Last week our congregation hosted a deanery (regional
meeting) to discuss the changes to the Anglican Church of Canada’s Marriage
Canon. The proposed change would allow
marriage between two people of the same gender.
The proposed change is in the midst of the process in the National
Church which requires approval in two successive General Synods (national
meetings) which are held every three years.
The motion passed the General Synod last year and will receive the second
vote in 2019.
The national church has directed/encourage meeting at the
local level to discuss the changes and help us prepare for the next vote. This, as I am sure almost everyone realizes,
is an issue fraught with the reality that there will be a great deal of anger,
hurt, and disillusionment regardless of the outcome of the next vote. There has been much negative fallout around
this issue in recent history within our Diocese, our national church and the
worldwide Anglican Communion. Individuals
have decided to leave the formal church because of past actions and
decisions. In addition, parishes have
chosen to leave the Canadian church and the other Anglican Churches; indeed,
one Diocese in the United States decided to leave the national Episcopal Church
(the Anglican Church in the United States).
I am sure that individual Anglican have left the church because of the
lack of change on this issue.
To be up front on my position, I have been in favour and
have supported the change, first to allow the blessing of same sex-couples
before the civil law allowed same sex marriage, and the marriage of same-sex
couples after the change to the civil marriage law in Canada.
This issue is not a straightforward one by any means. People hold positions on both (all?) sides of
the issue for many complicated and complex reasons; both heart felt and well
thought out. The reasons for and against
can be supported in scripture, history, justice, and the movement of the Holy
Spirit. I have prayer and reflected
extensively on this issue, as I am sure many other people have. There is also
fear, biases, misinformation, and yes even prejudice on both sides which can
lead to people supporting either side not listening to one another and not
wanting to engage with people who do not agree with them. Many people fear the consequences of any
decision that this made and what it will mean for the Anglican church in the
future.
With this background, I want to reflect on the meeting that
Lorna and I attended last week. I
approached the meeting with some trepidation given the potential for conflict
and anger and strong emotions which this issue engenders. The meeting was quite well attended by our
parishioners with about twenty people, including the facilitators in attendance
with most from our congregations.; a good representation for our small church. I was most impressed by the process used and
the participation by the participants.
We were asked to answer four questions and given one minute to respond
to each. Participants could pass on any
or all of the questions; it was not a case of share or die. The questions were:
1.
What questions do you still have about the
proposed changes to the Marriage Canon?
2.
a. How will the outcome of the vote at General
Synod 2019 affect you?
b. What resources will you need
form the Diocese if the motion passes or if it does not pass?
3.
Based on what you have heard form each other,
what do you most want General Synod to hear from the Diocese of Huron about the
proposed changes to the Marriage Canon?
The responses were varied and
from many different positions. They were
heartfelt but they did not attack nor were they condescending. I found it to be appositive experience which
helped me greatly in understanding where my fellow parishioners were coming
from on this most difficult issue. I had
not been aware of where most of those present were on the issue and I was
surprized by some of the responses. The
organizers are to be congratulated on t what was a very helpful and positive
beginning of what I hope will be further discussion.
