The current furore about religion and homosexuality has caused something of a dilemma for my children and their friends, who are all in their twenties. So much of what the Church has said about homosexuality is, for them, not so much right or wrong, as simply “nonsense”. They operate within a different worldview. Like many, and perhaps the majority of their peers, they do not believe that either homosexual orientation or practice is sinful or “evil” per se, any more than they believe that about heterosexuals. They do not think it unnatural or disordered that there is a minority of the human population which is attracted to its own gender. They simply accept that as a fact of life. They are shocked that gays and lesbians have continually to make a case for themselves as sexually expressive and relational human beings. For them, this is essentially a justice issue.

Nor do they start from a laissez-faire or ethically disinterested perspective. They have clear positive values about the wrong of cruelty, violence, faithlessness, abuse of power, mercilessness, pride. They have considerable respect for marriage, and a realistic understanding of its challenges, which means that it is something they will never enter into lightly.

But living as they do in a pluralist society they are exposed to a far greater degree of diversity of culture, lifestyle, beliefs, attitudes, than ever before. They know their (and my) gay and lesbian friends, they know their kindness, their abilities, the quality of their parenting, and they find it enriching, not evil. For them, discrimination against people on the ground of their sexual orientation has the same character as racial discrimination – that is, it is not only immoral but criminal.

How then shall they relate to a Church that considers homosexual practice, regardless of its moral and relational quality, as a sin? To become a member of that Church, will they have to name as a sin that which they have hitherto seen as an expression of justice? To name homosexuality as evil (and for all the slipping around between orientation and practice, they don’t see the Church even practising what it preaches here) is, for them, corrupt, and trivialises the real nature of evil. One of the great joys for us this year in the family of the Iona Community has been the opportunity to share in the celebrations of those of our members who have entered into civil partnerships. About 10 per cent of our membership and staff are gay, lesbian, bisexual or transgendered. They are fully and openly part of our common life, part of our body. When one member of the body suffers, all the others suffer, too. When one member is honoured, all the others rejoice together. They are part of our common prayer, and we pray equally for their chosen partners and respect their choices.

I could not begin to describe how much these members have enriched the life of our community; in our worship, our action for justice and peace, in pastoral support and theological reflection. They have deepened our spirituality, enhanced and supported our families and modelled forgiveness and reconciliation. Their sexuality is not the only, or even the most, interesting thing about them.

Jesus said: “By their fruits you shall know them.” And because we have known them, we have reaped a rich harvest. Many of them, whether single or with partners, have experienced ignorance, misunderstanding and unremitting hostility in their Churches.

As Christians, the world judges us not by our discussions and doctrinal statements, but by our greatest claim; that we love God and love one another. By that standard, our gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgendered members and staff have been a witness to us, and I am glad that they find a safe home within the Iona Community.