The Church of England (CoE) and the greater Anglican community is facing a dilemma: just how much should they embrace gay relationships? Should they ‘evolve’ with the times, or hold on to centuries of doctrine?
Reuters reported:
“The Church of England’s governing body will deliberate on how priests could carry out blessings for same-sex couples when it gathers in the cathedral city of York for a five-day meeting on Friday.
The assembly of bishops, clergy and laity – called the General Synod – is also due to discuss on Saturday how to protect vicars who might choose not to pray over the union of same-sex couples.”
The CoE does not allow same-sex marriages in its 16,000 churches, but in last January, it has set out proposals to let gay couples have ‘a prayer service after a civil marriage’.
“That caused a conservative group of Anglican church leaders from around the world to declare they no longer had confidence in the Archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby, saying he had betrayed his ordination.”
There are circa 85 million Anglicans across 165 countries, and many of them flatly reject homosexuality. But in the UK, there are some bishops who have been publicly voicing support for same-sex marriages in churches.
“Welby, who is the spiritual leader of the wider Anglican Communion, called on bishops last year to ‘abound in love for all’. But he backed the validity of a resolution passed in 1998 that rejected ‘homosexual practice as incompatible with Scripture’.”
CoE holds the doctrine that ‘a marriage is between a man and a woman’ and, while they plan on some overture toward this group, they still plan that there will be protections for those who, ‘on grounds of conscience’, choose not to bless gay couples.
Since gay marriage has been legal in Britain for a decade, some in the LGB community feel the new proposal is nothing but ‘a real slap in the face to our communities’.
Associated Press reported:
“Bishops proposed the compromise measure after five years of discussions about the church’s position on sexuality. It was approved by the church’s General Synod, which is made up of bishops, clergy and lay people from around the country, following eight hours of debate over two days at a meeting in London.
The measure included an apology for the church’s failure welcome LGBTQ people. But it also endorsed the doctrine that marriage is between one man and one woman, meaning priests are still barred from marrying same-sex couples.
‘I know that what we have proposed as a way forward does not go nearly far enough for many but too far for others’, the Bishop of London, Sarah Mullally, said in a statement.”
Archbishop Welby clarified last month that he wouldn’t personally bless any same-sex couples ‘because it’s his job to unify the 85 million members of the Anglican Communion around the world’. But he did celebrate Thursday’s decision.
“’It has been a long road to get us to this point’, Welby said in a statement issued jointly with the Archbishop of York, Stephen Cottrell. ‘For the first time, the Church of England will publicly, unreservedly and joyfully welcome same-sex couples in church’.”
While upholding the ban on Anglican priests from officiating at weddings of same-sex couples, the Synod members also voted in favour of the so-far controversial proposal to allow blessings for ‘civil marriages’ or ‘civil partnerships’ in the church.
France24 reported:
“Church’s General Synod — comprising hundreds of elected members, which meets two or three times a year — backed the proposals by a wide margin following an eight-hour debate across two days.
A total of 250 bishops, clergy and laity supported the reforms, while 181 opposed them and 10 abstained, at a vote held at the Synod gathering in central London.”
The division soon became apparent: while progressive Anglicans have decried the moves as ‘not going far enough’, conservative critics claim ‘the new directives are divisive and unwelcome’.
The Female Bishop of London, Sarah Mullally: “‘I recognize that there are those who are deeply thankful for this and there are those who are hurting’, she said, vowing to ‘be mindful of the deep divisions’ going forward.
‘These divisions on these questions go to the heart of our human identity’”
This new dispute comes as Welby deals with a recent steep numerical decline in attendance in the Church of England, something the Archbishop of Canterbury sees as ‘a personal failure’.
Welby is quoted in Church Times as repeating “his belief that the Church needed to be more ‘unapologetic’ about its teaching on sexual morality. Asked about moves in Parliament to enable same-sex marriages to take place in church, and the possibility of disestablishment, he suggested that discerning the will of God might involve ‘refusing to do what the law says’.
‘One of the great things we do is we get into terrible angst and fear and think it’s all down to us’, he observed. ‘It’s not. It’s all down to God, and to him we must be obedient‘.”
When asked about the ‘alarming drop’ – of one third – in attendance at CoE services during his ten years in office, the Archbishop ‘offered a personal, candid answer’.
“’The further decline in the Church is something that, in the end, even if I am not — and I’m not saying I’m not — even if I were not responsible for, I am certainly accountable for’, he said. ‘So, that, personally, I count as failure. Lots of people tell me I shouldn’t have said that… It’s what I feel personally’.”