A PRIEST who campaigned for the ordination of women and acceptance of homosexuality is leaving Waltham Forest.

The Revd Claire Wilson is leaving All Saints Church, part of the parish of SS Peter and Paul in Chingford, where for more than ten years she has been outspoken about welcoming gay and lesbian worshippers into the congregation and has established an annual service to celebrate gay partnerships.

She said: “I have been involved in slightly controversial issues, like supporting gay people, and it has felt a privilege to stand up for that sort of cause and I have been glad to have the freedom to speak up without fear on something controversial and know (the congregation) will listen.

“For the most part people have been very supportive. There are people who, for their own reasons, hold different views and we have done our best to be respectful of each other. But we live with a level of disagreement because not all Christians share the same views.”

The Revd Wilson, who herself is married, feels strongly about the issue because she has gay clergymen friends who hide their sexuality out of fear.

“Many live lives of concealment because the Church of England does not accept gay people in the ordained ministry,” she said. “Some live sad and sorry lives and it upsets me that they cannot be who they are. They got me involved in that.”

She said she is grateful that her colleague Father Tom Page at the Chingford church has been continually supportive of her views.

But the Revd Wilson has never been afraid to stick her head above the parapet. In the early 1990s she camped outside the Bishop’s palace and protested in Whitehall as part of the movement for the ordination of women, describing herself as “a bit of a suffragette” at that time.

In September, the Revd Wilson will be leaving the parish to return to Hampstead, where her first ministry was, and plans to retire from paid ministry.

She added: “I have been extremely happy here in Chingford and have found support and friendship from the start. I will miss the congregation and friends, but it feels like the right time to go.”

The next service to celebrate and give thanks for same-sex relationships will be held in the Old Church, Old Church Road, Chingford, on Sunday May 17 at 4pm.

A warm welcome is extended to those who are not gay but who share the hope that the Church of England will accept homosexuality for clergy or laity.