From the Church Times-
A FLURRY of responses and clarifications followed the passing of two resolutions on human sexuality at the General Convention, the triennial meeting of the Episcopal Church in the United States (News, 17 July).
Resolution D025 recognises the present reality of gay and lesbian clergy in the Episcopal Church, and reaffirms that any baptised member can be called to any order of ministry. Resolution C065 calls for the development of theological resources for same-sex blessings, and allows bishops the local option of providing “a generous pastoral response to meet the needs of members of this Church”.
The Presiding Bishop, Dr Katharine Jefferts Schori, and the President of the House of Deputies, Bonnie Anderson, have written separate letters to the Archbishop of Canterbury and to the Primates of the Anglican Communion.
On Resolution D025, they say that it “acknowledges certain realities of our common life. Nothing in the resolution goes beyond what has already been provided under our Constitution and Canons for many years.”
On Resolution C065, they say: “While the resolution honours the diversity of theological perspectives within the Episcopal Church, it does not authorise public liturgical rites for the blessing of same-gender unions.”
In her closing sermon to the Convention, Dr Jefferts Schori said that the gift of Anglicanism was “holding together in tension polarities that some are eager to resolve. . . The long view says that if we insist on resolving the tension we’ll miss a gift of the Spirit, for truth is always larger than one end of the polarity.”
Up to 34 bishops produced the Anaheim Statement, affirming their desire to remain part of the Anglican Communion and the Episcopal Church. They pledged themselves to honour the requests made by the Archbishop of Canterbury, the 2008 Lambeth Conference, the Primates’ Meetings, and the Anglican Consult ative Council (ACC) to observe moratoria on same-gender blessings, cross-border interventions, and the ordination of gay and lesbian people as bishops.
The rest is here-
http://www.churchtimes.co.uk/content.asp?id=78397
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