₦airaland Forum

The newly appointed Archbishop of Wales, the Most Rev Cherry Vann, has opened up about the personal and professional challenges she faced hiding her sexuality for decades, as she rose through the ranks of the Anglican Church. This is as she said that gay marriage in church is inevitable.

Vann made history in 1994 as one of the first women to be ordained as a priest in England. Now, she is not only the UK’s first female archbishop but also the first openly gay and partnered bishop to serve as a primate in the Anglican Communion.

Vann’s experience in the Church in Wales since 2020 contrasts sharply with her earlier years in the Church of England, where, although same-sex relationships were technically allowed, gay clergy were expected to remain celibate. In Wales, clergy in same-sex civil partnerships are openly accepted.

Born in Whetstone, Leicestershire, Vann grew up in a religious household and studied at the Royal College of Music and the Royal Schools of Music. She entered theological college in 1986, was ordained in 1994, and went on to serve in the Manchester diocese before becoming Archdeacon of Rochdale in 2008.

In an interview with The Guardian UK published on Sunday, the 66-year-old reflected on the tension between her private life and her public ministry.

“Without the strong belief that God had called me to the priesthood. I would not have survived.

“It happens that I’ve lived in a time that’s meant that I’m a trailblazer, but I’m not a campaigner. I’m not somebody to be out there all the time but I do seek to be true to what I think God’s asking of me.”

Upon her appointment as Bishop of Monmouth five years ago, Vann publicly acknowledged her civil partnership with Wendy Diamond, her partner of over 30 years.

“Other people in England were braver than I was and made their sexuality clear. A lot of them suffered the consequences of that, certainly when going forward for ordination.

“For years we kept our relationship secret because I worried about waking up and finding myself outed on the front page of a newspaper. Now, Wendy joins me everywhere, and when I take services, it’s just normal. But in England she had to stay upstairs if I had a meeting in the house,” she recalled.

She said navigating the church as a woman was already difficult. “You can hide your sexuality, up to a point, but you can’t hide being a woman. There was a lot of nastiness; the men were angry, they felt they had been betrayed.”

She said in the 1990s, she and a small group of other female priests began meeting with male colleagues who opposed their ordination.

“It was awful, it was really difficult for all of us, but we stuck at it,” she said.

She believes reconciliation is possible even amid sharp disagreement.

“This is what I’m hoping around the sexuality issue too – modelling that we can vehemently disagree about something, but we can still love one another in Christ and recognise one another as children of God,” she said.

In Wales, clergy in same-sex civil partnerships are openly accepted.

Born in Whetstone, Leicestershire, Vann grew up in a religious household and studied at the Royal College of Music and the Royal Schools of Music. She entered theological college in 1986, was ordained in 1994, and went on to serve in the Manchester diocese before becoming Archdeacon of Rochdale in 2008.

In an interview with The Guardian UK published on Sunday, the 66-year-old reflected on the tension between her private life and her public ministry.

“Without the strong belief that God had called me to the priesthood. I would not have survived.

“It happens that I’ve lived in a time that’s meant that I’m a trailblazer, but I’m not a campaigner.

“I’m not somebody to be out there all the time but I do seek to be true to what I think God’s asking of me.”

Upon her appointment as Bishop of Monmouth five years ago, Vann publicly acknowledged her civil partnership with Wendy Diamond, her partner of over 30 years.

“Other people in England were braver than I was and made their sexuality clear. A lot of them suffered the consequences of that, certainly when going forward for ordination.

“For years we kept our relationship secret because I worried about waking up and finding myself outed on the front page of a newspaper. Now, Wendy joins me everywhere, and when I take services, it’s just normal. But in England she had to stay upstairs if I had a meeting in the house,” she recalled.

She said navigating the church as a woman was already difficult. “You can hide your sexuality, up to a point, but you can’t hide being a woman. There was a lot of nastiness; the men were angry, they felt they had been betrayed.”

She said in the 1990s, she and a small group of other female priests began meeting with male colleagues who opposed their ordination.

“It was awful, it was really difficult for all of us, but we stuck at it,” she said.

She believes reconciliation is possible even amid sharp disagreement.

“This is what I’m hoping around the sexuality issue too – modelling that we can vehemently disagree about something, but we can still love one another in Christ and recognise one another as children of God,” she said.

While her appointment is seen as a significant step forward, issues of gender and sexuality continue to divide the Anglican Communion. Vann said she remains cautious on the subject of gay marriage in church.

“I don’t personally feel the need to get married in church; Wendy and I have been together for 30 years, we’ve made our vows, and we are committed to each other.

“I don’t personally feel the need to get married in church; Wendy and I have been together for 30 years, we’ve made our vows, and we are committed to each other.

“Gay marriage in church is inevitable, I think: the question is when. There are people who are very opposed, and as leader, I have to honour their position, which is theologically grounded. It isn’t my job to push something through that would alienate a good proportion of clergy,” she said.

“So when you see the abomination of desolation spoken of by the prophet Daniel, standing in the holy place ( let the reader understand).

Then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains. Let the one who is on the house top not go down to take what is in his house......"(Matthew 24 : 15 - 17 ESV‬ )

Racoon:
“So when you see the abomination of desolation spoken of by the prophet Daniel, standing in the holy place ( let the reader understand).

Then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains. Let the one who is on the house top not go down to take what is in his house......"(Matthew 24 : 15 - 17 ESV‬ )

Perhaps, Rev'd Cherry Vann wrote some of the songs we Christians vibe to.

And I enjoyed a warm reception in Manchester when she was there when I visited with kids playing with me and two or three women telling me aloud on the street why I bought a book by an artiste, Roger Moore (well, I am not saying she sent them).

But being culturally and ancestrally an Anglican, I am concerned, why would a female priest be licking vagina as part of her sexual orientation? Though I heard they are to be celibate. It should have been marry the opposite sex and have your BFF as mere friends. This current arrangement is inexplicable.

Racoon:
https://punchng.com/gay-marriage-in-church-inevitable-female-archbishop-opens-up/?fbclid=IwQ0xDSwL9e9hjbGNrAv171mV4dG4DYWVtAjExAAEeagKgXdMHcGRn1P83KzpnZ8c_g0AnpU0i3zrQRIbku0VEpNc3i9icnrDoWIs_aem_ufN5O4i3b-cQxQodnJ6lkg#google_vignette nlfpmod

Racoon:
https://punchng.com/gay-marriage-in-church-inevitable-female-archbishop-opens-up/?fbclid=IwQ0xDSwL9e9hjbGNrAv171mV4dG4DYWVtAjExAAEeagKgXdMHcGRn1P83KzpnZ8c_g0AnpU0i3zrQRIbku0VEpNc3i9icnrDoWIs_aem_ufN5O4i3b-cQxQodnJ6lkg#google_vignette nlfpmod

SmartPolician:
African church leaders need to help their European and American counterparts stay right on track because the latter are losing it

Ishilove:
I wonder which Bible this set of people read. Can't be the same I read

dalass:
Someone said that once he gets into London that he feels the darkness and demonic oppressions there. Witches, cults, and everything antichrist even in church leadership. So against Jesus and his word!