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UK: Gay Anglican preacher forced to 'choose between marriage or ministry'
Archbishop of York set to strip leading campaigner of licence to conduct services in Church of England over same-sex marriage plans
By John Bingham
THE TELEGRAPH
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/
August 11, 2015
A Church of England lay preacher has disclosed that he is preparing to be expelled from ministry to marry his male partner.
Jeremy Timm said he had been forced to "choose between marriage or ministry" by the Archbishop of York, Dr John Sentamu, but is ready to be stripped of his position in the Church in order to tie the knot.
Mr Timm and his partner, Mike, who live near Howden, East Yorkshire, have been in a civil partnership for six years but are planning to convert it to marriage in September, in open defiance of a ban on same-sex weddings in the Church of England.
The 59-year-old licensed reader, who leads services in six churches around Howden, was faced with the stark choice during a in a face-to-face meeting with Dr Sentamu last month at which he discussed his plans.
Archbishop Sentamu told him he would revoke his licence to preach -- known as a Permission to Officiate (PTO) -- if he went ahead.
But after three weeks of "tears and soul searching", he said he and his partner had gone out to buy rings and are now set on pressing ahead.
Mr Timm said that after a lifetime steeped in Anglicanism, including three years training as a priest before going into his family's flour milling business, he would now be leaving the Church of England.
Under a change in the law which came into force last year, couples in civil partnerships can convert their status to marriage through a simple administrative process, which can be done with or without a ceremony.
Although only a handful of priests have openly undergone same-sex weddings since they became legal last year, there are thought to be many more in civil partnerships, a significant number of whom are expected to quietly convert their status to marriage.
Mr Timm announced his decision on a blog on the website of the Anglican campaign group "Changing Attitude", which he coordinates, explaining that he had been "living with an ultimatum" since the meeting with Dr Sentamu on July 17.
"I was told that although my ministry was much valued, if we change our status to being married then my PTO would be withdrawn with immediate effect," he said.
"I was faced with choosing between marriage or ministry.
"This has caused tears and soul searching, but at the weekend Mike and I had a trip to Leeds and chose two new rings to mark this new milestone in our lives together
"I have written to the Archbishop, and informed him of our intentions, and he will withdraw my PTO, and my ministry as a reader will come to an abrupt end."
He said he had agreed to do this around the middle of next month in order to fulfil existing diary commitments before his licence is revoked.
He said he had told Dr Sentamu that if he were to withdraw his PTO he would feel he had to "continue [his] journey of faith outside the Church of England" -- something he likened to being cast out "into the desert".
"Many would ask, and sometimes do, why has it taken me so long to get to this point," he added.
"I have always replied that my journey has been rooted and steeped in the Anglican tradition which is my tradition and I wanted to remain there, despite the injustice and hypocrisy I see for LGBTI folk.
"Now, I stand on the threshold of leaving, and joining the ranks of all those who feel they no longer have a place in the church."
END
