Inclusive Church Peterborough

09/05/2026

12/03/2026

God created:
Day and Night.
But also Dawn and Dusk.

Land and Sea.
But also Marsh and Shore.

Male and Female.
And also diversity in between.

Intersex people: approx 1 in 100 births.
Trans people: approx 1 in 300.

Creation is richer than binaries.

And God called creation “very good.”

10/03/2026

Did you know?

Ancient Judaism recognised more than two genders.
Christianity emerged from Judaism.

Ancient Jewish texts (Mishnah & Talmud) recognised 6 gender categories.

• Zachar - male
• Nekeivah - female
• Androgynos - neither/both male and female
• Tumtum - indeterminate gender
• Ay’lonit - female who develops male traits
• Saris - male who develops female traits

That’s not modern politics.
That’s ancient theology.

When Jesus speaks about eu**chs in Matthew 19,
He is speaking within a world that already knew gender complexity.

Faith and gender diversity are not enemies.

They’ve always existed together.

08/03/2026

Holiness used to mean:
✔ Perfect bodies
✔ Perfect sacrifices
✔ Perfect rules

Then Jesus said:

“It is not what goes into a person that defiles them… but what comes out of the heart.”

Holiness moved:
From outside → to inside
From ritual → to love
From separation → to inclusion

Love does no harm to a neighbour.

That’s holiness.

05/03/2026

Once excluded.
Then welcomed.
Then baptised.

In Deuteronomy, eu**chs were excluded. Deuteronomy 23:1-8
In Isaiah, God promises them “a name better than sons and daughters.” Isaiah 56:1-8
In Acts, an Ethiopian eu**ch is baptised without hesitation. Acts 8:26-39

By Galatians 3:28 we read:

“There is neither Jew nor Gentile… slave nor free… male and female… you are all one in Christ Jesus.”

The Bible moves toward inclusion.

Are we moving with it?

03/03/2026

What if Scripture has a direction?

The Bible doesn’t drop fully-formed ethics in one moment.
It shows movement.

Slavery → Regulated → Equalised → Called “Brothers”
Foreigners → Restricted → Welcomed
Eunuchs → Excluded → Welcomed → Baptised

This is called the trajectory of Scripture.

God meets people where they are…
and moves them toward justice, dignity, and inclusion.

If we follow the direction the Bible is already moving —
Where does it lead today?

03/02/2026

Please email your MP a copy of the letter below - feel free to edit.

Find your MP's Email here: https://members.parliament.uk/members/commons

Dear [MP’s Name],

I am writing to you as a constituent to ask that you raise in Parliament the urgent need to remove the Church of England’s exemption from the Equality Act.

For far too long, LGBTQIA+ people have been hurt by the Church of England’s refusal to allow same-sex marriages and full, equal blessings. This is not an abstract or historical issue — it is an ongoing, lived reality for many people who continue to experience exclusion, rejection, and deep emotional harm.

While bishops have issued apologies acknowledging the hurt caused, these apologies ring hollow when the structures and policies responsible for that harm remain firmly in place. The recent decision to cancel the Living in Love and Faith process, only to replace it with yet another working group tasked with “finding a way forward” over the next two years, feels like a deliberate delay rather than meaningful progress. During this time, LGBTQIA+ people are expected to continue bearing the consequences of institutional discrimination.

No other organisation with such a significant public role would be permitted to indefinitely exempt itself from equality law while acknowledging the harm it causes. The Church of England’s unique legal position should not place it beyond accountability, particularly when its actions have clear and ongoing impacts on people’s wellbeing, dignity, and equality.

I urge you to raise this issue in Parliament and to support efforts to remove the Church of England’s exemption from the Equality Act, so that the law offers equal protection to all, regardless of sexual orientation or gender identity.

Thank you for taking the time to consider this matter. I would welcome hearing your views and learning what steps you are able to take.

Yours sincerely,
[Your Name]
[Your Address]

Find your MP and learn more about them, including details of their parliamentary career and contact information. Find them by name/location, party, gender and current/former status.

01/02/2026

Talking to a Conservative Evangelical recently, they made a comment about how Inclusive people 'don't help themselves' by being open and visible and vocal, by posting our thoughts, loves, and wedding pictures on Facebook, we are opening ourselves up to criticism and condemnation. It's our fault we are getting hate, if we could just stay hidden and quiet, it would be acceptable.

To Basically STAY IN THE CLOSET.

I understand why some people say, “You’d get less hate if you stayed quiet,” but that logic places the burden on the people being harmed rather than on the people doing the harming.

Visibility isn’t about “asking for attention.” It’s about being allowed the SAME ordinary human freedom everyone else has — to love openly, to celebrate milestones, to exist without pretending.

Telling someone “it would be acceptable if you stayed hidden” isn’t acceptance at all. It’s conditional tolerance: you can exist, but only if you erase yourself.

And the truth is, silence has never been what brought dignity or safety to marginalised people. Hiding doesn’t stop prejudice — it only makes prejudice easier.

It reminds me of the song This Is Me:

I am not a stranger to the dark
"Hide away, " they say
"'Cause we don't want your broken parts"
I've learned to be ashamed of all my scars
"Run away, " they say
"No one'll love you as you are"
But I won't let them break me down to dust
I know that there's a place for us
For we are glorious.

That’s what visibility is — refusing to live as though your life and love are something shameful.

People don’t deserve hate because they share wedding photos or speak their truth.
The problem is not the existence of LGBT people.

The problem is the hatred.

30/01/2026

Let’s talk about the marathon, specifically mile 18 of the marathon, which is when the proverbial s**t hits the fan.
That mile when the gloves come off, and everything in you begins to reject what you thought you were running toward.
You entered this race believing in the Church.
Believing in its promises, its processes, its integrity.
Believing that when General Synod spoke — when the body discerned, debated, voted, and asked for blessing — the bishops would listen.
But then comes the moment when your chest tightens, your shoulders sink, your stomach turns.
Because instead of fulfilment, instead of clarity, instead of shepherding, there is evasion.
Delay.
Half-measures.
A betrayal dressed up in ecclesiastical language.
Every part of you wants to stop.
Because the House of Bishops was meant to lead.
To honour the Synod’s request.
To act with courage and pastoral truth.
And yet here we are — mile 18.
The pain is not theoretical.
It is spiritual.
It is personal.
It is the ache of LGBTQ+ Christians hearing once again that their dignity can be debated indefinitely.
That their lives can be affirmed only in fragments.
That blessing is always just out of reach.
But there are 8 more miles to go.
The finish line is out there, even if you can’t see it.
And now every step forward becomes a choice.
We can capitulate to exhaustion.
We can grow numb to what we are watching.
We can accept this betrayal as just another instance of the Church normalising injustice in order to preserve comfort.
We can trade our hope for resignation.
We can convince ourselves that nothing will ever change.
After all, tens of thousands have already left this race.
Quietly stepping off the road, hearts broken, faith shattered.
Nobody would notice if you stopped running now.
But lean into the pain.
Choose to learn something from it.
Choose to be inspired by it.
Choose to remain unbroken by it.
Look to the runner on your left, the runner on your right — those who are still here, still praying, still fighting for a Church that tells the truth about love.
Read their names.
The cause they’re running for.
The lives they refuse to abandon.
Gulp down their stories with every aching step — with every burning breath — and choose to keep running in this race.
This human race.
This gospel race.
Straight through to the finish line.
Despite the pain.
Despite the hurt.
Because of the pain.
Because of the hurt.
* adapted from The Korean Vegan

13/12/2025