The Bishops of Leicester and Loughborough have issued a joint statement of their position on the recent Lambeth Conference Call on human dignity and called us to pray.
The Rt Revd Martyn Snow and Rt Revd Saju Muthalaly said:
"We have had a number of people contact us following the publication of the ‘Lambeth Calls’. We are sorry to hear of the upset that has been caused and we want to make our own (joint) position clear.
"It is our understanding that the Calls were written by a group of international bishops from many different contexts, and they are intended simply as the starting point for dialogue at the conference.
"Clearly, the Church of England is only one Province among 39 within the Anglican Communion and whatever ‘Call’ the Communion agrees, the Church of England, while being mindful of the views of our brothers and sisters around the world, is not bound by the ‘Call’.
"We are particularly concerned that the Living in Love and Faith (LLF) process should not be derailed by anything the Lambeth Conference decides. LLF has been a very valuable process of deep listening and it has led us now to a period of discernment and this must continue without any prejudged outcome.
"We are very aware of the tiredness and frustration in many of our churches and we continue to pray for deep and compassionate dialogue within the LLF process and for commitment to patience and understanding. Please do pray likewise - we need a truly Christ-like, counter-cultural demonstration of genuine listening and fellowship as we resist division and try to peacefully discuss our differences, if we are to properly discern the way forward in the Church of England."
