Something about  Inclusive Church

 Inclusive Church is so much more than a single issue organisation. We are committed to working for a church that is welcoming and open to all. We see this as expressing what it means to be Anglican.

Working with individuals and partner organisations we seek to raise awareness about the ways that people feel excluded by the church.
Inclusive Church was born on 11th August 2003 at St Mary's Putney, at a Eucharist attended by over 400 people. The cause of this gathering was the deep unease felt by many within the Church of England regarding the resignation of The Rev'd Dr Jeffrey John as Bishop of Reading. 

An on-line Petition was set up requesting assent to the following Declaration of Belief

"We affirm that the Church's mission, in obedience to Holy Scripture, is to proclaim the Gospel of Jesus Christ in every generation.

We acknowledge that this is Good News for people regardless of their sex, race or sexual orientation.

We believe that, in order to strengthen the Gospel's proclamation of justice to the world, and for the greater glory of God, the Church's own common life must be justly ordered.

To that end, we call on our Church to live out the promise of the Gospel; to celebrate the diverse gifts of all members of the body of Christ; and in the ordering of our common life to open the ministries of deacon, priest and bishop to those so called to serve by God, regardless of their sex, race or sexual orientation"

The response was immense and we soon reached nearly 10,000 signatories.  On 15th September a small group of supporters met to consider this overwhelming response, and concluded that Inclusive Church was here to stay.

Over time this group has met and developed. We are now "...a network of individuals and organisations whose make-up reflects the  breadth and scope of the Church of England and beyond. We come from differing traditions and differing locations but we are united in one aim: To celebrate and maintain the traditional inclusivity and diversity of the Anglican Communion" 

We work closely with a large number of organisations. The partnership work which has emerged over the past few years is very valuable - we work with, among others, the Association of Black Clergy, Women and the Church, the Group for the Rescinding of the Act of Synod, Lesbian and Gay Christian Movement, Changing Attitude, Affirming Catholicism, the Society of Catholic Priests, Accepting Evangelicals, Courage, the Modern Churchpeople's Union, Progresssive Christianity Network and Integrity (US). We are also developing links with Greenbelt and welcome other partnerships. If you would like to work with Inclusive Church please contact us

To get in touch - email The Rev'd Bob Callaghan, the National Coordinator