In disciplinary hearing, Albany Bishop William Love defends prohibition of same-sex marriage in his diocese

From ENS-

The dispute over Albany Bishop William Love’s prohibition of same-sex marriage in his diocese took a major step forward at a hearing on June 12, when The Episcopal Church laid out its charges of canonical violations against Love, whose counsel defended his actions as not conflicting with existing church canon law.

The hearing, conducted under the church’s Title IV disciplinary process, was originally scheduled to take place on April 21 in Colonie, New York, but was changed to a Zoom meeting due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Title IV hearings are held when a member of clergy is accused of breaking their vows, or violating the church’s constitution and canons.

In this case, the church argued that, by prohibiting clergy in his diocese from using the same-sex marriage rites approved for churchwide use by General Convention, Love broke the vows he took when he was ordained a bishop to “conform to the doctrine, discipline, and worship of The Episcopal Church.”

More here-

https://www.episcopalnewsservice.org/2020/06/12/in-disciplinary-hearing-albany-bishop-william-love-defends-prohibition-of-same-sex-marriage-in-his-diocese/

At national gathering, Arctic Anglicans say no to same-sex marriage

From Canada-

Anglican bishops representing the Arctic and other Indigenous and northern regions played a crucial role earlier this month in blocking a resolution that would have amended the Anglican Church of Canada’s canon law to permit the solemnization of same-sex marriage.

Anglican delegates from every corner of the country took part in a passionate debate on the issue this past July 12, during the church’s triennial synod, or national assembly, in Vancouver.

The resolution would have replaced the words “man and woman” and “husband and wife” with “the parties to the marriage” and would have extended the marriage sacrament to all persons able to get married under civil law.

One of many supporters of the resolution, lay reader Robert MacMillan of Nova Scotia, said he and his partner waited 20 years to get married. But to do that, they had to go to the United Church of Canada—because his local Anglican rector refused to marry them.

More here-

https://nunatsiaq.com/stories/article/at-national-gathering-arctic-anglicans-say-no-to-same-sex-marriage/

Bishop to attend Lambeth Conference without wife in protest at bar on gay clergy partners

From Liverpool-

The Bishop of Liverpool has said he will attend an international summit of Anglican leaders without his wife next year, in protest at a bar on the partners of gay clergy.

Rt Rev Paul Bayes described the decision to prevent same-sex partners of clergy from attending the 2020 Lambeth Conference as an "act of exclusion".

In a message posted on Twitter, he said: "I deeply regret that, in the fractious complexities of our life as a worldwide people, this act of exclusion has taken its place.

"It is a grief to me and to my wife, and to many others. Despite this, I aim to attend the Conference, alone, in the hope of a common future."

The Anglican Communion - which includes national churches from 165 countries - was forced to clarify its stance on the matter last week, following "misunderstanding".

More here-

https://www.premier.org.uk/News/UK/Bishop-to-attend-Lambeth-Conference-without-wife-in-protest-at-bar-on-gay-clergy-partners

Presiding Bishop Michael Curry partially restricts Bishop William Love’s authority for refusing to obey General Convention

From ENS-

Presiding Bishop Michael Curry has temporarily restricted part of Diocese of Albany Bishop William Love’s ministry because of Love’s refusal to allow same-sex marriages after General Convention mandated liturgical marriage equality in the church’s U.S. dioceses.

Love is “forbidden from participating in any matter regarding any member of the clergy that involves the issue of same-sex marriage,” Curry said in a document released Jan. 11. The restriction applies both to the Episcopal Church’s formal Title IV disciplinary process and to any action “that has or may have the effect of penalizing in any way any member of the clergy or laity or worshipping congregation of his diocese for their participation in the arrangements for or participation in a same-sex marriage in his diocese or elsewhere.”

The restriction appears to enable clergy in the upstate New York diocese to solemnize the marriages of gay and lesbian couples, something Love steadfastly refused to allow.

More here-

https://www.episcopalnewsservice.org/2019/01/11/presiding-bishop-bars-albany-bishop-from-punishing-priests-for-same-sex-marriages-seeks-discipline-proceeding-for-possible-canonical-offense/

 

Episcopal group says bishop's same-sex wedding policy is five weeks overdue

From Tennessee-

Episcopalians advocating for marriage equality say the bishop for the Tennessee diocese is five weeks late on issuing guidelines for same-sex church weddings.

They mailed letters this week to Tennessee Bishop John Bauerschmidt and the Episcopal Church's presiding bishop, the Most Rev. Michael Curry, taking issue with the delay and calling on Bauerschmidt to act.

"We are gravely concerned that the decision of the General Convention allowing for same-sex marriage rites to be made available to all members of the church has yet to be implemented in the Diocese of Tennessee," the Jan. 7 letter addressed to Bauerschmidt states. 

More than 100 people signed the letters. They are connected to All Sacraments for All People, a grassroots organization pushing for marriage inclusion within the Episcopal Diocese of Tennessee, said Connally Davies Penley, who is on the group's steering committee and signed the letters. 

More here-

https://www.tennessean.com/story/news/religion/2019/01/09/episcopal-church-same-sex-marriage-policy-tennessee-diocese/2506081002/

Church leaders resign over Anglican decision on same-sex blessings

From New Zealand-

A Blenheim minister and his two assistant pastors have resigned over the Anglican Church's decision to allow blessings of same-sex married couples.

St Christopher's Church minister Sam Anderson said he intended to leave the Anglican Church of New Zealand altogether, saying he did not think the Bible endorsed same-sex relationships. 
"It's not easy to be a Christian in today's society, so if you're actually going to be a Christian you may as well hold onto what you believe rather than running with the crowd," Anderson said.

The Anglican ruling body, the general Synod, voted in May to allow same-sex blessings, but only if they are authorised by the local bishop. Former Christchurch Bishop Victoria Matthews discusses the regional synod vote in March.  

More here-

https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/106854185/church-leaders-resign-over-anglican-decision-on-samesex-blessings

Episcopalians move slowly toward same-sex marriage

From Albany-

When the General Convention of the Episcopal Church changed its canonical definition of marriage in 2015 to include the term "gender-neutral," it seemed like a huge victory for proponents of same-sex marriage.

And earlier this month in Austin, Texas, the General Convention took another step and passed Resolution B012, ensuring that all Episcopalians, regardless of sex, could be married in their own church building using same-sex liturgies.

Another victory?

Perhaps, but to Episcopalians in the Capital Region, the impact of the decision isn't so clear. Rev. Brad Jones at Christ Church on State Street in Schenectady, who aligns himself with the more traditional view of marriage espoused by Bishop William Love of the Albany Episcopal Diocese, isn't sure how Resolution B012 will actually work.

"The issue went back and forth between the House of Deputies and the House of Bishops, and what they came up with was a compromise resolution that will allow same-sex marriages to take place around the country according to state law and practices," said Jones, who was a delegate at the General Convention. "The people on the traditional side of marriage, and the people on the progressive side, well, no one came away with what they wanted."

More here-

https://dailygazette.com/article/2018/07/28/episcopals-move-slowly-toward-same-sex-equality

How the Anglican Church has hardened its stance against same-sex marriage

From Australia-

In the aftermath of the legalising of same-sex marriage in Australia, the Anglican Church has ramped up its discrimination against gay people to new heights.

Not content simply with the discrimination built into the legislation – per ministers of religion to refuse to marry same-sex couples – conservatives in the Anglican Church are making sure the church is a complete no-go zone for gay couples. 

To begin with, Anglican clergy are not actually free to marry same-sex couples, should they wish to do so. And many clergy would like to. 

The state licenses ministers to perform marriages only according to their church’s authorised marriage rites. Conservatives have been quick to point out that the Anglican Church’s wedding services are specifically for male-female marriages, and so cannot be used legally for same-sex weddings.

More here-

http://theconversation.com/how-the-anglican-church-has-hardened-its-stance-against-same-sex-marriage-98149

Is There a Place for Conservatives in the Episcopal Church?

From The Living Church-

Richard Kearney in Strangers, Gods, and Monsters: Interpreting Otherness demonstrates how the modern nation-state “excludes those who do not conform … to its identity logic.” But in doing so, it often ignores what is demanded by justice: “unconditional hospitality to the alien” (p. 68).

Every nation-state’s exclusionists believe they have the right to expunge those with whom they disagree and deem incompatible with the dominant society. Their arrogance comes from not appreciating the other’s experiences nor the place from which they come. Kearney implores exclusionists to consider how the other’s unique individualism relates to them as fellow beings within the larger society; members of the larger society, in turn, can also relate and accept the other for who they are.

His observations put in context what Paul says:

We who are strong ought to put up with the failings of the weak and not to please ourselves; let each of us please our neighbor for the good, for building up. For Christ did not please himself; but, as it is written, “The insults of those who insult you fall upon me.” (Rom. 15:1-3)

Exclusionists should thus be agents of hospitality, not casting the other aside but embracing fellow citizens of the nation-state. The other is thereby de-alienated and each citizen recognizes another “as a self capable of recognition and esteem” (Kearney, Strangers, Gods, and Monsters, p .80).

More here-

https://livingchurch.org/covenant/2018/06/18/is-there-a-place-for-conservatives-in-the-episcopal-church/?platform=hootsuite

Synod of the Episcopal Church of Brazil backs same-sex marriage

From The Church Times-

THE General Synod of the Episcopal Church of Brazil (IEAB) has voted overwhelmingly to amend canon law to allow its priests to conduct same-sex marriages in church.

Members of the synod voted 57 to four, with two abstentions, in favour of amending its marriage canon to be gender-neutral, last Friday. It was the third time that the motion had been brought before the synod.

Same-sex marriage was legalised in the country in 2012. Discussions on same-sex marriage in the Church started in about 1997, but the synod did not commission formal dialogues within the dioceses until 2013, a statement from the Province said.

“Canonical changes were approved in an environment filled by the Holy Spirit and with mutual love and respect. It was preceded by long, deep, and spiritual dialogue.”

The outgoing Primate of Brazil, the Most Revd Francisco de Assis da Silva, said: “I felt the decision was a result of the Holy Spirit’s presence and work. This widens our boundaries, allowing us to be more welcoming to the diversity of people in our country.”

More here-

https://www.churchtimes.co.uk/articles/2018/8-june/news/world/synod-of-the-episcopal-church-of-brazil-backs-same-sex-marriage

Anglican Church still ‘equality-free zone’ for same-sex couples, says Archdeacon Peter MacLeod Miller

From Australia-

St Matthews Church in Albury has been warned against blessing any same-sex marriages, despite having the support of the congregation.

Archdeacon Peter MacLeod-Miller says he is frustrated and ashamed he cannot marry gay couples who now have the same legal, if not religious rights.

“I’ve been warned that if I was to officially bless anyone that my head is on the line,” he said. “At the moment the church won’t allow it, and that’s not because our congregation won’t allow it or because I’m unwilling.

“I don’t have the religious freedom to conduct it - the church is an equality-free zone.”

More here-

https://www.bordermail.com.au/story/5341157/anglican-church-still-equality-free-zone-for-same-sex-couples/?cs=12

Wellington's new Anglican dean was signatory to letter opposing gay blessings

From New Zealand (with video)-

New Zealand's notably liberal Anglican Church has picked a man who opposed same-sex blessings to become the new dean of Wellington.

The Rev David Rowe will head the ministry at the Wellington Cathedral of St Paul, just a stone's throw from Parliament, which this month moved to expunge homosexual convictions, and in 2013 voted to allow same-sex marriage.

In October 2016 a letter from 83 evangelical leaders in Britain urged the Church of England to affirm "the marriage of one man with one woman as the only context in which physical expression is to be given to our sexuality".

More here-

https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/102971549/wellingtons-new-anglican-dean-was-signatory-to-letter-opposing-gay-blessings

Greenville First Baptist Senior Pastor Jim Dant says the Bible can’t be credibly used as an argument against same-sex relationships

From South Carolina-

The Bible tells me so.

Those who are against homosexuality often quote Bible verses — Leviticus 18:22, Deuteronomy 22:5, and Genesis 18-19, among others — to “prove” that it is a sin. But Dr. Jim Dant, senior minister at Greenville First Baptist Church, says there is no valid, Christian, biblical argument against same-sex relationships between consenting adults.

“People may argue against homosexuality and LGBTQ identities, relationships, and rights on political, economic, or personal morals, but the Bible cannot credibly be used as a weapon in these fights,” he said. “The minute you bring the Bible into it, there’s no valid argument.”

The impetus for Dant’s recently released book, “This I Know: A Simple Biblical Defense for LGBTQ Christians,” was that some members of Greenville First Baptist Church, which generated headlines in 2015 for how it addressed the LGBTQ community within its walls, asked for a simple-to-understand defense against those Bible verses that had become weapons against them.

More here-

https://greenvillejournal.com/2018/02/08/greenville-first-baptist-senior-pastor-jim-dant-says-bible-cant-credibly-used-argument-sex-relationships/

Episcopal group wants priests to have say in officiating same-sex weddings in Middle Tennessee

From Tennessee-

The Episcopal bishop in Middle Tennessee does not allow priests to officiate same-sex weddings even if they want to, but supporters are trying to change that.

They want a resolution passed at this week's Annual Convention for the Episcopal Diocese of Tennessee that urges the national church to let clergy make their own decisions on whether or not to marry gay and lesbian couples in their parishes.

"What we want is for each priest to be able to follow his or her conscience," said Connally Davies Penley, an advisory board member for St. Augustine's Chapel in Nashville.

The chapel's board and the vestries of four parishes in Nashville and Sewanee proposed the nonbinding resolution. It is among those being considered during the Annual Convention, which meets Friday and Saturday at St. Paul's Episcopal Church in Murfreesboro.

If passed, the resolution will be sent to the General Convention, the governing body of the church, that meets in July in Austin, Texas. 

More here-

https://www.tennessean.com/story/news/religion/2018/01/19/episcopal-group-wants-priests-have-say-officiating-same-sex-weddings-middle-tennessee/1045488001/

Anglican Church in Southeast Asia now in ‘impaired communion’ with Scottish Episcopal Church

From Anglican Church League-

Here is a statement, released today, from the Synod of the Province of the Anglican Church in South East Asia – from the 2nd Meeting of its 6th Session in Tawau, Sabah, Malaysia, from 29th to 31st January, 2018.
___

31st January 2018

Noting the decision of the Scottish Episcopal Church on 8 June 2017 to change its doctrine of marriage and to recognise same-sex marriages and further to amend its Canons to allow for the rite of blessing of same-sex marriages, which is a contravention of Resolution 1.10 of the Lambeth Conference 1998; and

Recalling that as a consequence of the then Episcopal Church of the United States of America (ECUSA) proceeding with the consecration of Gene Robinson as a Bishop of the Diocese of New Hampshire in 2003, in contravention of Resolution 1.10 of the Lambeth Conference 1998, the Province of the Anglican Church in South East Asia declared in 2003 that it was in a state of impaired communion with ECUSA (now known as The Episcopal Church)

More here-

http://acl.asn.au/anglican-church-southeast-asia-now-impaired-communion-scottish-episcopal-church/

How Will the Sydney Anglican Diocese Make Up for the $1 Million of Charitable Funds It Squandered Opposing #MarriageEquality?

From Patheos-

For the past several months, the nation of Australia has been locked in a bitter debate about whether or not to support same-sex marriage. The conservative government gambled by holding a mail-in, non-binding plebiscite vote, which was supposed to favor elderly, more conservative voters who actually still use snail mail. Unfortunately for the conservatives, through a highly organized campaign, the Yes voters were able to get support from 61.6% of the voters, which is pretty well a crushing landslide statistically speaking. The majority favored Yes in every Australian province.

In the midst of the campaign, the Anglican diocese of Sydney donated $1 million from its social justice coffers to the No campaign. Archbishop Glenn Davies publicly announced the donation and defended it, saying that opposing marriage equality is a “social justice issue.” In other words, they spent money that is normally earmarked to support refugees, the poor, and other vulnerable people groups on television advertisements and flyers that sought to stir up fear against a queer “agenda.” I’d like to know how the diocesan end-of-year fundraising letter is going to explain this wasteful and evangelistically disastrous expenditure. How many widow’s mites that were tossed into the offering plate on Sundays to support marginalized people were snatched away to create anti-queer propaganda?


Read more at

http://www.patheos.com/blogs/mercynotsacrifice/2017/11/15/will-sydney-anglican-diocese-make-1-million-charitable-funds-squandered-opposing-marriageequality/#0cbY7BpGCpW8LlTf.99

Priest who supports same-sex marriage suspended from Anglican Church for 'tones of blasphemy

From Australia-

Anglican Priest Father Chris Bedding is known for his stand-up comedy and social activism on issues such as same-sex marriage and asylum seeker rights.

On the weekend, Father Chris did not perform his regular duties as Rector of the Darlington-Bellevue congregation at St Cuthbert’s church.

Instead the church’s administrator, Bishop Kate Wilmot, addressed the congregation and informed them of his suspension, Father Chris told ABC Perth radio.

Bishop Wilmot stressed the matter was due to "clergy discipline".

The reverend is still listed as holding the rector position on the Anglican Church Diocese of Perth website.

Father Chris said some members of the church reacted to the news angrily and walked out.

“I think the sense was that in the age of poverty, abuse and injustice the Anglican Diocese of Perth is using its substantial resources to silence a comedy priest,” he told Geoff Hutchison’s morning programme.

More here-

http://www.sbs.com.au/news/article/2017/10/02/priest-who-supports-same-sex-marriage-suspended-anglican-church-tones-blasphemy

Anglican church faces punishment after making history with UK's first same-sex church wedding

From The Independent-

The first same-sex wedding in an Anglican church in the UK has gone ahead despite the threat of punitive sanctions against the church body that gave the ceremony the go-ahead.

Alistair Dinnie and Peter Matthews made history by becoming the first gay couple to tie the knot after the Scottish Episcopal Church, which runs St John’s Church in Edinburgh, voted to overturn rules stipulating that marriage must be between a man and woman.

In June, members of the Scottish Episcopal Church general synod voted overwhelmingly to allow its churches to hold same-sex ceremonies.

More here-

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/anglican-church-same-sex-wedding-gay-marriage-alistair-dinnie-peter-matthews-st-johns-edinburgh-a7974151.html

UI campus minister, church resolve same-sex marriage complaint

From Iowa-

A University of Iowa campus minister has reached “a just resolution” with the United Methodist Church concerning a complaint filed against her for having performed a same-sex wedding in April.

The Rev. Anna Blaedel, executive director of the Wesley Student Center at UI, faced possible censure from the church’s Iowa Conference for having officiated at a wedding ceremony April 4 in Oklahoma for a fellow clergywoman and her wife.

The Appointive Cabinet of the Iowa Conference filed a unanimous complaint against Blaedel, charging the campus minister with practices considered “to be incompatible with Christian teaching.” The cabinet includes the superintendents of the eight church districts within the state.

In a statement released Monday, the bishop and cabinet members determined that no disciplinary action will be taken against Blaedel concerning the complaint. A previous complaint against Blaedel, filed by three clergymen in the conference, was dismissed last year.

More here-

http://www.press-citizen.com/story/news/2017/06/05/ui-campus-minister-church-resolve-same-sex-marriage-complaint/371845001/

Anglican archbishop Glenn Davies slams same-sex marriage activists

From Australia-

The Anglican Archbishop of Sydney­ has branded radical same-sex marriage campaigners as a “barge of bullies” who are swamping the public debate with an “intro­spective, authoritarian den­ial of free speech”.

Writing in The Australian today, Glenn Davies says the corporate world in Australia has been “press-ganged” into supporting marriage equality and backing div­ersity by gay activists. “What kind of diversity is so monochrome that it does not allow differing­ expressions of opinion in the debate?” he says. “This narrow-minded, freedom-restricting carping is what the same-sex marriage­ campaign has come to.”

The Australian revealed last week that IBM Australia managing partner Mark Allaby had been targeted in a social media campaign after activists learned he had ties to a Christian internship program at the Lachlan Macquarie Institute.

The charity, as well as the Aust­ralian Christian Lobby, was granted official permission to keep its board members’ names sec­ret on the grounds of “public safety” after sustained abuse.
More here-

http://www.theaustralian.com.au/national-affairs/anglican-archbishop-glenn-davies-slams-samesex-marriage-activists/news-story/dfc1fa6fe3f1c58a5b165f247cd35884