Together for the Church of England is a new organisation formed in early 2024, bringing together members of General Synod, a wider network of Church of England members, and working with other partner organisations.
The object of Together for the Church of England is the advancement of the Christian faith by promoting greater inclusion and equal opportunity to participate in the life of the Church of England for all, regardless of ethnicity, disability, sex, gender, gender identity, sexuality, mental health, neurodiversity, marital status, socio-economic background or economic power.
The Church of England is the established religion of England, with a duty of spiritual care for everyone in the community whether they attend church services or not. We believe that this responsibility is best fulfilled to create benefit for the public when the Church of England understands, affirms and reflects all the diversity of God’s people.
We will therefore work for equity within the Church of England, seeking disability justice, gender equality, racial justice and LGBTQIA+ equality. We will bring people together, work with those at risk of systemic discrimination in its life and ministry and promote religious harmony, united in our differences.
We will pursue these aims through:
- Research into the structural and regulatory barriers to participation that exist within the Church of England.
- Advancing education and awareness to the general public of equality and inclusion issues within the Church of England.
- Encouraging broad and diverse participation within the governance structures of the Church of England at all levels to promote greater awareness and understanding of the needs of different communities, and through that participation enable positive changes for the inclusion of all in the life of the Church.
- Working in partnership with existing charities which focus on specific areas of anti-discrimination within the Church of England.
Together for the Church of England is particularly concerned to encourage an inclusive, public facing and affirming expression of the Christian faith within the Church of England, for the general benefit of all in society who might seek to engage with the Church, and to find their place within the body of Christ.