Ruth Harley

Also, and this is very much not the main point, given that Cookie Monster doesn't wear clothes... have they pinned it to his skin?? Seems a bit cruel.

He doesn't know what he's missing out on! Fond memories of being the only sober person in the kebab van queue, on the way home from ridiculously late-running school governors meetings, in a former parish...

I’ve signed it too. If you agree with this letter, please sign it.

A draining board covered in tomatoes, mainly green and very dark purple, with a few red and orange ones in a bix in the foreground.

Here endeth the tomato season. (Except for the cherry tomatoes which have for some reason decided to start flowering again 🤔)

Just chipping in to be the person who has nothing to do with the conversation but feels the need to chip in anyway. In case that is on your Blusky bingo card...

If you feel inclined to write (to the bishop of the diocese you left, perhaps?) please do. The voices of those who have left because of this ongoing injustice are too often unheard and ignored, and are really important.

"Can I speak to Reverend Harley please?"
"Yes, speaking."
"Please can I speak to him?"
"I am Reverend Harley."
"I would like to speak to him, please."
...
😡

I've signed this open letter. #CofEpeeps, lay or ordained, if you want the church to become more fully affirming of LGBTQ+ folks, please read this letter from Inclusive Church and consider signing it.
www.inclusive-church.org/llf-open-let...

Love your mug!

Not Equal Yet Roadshow - Newcastle Come and learn more about how and why women are still #NotEqualYet in the Church of England - and what we can do to change that.

There's still time to book your (free) tickets for the WATCH Not Equal Yet Roadshow at Newcastle Cathedral this Saturday!

If you're concerned about the restrictions on women's ministry in the Church of England, come along and get involved.

www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/not-equal-...

My Daphne is more than happy to abide by this ruling.

"Whatever kind or well-intentioned words may be said, what is felt and known and experienced as the lived reality is a deeply damaging theology of power, which tramples over the lives and loves and the very humanity of LGBTQ+ folks."

Excellent piece by @ruthh.bsky.social

"There are thousands of clergy currently forced to act against their conscience, myself among them. We act against our conscience every time we explain that we can’t marry a same-sex couple who wish to celebrate their love and commitment in the presence of God."

Grateful for the opportunity to share a few thoughts about the latest developments in the LLF process, and what it might mean to really pay attention to power in this context.

viamedia.news/2025/10/20/l...

My Daphne has cast her vote for your Daphne.

The #NotEqualYet Roadshow is coming up at Newcastle Cathedral!

The broader question of inhabiting the dual identity of priest-theologian and navigating both academic and ecclesial spaces is something I am writing about at the moment. Elizabeth Jordan writes interestingly about insider/outsider dynamics of being both priest and researcher in ecclesial contexts.

As a priest whose academic work is almost always at odds with, and often fiercely critical of, the prevailing narratives and structures of the CofE, I've never found my bishops to be anything other than supportive and interested, even when we have disagreed profoundly.

Even a few hundred miles north of you, I'm still harvesting ripe tomatoes. And my strawberry plants have just started flowering, I think they are a bit confused.

...called together by Christ as members of one body. God is faithful, steadfast, enduring, and calls us to be likewise, to persist in prayer and faithful action, until God's kingdom comes on earth as in heaven."

"We persist in trusting that God who calls us is faithful, we persist in calling the church to reflect more fully the wideness of God's mercy and, we persist in loving God and loving one another, even across the deepest divisions, not because it is easy, but because it is who we are...

What a week to be preaching on persistence and the steadfast love of God. #CofEpeeps

I don't really 'do' church politics from the pulpit, but I am mentioning the latest on LLF, as part of a wider picture of considering how we respond faithfully to persistent injustice.

Just one week to go until the @watch-notequalyet.bsky.social Roadshow at Newcastle Cathedral on Saturday 25th October. Check out the blog below about why we still need to be talking about gender justice, and book your free tickets for the Roadshow here: www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/not-equal-...

Mass and shared lunch for St Luke. Small in number, but cracking conversation over curry and sandwiches: holiness, healing, why it is comforting to know that St Paul got annoyed with people and left his cloak behind, cats, the miners' strike, pensions, addiction recovery... Life in all its fullness!

And some (most?) of the "privately progressive" bishops are actually not all that progressive. See letter from +Manchester this week.

I'm afraid I suspect that is exactly what is going on. But I hope I am wrong, and that your analysis is nearer the mark.

Well, yes. I can certainly think of other phrases!

So #CofEpeeps is *anyone* happy with the HoB statement on LLF??? Gafcon is not happy. The Alliance is not happy. Anyone who wants progress towards justice for LGBTQ folk is really not happy. Presumably those hoping it would keep the peace are not happy, since it demonstrably isn't. So... anyone?!?

No! Village churches are often broad-minded communities where people of a variety of perspectives get on fine. If anyone is holding the CofE hostage on this, it is large and well-financed conservative evangelical churches, mainly in urban areas, which threaten to withdraw resources if challenged.

A black and white cat and a calico cat lying on a double bed.

Look, two cats on the same bed! And they were purring! I think we can declare cat introductions successfully completed. ##TinyJoys