Eastern
Shore Chapel, Virginia Beach
As
the Diocese prepares to address the issue of same-gender blessings, I am
compelled by faith and commitment to offer my thoughts.
I
was born into a Roman Catholic family almost 60 years ago, not even
appreciating that there were people in the world who were not Catholic until
the Nixon-Kennedy debates. What a sheltered and dogmatic beginning to
life I had! As early as childhood I came to appreciate that many of the
religious teachings from parochial school simply could not be supported on any
rational basis. The earth is not the center of the universe; Heaven does
not exist in the cloud-filled space above earth; God does not sanction slavery
or discrimination; God created humans in God’s image – not the other way
around; we cannot impose upon God the limitations that we – as humans – have;
and does it really matter how many angels can fit on the head of a pin!
As
a child I heard leaders use what they called “God’s word” as the basis for and
in support of so many things that just were and remain wrong both legally and
morally. For far too many years
11:00 on a Sunday morning was factually referred to as the most segregated hour
in America. Racial, ethnic, and gender
discrimination has been supported, if not always sponsored, by churches.
Eventually I came to use a rather simple way of looking at religious writings:
“Is it written in red?” - because I found that the words of Jesus are
often printed in red ink, and the words of Jesus were always about doing the
right thing.
I
also found myself drawn to the Episcopal Church. I found it to be the most loving, accepting,
and welcoming of all sinners, such as myself, sincerely seek salvation. I searched throughout mainline Christianity
before finding this home.
Essentially
the same arguments are being made today against same-gender blessings that have
been (and in some quarters are still being) used for racial discrimination and
to limit the roles of women and others in the church. As a lawyer, I see it as an issue of
fundamental fairness and justice. As a
Christian I see it an issue of faith.
I
believe, with all my mind, heart, and soul, that God blesses all committed
adult consensual relationships. I believe that the Episcopal Church has
been a leader in helping anyone with a sincere desire and need to find
salvation through Jesus Christ, the son of God.
The
Episcopal Church and my parish of Eastern Shore Chapel in particular have
demonstrated this by being a “Believe Out Loud” parish and sponsor of an
Integrity Chapter.
I ask all
members of the Diocese of Southern Virginia to consider how the blessing of
same-gender relationships fulfills the baptismal vow to strive for justice and
peace among all people and to respect the dignity of every human being.
Question: How
do you understand the blessing of same-gender relationships in light of the
Baptismal Covenant?
Taken from the Book of Common Prayer - Holy Baptism
ReplyDeleteCelebrant Will you seek and serve Christ in all persons, loving
your neighbor as yourself?
People I will, with God’s help.
Celebrant Will you strive for justice and peace among all
people, and respect the dignity of every human
being?
People I will, with God’s help.
When we witness the baptism of an individual in the Episcopal Church we, as members of the congregation, must answer the two questions above.
Will you seek and serve Christ in all persons, loving your neighbor as yourself?
This question asks the congregation to serve Christ in ALL persons, loving them as we love ourselves.This isncludes folks who are different from us, whether by race or by relationship, or by the person we love.
The second question -
Will you strive for justice and peace among all
people, and respect the dignity of every human being?
Strive for justice and peace, respect the dignity of EVERY human being....
All and every - not just those that you want to love, respect and treat with dignity but ALL and EVERY.
I recently attended the baptism of a friend and these last two questions in the Baptismal Covenant really hit me. Nowhere is there any mention of leaving anyone out, but that we must love all persons and that everyone deserves justice and peace and to be treated with dignity and respect.
So the church is looking at the blessing of same gender relationships and when we attend a baptism of an individual we renew our own Baptismal Covenant and pledge to love, and treat with dignity and respect all and everyone, not a chosen few, not just the folks who are like us.
We must put our differences aside and learn to follow Christ's command to love one another as He loves us. Otherwise we are not living up to our Baptismal Covenant.
Susan Pederson
St. Stephen's Norfolk
Integrity - DioSoVa
David,
ReplyDeleteLet me respond to your question about the baptismal covenant. As you know, words like "justice, peace, and dignity" are abstractions. People of all theological stripes all accept those concepts; the difficulty comes in their application to individual situations. Since The Episcopal Church (TEC) is a part of broader Anglicanism which in turn is a part of broader historic Christianity, I would propose that we should interpret pleasant-sounding abstractions in the same way the historic Anglican traditon has always interpreted them. After all, words which are not concrete need context.
This brings us to the question of how historic Anglicanism has always interpreted issues of sexual morality. In short, the answer is that sexual activity is to be within the traditonal bounds of male-female monogamy. In this regard, we are not a lot different than the rest of historic Christianity.
James Deviese, Christ the King
James,
DeleteRooted in your firm commitment to the historically Anglican interpretation of sexual morality, would you say more about how that interpretation is revealed in the lived sexual ethic of historic Anglicanism's founder & supreme authority, Henry VIII?
Genuinely asking,
-Ben Hines
Grace Church, Yorktown
Hello Ben,
DeleteObviously Henry VIII could be described as a moral leper. But I don't see how that relates to the question at hand. His personal sins and shortcomings are not indorsed in the official Anglican doctrinal or theological statements of the 16th Century. Furthermore subsequent foundational Anglican statements do not indorse the sorts of things which Henry did. In other words, his life is not a model for Anglican morality, and I have never heard anyone claim that it is.
James Deviese, Christ the King
Ben Carey MD
ReplyDeleteGalilee Church
Virginia Beach, VA
James,
At your convenience, please E mail me privately at bcarey8747@aol.com. I have been reading your posts and have made many other posts on the other sites from a psychiatric, conservative and Biblical perspective.
Ben Carey
Thanks, Ben. "For by wise counsel thou shalt make thy war: and in multitude of counsellors there is safety." Prov. 24:6
DeleteWill be eager to see your material!
James, Christ the King
Lynn Hunter
ReplyDeleteEastern Shore Chapel
For the moment, let's leave aside the marriage politics of religious & legal institutions. Take look at the basics:
A scholarly study of the fundamentals of marriage, across cultures and throughout history, shows three principles to be universal: constancy, responsibility, and love. (International Journal of Jurisprudence of the Family, q.v.)
Does gender determine a couple's ability to create such a union?
Lynn,
DeleteI don't know if the International Journal of Jurisprudence is simply printing an author's opinion piece or if it is somehow presuming to speak for everyone in the legal community.......But regardless of that, please allow me to comment on it.
If the only fundamentals of marriage are constancy, responsibility, and love, then you can argue for polygamy, group marriage (two men and three women, for example), marriage to close blood relatives, marraige of a adult to a minor, etc. The list is perverse and open to all sorts of odd and bizarre twists.
So getting back to your question about gender, I would say that not only does "gender" but also other factors come into play. But let's keep in mind that this is a church discussion site and as such should be circumscribed by Biblical teaching.
James Deviese, Christ the King