Monday, April 13, 2015
Thursday, April 2, 2015
Same-Sex Marriage and the Episcopal Church
Word Count- 1071
In 1976, the Episcopal Church’s General
Convention approved resolution A-069. The resolution states that, “homosexual
persons are children of God who have full and equal claim with all other
persons upon the love, acceptance, and pastoral concern and care of the
Church.” (1976-A069)
In 2003, the first openly gay bishop was ordained. In 2012, a provisional rite
of blessing was included for LGBT members, and discrimination during the
ordination process of LGBT members was officially prohibited. The trend of
acceptance of the LGBT community within the Episcopal church is continuing grow
and in June will decide whether the Church will officially adopt same-sex
marriage.
The Episcopal Church has been accepting
of the LGBT community since the mid-70s.
The Church is widely regarded as the first
to be accepting of the LGBT community. At a time when gay men and women were
fighting for their rights, the Episcopal Church offered inclusion.
Since the initial ruling in 1976,
the church has moved closer to outright inclusion. The only thing that the
Church has not granted is same-sex marriage. This, ironically, puts the
Episcopal Church behind a number of other faiths who have instituted same-sex
marriage.
According to pewresearch.org, seven churches
officially sanction same-sex marriage. According to the same study, eight major
churches prohibit same-sex marriage and two, Buddhism and Hinduism, have no
clear position. The Episcopal Church stands alone as the only church to
sanction a blessing of same-sex unions.
Reform towards same-sex marriage seems to
be a uniquely Christian movement, at least in the United States.
In many ways, Church policy mirrors the
country It predominantly occupy. The Episcopal Church follows this trend.
According to pewresearch.org, the United
States is 78 percent Christian. North America is predominantly Christian as
well, registering at 77 percent Christian.
It
is no surprise then that Christian Churches are tackling this issue head on. The
United States, as a country, is typically liberal on social issues. The
Episcopal Church, which is the United States version of the English Anglican
Church, is the pacemaker in this regard.
In 2003, the Episcopal Church consecrated
the first openly gay bishop, Gene Robinson. Bishop Gene Robinson became the
bishop of New Hampshire, and retired from that post in 2013.
In 2012, the General Convention approved
a measure that would allow for a blessing of same-sex unions.
Not everyone in the Episcopal Church is
on board with the inclusion of the LGBT community into church life.
In June of 2010, a group of Anglican
sister churches voted to try and split from the American Episcopal Church. This
vote came, in large part, because of the consecration of Bishop Gene Robinson,
the first openly gay bishop.
In October of 2012, The Diocese of South
Carolina disaffiliated itself from the Episcopal Church. The split came because
of the Episcopal Churches liberal views and actions on LGBT inclusion. In what
will become a similar tired, the Episcopal Church sued the diocese to return
Church property if they split from the main body.
The split marked the fifth diocese to
split from the mainline Episcopal Church.
On March 3rd, 2012, a group of
seven congregations, conservative by nature, split from the diocese of Virginia
over the resolution to grant blessings to same-sex unions.
The congregations split from the mainline
Episcopal Church to join the Anglican Church of North America.
The split gained national attention as
the Episcopal Church sued the congregations over property rights. The Episcopal
Church fought to reclaim the churches and church property from the splitting
congregations.
According to the Huffington Post, the
Virginia Supreme court eventually ruled that the congregations must return $48
million worth of property to the Episcopal Church and must not use the word Episcopal
or Episcopalian in their new name.
While the churches are deciding whether
or not to allow same-sex marriage, the country, as a whole, is trending towards
accepting same-sex marriage.
According to pewresearch.org, 40 percent
of Americans oppose same-sex marriage to 52 percent who support it. This is in
stark contrast o how Americans felt a little more than a decade ago. In 2001,
American opposed same-sex marriage 57 percent to 35 percent who support it.
More importantly, the difference in those
who support same-sex marriage is more pronounced by generation.
According to the Pew Research report, a small
chunk--35 percent to be exact-- of the “silent generation” support same-sex
marriage. This is compared to 67 percent of millennial’s that support gay
marriage.
The nearly 35 percent difference in
attitude could help explain the growing trend, but still offers a glimpse into
how ahead of its time the Episcopal Church was in regards to inclusion of the
LGBT community.
How does this issue affect the frontlines
of these Christian churches; the people?
Robert Abner is a campus pastor at Ball
State University. He is part of a campus ministry that represents both the
Lutheran and Episcopal churches. Abner himself is ordained in the Lutheran
church.
He says that the murkiness of this issue
lies solely in the gray area known as church and state, “Is marriage something
that you do for the state, or is it something you do for the church?”
This is the reason why the Episcopal
Church has not officially sanctioned same-sex marriage. The official stance is
that the Episcopal Church cannot sanction marriages that may not be legal in
every state.
Abner thinks that gay marriage is an
issue that will always be around, much like racism or civil rights.
“Let’s say gay marriage gets federally
passed and legal in the next 5 years, it’s still gonna be talked about in the
Christian world.” Abner says.
Abner says he thinks this issue will
ultimately come down to the separation between church and state.
“To me, if the state wants to recognize same-sex
marriages, great; but churches should have the right to decide if they want to
perform same-sex marriage, and I think that’s going to be the case.”
Abner is not unlike the new archetype of
the modern-day Christian. Many Christians are choosing to be more accepting of
same-sex marriage as their parents begin to fad into the background and they
step up front and center.
The louder the millennial voice becomes,
the more change Christianity will experience. The most important thing is to
remember that in 1976, when gay rights were in its infancy, the Episcopal Church
stepped forward to blaze a trail that has only just begun to come into our
sight.
Sources:
Interviews: Robert Abner
626 North Martin Street, Muncie, IN 47306
(765) 282-1249
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)