Friday, June 29, 2007

The Call for Further Study

As often happens at the end of long meetings, the final wording of every resolution passed was not fully available when General Synod 2007 closed June 25 in Winnipeg. But following further research, "New Vision" has been able to uncover the final terms of Resolution C003, which committed the Anglican Church of Canada to major processes of further study of issues surrounding human sexuality ahead of General Synod 2010.

For the record, this posting thus clarifies exactly what Synod resolved in its last session of debate, including both the original Resolution C003, moved by this blogger and Rev. Ajit John of the Diocese of Toronto, and the final text approved by Synod.

The original motion read as follows:

"BE IT RESOLVED

That in light of the statement of the House of Bishops to members of General Synod, dated April 30, 2007, this General Synod 2007:

1. Ask the Primate to request the Primate's Theological Commission to report in advance of General Synod 2010 on:

  • the theological question whether the blessing of same-sex unions is a faithful, Spirit-led development of Christian doctrine;
  • Scripture's witness to the integrity of every human person and the question of the sanctity of human relationships.

2. Ask the Primate to request the Anglican Communion Task Force to report in advance of General Synod 2010 on the implications of the blessing of same-sex unions and/or marriage for our church and the Anglican Communion.

3. Support and encourage dioceses to offer the most generous pastoral provision possible within the current teaching of the church to gays and lesbians and their families."

Following amendments moved by Bishop James Cowan of British Columbia and Stephen Hopkins, the unofficial final text of the resolution approved by Synod was changed to:

"BE IT RESOLVED

That in light of the statement of the House of Bishops to members of General Synod, dated April 30, 2007, this General Synod
2007:

1. Ask the Primate to request the Primate's Theological Commission to consult with the dioceses and parishes and to report in advance of General Synod 2010 on:

  • The theological question whether the blessing of same-sex unions is a faithful, Spirit-led development of Christian doctrine;
  • Scripture's witness to the integrity of every human person and the question of the sanctity of human relationships.

2. Ask the Primate to request the Anglican Communion Task Force to report in advance of General Synod 2010 on the implications of the blessing of same-sex unions and/or marriage for our church and the Anglican Communion.

3. Support and encourage dioceses to offer the most generous pastoral provision possible within the current teaching of the church to gays and lesbians and their families.

4. Request Faith, Worship and Ministry to develop a process to engage the dioceses and parishes of the Anglican Church of Canada in a study of the Christian perspective of human sexuality through the lens of Scripture, reason, tradition and current scientific understanding."

Again for the record, in moving the original version of Resolution C003, this blogger spoke from the following text:

" Dean Peter, Members of Synod,
In moving this motion, I address you as a theological conservative from the only diocese in the Anglican Church of Canada which has yet authorized same-sex blessings in a limited number of parishes. I also speak, therefore, as someone whose personal decision to remain a full participant in the life of our diocese has entailed significant cost.

I have partly chosen to stay because the Diocese of New Westminster has made important provisions that allow me to continue to minister according to the dictates of my conscience. But I have also chosen to stay because I am deeply committed to the Diocese of New Westminster and to the Anglican Church of Canada. So I, like many others of different persuasions, want to make a difference. And the main difference that I want to make following yesterday’s debate is to urge members of Synod to give the question of same-sex blessings further study and deliberation by approving the motion that you now have before you.

There are really three main considerations that encourage me in this view and briefly stated, they are as follows:

1) First, it is surely painfully obvious to any of us who have been listening to one another carefully here at Synod and during yesterday’s votes that we remain deeply divided over the issue of same-sex blessings. And this is not the kind of division that many of our sisters and brothers are ready to lay aside once a decision has been made and return to business as usual. So the reality is, I believe, that we cannot proceed to make concrete decisions without allowing further opportunities for study and dialogue together, as this motion calls for, and striving to find greater communal clarity and consensus. A reference to the Primate’s Theological Commission of the two questions listed under point 1 of Resolution C003 could provide us with some of the resources that we might need to move forward together and the Commission has already indicated that it will be pursuing further study of human sexuality in any case.

2) Second, we have clearly not been making our decisions in a vacuum here at Synod. We have been doing so under the very close scrutiny of the Anglican Communion and its Instruments of Unity. And what they are telling us is that if we decide to act unilaterally on this issue, without further consultation and international cooperation, we may be walking apart from Communion standards. We have different views on this question too, of course, and the situation may change further down the road. But we surely need to give further consideration to the consequences of any future decisions that we might make in terms of our relationships with other Anglicans worldwide. That’s why, members of Synod, we should reconsider not only “the theological question whether the blessing of same-sex unions is a faithful, Spirit-led development of Christian doctrine,” which so divides us internally. But we also need to explore together, I believe, the wider, external reality of “the implications of the blessing of same-sex unions and/or marriage for our church and the Anglican Communion” which has recently become such a pressing concern for us all. So the Anglican Communion Task Force could help us a great deal by addressing this issue in a report ahead of Synod 2010.

3) Finally, I believe that we need to take more time to study this issue, because that is what our House of Bishops, who are charged with upholding the unity, as well as the doctrine of our church, have requested. Whatever the circumstances of its development, we are surely called to take the counsel of the bishops’ April 30 statement very seriously. And what does it ask of us? I think that it primarily calls us to do two things, both of which are reflected in the motion now before you. First, we are to take more time, through study and communal deliberation, to find a greater measure of agreement over this deeply divisive issue. Second, we are to do all in our power to reach out to our lesbian and gay brothers and sisters in Christ and to offer them and their families 'the most generous pastoral provision possible within the current teaching of the church'.”


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