People have felt “liberated” by the Living in Love and Faith (LLF) course to have more in-depth discussions on matters of human sexuality and gender identity, a priest has said.
Living in Love and Faith course booklet

The Revd Claire Lording from Pershore Benefice has praised the opportunities offered by LLF and encouraged others to get involved and to share with fellow parishioners the wealth and breadth of material covered by LLF 

LLF is a suite of resources exploring questions of human identity, sexuality, relationships, and marriage, launched on 9 November 2020.

The resources – which include a five-session video course for local groups – are designed to facilitate open, honest, and gracious learning and discussion among churchgoers across the country.

The four churches that make up the Pershore Benefice are described as “middle of the road” by Revd Claire Lording. 

She said the churches were keen to get involved with LLF to “think more deeply about identity, sexuality, relationships and marriage.”

The course was run for the benefit of the ministry team and then offered via Zoom to parishioners.

Of the 14 people who took part in the course over the spring, Revd Claire Lording noticed an “increase in people’s ability to respect people who held a different opinion.

“I was also really moved by how touched people were by the video stories. 

“Hearing real life people talking about their real-life relationships and experiences with a church made a difference to how people thought about what they believed.”

She added: “It was an incredibly worthwhile process. 

“People felt liberated to be able to talk about these issues, realising that they had never talked about them with other people before, let alone to church people. 

“Participants spoke of it being a valuable exercise and educational. 

“They also felt strongly that everyone in church should take part in the course, especially as our congregations are becoming more diverse and because we wanted to be the best version of a welcoming church that we could be."

More information: 

  • Living in Love and Faith is a suite of resources exploring questions of human identity, sexuality, relationships, and marriage, launched on 9 November 2020. 
  • The LLF resources – which include a 5-session video course for small groups – are designed to facilitate open, honest, and gracious learning and discussion among churchgoers across the country.
  • All 42 dioceses have appointed ‘LLF Advocates’, who are enabling churches to engage with the LLF resources in ways appropriate to local contexts.
  • People who have done the course are invited to feedback and share their views via an online questionnaire as well as in creative ways. This will be open until the end of April 2022.

Source URL: https://www.churchofengland.org/media-and-news/stories-blogs-and-features/people-felt-liberated-be-able-talk-one-churchs-experience