Church discourses, such as official reports and debates in General Synod, are predicated on the belief that canonical authority can produce a liveable theology and coherent ecclesial and liturgical practices.

This book will que(e)ry the methodologies of reports such as the Pillinig Report, set in the context of earlier church reports on sexuality and later analysis of the fallout from the liturgical developments arising from Living in Love and Faith, and anaylse the hermeneutical lenses through which these choose to examine homosexuality and its place in church polity.

Drawing on the Halberstam’s concept of the ‘queer art of failure’, Penelope Doe suggests that one resolution to the endless parade of church reports on sexuality is a turning away from such reports and institutionally sanctioned debate, and towards an undoing of theological privilege and hierarchical constructions of authority.