Anglican diocese considers same-sex blessing

Lengthy process wending towards decision in June

DOUG KOOP
CW Editor
— Vancouver —

With a proposed new liturgy on the table, Anglicans in Vancouver are moving closer to a decision on whether or not to allow the church to bless covenanted same-sex unions.

The rite, released late last year along with a paper outlining theology and rationale, represents an important step in an 18-month process of dialogue and deliberation in the diocese of New Westminster.

"The proposed rite is not intended to say that the blessing of same-sex unions will be approved," says Paul Borthistle, chair of the Bishop’s Commission on Liturgy. He calls it "a tool" that provides decision-makers with something clear to examine and discuss.

In May 1998 the local synod narrowly (179-170) approved a motion calling on the bishop to allow clergy to bless same-sex unions. But Bishop Michael Ingham, himself a staunch advocate of greater rights for gays and lesbians in the church, withheld immediate approval.

The Canadian House of Bishops, to whom Ingham is accountable, oppose the idea. In 1997 the bishops reaffirmed their longstanding ban on the blessing of same-sex unions and the ordination of practicing homosexuals. The worldwide church is also adamantly opposed.

Ingham opted for a course of "dialogue," and in January 1999 announced a process for interested Anglicans "to explore theological, legal, canonical and liturgical considerations related to the blessing of same-sex unions." A motion on same-sex blessing will be debated and decided when the synod meets again this June.

Borthistle notes that "the [proposed] liturgy is a moot point if synod decides [blessing same-sex unions] is inappropriate," and points out that even if the synod next June passes a motion affirming same-sex blessings, the decision of whether to proceed still rests with the bishop.

Not marriage

The proposed rite is comparable in structure and style to covenant rites for marriage and religious professions in the Book of Alternative Services. It includes Scriptures, prayers and pledges of commitment and faithfulness that could equally apply to a heterosexual couple. "We have come together in the presence of God to witness and bless the covenant of love and fidelity which NN and NN have made with each other," it begins.

The accompanying theology and rationale discussion paper is forthright in stating that its covenanting rite is not the same as marriage. "Marriage is, by civil and canon law, heterosexual," it states. "It needs to be stated clearly the blessing of same-sex unions is not marriage. It may share many of the properties of marriage, but its particularity is different."

Critics of the diocesan drive to bless same-sex unions contend that a diocese or local bishop has no authority to make a decision about Anglican doctrine, and question whether the process is legal at all. In 1997 the Canadian House of Bishops set guidelines which explicitly rejected the blessing of homosexual unions and did not allow for a local option.

So why is this proceeding? The theology and rationale paper responds with a section on the "process of reception." It notes that the early church allowed both new and traditional ritual practices to co-exist while consensus on change was slowly decided through councils that only became authoritative as their teaching—under the inspiration and discernment of the Holy Spirit—was received by the church as a whole.

It compares the process to the slow reception among Anglicans of the ordination of women. "Given a growth of diversity of Christian opinion on this matter, the practice of blessing same-sex unions will be tested in the present by various communities of the one Church," it states. "The question of whether the practice will be ‘received’ will not be answered by our diocese in isolation, but by the Church as a whole, and only in time."

What about Scripture?

No less a figure than Archbishop of Canterbury George Carey, however, has said he considers this change unlikely and does not "share the assumption that it is only a matter of time before the Church will change its mind." Anglican bishops around the world agree. At meetings in Lambeth in 1998, they voted overwhelmingly (526-70) in favour of a resolution that declared homosexual relations as “incompatible with Scripture."

The Liturgy commission’s paper addresses the question of Scripture as an exercise in properly understanding the text. It says "the interpretation of Scripture is open to the abuse of bibliolotry, the worship of the text itself, rather the relationship with the living God that it opens before us."

Borthistle explains that "God continues to be revealed in Scripture. It’s not that God’s mind has changed, but our understanding of it does. It's our understanding that needs to grow."