“Despite all our differences we are passionately committed to walking together.” So said a pastoral statement approved today by the General Synod of the Anglican Church of Canada on the issue of same gender blessings. And it may mark the beginning of a new spirit and approach to a question that has divided the church in recent years.
....
The result is a document that acknowledges continuing differences within the church on the issue, and says “at this time, we are not prepared to make a legislative decision.” The statement instead committed the church to more dialogue. This compromise left both sides wanting more, but there was a new and surprising level of support from both sides, and the statement was approved by a large majority within the 350-member synod made up of lay people, clergy and bishops.
“For many members of General Synod there is deep sadness that, at this time, there is no common mind. We acknowledge the pain that our diversity in this matter causes. We are deeply aware of the cost to people whose lives are implicated in the consequences of an ongoing discernment process…,” they said. “For some, even this statement represents a risk. For some, the statement does not go nearly far enough.”
....
And there were concerns expressed. Kellina Baetz from the diocese of Algoma said the document “fails to acknowledge the reality that inaction is also action.” She pointed to a piece of the text that said “we accept that different local contexts call at times for different local discernment, decision and action.” Then she asked, “Now I understand that the language here is perhaps deliberately vague for good reason, but I don’t know how you call that anything other than affirmation of local option.” Local option is a term used for one proposed resolution to the issue in which dioceses and local parishes could decide whether or not to bless same-sex unions.
The delegates to General Synod of the Anglican Church of Canada did what they did and what they felt they must do. Presumably, the ACofC did not make a "formal" collective decision to depart from the moritoria of the Windsor Report, which has now become a list of rules that member churches of the Anglican Communion must follow, according to the Archbishop of Canterbury and other members of the AC, although how a report came to be a set of rules is still a mystery to me.
Oh, and it appears that the "rules" are more restrictive for some member churches than for others. In the end, I'll wager that the representatives from the Episcopal Church will be the only members of the ecumenical committees who will be asked to stand down, although we are not the only member church to have departed from "gracious restraint" in the matter of following the "rules" of the Windsor Report.
I do think that the Canadian Church has approved an excellent temporizing measure in adopting the resolution that they "will consider a formal decision to adopt the proposed Anglican Covenant after the Church of England has formally adopted it." Hope others will follow this lead.
ReplyDeleteLapin, I agree. I believe a good many provinces will play kick the can, and the Covenant may die from neglect.
ReplyDeleteSo do either of you, Mimi or Lapin, think CofE will sign on?
ReplyDeleteSusan, I've doubted whether the CofE, as an established church, CAN sign on without the permission of Parliament. Of course, I'm no expert.
ReplyDeleteI think, Susan, that from here on, members of the Church of England will be made increasingly aware of what is behind ongoing attacks on "those pushy Americans". For instance, check the comments on the most recent post of David Hamid, suffragan bishop in Europe. Not all these comments are from Yanks. Let's hope KJS establishes a firm PR bridgehead in the UK this week. Looks like she's doing fine.
ReplyDeleteActually, I believe that resolution to wait until after the C of England signed was declared out of order, was it not? The rational being that it was presented after a previous resolution regarding the Covenant, which it would have contradicted, had already been approved.
ReplyDeleteSeems to me that TEC has the same position regarding same sex marriage as ACC. I don't see how we can criticize them when they're nearly at the same spot as we are in that regard. Hopefully when they get around to consecrating an openly Gay or Lesbian Bishop this will all have been resolved. In the meantime I'm glad they have not been treated as ungraciously as we have been.
ReplyDeleteAnd I agree Grandmère Mimi, the Kleptomaniac offshore Bishops will not be sanctioned by Rowan Who. And it's a Sin for us not to thank them for stealing our property, in the Bizzaro World of Rowan Who, where the Pharisees are the hero's and Christ's path was "Schismatic".
Of course, it's a long road that doesn't have a turn in it...
Wade, if you read my comments as critical of the Canadian church, I didn't mean them that way.
ReplyDeleteA motion to reaffirm the moratoria was withdrawn by its mover, the very conservative dean of Fredericton, as a goodwill gesture after the adoption of the sexuality statement.
ReplyDeleteFurthermore, the statement clearly says that different dioceses will respond to their missional situations in different ways on this issue - in other words, it tacitly accepts local option. Several dioceses were waiting on this General Synod to go ahead. I don't see how this statement can be interpreted in any other way as allowing them to go ahead. This may not be a 'forma' motion to depart from the moratoria, but the effect nonetheless is that the moratoria are over.
However, the balance is that dioceses that continue to follow traditional interpretation and practice can continue to do so, and that we are determined to stay together. And GS managed to do this by a vote of approximately 340 to 10 (with every single member of the House of Bishops, even the most liberal and most conservative, voting in favour), and with most people going home loving each other rather than mad at each other.
Personally, I think it was a good week to be a Canadian Anglican.
Grandmère Mimi, perhaps I read too many blogs. I was agreeing with you while being rather too mindful of some of the more strident comments I've seen the last day or two elsewhere. I just don't get where the Canadians have done anything awful. Hell, we're lucky they put up with us, we haven't always been the best of neighbors after all.
ReplyDeleteIt took me 40 years to come to grips with being gay myself. I certainly don't expect a Church to do so overnight. Just as we all come out in our own way and our own time, Churches will stand up in their own ways at their own times.
Back in the 70s I never imagined we'd have come as far as we have. It's not as far as I'd like, but it's much further than I ever hoped for years back.
On the 18th our Bishop is going to celebrate an Integrity Eucharist as part of Maine's Pride week. I can't find a lot to be "down" about just because Rowan Who is sticking his finger in the dike, the tide is rising and he's going to fail. And we'll forget him LONG before we forget Bishop Steve!
A few Months back, Maine narrowly voted to overturn the legislation that legalized same sex marriage. The next night we all met at the Parish Hall, we'd set it up Months before so we'd have either a celebration or an opportunity for Pastoral care. All the clergy were there, including the Dean and the Bishop. Many str8 parishioners were there to voice their support. When I was a Roman Catholic I never could have imagined such support would ever be possible.
It just seems like some of us don't appreciate how very good we have it in TEC, just how far we've already come, and how much so many of our straighter brethren have done to make us welcome. I think it's a good thing for us to appreciate it from time to time, and we have to remember how long it's been in the making.
If it would help some of the martyrs in the less enlightened places for us to proceed more slowly and cautiously, I'd be okay with that. But it's now obvious that Rowan Who only cares about the "Institutional Church", not the individual Christians who make up the Church. If I understand the English it's a "Keeping up Appearances" sort of thing. He's like "Our Hyacinth" making poor Richard send the money for silk pajamas to "their Sheridan" who is NOT a poof. Puts me in mind of a scene where Rowan Who calling our PB for money to buy more Royal Doulton China for his "Lambeth Conference with Riparian Entertainments".
The Episcopal Church now seems determined to be who we are meant to be. Straddling the fence is no longer comfortable. It's about time. We may be the first but I don't think we'll be the last. That not all the like-minded Churches of the Communion stand with us immediately is not so terrible a thing. It's my belief that being honest about who were are will lead to our Church being more vital and less irrelevant to society. Listening to Bishop Kate makes me feel like we'll be just fine in the long run.
Sorry to have rambled so...
{HUG}
--Wade
Sorry to have rambled so...
ReplyDeleteWade, I like your ramble. It took me more than 40 years to begin to get over my homophobia. I tend to forget sometimes.