Author Archives: fluff35

About fluff35

I blog on a range of subjects arising from various aspects of my life. On https://theretiringacademic.wordpress.com, I focus on my reactions to early retirement and think about aspects of teaching and research which I hope will be stimulating to those still working in higher education. On https://shared-conversations.com, I blog as an authorized lay preacher in a pretty standard parish church of the Church of England, who needs to write in order to find out what she thinks. I took part in the Oxford/St Albans/Armed Forces C of E 'Shared Conversations' in March 2016, worked on the Living in Love and Faith resources from 2017 and was elected to General Synod in October 2021, and continue to try to reflect on some of the issues. On https://mistakinghistories.wordpress.com I share my thoughts on various aspects of the history of medicine and the body. I have also written for The Conversation UK on https://theconversation.com/profiles/helen-king-94923/articles

Men as the Brides of Christ?

Posted on December 15, 2018 by fluff35

Queer theology and how men have read the Song of Songs, courtesy of Stephen Moore Continue reading →

Posted in Church of England and gender, Episcopal Teaching Document, Living in Love and Faith | Tagged allegory, Bernard of Clairvaux, Bible, body, breasts, Bride, Bridegroom, joy, Origen, pleasure, Queer Theology, Song of Songs, Stephen Moore, women | 2 Comments

Out in Africa?

Posted on December 9, 2018 by fluff35

No homosexuality in Africa? What’s that claim about and how can it help us see how history and anthropology are anything but neutral?
Continue reading →

Posted in Episcopal Teaching Document, Living in Love and Faith | Tagged Adriaan van Klinken, Africa, AIDS, anthropology, SOAS | 6 Comments

Can women be laity?

Posted on September 25, 2018 by fluff35

Here’s one of those great questions with a history that we have somehow forgotten about… This week, I’ve had the interesting experience of being an oral history source: interviewed by a student writing her dissertation on the history of the … Continue reading →

Posted in Church of England and gender | Tagged Church of England, Convocation, equality, gender, heterosexuality, Holy Spirit, homosexuality, laity, Movement for the Ordination of Women, oral history, women | Leave a comment

Love that dares to speak: a study course

Posted on September 3, 2018 by fluff35

There has been some discussion on social media about a new 5-session course, Love that dares to speak, written by Hilary Brand ‘exploring Christian reactions to homosexuality’. I’ve co-led many small group courses – various Emmaus ones and a Pilgrim one – in … Continue reading →

Posted in Episcopal Teaching Document, Shared Conversations | Tagged Anglican Communion, Bible, celibacy, Francis Spufford, Hilary Brand, homosexuality, Jayne Ozanne, Jeffrey John, LGBTQI+, Love that dares to speak | 3 Comments

Seeing the tree in the woods

Posted on July 8, 2018 by fluff35

So, in the last month, that Episcopal Teaching Document, a.k.a. the ‘Teaching Document on human identity, sexuality and marriage’, has developed a name of its own. It’s now Living in Love and Faith: Christian teaching and learning about human sexuality and … Continue reading →

Posted in Episcopal Teaching Document, Living in Love and Faith | Tagged Church Times, General Synod, Godly Play, Living in Love and Faith, mustard seed, roots | 7 Comments

Pandora: the Greek Eve?

Posted on May 4, 2018 by fluff35

(John William Waterhouse, Pandora, 1896) I think this is the first time I’ve posted the same piece on two of my blogs, but the topic seems relevant to both, so here we go; this, like many of the pieces on … Continue reading →

Posted in Church of England and gender | Tagged Adam, Bible, Creation, Eve, marriage, mythology, Pandora, women | Leave a comment

Philip and the Ethiopian eunuch: a sermon

Posted on April 27, 2018 by fluff35

April, 2018: In one of those moments of diary failure with which we are all familiar, I thought that this coming Sunday I was down to preach at the 10 a.m. service immediately before the Annual Parochial Meeting. Wrong. I’m … Continue reading →

Posted in Church of England and gender | Tagged conversion, diversity, Ethiopian eunuch, Handel, inclusion, Isaiah, Jeremiah, Jesus, sermon | 4 Comments

Being officially ecumenical: chocolate, mints, the Church of England and the Conference of European Churches

Posted on February 9, 2018 by fluff35

This week, the Church of England General Synod is discussing union with the Methodists. One of my favourite jokes ever is the ‘guy on a bridge‘ one, which is all about church divisions and micro-divisions. Union, or separation? Is reunion … Continue reading →

Posted in Ecumenical movement | Tagged Baptists, British Council of Churches, Conference of European Churches, General Synod, Lent, Lutheran, Old Catholics, Orthodox, Stirling, vocation, voting, women priests, young | Leave a comment

The Episcopal Teaching Document

Posted on November 22, 2017 by fluff35

Talking about sexuality in the Church of England… the next stage after Shared Conversations Continue reading →

Posted in Episcopal Teaching Document, Living in Love and Faith, Shared Conversations | Tagged Bible, homosexuality, House of Bishops, Issues in Human Sexuality, Living in Love and Faith, Osborne Report, Pilling Report, women priests | 4 Comments

Nothing new here: how the human sexuality debate repeats the women priests debate

Posted on August 9, 2017 by fluff35

Should a sheep among wolves wear her wolfskin coat? Continue reading →

Posted in Church of England and gender | Tagged General Synod, Guildford, history, ordination, sexuality, women | Leave a comment