In a video making the rounds on social media, a church from Birmingham, UK held a ‘New Name, New Pronouns’ service. This ceremony served as a way for members to let the congregation know their new name and what pronouns they wished to be known by. Online commentators mocked the woke church and questioned their commitment to scripture.
“Will you show love to Harry, to August, to Zoe, and to Anna Hodgkinson, honoring their name and pronouns? So say, we will, with God’s help,” the ceremony began. “Making a new promise, making a promise of a new nation. God renames Abraham to Abraham in the birth of a new child. God renames Sarah to Sarah. Through a long wrestling match, God renames Jacob to Israel,” another reader said.
“Names matter and pronouns matter. Thus they are expressions of who we are, how we see ourselves, and how we want others to see us. Genesis, one tells us that we are made in God’s image and likeness,” the teacher continued. “Identity is sacred and to be celebrated. I’d like to invite Harry, Zoe, August, and Anna to the front. Those standing here have chosen to share their identity and journey with us today.”
“It is an invitation to each of us to accompany them as they walk their Sacred Journeys of identity and self-expression,” the ceremony continued. “We are being given the sacred opportunity to embody Jesus’s love acceptance and joy toward them. Changing one’s name or pronouns can bring both freedom and frustration for everyone involved, and can take time, but it is a journey worth taking.
After having each of the participants read off their new names and pronouns, the preacher concluded,” Will you do all in your power to assist Harry, August Zoe, and Anna Hodgkinson, to follow Jesus, to do what is right, and to live fully into the person that God has created them to be? If so, say we will with God’s help you.”The online reaction was negative.
“Not only do they add something to a service that is patently non-scriptural, they pervert Scripture in trying to justify it. May God have mercy on their souls,” one user replied. “This is not church we should start calling these what they are. “This group of blaspheming ppl” did this or that. Said this it that…Galatians 1:1-8 “accursed”!” another account reacted.
The Birmingham Diocese is infamous for its woke policies. Recently it instructed priests to “use language that won’t add further confusion or tension or take away anything from the good news of the Nativity,” according to the Telegraph. One of the hymns singled out was “Lo, He Comes With Clouds Descending,” a favorite of Queen Victoria, which has been criticized for declaring Jesus as the “true Messiah.”
Watch the Woke Service Here:
Church puts on a sacred ‘new name, new pronouns’ ceremony for transgender members who are reintroduced to the church- where their deadnames and deadpronouns are buried, and their new names and new pronouns are raised to life. pic.twitter.com/rYXPrKAJnI
— Protestia (@Protestia) February 21, 2025
Another classic hymn, “O Come, O Come, Emmanuel” has been targeted for the phrase “captive Israel” in the first verse. The diocese’s email suggested that such language could lead to misunderstandings, particularly in the context of ongoing tensions related to the Israel-Hamas conflict. Rt. Rev. Michael Volland, bishop of Birmingham, said the decision was influenced by the political climate.
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