THE Bishop of St Asaph is among four senior religious leaders and Parliamentarians recognised for their ground-breaking work in the area of sexuality, gender identity.

The Rt Revd Gregory Cameron received an award for his leadership within the Church in Wales in bringing it to a point of enabling same-sex blessings.

It was presented at a Covid-secure dinner in the Houses of Parliament on December 8 which was attended by a range of senior faith leaders, parliamentarians and Ozanne Foundation trustees.

The dinner, funded by a private donor, looked to mark the progress that has been made in working in the complex area of faith and LGBT+ matters.

The Religious Leader award was presented to Bishop Gregory by Jayne Ozanne; Jayne's Foundation instigated the new awards.

She said in her tribute to him: “Bishop Gregory is, I believe, one of our true inspirational unsung heroes in the Christian faith with regards to leading institutional change – in this case, within the Church in Wales.

“I first met Bishop Gregory in September 2016, where in the depths of Wales one stormy evening he commissioned the UK’s first LGBT Chaplain – an initiative that other dioceses, including my own in Oxford, would eventually emulate and follow. I remember sitting, in tears, throughout the service as I heard him preach about the importance of us each having a ‘pearl of great price’ which is our integrity and that we needed to learn ‘not to build fences but rather to open watering holes’ – a message that I think is as apt today as it was then. He then read out a letter from a certain evangelical bishop, who as it happens has just been announced as the new Archbishop of Wales, Bishop Andy John, which said ‘we repent and ask your forgiveness’ for the way the Church has treated LGBTI Christians. True leadership.

"Over the past five years, Bishop Gregory has gently but resolutely helped lead the Church in Wales on a journey which culminated in September with the governing body voting – with a two thirds majority – to allow blessings of same-sex relationships.

"As he himself has acknowledged, there is still a journey to be taken, but this was a significant step – which meant that he had brought the bishops and most importantly the majority of the Church in Wales with him.

"I was thrilled to learn that he had conducted the first blessing ceremony a few weeks ago, which I know meant so much to Father Lee Talyor and his civil partner.

“Bishop Gregory, we owe you a deep debt of gratitude – thank you for your leadership.”

Speaking at the event, the Rt Revd Paul Bayes, Bishop of Liverpool and foundation’s chair, said: “Addressing injustice – whether it be in Church, government or wider society – requires champions who are prepared to show courage and leadership. Tonight, we honour four such people, who have each had a significant impact on the lives of LGBT+ people, particularly those living in faith settings.”

The award winners are:

Religious Leader Award – Rt Revd Gregory Cameron, for his leadership within the Church in Wales in bringing them to a point of enabling same-sex blessings.

Parliamentarian Award (MP) – Alicia Kearns MP for her leadership within parliament in ensuring that there is legislation to ban “conversion therapy”

Parliamentarian Award (Peer) – Baroness Helena Kennedy QC for her leadership in chairing the Cooper Report, which brought together one of the most distinguished groups of human rights experts, parliamentarians and civil society leaders ever formed to set out to government how to effectively ban “conversion therapy”.

Colin Blakely Lifetime Achievement Award – Jeremy Marks, founder of Post-Courage, who led the first ex-gay ministry in the world to change their approach and so support and affirm LGBT+ people of faith.