OneBodyOneFaith, formerly the Lesbian and Gay Christian Movement (LGCM), describes itself as "UK-based international Charity which challenges homophobia and transphobia, especially within the Church and faith based organisations".
History
The Gay Christian Movement was founded in April 1976. (less than 10 years after homosexuality was decriminalised in England – but 4 years before similar changes in Scotland) at a public meeting at the Sir John Cass School in the City of London. In 1977, local chapters were organised, followed in 1978 by the Women's Group, the Evangelical Fellowship in 1979 and Young Lesbian and Gay Christians in 2000. The name was changed to the Lesbian and Gay Christian Movement in 1987. The first General Secretary of the Movement was Jim Cotter, followed by Richard Kirker.
The Movement was based initially in the tower of St Botolph's Church, Aldgate; however, in 1989, after a legal challenge by the Archdeacon of London, the Church Council was compelled to evict LGCM, and Oxford House, a settlement project in Bethnal Green, took them in and provided a home for the next 25 years. In 2015 the trustees took the decision to move out of London and relocate LGCM to a new home in Nottinghamshire. On 14 February 2017 LGCM and Changing Attitude England become OneBodyOneFaith, united to campaign together for the changes that we need to see for LGBTI+ people to fully embraced and for their gifts and contributions to the life and mission of the church in England to be fully realised.
Present day
In 2021, OneBodyOneFaith welcomed Accepting Evangelicals into the ministry and growing work the charity.
The current chief executive is Luke Dowding. The current Co-Chairs are Rev Jarel Robinson-Brown and Rev Mark Rowland.
Recent landmark events and programmes include: the development of Space to Be, an online initiative during the pandemic, the sponsorship of the Creating Sanctuary resource, the first UK national memorial event for harm and the loss of LGBT+ life to suicide in Christian contexts, the support of denominations and traditions as they discern conversations regarding LGBT+ inclusion (including ordination and marriage), international symposiums exploring leadership, coordinating efforts to challenge systemic homophobia and transphobia in the church and wider society, and regular materials and resources for members and supporters.
See also
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Homosexuality and Christianity
Christianity developed during the 1st century AD as a Jewish Christian sect and, as such, many of its views were rooted in Jewish teaching. As Christianity established itself as a separate religion, with its own scriptures, some views moved away ...
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History of Christianity and homosexuality
Christian leaders have written about male homosexual activities since the first decades of Christianity; female homosexual behavior was almost entirely ignored. Throughout the majority of Christian history, most Christian theologians and denom ...
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The Bible and homosexuality
There are a number of passages in the Hebrew Bible and the New Testament that have been interpreted as involving same-sex sexual activity and relationships. The passages about homosexual individuals and sexual relations in the Hebrew Bible ar ...
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List of Christian denominational positions on homosexuality
This is a list of Christian denominational positions on homosexuality. The issue of homosexuality and Christianity is a subject of ongoing theological debate within and between Christian denominations and this list seeks to summarize the various ...
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Anglican views of homosexuality
Since the 1990s, the Anglican Communion has struggled with controversy regarding homosexuality in the church. In 1998, the 13th Lambeth Conference of Anglican bishops passed a resolution "rejecting homosexual practice as incompatible with Scrip ...
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Homosexuality in the Roman Catholic priesthood
The canon law of the Roman Catholic Church requires that clerics "observe perfect and perpetual continence for the sake of the kingdom of heaven"; for this reason, priests in Roman Catholic dioceses make vows of celibacy at their ordination, the ...
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Gay bishops
This article largely discusses presence of openly lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender and queer bishops in churches governed under episcopal polities. The existence of LGBT bishops in the Anglican, Catholic, Lutheran, Methodist and other ...
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Jeffrey John
Jeffrey Philip Hywel John (born 10 February 1953) is a Church of England priest, who served as the Dean of St Albans from 2004 until 2021. He made headlines in 2003 when he was the first person to have openly been in a same-sex relationsh ...
(Dean of St Albans)
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Gene Robinson
Vicky Gene Robinson (born May 29, 1947) is a retired bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of New Hampshire. Robinson was elected Coadjutor bishop, bishop coadjutor in 2003 and succeeded as bishop diocesan in March 2004. Before becoming bishop, he se ...
(Bishop of New Hampshire)
*The "Soho masses" at the
Church of Our Lady of the Assumption and St Gregory
The Church of Our Lady of the Assumption and St Gregory is a Catholic Church, Catholic church on Warwick Street, Westminster, in central London. It is the oldest Catholic Church in England and Wales, Catholic church in England (excluding those u ...
References
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* {{Cite book , last=Hunt , first=Stephen , title=Contemporary Christianity and LGBT sexualities , pages=105–121 , chapter=The lesbian and gay Christian movement , chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=tCbyNZA16BoC&pg=PA105 , year=2009 , publisher=Ashgate Publishing Ltd., isbn=9781409491903
External links
OneBodyOneFaith websiteLGCM websiteArchived
in 2011
Outcome (formerly the LGCM Methodist Caucus)Young Lesbian and Gay ChristiansEvangelical Fellowship for Lesbian and Gay ChristiansChanging AttitudeGay Christian NetworkChristianGays.comWhosoever Magazine website
(the first online magazine for GLBT Christians founded in 1996)
Christian movements
LGBTQ Christian organizations
LGBTQ and Christianity
LGBTQ organisations based in the United Kingdom
LGBTQ history in the United Kingdom
Christian organizations established in 1976
1976 establishments in the United Kingdom