AS THE ANGLICAN WORLD TURNS

Colbert King, of The Washington Post, writes in an opinion piece on the continuing drama:

Last week, the Anglican Communion, the worldwide collection of national and regional churches that consider themselves Anglican or Episcopalian, suspended the U.S. Episcopal Church from full participation in the global body because of its decision to perform same-sex marriages. The suspension should have been the other way around. It is the Anglican Communion that deserves sanction. It, not the Episcopal Church, of which I am a member, has departed from the faith and teachings of Jesus with its un-Christian treatment of gay men and women.

The information in the column is generally accurate, but I'd note a few corrections. It was a gathering of Anglican primates (chief bishops) of the various member churches, not the Anglican Communion, that "sanctioned" the Episcopal Church. Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby of the Church of England, the first among equals among the primates, later referred to "consequences" rather than "sanctions". Whatever. The majority of the primates are opposed to our church's welcoming LGTB members to all sacramental rites of the church, including Christian marriage. The gathering of primates has no power to legislate or enforce such "sanctions", "consequences", or "suspension", so we shall see what follows for the church.

Episcopal Church Presiding Bishop Michael Curry, spoke with grace and eloquence following the meeting. 

This has been a disappointing time for many, and there will be heartache and pain for many, but it’s important to remember that we are still part of the Anglican Communion. We are the Episcopal Church, and we are part of the Jesus Movement, and that Movement goes on, and our work goes on. And the truth is, it may be part of our vocation to help the Communion and to help many others to grow in a direction where we can realize and live the love that God has for all of us, and we can one day be a Church and a Communion where all of God’s children are fully welcomed, where this is truly a house of prayer for all people. And maybe it’s a part of our vocation to help that to happen. And so we must claim that high calling; claim the high calling of love and faith; love even for those with whom we disagree, and then continue, and that we will do, and we will do it together. 

The link above includes the full text and the video of Bishop Curry's comments.

EPISCOPAL CHURCH SANCTIONED AT ANGLICAN PRIMATES GATHERING

Canterbury Cathedral

Susan Russell says it well at The Huffington Post.  Imagine! The Episcopal Church was sanctioned for being inclusive!

Today's statement from the Anglican Primates sanctioning the Episcopal Church for moving forward on marriage equality was sad but not surprising. The Episcopal Church being blamed for "impaired communion" between constituent members of the 38 autonomous churches making up the worldwide Anglican Communion is news to absolutely no one who has followed the long running saga of the Anglican Inclusion Wars.

If you wonder what a primate is, or you think you already know, an Anglican primate is the chief bishop in a country or region. If you think that perhaps a more suitable label could have been chosen, I agree.

Our primate, Presiding Bishop Michael Curry, made me proud with his response to the announcement of the sanctions.

Our commitment to be an inclusive church is not based on a social theory or capitulation to the ways of the culture, but on our belief that the outstretched arms of Jesus on the cross are a sign of the very love of God reaching out to us all. While I understand that many disagree with us, our decision regarding marriage is based on the belief that the words of the Apostle Paul to the Galatians are true for the church today: All who have been baptized into Christ have put on Christ. There is no longer Jew or Gentile, slave or free, male or female, for all are one in Christ.