After the formal part of the service, Bishop Gene spoke openly, and at length, about his life’s experiences from premature birth, when his life hung in the balance, through his upbringing by Southern non-conformist parents, his marriage, his two daughters, his fortunately amicable divorce, his subsequent meeting with his present partner of many years – all experiences which have influenced the whole of his openly inclusive ministry.

At a reception, following the service, Bishop Gene was most keen to meet and speak with as many people as possible before returning to London.

Earlier in 2005 I had been invited by “Changing Attitude North West” to talk to the group on the subject “Help! My Child is Gay” – clearly with reference to my involvement with Manchester Parents Group and FFLAG.

The meeting was advertised in the November edition of “Crux” – the monthly Manchester diocesan magazine which has a readership of about 50,000.

The talk, given on 1st December and the display of information materials were well received and led to a very interesting discussion and exchange of ideas afterwards.