No decision on gay blessings from Canadian synod: The Church of England Newspaper, July 2, 2010 p 6. July 8, 2010
Posted by geoconger in Anglican Church of Canada, Church of England Newspaper, Human Sexuality --- The gay issue.trackback
The Rt. Rev. Michael Bird of Niagara, bishop of one of the three dioceses in Canada where same-sex blesses take place
First published in The Church of England Newspaper.
Canada’s General Synod has voted not to make a decision on the issue of same-sex blessings. Meeting in Halifax last month, the 350 member triennial meeting of synod adopted a resolution that recognizes that same-sex blessings are being performed in the dioceses of New Westminster, Niagara and Ottawa, but declined to affirm or condemn the innovation.
“We are not prepared to make a legislative decision,” the resolution stated. “Despite all our differences, we are passionately committed to walking together, protecting our common life.”
Archbishop Fred Hiltz told a press conference at the close of the nine-day meeting that the resolution “recognises the reality for what it is in the church right now.”
“We’re not in a position of going back to dioceses where they have made a decision, one way or the other, and say, ‘You must change your mind on this.’ … I can recognize that something has happened in another diocese (however) I may not approve of it,” he said.
In 2002 the Diocese of New Westminster under the leadership of Bishop Michael Ingham instituted gay blessings. The innovation did not have the sanction of the Province of British Columbia and Yukon or the General Synod, but no sanction has been levied against the diocese.
In recent years a number of Canadian dioceses have expressed a desire to institute gay blessings or gay marriage, while others have been steadfastly opposed. A number of congregations and retired bishops have broken away from the Anglican Church of Canada to join the Anglican Network in Canada—a diocese of the Anglican Church in North America, while lawsuits over church property are underway in British Columbia and Ontario.
Archbishop Hiltz told the June 11 press conference that synod believed that “now is not the time to force the issue.”
“We’re not ready for that kind of a step. We’ve gone down that road before and we’ve always ended up in state of chaos.”
