St. Thomas’ Parish at Dupont Circle
Civil Unions
A General Convention Report
Jul 13th
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Prepared by Eric Scharf
As you should know by now the Triennial General Convention is meeting this week in Anaheim, CA. This is the primary legislative body of the church setting forth the policy and program on a national level for the next three years.
Of particular interest to St. Thomas’ members are two issues; consecration of GLBT priests living opening in committed relationships and same gender unions/marriage.
The first issue addressed the consequences of a resolution adopted at the previous General Convention (titled B033) that called for a moratorium on “the consecration of any candidate to the episcopate whose manner of life presents a challenge to the wider church and will lead to further strains on communion.” This issue has been the cause of wide ranging debate and discussion throughout the worldwide communion over the past three years.
A number of resolutions were proposed to further address the issue, which were considered by the General Convention World Mission Committee. They developed one combined resolution D025 to bring to the convention floor for consideration. The key clause reads “That the 76th General Convention affirm that God has called and may call such individuals, to any ordained ministry in The Episcopal Church, which call is tested through our discernment processes acting in accordance with the Constitution and Canons of The Episcopal Church.” Other sections of the resolution address our continuing commitment to the Anglican Communion. The full text as finally completed will be available later this week.
Sunday evening the House of Deputies passed D025 by a vote of 77-31 in the lay order and 74-35 in the clerical order. The resolution now goes to the House of Bishops for their concurrence.
Jim Naughton, Communications Director for the Diocese offered this assessment of the D025:
“My sense is that the resolution doesn’t repeal or rescind B033, which in any event urged but did not compel. Rather it expresses the fact that we live now in a new reality. It does not so much pave the way for the election of another bishop in a same-sex partnership as it does remove an artificial impediment to our ongoing discernment on this issue that may, resume diocese by diocese and case by case. I think the resolution will face a much tougher climb in the House of Bishops.”
While for many this resolution will not represent a strong enough action, however it probably represents the best compromise that is possible at this time. It has not been announced when the House of Bishops will consider D025.
As for the second issue, again a number of resolutions to both amend the Canons to allow the performance of same-gender blessings or marriage rites and others to develop rites for these.
The collective resolutions were the subject of a legislative hearing on July 9th which heard from more than 50 speakers. On July 13 a major resolution (c056) on same sex blessings cleared the Prayer Book Committee by a huge margin (6-0 among bishops, 26-1 in deputies.) The key clause states: That all bishops, noting particularly those in dioceses within civil jurisdictions where same-gender marriage, civil unions, or domestic partnerships’ are legal, may provide generous pastoral response to meet the needs of members of this Church. Bishop Henry Parsley supported the resolution, but in a minority report will argue that the “generosity” in the resolve noted above be limited to states where same sex marriage is legal. Further action in the House of Bishops has not yet been scheduled.
For more information on these issues and following further developments the following resources are suggested: Integrity General Convention Presence — http://sites.google.com/site/allthesacraments/Home
Archbishop of Canterbury criticizes London same-sex blessing
Jun 22nd
“We have heard the reports of the recent service in St. Bartholomew the Great with very great concern. We cannot comment on the specific circumstances because they are the subject of an investigation launched by the Bishop of London.”On the general issue, however, the various reference points for the Church of England’s approach to human sexuality (1987 Synod motion, 1991 Bishops’ Statement — Issues in Human Sexuality, Lambeth motion 1:10, House of Bishops’ 2005 statement on civil partnerships) are well known and remain current.”Those clergy who disagree with the Church’s teaching are at liberty to seek to persuade others within the Church of the reasons why they believe, in the light of Scripture, tradition and reason that it should be changed. But they are not at liberty simply to disregard it.”
The statement by the archbishops of Canterbury and York was in response to the civil blessing of the partnership of two gay priests in London.
[Episcopal News Service] Two gay clergymen who had their partnership blessed in a London church and the priest who led the ceremony have received both criticism and praise for the move which conservatives say is at odds with the Church of England’s policies and more progressive Anglicans believe is long overdue.
According to reports, the Rev. Peter Cowell and the Rev. Dr. David Lord “exchanged vows and rings in front of hundreds of guests” on May 31 at St. Bartholomew the Great Church in the City of London.
The Rev. Martin Dudley, who led the service, said he didn’t have any regrets and he did not seek permission from London Bishop Richard Chartres.
Dudley said that the ceremony didn’t resemble a marriage and was “quite simply the blessing of a civil partnership.” He said the church’s guidelines don’t prohibit such blessings, “but ask me to respond pastorally and responsibly to what I’m being asked to do.”
Meanwhile, Chartres has ordered an investigation to take place, saying that services of public blessings for civil partnerships are not authorized in the Church of England or the Diocese of London. Civil partnerships have been legal in England since December 2005.
Gene Robinson & Mark Andrew Civil Union
Jun 9th
As reported in the Anglican Mainstream and the Union Leader.Com, and the web site of the Episcopal Diocese of New Hapshire, “V. Gene Robinson, New Hampshire’s Episcopal bishop, entered into a civil union yesterday with his partner of 20 years, Mark Andrew, according to WMUR-TV.
The ceremony, held at St. Paul Church, coincided with the fifth anniversary of Robinson’s election as the nation’s first openly gay Episcopal bishop.”
It also comes just before Bishop Robinson departs for the Lambeth Conference, the meeting every ten years of all of the bishops of the Anglican Communion. He is attending as an outside observer, due to his being excluded by Rowan Williams, the Archbishop of Canterbury, from the official list of invitees.
The Washington Post coverage adds that “Robinson and Andrew held two ceremonies — a non-religious one in which they became legal partners followed by a formal church service to give blessings to God for their relationship. … Robinson has said he wanted to enter into the civil union before leaving for England to ensure Andrew and his two daughters had legal protections given the threats to his life.”
Gene Robinson has been a frequent guest of St. Thomas’ Parish at Dupont Circle, whose Rector, The Rev. Dr. Nancy Lee Jose, welcomed Gene and Mark during a visit last year.
The Episcopal Cafe reports that “Afterward, during the reception and dinner that took place at Canterbury Shaker Village, Susan Russell gave a 5-minute video interview, which can be found here.”
