One of the major difficulties of the proverbial ‘man/woman in the pew” – as well as not a few priests and bishops, is the lack of readily accessible and understandable information about what actually is happening throughout the Anglican Communion, and it seems that getting unbiased sources is a bit like the quest for the Holy Grail – time consuming and elusive.
However, from time to time we intend to try and take part in this quest and to share what we find. We would be grateful to receive further sources from readers for consideration.
In North America, some dioceses have approved and expanded same-sex blessings. In July, a Canadian Bishop, John Chapman, began allowing parishes in the Diocese of Ottawa to perform same-sex blessings contingent on a written request to him and written permission for each instance. Previously, only one parish had permission “to bless permanent, intimate and loving couples of the same gender, civilly married” as a way to “test the Spirit.”
Eight Canadian dioceses permit the blessing of same-sex unions: New Westminster, Montreal, Niagara, Huron, Ottawa, British Columbia, Toronto, and Nova Scotia and Prince Edward Island. The Anglican Church of Canada’s General Synod did not legislatively approve the blessing of same-sex unions at their last meeting in 2010. Instead, it published a report on sexual discernment that summarized the various discussions that took place at synod. The report acknowledged that blessings do occur as part of “the continuing commitment to develop generous pastoral responses” to gays and lesbians.
In October in the USA, Bishop Shannon Johnston of the Episcopal Church gave seven congregations in the Diocese of Virginia permission to conduct same-sex blessings. Citing his personal hope that the next “General Convention will authorize the formal blessing of same-gender unions for those clergy in places that want to celebrate them,” Bishop Johnston promised that he would honour the decisions of those parishes that do not want to perform same-sex blessings. He has scheduled two separate forums this month – one to hear the experiences of parishes that will not request blessings and one for parishes that want to learn how to proceed in offering blessings. The separate-but-equal meetings will keep the two factions apart and perhaps keep outward peace in this diocese that has seen several parishes depart for the breakaway Anglican Church in North America (ACNA).
The legality of civil unions in South Africa has also led to the production of “Pastoral Guidelines for Civil Unions” which were published in draft form in June. The draft report, which is still under consideration by the Synod of Bishops, claims that the controversy over same-sex unions is not a first order issue: “… human sexuality is not, and cannot be allowed to be, for us a church dividing issue.” The guidelines confirm that church canons do not permit clergy or those with “spiritual authority” over others in the church to enter into civil unions. However, issues surrounding pastoral care to gays and lesbians are not outlined in the report and will presumably be determined by the bishops.
A critic of this situation stated, “Because the report addresses civil unions as something to be dealt with, rather than addressing marriage and sexuality from a theological perspective, the bishops have sidestepped debate and ensured that some type of local option will be approved. Port Elizabeth has been the most vocal diocese to refute the increasingly revisionist stance of the Anglican Church in Southern Africa (ACSA) and there are other dioceses that are quietly orthodox, but they are in the minority.”
Such critics would appear to hold a conspiracy theory that the Episcopal Church in the USA (TEC) and the Angican Church in Canada are in a concerted effort to convince other churches to approve of civil unions and, and the blessing of same in churches. The visit by the American Presiding Bishop to South Africa in September last was cast in this framework of conspiracy. Presiding Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori was invited to the South African Synod of Bishops where a key item of discussion was the pastoral guidelines. The bishops’ statement said they were “encouraged and energized” by her presentation, noting that, “While we acknowledge some differences between TEC and ACSA (for example, with respect to human sexuality), nevertheless we affirm the value of ongoing dialogues, exercised through truthfulness and sensitivity towards one another.”
It is furthermore claimed that in addition to the presiding bishop’s visit, TEC also presented their case for same-sex blessings during the Inter Anglican Liturgical Consultation (IALC) meeting on marriage, held Aug. 1-6 in Canterbury, England. The consultation was to examine the “theology of marriage,” the “cultural contexts of marriage,” and the “shape and elements of the ritual,” but the agenda also included a presentation on same-sex blessings by the U.S. delegation led by Prof. Ruth Meyers of the Church Divinity School of the Pacific and Bishop Thomas Ely of Vermont. The TEC representatives staged a mock blessing of the union of two women and invited conference attendees to take part in the liturgy and prayers. The new chair of the IALC, the Rev. Dr. Eileen Scully from the Anglican Church of Canada, was supportive of TEC’s presentation. However, a report in the Church of England Newspaper claimed one participant said the majority of the IALC members did not support it. While some believed it was unbiblical, others objected to TEC’s “aggressive” push to insert their agenda into a meeting that was supposed to focus on traditional marriage. Critics also claim TEC will also be attempting to promote acceptance of same-sex blessings in South Africa through an Indaba-style conference on human sexuality and justice issues to be held this month in Durban. The gathering is being convened by the Chicago Consultation, a coalition of TEC GLBT rights and social justice groups, and the Ujamaa Centre, a theological and ideological advocacy group based on liberation theology.
Against such a background of distrust, the possibility of obtaining basic and unbiased information becomes even more difficult.
Houston McKelvey