The Church of England Evangelical Council (CEEC) has created a series of films to help churches engage with issues around human sexuality.
The series, called God's Beautiful Story, is being launched as Living in Love and Faith (LLF), the Church of England's consultation on marriage, sexuality, gender identity and relationships, draws to a close at the end of this month.
In addition to human sexuality, the films explore possible changes to liturgy, doctrine and practice within the Church of England that may come about as a result of the LLF process.
The films are between five and seven minutes long and are accompanied by a set of study notes designed to help congregations think through the issues.
"During the Church of England's Living in Love and Faith process, we learned that many evangelical churches have not engaged with LLF for a variety of reasons," said Rev Canon John Dunnett, CEEC's Director of Strategy and Operations.
"The Bible offers a beautiful and inspiring narrative as to what it is to be made 'in the image of God' – a narrative which covers every part of our experience including human sexuality.
"Through this new collection of short films, we hope to encourage local churches and their leaders to engage with this biblical narrative and the implications of any departure from it by the Church of England."
Ed Shaw, Ministry Director at Living Out and Co-chair of CEEC, said, "Our culture is not silent when it comes to different experiences of sexuality, but sadly many of our evangelical churches still are.
"This silence causes confusion, pain and isolation for many – most especially those in sexual minority groups.
"These two short films explore the reasons for the silence and help equip us to share God's better story that brings life to all."
The CEEC is also launching a regular e-bulletin to keep evangelicals across the country up-to-date about developments affecting them in the Church of England.
"We would love to see many, many people across the country receiving these updates – and we need local church leaders to encourage people to sign up", Dunnett added.
