The Reverend

Alex Clare-Young
OccupationMinister
SpouseJo Clare-Young[1]
Known forBeing the first out transgender URC minister[2]
Ecclesiastical career
ReligionChristianity
ChurchUnited Reformed Church

Alex Clare-Young is a transmasculine non-binary[3] Minister of the United Reformed Church in the United Kingdom. They minister mainly to an online church (Churspacious), and offer education and advocacy to schools, churches and Christian communities on issues relating to gender identity.[4][5]

Personal life

Clare-Young received an MPhil degree after study at Westminster College, Cambridge, and while there was a member of the Student Christian Movement.[6][7] They are married to Revd. Jo Clare-Young, and live with her in Scarborough.[8]

Clare-Young appeared on Songs of Praise to discuss their gender identity in April 2020.[9]

Clare-Young is conducting doctoral research at the University of Birmingham, funded by the Council for World Mission.[10]

Activism

Clare-Young is a member of the Iona Community and was formerly Community Leader of Peter's House.[8] Clare-Young is moderator of the Iona Community's LGBTQ+ Common Concern Network.[11]

Clare-Young has supplied written evidence in response to the British government's consultation with the trans community on amending the Gender Recognition Act 2004 to remove fees for trans people obtaining Gender Recognition Certificates, and favours removing a required medical diagnosis of gender dysphoria from the Act.[4]

In 2019, Clare-Young authored the book Transgender. Christian. Human.[12]

Since 2021, Clare-Young is co-chair of trustees of the Open Table Network, an ecumenical Christian community for LGBT people and their allies.[13] Clare-Young is also a consultant for OneBodyOneFaith and Creating Sanctuary.[10]

In April 2022, Clare-Young became Pioneer Minister at Downing Place United Reformed Church, Cambridge.[7]

Living in Love and Faith

Alex and Jo Clare-Young appeared in a video clip for Living in Love and Faith, a group which calls for better relationships between the Church of England and the LGBT community. Clare-Young said in the video: "I do expect people to respect me but I don’t expect people to know what to do with me. Some people might never have met a trans person before."[14] Ben John of the conservative evangelical group Christian Concern criticised the video, continuously misgendering Clare-Young and saying that "transgenderism is a false ideology", "what we're actually seeing here is a lesbian couple. This man isn't really a man. She's a woman."[15] In response, Clare-Young called for John to re-edit his video and remove personal remarks, saying that the comments "were leading to personal harm to myself, my wife, and the others in the video. ... It describes me and my wife as being in a same-sex marriage, which isn't true."[15] The North Yorkshire Police investigated the comments as a potential hate crime.[15][16]

Clare-Young was in the co-ordinating group for Living in Love and Faith, recruited by the Bishop of Coventry, Christopher Cocksworth.[17][18] Church Times quoted Clare-Young as writing: "I want to stress that same-sex marriage is not the only thing required for LGBTQ+ equity and justice in the Church. Many churches and many Christians, in many denominations, still treat LGBTQ+ people in horrific ways, and spiritual abuse of LGBTQ+ people is still horrifically common."[19]

Writing in the journal Theology and Sexuality, Clare-Young examines unequal power dynamics and personalized arguments deployed by Christian Concern during the Living in Love and Faith process, and argues for a "paradigmatic shift" regarding LGBTQ+ people.[10]

Notes and references

    1. ↑ "Churspacious - a new place to 'be church'". URC Yorkshire Synod.
    2. ↑ "Alex Clare-Young, the first out transgender minister in the United Reformed Church, says: Transgender Christian Human is the story of my life as a transgender child and adult." Blackwells' description of Clare-Young, Alex (25 October 2019). Transgender. Christian. Human. Wild Goose Publications. ISBN 9781849526906.
    3. ↑ "Alex Clare-Young". Retrieved 11 February 2021. As a trans-masculine non-binary person, Alex is passionate about advocating for the inclusion of, and social justice for, trans people.
    4. 1 2 "Written evidence submitted by Reverend Alex Clare-Young (GRA0058)". GRA Consultation Response. Houses of Parliament. October 2020. Retrieved 11 February 2021. My name is Revd. Alex Clare-Young, my pronouns are they/them, and I am a transmasculine person. I am a minister in the United Reformed Church, and minister to and alongside other people who identify as trans and/or non-binary.
    5. ↑ "Revd Alex Clare-Young". Gathering Voices. Retrieved 11 February 2021.
    6. ↑ Derry, Johanna (17 August 2018). "God-talk outside the lecture room". Church Times. Retrieved 30 May 2021.
    7. 1 2 Bailey, Jesi (4 March 2023). "The LGBT+ church members making Cambridge a more inclusive place to be Christian". Varsity Online. Retrieved 6 December 2023.
    8. 1 2 "Alex Clare-Young, Author at The Christian Student Guide". The Christian Student Guide. Retrieved 11 February 2021.
    9. ↑ "Rev. Alex's Story". BBC Songs of Praise. 18 April 2020. Retrieved 11 February 2021.
    10. 1 2 3 Clare-Young, Clare (5 August 2021). "Living in love and faith? The construction of contemporary texts of terror". Theology and Sexuality. 27 (2–3): 115–136. doi:10.1080/13558358.2021.1954864. S2CID 238838009.
    11. ↑ Clare-Young, Alex (2022). "Breathing space: Some insights from an LGBTQ+ week at the Abbey". Coracle the Magazine of the Iona Community. Vol. 1.
    12. ↑ Clare-Young, Alex (2019). Transgender. Christian. Human. Wild Goose Publications. ISBN 978-1849526883.
    13. ↑ "THE OPEN TABLE NETWORK Charity Number 1193868". Charity Commission. 19 March 2021. Retrieved 2 April 2021.
    14. ↑ "Evangelist investigated for hate crime after misgendering trans priest and claiming being trans is a 'false ideology'". PinkNews. 3 December 2020. Retrieved 11 February 2021.
    15. 1 2 3 Ames, Jonathan; Bannerman, Lucy (30 November 2020). "Police investigate alleged hate against trans clergy". The Times. Retrieved 30 November 2020. (subscription required)
    16. ↑ "Evangelical Christian reported to police for hate crime over Living in Love and Faith comments". Christian Today. 30 November 2020. Retrieved 9 May 2021.
    17. ↑ "General Synod: presentation on process of sexuality group Living in Love and Faith". Church Times. 1 March 2019. Retrieved 9 May 2021.
    18. ↑ Thornton, Ed (30 November 2020). "Anti-Living in Love and Faith video investigated as a hate-crime". Church Times. Retrieved 9 May 2021.
    19. ↑ Handley, Paul (13 November 2020). "Synod could debate same-sex marriage in 2022". Church Times. Retrieved 9 May 2021.
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