Resources for Safeguarding people who are LGBT+ in the Methodist Church
Statement on Contradictory convictions
Revd Dr Jonathan Hustler (Secretary of Methodist Conference): All Churches live with contradictory convictions to some degree; the key pastoral question is how to handle them. In accepting the recommendations of God in Love Unites Us, the Conference continued practices that it has had for many years in relation to the remarriage of divorced persons. No one has a right to be married in any particular building or by a particular minister but the Methodist Church will do all it can to enable the celebration of the marriage of a couple who come in good faith whilst at the same time recognizing that the conscience of some people in the Church might not enable them to participate.
Reporting Discrimination and Abuse
The JDS strategy began that process with the Discrimination and Abuse Response System which is being piloted at the moment and is due to be rolled out across the Connexion. It enables someone who has been the victim of, say, bullying and homophobia (or any other abuse) to raise it, be pastorally supported and have an accompanist through a process of appropriately dealing with those who are perpetrators. So look out for it, if it’s not already in your district!
As well as the Discrimination and Abuse Response System, you can report any concerns about discrimination to your local District Safeguarding Officer or directly to us at the Connexional Safeguarding Team. These concerns will be taken seriously and we will do what we can to ensure these are addressed.
Methodist Inclusive Language Guide
May help anybody in relation to learning about language:
The Methodist Inclusive Language Guide
EDI toolkit module Module 5.2
This module in the Equality, Diversity and Inclusion toolkit helps churches welcome transgender, Intersex and Other Gender-diverse people in Church Life.
