SPEAKING TO LAMBETH WITH ONE VOICE!
The Rev. Dr. Bonnie Ring, Task
Force Chair
When all the Anglican Bishops met at Lambeth last year, they passed a Resolution on Sexuality which stated that ". . . homosexual practice [is] incompatible with Scripture. . ."
At this Convention last year, Bishop Swing insisted that a few propositions from the Old Testament Holiness Code should not usurp the primacy of God's love for us and Jesus' commandment to love God and one another. When the Bishop stated that the Lambeth Resolution was wrong, we responded with a long, standing ovation!
That afternoon, this convention approved the formation of a Task Force to address the issues of Scripture and homosexuality and prepare a document that would provide a response to Lambeth.
I am here on behalf of the twelve lay and ordained members of the Diocese who dedicated themselves to this task for the past eight months. We want to thank you for sensing the importance of these issues and for the opportunity to share our gifts of love, scholarship, writing and collaboration.
The Task Force looked at the authority of Scripture, the conflicting messages within Scripture, the roles of Bishops, the authority of Lambeth Conferences, the findings of Science and the experiences of this diocese. I am here to report our conclusions and describe how the entire Diocese will now participate in these reflections so that we may speak to the General Convention in 2000 with one voice.
The members of the Task Force began with the premise that all persons "are loved by God and that all baptized, believing and faithful persons, regardless of sexual orientation, are full members of the Body of Christ." The Lambeth bishops also upheld this.
Our study of Jesus' teachings convinced us that the Commandment to Love is primary and foundational. Like most Anglicans, we do not find detailed prescriptions for behavior in the Bible. Its writings enable us to appreciate God's love and grace and to see the world in new ways. What Jesus revealed was a "New Covenant" based on love. If we are to live out the Gospel imperative to love God and one another, we cannot reject homosexuality, homosexuals or homosexual practices.
Jesus never spoke about homosexuality and he never condemned it. What he did condemn was judgment and social exclusion; what he favored was inclusiveness. We are convinced that Jesus' insistence on love extends to and includes the gay men, lesbians and bisexuals of today.
We understand God's revelation to be an ongoing process. The New Testament repeatedly conveys that the full import of Jesus' message could not be understood immediately. It is filled with promises of greater understanding to come. New revelations have led the church to institute changes since it began. To reach gentiles, the early church stopped requiring Christians to observe the major Jewish purity codes like circumcision, kosher food rules, and the prohibition of sex with a bleeding woman. Similarly, increased experience with Gays, Lesbians and Bisexuals has begun to change the hearts and minds of the people in this diocese.
The Task Force does not separate the authority of the Bible from the authority of Tradition, Reason, or Experience; we believe that all of these resources must be used if we are to discern God's will. This stance has been a hallmark of Anglicanism. Our respect for Experience recognizes the transforming presence of the Holy Spirit on our beliefs, our relationships and our lives.
When the Diocese of California addresses the larger Church, we speak through the prism of our own experience. We do not find anything in faithful same-gender sexual relationships that makes them unworthy of either God's love or neighbor love. In fact, we know many faithful Christians who are partners in such relationships whose love of God, of self, and of neighbor appears to be enhanced by this. Our honest experience informs us that Christian lesbians and gay men exhibit the fruits of the Spirit and the blessings of God. The dialogue on this issue needs to focus not on "homosexual practices", but on the conditions, attitudes, and components which must be present for a relationship to be considered holy.
Because God created all that is and everything that God created is good, we believe that all aspects of our humanity, including our sexuality, are holy and blessed by God. While there are some in the Church who urge gay and lesbian people to choose celibacy rather than sexual relationship, we find no reason to deny the gifts of partnership to our gay and lesbian members. The bishops voting for the Lambeth Resolution failed to honor God's love for all of humankind. Nor did they recognize the experiences of God's grace in the lives of gay and lesbian Anglicans and their rich contributions to the life of the church.
In the Diocese of California, gay and lesbian clergy and laity serve on virtually every major commission and committee and in the congregations where they are members; they have blessed us with a wealth of gifts.
Recent efforts to impose the Resolution on all Anglican provinces is contrary to the purpose, scope and authority of the Lambeth Conference: such enforcement has no precedent. Whenever Lambeth conferences have taken up controversial topics, the bishops' opinions always have been advisory. The Church has changed its decisions with regard to other behaviors that were once regarded as sinful, like marriages that do not produce children and the relationships of those who have divorced. We expect the church to change its view of homosexuality as well.
If the Task Force members will stand, I would like to introduce them to you: The Rev. Kathleen Bradford, The Rev. Dr. Gary Brower, Cynthia Bussiere, Janet Fischer, Kathy Henry, Charles J. Post, Dr. Everett Powell, The Rev. Dr. Barry Vaughan and me. Tracy Longacre, Anne Jenkins and The Rev. Dr. William Countryman are unable to be here. Thank you all.
We urge all of you to read this report in its entirety and study the evidence without prejudice. After thoughtful consideration, you will need to determine for yourself whether you come to these same conclusions or different ones. In your packets today, you will find a summary of the Task Force Report. With it is a schematic showing the diocesan-wide process for studying and reviewing the report and a study guide for use in your congregations. This Convention announcement is the first step in a comprehensive plan to study and review the Task Force Report.
The entire report will be sent to each Parish and Mission in the Diocese for study, discussion and feedback during the months of November, December and January. Task Force Members and Oasis volunteers will be available to facilitate the congregationally based discussions. Four regional feedback sessions will hosted by Task Force members as well. During March and April, the Report will be considered by all six deaneries.
The Task Force will take all the feedback into account before drafting the final version of this paper to be presented to the Bishop and Diocesan Council in May. It is our intent that the final report will represent the voice of the people of the Diocese of California at the General Convention of the Episcopal Church in 2000.
We are breaking new ground here in the diocese of California. Bishops often speak out without any diocesan involvement. This diocese is choosing to reverse that process by discussing an issue at the congregational, deanery and diocesan council levels and then charging our bishop to speak for us.
Bishop Swing has said, "we can attest that the Light of Christ has appeared in the Bay Area darkness and we will unashamedly 'Let It Shine' ... so... that the world might know what God has been doing with us and through us and in us." So be it. Amen.
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