Accepting Evangelicals
A Good day for Anglicanism – but what about Gay Christians?
Faced with possible expulsion from the Anglican
Communion, the Bishops of The Episcopal Church in the United States surprised
everyone last month when they announced a compromise statement which will
satisfy the demands put upon it after the consecration of Bishop Gene Robinson,
the first openly gay Bishop in the Communion.
In the formal statement the Bishops have promised
not to confirm the appointment of any more openly gay Bishops, and not to
officially authorise public Blessings of same-sex unions.
The statement should be enough to ensure that they
remain within the in Anglican Communion, and has clearly wrong-footed those
churches which are determined to leave if the American church is allowed to
stay!
But what abut Gay Christians in the Untied States,
who had seen the door to equality opened only now to find it beginning to close
again? What about the Gay and Lesbian Clergy who were being considered for
appointment as Bishops? What of Gay couples who want to have their unions
blessed in church?
In that respect it would seem to be a step
backwards, not forwards – a retrenchment following a brief window of greater
openness. So should we be celebrating that The Episcopal Church is likely to
be remain within the Anglican Communion, or weeping that the old status quo has
been restored?
On balance perhaps, both are appropriate.
The statement will certainly be a blow to the many
Gay, Lesbian, Bi-sexual and Trans-gendered Christians who had been hoping for so
much more. But at the same time, there are areas which we can rejoice in, if
they will lead to greater openness:-
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Firstly this statement should keep
the US Episcopal Church (which is by far the most gay-affirming Anglican Church)
within the Anglican Communion. As long as it remains in the Communion, there
will be a strong voice speaking out for gay inclusion and its statement goes on
to do just that:
o
calling for increasing
implementation of the listening process (to the experience of Gay and Lesbian
people)across the Communion.
o
calling for the “unequivocal and
active commitment to the civil rights, safety and dignity of gay and lesbian
persons.”
o
and proclaiming that “in Christ all
God’s children, including gay and lesbian persons, are full and equal
participants in the life of Christ’s Church.
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Secondly, the statement is not put
forward as the final word on the issue:
o
Not consecrating openly gay Bishops
is an act of ‘restraint’ for the sake of unity, not a change of heart.
o
The promise not to authorise formal
same sex blessings is only until “a broader consensus emerges in the Communion,
or until the General Convention (their version of General Synod) takes further
action.”
o
The American Bishops also pick up
the statement form the heads of each Anglican province that there is a pastoral
duty “to maintain a breadth of private response to situations of individual
pastoral care” – a coded statement which points towards private blessings
still being possible.
So all in all there is much to encourage us even if the headline appears to be a
step backwards in Accepting Evangelicals
desire to see the church ”move towards the
acceptance of faithful, loving same-sex partnerships at every level of church
life”.
Ultimately, of course, the test will come as we
see whether this leads to continuing debate, growing understanding & openness in
the Anglican Communion around the world, or whether it simply becomes a straight
jacket which prevents us all moving forward. Let us pray that it is the first
hope which prevails, and not the second.
Benny Hazlehurst
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