The Guardian: Homophobia, Church, Equality

In 1997, I described opposition to same-sex relationships as being a matter of “God’s opinion”, rather than my own. I made the remark to my colleagues in the Christian youth centre where I worked. One of them was gay. That same year, I nearly told a teenager to reject her lesbian feelings. And I voted against the ordination of “practising homosexuals”. I also harmed my integrity by denying my own orientation. The majority of people I find attractive are women, but some are men.

This month, I am walking 160 miles from Birmingham to London as apilgrimage of repentance for my former homophobia. I left Birmingham on 16 June and will arrive in London on Friday 1 July. After speaking in central London that evening, I will join the capital’s Pride march the next day. I am not claiming my walk will undo the hurt I have caused. Nor is it an attempt to earn God’s favour. It is part of an attempt to live out my repentance by encouraging the church as a whole to support equality.

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Photograph: Dan Chung/The Guardian