Accepting Evangelicals
Communion, Covenant and our Anglican Future
We have read and reflected upon the Archbishop’s response to
the Episcopal Church of the USA “Communion, Covenant and our Anglican Future”
and have a number of questions about the consequences of his response. We
question whether the voices of those within the Church of England who are or
who walk alongside lesbian, gay, bisexual and trans [gender] people have been
adequately heard within the recent discussions. These discussions have gone on
in various places around the Communion, and we believe it is important in this
context that the LGBT faithful and those who work alongside us speak as well.
We wish to reaffirm our loyalty to the Gospel of Jesus Christ
as revealed in the scriptures, our commitment to the Anglican way and our
celebration of and thanksgiving for the tradition and life of the Church of
England. Above all, our concern is for the mission of the Church in our world.
We have no doubt that the Church of England is called to live out the Gospel
values of love and justice in the whole of its life; these values are
intrinsic to the calling of Jesus Christ to follow him and it is out of this
context that we speak.
While we acknowledge the intention of the Archbishop of
Canterbury to seek a way forward for the Anglican Communion, we have grave
concerns about the implications of his reflections in “Covenant, Communion and
the Anglican Future.” For example, we consider that references to same-sex
unions as a “chosen life-style”, and assertions that those who have made such
a commitment are analogous to “a heterosexual person living in a sexual
relationship outside the marriage bond” to be inconsistent with the
Archbishop’s previous statements on committed and faithful same sex
relationships
(http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/comment/faith/article4473814.ece)
and are at odds with our reading of the message of the gospel.
Whilst we applaud his assertion that we are called to “become the Church God
wants us to be, for the better proclamation of the liberating gospel of Jesus
Christ” we find no indication of how that can be achieved for those who are
not heterosexual.
We acknowledge, once again, that there are and always have
been, many loyal, committed and faithful bishops, priests and deacons –
properly selected and ordained - and many lay people who are LGBT or who work
alongside LGBT people with delight and thanksgiving. We know ourselves to be
part of the church of God in England and we work, together, to bring about the
reign of God in this part of God’s creation. We pray earnestly that the Church
of England will continue to select, train, ordain and deploy LGBT people and
enable them to exercise their calling from God in the Church of England.
Together, we reaffirm our commitment to working for the full
inclusion of all people at all levels of ministry. We will continue to work
towards liturgical and sacramental recognition of the God-given love which
enables many LGBT couples to thrive.
We will seek to strengthen the bonds of affection which exist
between those in all the Churches of the Anglican Communion who share our
commitment to the full inclusion of all of God’s faithful. We will also
continue to work closely with our brother and sister churches, especially
those with whom we have mutual recognition of orders such as the Nordic
churches.
We will work to ensure that if the Church of England is to sign
up to the Covenant, it has potential for rapid progress on this and other
issues. We find the notion of a “two track communion” flawed in the way that
the Act of Synod is flawed, and we commit ourselves to continuing the effort
to find ways forward through which those who disagree profoundly on this and
on other issues can continue to celebrate their common membership of the
Church of England and unity in Christ.
Signed by representatives of the following groups working
together in the Church of England
Accepting Evangelicals
Changing Attitude
The Clergy Consultation
Courage
Ekklesia
Evangelical Fellowship of Lesbian and Gay Christians
General Synod Human Sexuality Group
Group for the Rescinding of the Act of Synod
Inclusive Church
Lesbian and Gay Christian Movement (Anglican Matters)
Modern Churchpeople’s Union
Sibyls
WATCH National Committee
Click here for archive menu.
|