THE Bishop of Worcester will be visiting a village church to discuss the controversial subject of affirmation of gays and lesbians into the Anglican Church.

The Rt Rev Dr Peter Selby will be at St Leonard's Church, Beoley, to talk about the issue, which has divided churchgoers and clergy.

At the end of last year, a Changing Attitude group was formed for the Worcester Diocese following an inaugural meeting at St Leonard's.

The Rev Sally Rogers discussed how attitudes towards sexuality had changed in the last 15-20 years.

Following the meeting, a steering group of 12 people was formed which convenes on a regular basis.

St Leonard's vicar, the Rev David Rogers, said: "We had such a wonderful inaugural meeting with a huge cross section of the community, including gays, lesbians, bisexuals, heterosexuals, lay people and ordained people and we hope this meeting will be just as successful.

"I am a co-convenor of the Changing Attitude group for this diocese and my church is such an attractive venue, we decided it would be a great idea to hold these meetings here.

"But we want to invite people from all over the diocese, not just from Beoley and nearby areas.

"The Bishop will be taking the first half of the meeting but everyone who attends will have a chance to interact and discuss what they think the priorities of the group should be."

"The aim over time is there will be a Changing Attitude group in every diocese in the country."

The meeting will be on May 22 from 10am-noon.