Ely Cathedral and Pride in Ely are pleased to announce a lecture by the Reverend Charlie Bell as part of the Pride in Ely Fringe Festival. Charlie Bell is a recently ordained priest serving his curacy in the Diocese of Southwark, having started his vocational journey in the Ely Diocese. His talk will feature insights into his life, the challenges he has faced within the Church of England and the experiences that led him to write his book, 'Queer Holiness, The Gift of LGBTQI People to the Church'.
Ely Cathedral’s Canon Jessica Martin, a fellow author, will be introducing this talk - “Charlie has written an eloquent, compassionate and measured plea for the gifts, vocations and faithful vowed relationships of LGBT+ Christians to be hallowed and valued. It’s both accessible and highly informed and is required reading for anyone who needs to know more about this vital and timely issue.”
In addition to working within the Church, Charlie is an Academic Clinical Fellow in Psychiatry at South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust and King’s College London and College Lecturer and Director of Studies in Medicine at Girton College Cambridge.
As a former student in Cambridge, Charlie is familiar with Ely and welcomed the opportunity to give a talk in the Cathedral. “For a cathedral to not only host the pride flag, but also to host a lecture which engages with these really heavily contested issues of sexuality and religion, shows that it’s taking its responsibility as a place of learning and public good seriously,”
The Charlie Bell lecture takes place on Friday 05 August at 6.30pm and is free to attend. It forms part of the Cathedral’s response to Ely Pride weekend which features a festival on Saturday 06 August organised by Pride in Ely - Further information about Ely Pride Festival can be accessed via their website .
Comments