Displaying items by tag: Church of England School

As reported in May (see ), Rev John Parker resigned as governor of his local Church of England primary school after being silenced for raising concerns about a very young child being allowed to transition gender, and the school inviting transgender lobby group Mermaids to provide training to staff and governors. Recently his bishop, Stephen Cottrell, sent a letter to clergy in the area suggesting that John (and others) had made false claims about the circumstances surrounding his resignation. Now, in a turn of events, other ministers in the area have publicly backed John. They said the bishop had on various occasions told 30+ clergy that if they disagreed with the approach the diocese is taking on matters of human sexuality, they should follow their consciences and leave.

Reverend John Parker has resigned over the way a Church of England school handled an eight-year-old pupil's plan to change gender. He supported the boy's wish to become a girl but was silenced when he raised concerns that parents and pupils would be kept in the dark. He feared staff and governors had been misled by a transgender lobby group which advise the school. After his concerns were dismissed by the bishop Reverend Parker quit the church which he had served for 14 years. His resignation letter spoke of his fear that children were being 'sacrificed on the altar of trans ideology', in Church schools. Mr Parker said, 'I was basically told by my bishop that if I wished to follow the teachings of the Bible faithfully then I was no longer welcome in the Church. It felt like I was being silenced by the Church and the school.'