People in the LGBTQI+ community believe nothing can separate them from the love of God… apart from their sexuality and that’s wrong

With same-sex marriage and LGBTQI+ relationships at the forefront of conversation in the Church of England, Sarah Molyneux-Hetherington shares why she thinks we need to carefully consider the high cost of allowing people to feel excluded.

Contemporary discussions concerning sexuality and human identity often come down to a debate on the meaning of certain passages or about the fruit that is visible in the lives of different people. Most people come away holding the same position they did before but with a lot of hurt and frustration. I could talk, for example, about how I came to accept that I’m pansexual and the impact on my faith; but, if I am honest, my own life is not actually what motivates me to speak in support of LGBTQI+ lives and relationships. What convicts me are the stories of loss.

Stories like Lizzie’s. Lizzie was part of a bustling happy church and her parents loved her unconditionally. Lizzie believed she may be a lesbian and that she would be rejected by her church, family and ultimately God because of this. This belief was so haunting and Lizzie was so terrified that at the tender age of 14, she took her own life.