16 February 2022
Statement following media coverage of the 'Ministers' Consultation Response'
“The letter has undoubtedly upset a lot of people. It puts out a message that people aren’t safe or welcome in our churches, and it cuts across the settled view of the Church of England that coercive conversion therapy is unacceptable and should be banned.
“I am disappointed that the authors have used an open letter to diminish people who are in faithful same sex relationships and those who are transgender. Thankfully, the views expressed in the letter are not representative of the Church of England today. I am clear that we are all made in God’s image, that all are welcome in His church and that everyone has a place at the table.”
The Rt Revd Gavin Collins, Bishop of Dorchester
Notes for editors
- The Bishop of Dorchester, the Rt Revd Gavin Collins, is responsible for 326 churches in rural Oxfordshire. This statement was also shared on our Facebook and Twitter pages.
-
A pastoral letter, ‘Clothed with love’, was sent by the four bishops to over 1,500 ministers in the Diocese of Oxford in 2018. The foundational principle of the Oxford letter is that all people are welcome in God’s Church; everyone has a place at the table.
-
Following the pastoral letter, a new LGBTI+ Chaplaincy Team was commissioned to work in the hope and expectation that, through the work of the team and others, LGBTI+ people and those close to them are no longer left feeling on the margins of our church.
-
Living in Love and Faith is a period of church-wide learning and engagement on christian views of human identity, sexuality, relationships and marriage. Find out more.
-
Bishop Gavin joined Danny Cox on BBC Radio Oxford on Sunday 20 February 2022 to discuss the response to his statement on Conversion Therapy.