Archbishop Williams: Anglican Stand on Gays Will Not Be Debated
Anglican leaders will not reopen debate on a resolution that condemns homosexuality and discourages the blessing of same-sex unions at their next meeting in 2008, according to the archbishop of Canterbury, the leader of world Anglicanism.
In 1998, representatives from the Anglican Communion's 38 provinces approved a resolution that rejects homosexual acts as "incompatible with Scripture," and advises against the "legitimising or blessing of same-sex unions." The Lambeth Conference meet every 10 years in England.
Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams has "ruled out (for the time being) reopening of the resolution ... on human sexuality from the previous Lambeth Conference," according to a statement from the archbishop's office.
Williams has, however, "emphasized the `listening process' whereby diverse views and experiences of human sexuality are being collected and collated in accordance with that resolution," the archbishop's spokesman, James Rosenthal, said in a statement. There will be time at the 2008 conference "for this to be presented and reflected on," according to Rosenthal.
Beliefnet: http://www.beliefnet.com/story/203/story_20303_1.html
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New Episcopal Leader Reluctantly Supports Gay Moratorium
On Saturday, Katharine Jefferts Schori will be installed as presiding bishop at the Washington National Cathedral, becoming the first woman priest to lead a national church in the nearly 500-year-old Anglican Communion.
The perils for anyone leading the Episcopal Church right now are considerable.
The 2.3 million-member denomination is at the centre of a worldwide Anglican feud over how to interpret what the Bible says about sexuality and other issues. Jefferts Schori unapologetically supports ordaining gays and allowing blessing ceremonies for same-sex couples.
In 2003, she voted to confirm New Hampshire Bishop V. Gene Robinson, the first openly gay Episcopal bishop. The uproar over his consecration is threatening to split the Anglican family, of which the Episcopal Church is the American branch.
"I'm clear about this role involving the entire breadth of the Episcopal Church," Jefferts Schori said. "But at some level, I don't think it's appropriate for me to disguise what my own theological understanding is. I'm someone who believes transparency is incredibly important. It's part of integrity."
Yet the bishop also is aware that compromise is necessary to heal the rift with overseas Anglicans - a goal she says is important to her. She believes Episcopalians should fulfil the request of Anglican leaders that the American church stop consecrating any more gay bishops for now, and should refrain from developing an official prayer service to bless same-gender couples.
"There's a piece of me that is very sad that we need to do that," she said, "but there's a piece of me that understands that for the health of the larger body, we might have to do that for a season."
Seven U.S. conservative dioceses have rejected her authority and asked Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams, the Anglican spiritual leader, to assign them another national leader. Three of the dioceses do not support ordaining women.
Overseas, some tradition-minded Anglican leaders, meeting in Kigali, Rwanda, said they would snub her at the next global Anglican meeting in February.
Asked what she wanted to say to those Anglican leaders, she shrugged and said, "Get over it." Jefferts Schori, who met privately last month with Williams in London, said, "I think the reality is clear that the archbishop of Canterbury isn't going to assign somebody to be an alternate primate" - the Anglican term for a national church leader.
Jefferts Schori hopes to find a way to reconcile with Anglican leaders overseas and conservatives at home. ”At some level if it becomes clear that the relationship is broken, that there's no possibility for a new life in that relationship, then the pastoral thing to do is to find a creative way to separate, a gracious way to separate,” Jefferts Schori said. ”I hope we don't have to go there. My hope is for finding life that is still present in relationships, and if we go the separation route, the door is left open and the lights on.”
365gay quoting AP: http://www.365gay.com/Newscon06/11/110206episc.htm
I blogged about the subject in June: http://karlafhallstrom.blogspot.com/2006/06/nyhet-kvinnlig-biskop-leder-usas.html
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Gay Mega Church Joins Mainstream Denomination
The Cathedral of Hope (Dallas, Texas), regarded as the world's largest gay church, has joined the United Church of Christ.
In a vote taken Saturday, Oct. 28, by the denomination's North Texas Association, the church was overwhelmingly accepted as a member church.
A special service of installation, at which the church will officially become a member of the denomination, is being planned, the cathedral said in a statement on Sunday.
"This is a historic day in the life of the Cathedral of Hope," said Rev. Dr. Jo Hudson, senior pastor and rector of the cathedral.
The cathedral began in 1970 when a group of 12 people gathered to worship in Dallas. It joined the predominantly gay Metropolitan Community Church, and saw its membership steadily grow. By 2002 it had a membership of nearly 2,000 people.
But its relationship with MCC soured and in 2003 it disaffiliated from the denomination. Shortly after than it began an exploration of affiliating with the United Church of Christ, which has a history of supporting gays in its denomination, dating to 1972, when it ordained the first openly gay minister and established a gay caucus.
The General Synod of the United Church of Christ voted in 2005 to endorse same-sex marriage, making it the largest Christian denomination in the U.S.A. to do so.
365gay: http://www.365gay.com/Newscon06/10/102906cathedral.htm
UCC: http://news.ucc.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=707&Itemid=1
http://cathedralofhope.com
