Jeremy Pemberton (priest)

Jeremy Pemberton was the first priest within the Church of England to enter into a marriage with a person of the same gender in 2014.

As a result of his marriage, he was denied a job as a chaplain for the National Health Service by the Archbishop of York, John Sentamu. The dismissal was upheld by the Court of Appeal in 2018.

Journey to priesthood[]

After graduating from the University of Oxford, he was ordained as a priest while still in his mid-twenties, an exceptionally young age. By 2005, after serving in several posts and devoting years to working in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Pemberton was made an honorary canon. His then-Bishop advised Pemberton to consider a future as a Dean, Archdeacon, or Bishop. He also became a canon of Ely as well as Boga in the DRC.^[1]

Marriage[]

Pemberton met Cunnington on a support website for gay fathers in 2008; both had been previously married to women for several decades.^[1]

Background[]

The Equality Act 2010 prevents discrimination based on protected characteristics in the Act, which includes the LGBT community. However, the Church of England and other religious groups are allowed to bar LGBT people from jobs if they're sexually active or in civil partnerships.^[1]

Same-sex marriage in England and Wales began in late March 2014, when the Marriage (Same Sex Couples) Act 2013 came into force.^[2] In April 2014, Pemberton married his partner Laurence Cunnington^[3] despite an official ban from the Church of England. The House of Bishops said in February 2014 that "it would not be appropriate conduct for someone in holy orders to enter into a same-sex marriage",^[4] instead allowing for civil partnerships between members of the same gender, within a celibate relationship.^[5] The Act exempts the church from performing same-sex ceremonies – and canon law, which defines marriage as between one man and one woman, is protected. These exemptions came following extensive lobbying by conservative Anglicans.^[1]

Chaplaincy move and legal action[]

In 2014, Pemberton lived in Southwell and sang in Southwell Minster. He had a job as a hospital chaplain in the diocese of Lincoln, but sought work closer to home (King's Mill Hospital in Mansfield). Pemberton spoke to the Bishop of Lincoln (Rt Rev Christopher Lowson) prior to his move, and he no initial objections; however, after the wedding, Lowson sent Pemberton a written rebuke which arrived during the couple's honeymoon.^[1]

The Archbishop of York John Sentamu (whose ecclesiastical jurisdiction included Southwell), a noted opponent of same-sex marriage, opposed Pemberton's move. Following consultation with Sentamu, Bishop Richard Inwood refused Pemberton permission to officiate (PTO) in the diocese of Southwell and Nottingham.^[5] The PTO is only rarely revoked, usually only when the law is broken.^[1] As a result, the NHS refused his chaplaincy at King's Mill Hospital, though he still worked for the Lincolnshire trust.^[6]

In response, Pemberton threatened legal action against the Church.^[5] He approached three barristers, all of whom offered their services pro bono; the Church hired international law firm Herbert Smith Freehills. The tribunal included a registrar of the London diocese, a "top London solicitor who was there apparently to take notes for the Archbishop of Canterbury", a legal secretary from the General Synod, and a legal representative of the CofE Pensions Board, as well as barristers and solicitors from both sides. Pemberton was cross-examined for seven hours, during which Tom Linden QC called Pemberton "an errant priest" and "not in good standing". When Pemberton began to cry over the revocation of his PTO, Linden said "Crying isn't necessarily fair to the respondent". Malcolm Brown, director of mission and public affairs for the Archbishops' Council, asked that Pemberton refer to his marriage as a "civil partnership max", to which Pemberton's solicitor sarcastically suggested the term "morriage" be used.^[1]

The tribunal upheld the Church's position. Inwood was also found to have not discriminated against Pemberton on the grounds of sexual orientation under the Equality Act, because adhering to the Church's doctrine (including that on same-sex marriage) was a requirement of taking up the new NHS chaplaincy post, and the Act allows organised religious groups to gain exemptions in anti-discrimination in employment laws.^[7] This judgement was criticised by the LGBT rights activist Peter Tatchell, who said: "This decision sets three dangerous precedents: that the Church of England is exempt from the laws prohibiting workplace discrimination; that it is entitled to discriminate against gay clergy who have been lawfully married in a civil ceremony; and that it can legally dictate to non-religious institutions, such as the NHS, who they can employ. This contradicts the principles of the Equality Act 2010. It gives a green light to Bishops across Britain to witch-hunt married gay clergy."^[8] The LGBT rights charity Stonewall also criticised the decision.^[9]

Pemberton appealed the decision, but the Employment Appeal Tribunal dismissed his appeal in 2016.^[10] The Court of Appeal also dismissed his case in 2018; Pemberton reached an agreement with the Church not to pursue his claim further and the Church would not apply for costs to be awarded against him.^[11][12][13]

Precisely five years after his marriage, Equal, the Campaign for Equal Marriage in the Church of England, was founded to end bans on same-sex marriages in Church parishes and to allow vicars to marry individuals of the same gender.^[14]

References[]