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

Sharing the knowledge

Posted on July 6, 2016 by fluff35

Can we see each other for who we are? And can we stay together without descending into chaos? Continue reading →

Posted in Church of England and gender, Shared Conversations | Tagged Andrew Symes, Christian Today, gaydar, General Synod, Jayne Ozanne, love, marriage, parishes, safety, sexuality, St Michael's House protocols, Street Pastors, women bishops | 1 Comment

Pausanias and Agathon: a ‘same sex relationship’?

Posted on July 4, 2016 by fluff35

Thinking Anglicans notes that the Evangelical Group of the General Synod, EGGS, has issued this briefing document to its members and friends ahead of General Synod’s shared conversations, scheduled to start on 10 July. The document proposes that “The ideas/opinions/statements expressed (in bold) are amongst those … Continue reading →

Posted in Church of England and gender, Shared Conversations | Tagged ancient Greeks, Aristophanes, beard, Bible, EGGS, evangelical, history, kiss, love, Plato, soul, Symposium, Thinking Anglicans | 2 Comments

Gender at the Shared Conversations

Posted on June 10, 2016 by fluff35

To my mind, there’s an unfortunate effect of this being the aspect of Greek male sexuality which Christian sites tend to focus on: it leads to an elision between homosexuality and pederasty which is not appropriate today. Continue reading →

Posted in Church of England and gender, Shared Conversations | Tagged All Souls Langham Place, ambition, Diarmaid MacCulloch, Eastern Orthodox, General Synod, impurity, menstruation, Movement for the Ordination of Women, Pope Gregory, Rachel Held Evans, women bishops | Leave a comment

The Greeks didn’t have a word for it

Posted on June 3, 2016 by fluff35

A lot of statements about the ancient Greeks, the Romans, and sexuality can be found on Christian websites. They give the impression that there’s complete certainty surrounding their comments, for example on the Greeks ‘tolerating homosexuality’, phrasing which implies a historically-consistent … Continue reading →

Posted in Church of England and gender | Tagged anal sex, David Halperin, erastes, eromenos, homosexuality, Kenneth Dover, Michel Foucault, pederasty | 19 Comments

Behind closed doors

Posted on May 16, 2016 by fluff35

So how will General Synod get on with the Shared Conversations? Continue reading →

Posted in Shared Conversations | Tagged General Synod, House of Bishops, pain, tennis, York | Leave a comment

Meanwhile, back in the toilet…

Posted on March 28, 2016 by fluff35

This is the third in a series of reflections after the Shared Conversations (edited 31 March) In a previous post, I’ve commented on how wonderful it was to get to the loo and sit alone in a space where nobody … Continue reading →

Posted in Church of England and gender, Shared Conversations | Tagged 1967, binaries, Decriminalisation, Divorce, Jim Wallace, Parsifal, Peter Tatchell, the Pill, Wagner | 1 Comment

How we communicate

Posted on March 14, 2016 by fluff35

This is the second in a series of reflections after the Shared Conversations Following my experience of the Oxford/St Albans Regional Shared Conversations, I’m going to reflect here on one of the sessions on the first day. The facilitators explained … Continue reading →

Posted in Shared Conversations | Tagged communication, Gentiles, language, liberal, listening, Oxford, progressive, slavery, St Albans, Stories | 1 Comment

Come and have breakfast

Posted on March 8, 2016 by fluff35

In the debates over the place of same-sex people in the church, I’m a chicken. Continue reading →

Posted in Shared Conversations | Tagged Bible, breakfast, inclusion, Jesus | 1 Comment

Self-care: recovering from so many words

Posted on March 7, 2016 by fluff35

So, I’m back from the Regional Shared Conversations. And it was every bit as demanding as expected (maybe, more so), not least because there were so many words over those three days. I do words, all the time, so if … Continue reading →

Posted in Shared Conversations, Uncategorized | 3 Comments

Luggage and baggage

Posted on March 3, 2016 by fluff35

What to pack for the Shared Conversations? Continue reading →

Posted in Shared Conversations | Tagged ancient Greek, Bible, General Synod, God, identity, retreat, Rev, Shared Conversations | Leave a comment