the inevitable swift
percentage swings once a new majority opinion is perceived (with a
little help from the media) to have taken over.
There is nothing to gain socially from being in a minority;
minority opinions are, therefore, the more likely to be explained
by the wish to retain intellectual integrity.
CHRISTOPHER SHELL
186 Ellerdine Road
Hounslow TW3 2PX