Duffy's 19-line verse, written in tribute to the victims of the Orlando massacre in which 49 people died in a gay club in Florida, highlights how the LGBT community includes people from all walks of life.

The poem lists priests, politicians, scientists, farmers and doctors as gay closing with the lines: "The butcher, the baker, the candlestick-maker; our children, are gay. And God is gay."

In fact, Bishops should speak out because the Book of Common Prayer's Ordinal - the historic Reformed Anglican liturgy for the consecration of Bishops - says they should. The Archbishop asks the Bishop elect: 'Be you ready, with all faithful diligence, to banish and drive away all erroneous and strange doctrine contrary to God's Word; and both privately and openly to call upon and encourage others to the same.'

The Bishop replies: 'I am ready, the Lord being my helper.'

But as a general principle, if a minister has already been serving a local church for some time and his church family is with him in wanting to join AMiE, should not the process be made as straightforward as possible? Surely long interviews and lengthy deliberations are going to put local churches off and drive them to look elsewhere for their wider accountability?

In which case, what is the point of AMiE?

At the other end of the age scale there is some positive improvement. For the first time in decades there are more men and women in their 20s and 30s coming through the Church of England training institutions than there are in their 50s. In particular there is a positive explosion of those in their 30s who are being ordained, but this is not yet enough to counter the large exit of priests at the other end of the career lifecycle.