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THE EPISCOPAL CHURCH AND HOMOSEXUALITY
YEAR 2004 DEVELOPMENTS
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Developments in 2004:
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2004-MAY-18: Global South Primates issue statement: The
Primates of the Global South of the Anglican Communion
representing 18 Provinces with a membership of over 55 million, held a
meeting in Nairobi on APR-15 & 16. It was chaired by the Most Rev'd Dr
Peter Akinola, the Primate of all Nigeria. They wrote: "...we
reiterate unreservedly our unequivocal opposition to the unilateral
decision of ECUSA to proceed with the consecration of a divorced and
practising homosexual priest as Bishop. This deliberate disobedience of
the revealed will of God in the Holy Scriptures is a flagrant departure
from the consensual and clearly communicated mind and will of the
Anglican Communion. By this, ECUSA has wilfully torn 'the fabric of the
communion at its deepest level', and as a consequence openly cut
themselves adrift and broken the sacramental fellowship of the
Communion." They made a number of recommendations to the Lambeth
Commission which was created by the Archbishop of Canterbury to discuss
homosexual issues in the Communion. They recommend that the Commission:
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Call upon the ECUSA to repent and to reverse the consecration of
Gene Robinson as Bishop |
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Suspend and ultimately expel the ECUSA from the Anglican
Communion if they do not expel Bishop Robinson. |
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To give "full Episcopal and pastoral oversight" to those
dioceses who want to split from the ECUSA. 1 |
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2004-JUN-03:
CA, DC: Two same-sex relationships to be blessed:
The American Anglican Council (AAC), a conservative voice
within the Episcopal Church, reported that two bishops are
planning to preside at the blessings of high-profile same-sex couples:
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Jon Bruno, bishop of the Diocese of Los Angeles,
conducted a union ritual for the Rev. Canon Malcolm Boyd, poet laureate
of LA, and his long-time partner. Mark Thompson. 2 |
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John Chane, Bishop of the Diocese of Washington (DC) has stated that he plans to conduct a same sex
blessing of former Michael Hopkins and his partner John Bradley on
JUN-12 at St. George's Episcopal Church in Glenn Dale, MD. The
ritual will coincide with Gay Pride Day in Washington DC. It will be Chane's first blessing of
a same-sex couple. Hopkins is the former president of Integrity,
a support group for Episcopalians who are sexual minorities, and is
pastor of St. George's Episcopal Church in College Park, MD.
3 |
The AAC speculates that by taking a direct role in these union
ceremonies, the bishops may have been "sending a message to the
Primates." 4 The
AAC did not consider the partners of Bruno and Hopkins worthy of naming. | |
2004-JUN-24: DC: Blessing performed for same-sex couple: According to the Independent newspaper in the
UK: "The Archbishop of Canterbury's office has described as
'extraordinary' a decision by the Bishop of Washington to carry out a
'blessing' service involving a gay priest and his partner of 12
years....More than 100 people witnessed the Bishop of Washington DC, the
Reverend John Chane, bless the union of Father Michael Hopkins, 43, and
his partner, John Clinton Bradley, 44, at a service at Father Hopkins's
church in Maryland on June 12. Lambeth Palace was reported as saying:
'Given the stage at which the commission working with Archbishop [Robin]
Eames has now reached, it is extraordinary that such a development has
occurred'." 5 | |
2004-JUL-14: USA: Anglican Communion
Network's (ACN) Day of Prayer and Fasting: The ACN has called for a
day of prayer and fasting on 2004-AUG-5, a Thursday. This is the fist
anniversary of the confirmation of V. Gene Robinson, the first sexually
active homosexual bishop of the Episcopal Church USA. 7 | |
2004-JUL-16: CT: Bishop Andrew Smith
summons priests: Six Episcopal parishes in Connecticut --Christ
Church in Watertown, St. John's Church in Bristol, St. Paul's Church in
Darien, Trinity Church in Bristol, Christ & The Epiphany Church in East
Haven, and Bishop of Seabury Church in Groton -- are trying to remove
their churches from the control of Bishop Andrew
D. Smith, who leads the Episcopal Diocese of Connecticut, and become
part of a network of conservative churches opposed to equal treatment of
gays and lesbians. They have been asked to meet with the bishop. 8 | |
2004-JUL-23: CA, NC, NV, UT, VT:
Same-sex blessings authorized: According to AgapePress: "North
Carolina Bishop Michael Curry recently told churches in his diocese they
were authorized to bless homosexual unions. His announcement follows
similar moves by Episcopal leaders in Nevada, Utah, Los Angeles,
Washington, DC, and Vermont. American Anglican Council member Dr.
Kendall Harmon, who serves as Canon Theologian for the Diocese of South
Carolina, says Curry is the first southeastern bishop to okay same-sex
blessings since the denomination's General Convention in Minneapolis,
Minnesota. 'It's discouraging,' Harmon says, 'because a lot of his
diocese is opposed to his vote, and now he's not simply voted for the
New Hampshire election, but he's going further than that. And it's going
to further divide the diocese'…" 6 | |
2004-AUG-17: CA: Two Episcopal Church leave
diocese of Los Angeles: All Saints Church in Long Beach and
St. James Church in Newport Beach, CA announced that they have broken
with the Episcopal church over the issue of homosexuality and have placed
themselves under the jurisdiction of a conservative Anglican bishop from
Africa. 9 | |
2004-AUG-19: BC: Parishioners abandon
church: Most of the membership of St. Timothy's Anglican Church,
about 80 members, walked away from a mortgage-free building and a $600,000
endowment fund and have started a new church that meets in a warehouse. The
issue that generated the break was the Anglican Church of Canada's failure
to ban the practice of blessing same-sex relationships. The group has joined
the newly formed Anglican Communion in Canada (ACiC) which is separate from
the Anglican Church of Canada and is under the episcopal oversight of five
Primates in Africa and southeast Asia. Paul Carter, ACiC
spokesperson, said: "They could see no future within the Anglican Church
of Canada and that's when some of them said, 'We want to stay Anglican, but
we we're going to go the circuitous route to Canterbury via the ACiC and
licensed priests from the Province of Rwanda'."
10 | |
2004-SEP-03: UL: American Episcopal bishops
meet with Archbishop of Canterbury: Four bishops, Rt Rev Thomas Shaw
(MA), the Rt Rev Robert O'Neill (CO), the Rt Rev J Clark Drew (OH) and the
Rt Rev Don Johnson (West TN), flew to London to talk with the
Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr. Rowan Williams. They have been disturbed at
rumors that the Lambeth Commission may recommend that the Episcopal Church,
USA be excluded from policy making and shunned. This could include the next
Lambeth Conference in 2008 as well as annual meetings of the primates. 11,12 |
References:
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Peter J. Akinola, "April 16 Statement by the Global South Primates,"
2004-MAY-18, at:
http://www.americananglican.org/
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"RevSusan," "On being blessed by a blessing," Every Voice
Network, 2004-MAY-24, at:
http://www.everyvoice.net/
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"Episcopal Bishop To Perform Blessing Service For Gays,"
Associated Press, 2004-MAY-28, at:
http://www.thewbalchannel.com/family/3358790/detail.html
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Cynthia Brust, "Statement by the American Anglican Council Regarding
Same-Sex Blessings," Update from the American Anglican Council,"
2004-JUN-03.
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Andrew Clennell, "Gay blessing by US bishop defies advice from
church," The Independent, 2004-JUN-24, at:
http://news.independent.co.uk/
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Jim Brown, "Anglican Leader Warns ECUSA Conservatives: Prepare for
Changes. Says Lambeth Report May Bring Structural Change or Division in Its
Wake," AgapePress Christian News Service, 2004-JUL-21, at:
http://headlines.agapepress.org/
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Cynthia Brust, "The Anglican Communion Network Declares Day of
Prayer for Episcopal Church," 2004-JUL-14, at:
http://www.anglicancommunionnetwork.org/
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Frances Taylor, "Six Episcopal Parishes Seek Conservative Ties,"
The Hartford Courant, 2004-JUL-16, at:
http://www.ctnow.com/
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Larry Stammer, "LA Times Reports on Churches Leaving Diocese of LA,"
LA Times, 2004-AUG-18, included in the American Anglican Council weekly update,
2004-AUG-20.
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"Dissenting Anglicans start new 'biblically-based' church; Ex-St.
Martin's members put faith ahead of property," St. Timothy's Anglican
Church, undated, at:
http://www.st-timothy.com/news
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Jonathan Petre, "Anglicans to shun gay-row bishops," News.telegraph,
2004-SEP-03, at:
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/
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Jonathan Petre, "US bishops fly in for 'sanctions' talks,"
News.telegraph, 2004-SEP-09, at:
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/
Copyright © 2004 by Ontario Consultants on
Religious Tolerance
Latest update: 2004-SEP-10
Author: B.A. Robinson
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