In his address to the recent diocesan synod on Saturday last, Bishop Ken Clarke gave the following review in his presidential address which was his 11th.
Bishop Clarke said:
We cannot separate the mission of God and the unity of the people of God just as we cannot separate God’s truth and God’s love. We cannot separate Christ the friend of sinners from Christ the Lord of all. Following Him means not just being welcomed and accepted by Him, but living with Him and growing to be like Him in a life of holiness. These truths relate profoundly to our present challenges in the Church of Ireland. The recent well–publicised events within the Church of Ireland concerning the issue of serving clergy and civil partnerships are the context of these, my remarks to you, at this, our Diocesan Synod. I trust they will be helpful to you at this time.
1. The first thing I want to say is this – God loves everyone. I will say it again. God loves everyone. I will say it again. God loves everyone. There are no second class people in the heart of God. Last Sunday I had the privilege of preaching at the Harvest Thanksgiving and Flower Festival in Holywood Parish, the parish where I grew up. I remembered the many times I heard, in our weekly Service of Holy Communion, the words of Jesus as recorded by St. John, ‘God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him shall not perish but have everlasting life.’ These truths are foundational. They relate to the nature of God, the means and cost of salvation, and an undeserved invitation from a generous God of grace. They speak of Divine initiative, human choice and eternal destiny.
2. Secondly, our primary identity as human beings is that the mark of God’s fingerprints are on all of us. We are made in His image. With this identity comes our responsibility, to image the likeness of our Maker. Tragically the world, and the ease with which we are all deceived, robs us of this identity and twists our responsibility. Just as God loves everyone, so everyone is fallen. Everyone is sinful. Let me say it again. Everyone is sinful. As Leonard Ravenhill once wrote, ‘If God had a “School of Failure”, most of us would have graduated with Honours’. We all need to change and to be changed. Mercifully, gloriously, graciously, He gave us His son that we might not stay in our state of separation, but that we might believe and have life. Our primary identity is restored. As Christians we are in Christ, adopted into the family of God. Our primary responsibility is reframed. We are to bear witness to Christ … Identity and responsibility. A holy nation, who we are to be – set apart and surrendered to Christ as our King. A royal priesthood, what we are to do – to intercede for the sake of others with His message of truth, forgiveness and grace. The people of God are chosen for His purpose, and we are changed by His power.
3. Thirdly, we come to Christ as we are yet He loves us too much to leave us that way. We discover Him to be the friend of sinners, and we submit to Him as our Lord who calls us to loving and radical obedience in a life of holiness and purity. Owning Him as Lord totally impacts and determines our life and lifestyle. The Christian life is a life of transformation as, through the power of the Holy Spirit, we grow in our faith and become more like the One we profess to follow. However, as we grow to look like Christ so too we grow to look less like the world He came to rescue. As the culture around us becomes ever more secular there will, increasingly, be times when the contrast between God’s law and civil law will become more apparent and the implications may be more costly for Christians.
4. Fourthly, who are we and how should we live? These are questions that each one of us no doubt asks during the course of our lives. These are the questions that we, as a Church family, must continually address if we are to live out our calling to His praise and glory. As with any family there will undoubtedly be disagreements along the way. In such times, the wise family will talk through the issues, listen to each other and find a way through them. I trust we as a Church family in the Church of Ireland, will do the same, recognizing that at all times we submit willingly and obediently to the mind of Christ as revealed in the Scriptures. So, I welcome and commend to you the process outlined in the Bishop’s Pastoral Letter. The Spring Conference, to which members of Synod and other guests will be invited, provides the opportunity to address who we are and how we should live. It is imperative throughout that we submit ourselves to the sustained and serious study of the Scriptures.
5. Fifthly, in the interim let me answer one question that some have raised with me. Some have asked if the teaching of the Church of Ireland has changed recently with regard to marriage and human sexuality. The answer is no, it has not. The teaching of the Church of Ireland is as stated in the recent Pastoral Letter from the Bishops. I quote,
‘It is helpful, at the outset, to affirm clearly the teaching of the church on marriage. The Book of Common Prayer describes marriage as “part of God’s creation and a holy mystery in which man and woman become one flesh.” It is to be monogamous, with a publicly declared intention that it be life–long. The church’s teaching has been faithfulness within marriage as the normative context for sexual expression.’
Although Canon 31 (1) is not quoted in the Letter from the Bishops it states clearly our Church of Ireland teaching:
‘The Church of Ireland affirms, according to our Lord’s teaching that marriage is in purpose a union permanent and lifelong, for better or worse, till death do them part, of one man and one woman, to the exclusion of all others on either side, for the procreation and nurture of children, for the hallowing and right direction of the natural instincts and affections, and for the mutual society, help and comfort which the one ought to have of the other, both in prosperity and adversity.’
Moving to the wider Anglican Communion the Bishops at the 1998 Lambeth said, ‘This Conference, in view of the teaching of Scripture, upholds faithfulness in marriage between a man and a woman in lifelong union, and believes that abstinence is right for those who are not called to marriage…’ The full Lambeth 1:10 Resolution was re-affirmed and adopted by our Diocesan Synod in 2004. The teaching is clear.
6. Sixthly, I make a plea. I ask that in our conversations, discussions and debates we are faithful to Christ and the teaching of the Scriptures. We must discern truth and speak it in love. We must recognize the hurt, anxiety and trepidation that many will feel as we journey. Who are we as a church, as individuals, as families? How should we live, not just with our church structures but in our personal lives and human relationships? These matters touch us all. For many they may be deeply painful and poignant. There may be confusion and stress. There must be space for all to speak openly and honestly. As I said at the Service of Holy Communion at the beginning of our Synod, I pray we will all follow the example of the first Christians and devote ourselves to the apostles teaching as the source of truth, to fellowship as a sign of unity, to the breaking of bread at the table of grace, and to prayer on our knees as we humbly submit ourselves to Him. Then may we be struck with awe, seeing this land filled with signs and wonders, caring for the broken and needy, praising God, enjoying the favour of all people, and growing daily, yes daily, in number with those who are being saved. This is the hope of the Church because this is His church. This is the Church as God has called us to be. We are His people and may we live to His praise and glory. Amen.