“It is our duty to break new ground, again and again”: Words of welcome, 38th Annual conference European Forum of LGBT Christian Groups, Canterbury, UK

Speech delivered by Co-President of the European Forum of LGBT Christian Groups, Wielie Elhorst, 27 June 2019

Dear friends,

Well, here we are, in… Canterbury. Who would have thought that? Who would have thought the European Forum would land in the city that holds the highest seat of the worldwide Anglican community? I certainly had no idea two weeks ago, but here we are and we as the Board of the European Forum are very happy and grateful to see you all here for our 38th annual conference.

Please, Board members, if you can stand for all to see who you are. I am very happy and honoured to speak to you on behalf of the Board. I am especially happy to be able to speak to you as, for the very first time in the history of the European Forum, we almost had to cancel our conference. The last week and a half has been very tumultuous. I hope you will allow me to spare you the details — we are very willing to share more but please approach one of the Board members or Misha personally then — but a little over a week ago we were ready to send out a message telling you we would not be seeing each other. My heart sank at the very thought. But then, miraculously, there was a new conference location and hope was not lost for this annual conference to take place. It was nothing short of a miracle — but it also was the result of the very hard work of a few people. In acknowledging every individual who lent a helping hand, I would also like to give special mention to Jayne Ozanne, Jonathan Brown, Andy Lyon, members of the local preparation team and Misha Czerniak, our Programme Officer, and ask you to please stand up, and receive a very well deserved round of applause for your incredible hard work. Thank you so much.

So here we are, in Canterbury, at the campus of Kent University. We are very grateful to the management of the campus for hosting us and for having assisted us at such short notice to make it possible for all our participants to come and have a place here. We very much appreciate this and in this location we have found a very worthy alternative to our conference location in London. We are very happy to be here as the European Forum of LGBT Christian Groups, this colourful, affirmative and inclusive band of people from all over our continent, and even further afield.

Wherever we go we try, in all modesty, to set an example in diversity and inclusiveness, protesting against all forms of exclusion that stand in the way of people coming together on the basis of their sexual orientation or gender identity, that stand in the way of who and how they want to love each other. Our stay here at the campus of the University of Kent is no exception to that rule, and we once again plead, with all who can, to set an example by resisting exclusion, especially on the basis of religion, however lawful this exclusion may be. Religions and churches that hold exclusive views are contradictions in themselves, because religion is all about connection, being and building communities that bring people together that would never have expected to be together. We want to be an organisation that breaks new ground by renewing our connections, our relationships, discovering a new and holy ecology that will build the communities we need in the future. We are an organisation of groups that build their own communities, sometimes because they have no other choice, but that also feels itself deeply connected to the worldwide church of Jesus Christ and that wants to connect to this Church in all its manifestations. Because as 1 Corinthians 12 says it so clearly, we have our own role to play and we deeply belong to each other. Their is no other way to be the Body of Christ in all its fullness.

Now for something a bit more serious: this conference is almost literally at the crossroads of quite a challenging time for the European Forum. I want to share this with you as an urgent matter. As most of you will know I will step down as Co-President this conference. Until now, as far as I know, there are no candidates for my position. Combined with the necessity we face of letting all our staff workers go, or being able just for a few months to continue with reduced staff support, this will seriously curtail the work of the new Board. We are very lucky to have very committed staff workers that go beyond what we can reasonably ask of them, but that is to say we are only so lucky now. We can of course not build on that.

For me the situation is pressing first of all from the perspective of the contents of our work. All delegates to the Annual General Meeting have been able to read in the Activities Report what we have achieved again in the course of just one year. We owe it to ourselves as an organisation, to you as our members and to our partners in churches, church bodies, political institutions and other LGBTI+ and human rights organisations to remain to be the valuable and respected partner in church and political advocacy that we now are. So, I would like to ask you to consider this in your thoughts and prayers the coming day. I can assure you that, though quite some time has to be invested in Board membership, it is a very worthwhile experience as well. For me Board and Staff have been a small community of fellow activists and friends, a small community that I will sadly say goodbye to. In any case there is more to be gained than to be lost, being part of the Board of our wonderful organisation.

It is very good and appropriate to have our 38th annual conference during in this week of Pride. Pride 2019 marks the 50th anniversary of the Stonewall Inn Riots in New York, the beginning of the modern LGBTI+ movement, although it was not the only beginning. We are so lucky to be able to celebrate this wonderful occasion. As a cisgender gay man who is conscious of history, I praise the drag artists and transgender people that set an example back then in 1969 and refused to suffer under the constant threats and violence of the police. We think of Sylvia Rivera who cast the very first stone and of Marsha Johnson. How many thousands of people have followed in their own way, also in churches and religious communities, maybe not fighting literally, but no longer remaining silent, demanding to be heard, wanting, needing to break new ground, to play their own part, their God-given part. What kind of faith do we have if we no longer believe that God reveals Herself over and over again in new and splendid ways? We are here today as a result of that and it is our duty to break new ground again and again until it is no longer necessary. We remember gratefully and fondly those who have gone before us in our own organisation, our founders back in 1982, some of you who are still with us to this very day. We thank you and we celebrate your lives, your love, your surrender to humanity and your perseverance. I am very proud to follow in your footsteps.

Our next footsteps will be here in Canterbury. Welcome here, especially those who are here tonight to take some queer steps together: Ruth Hunt, who already had to leave us to be back in London in time, the Vice-Chancellor of the University of Kent, and from a distance through very welcoming and warm words the Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby [see below].

Let us not talk too much about duty during this conference, but let’s first and foremost cherish our friendship, find inspiration in each other and in all this conference has to offer. Prepteam, once again: thank you for your incredible hard work at such short notice. I wish you all a very inspiring conference. It is now time to get out your pink shovel and bisexually and lesbiany and homosexually and transgenderly, to happily and queerly and colourfully break new ground. Have a happy conference and have a Happy Pride!

Words of Welcome from the Archbishop of Canterbury

Welcome to Canterbury

It is my pleasure to send greetings in the name of Christ and extend a warm welcome to Canterbury for your conference. Over the centuries this place of Christian pilgrimage and welcome for all, is where pilgrims have met with God and found their faith renewed. They have then gone from here to serve Christ and bear witness to the good news of the Kingdom of God. I pray that you may find this fresh encounter as you meet and especially as you visit the Cathedral. May your time here strengthen and encourage your faith and renew your vision for God’s church in our world of many challenges.

Archbishop Justin