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I finally returned from my business trip yesterday, exhausted as always, just in time to discover that General Synod had chosen Fred Hiltz, Bishop of Nova Scotia and Prince Edward Island, to be our new primate. Although he declined yesterday to state his position on same-sex blessings (SSBs), past statements speak volumes. Chris Ambridge of the homosexual lobby group Integrity was enthused, while Canon Charlie Matthews of Anglican Essentials was not.
[T]he Rev. Canon Charlie Masters, head of the conservative Canadian group Anglican Essentials, said the election of Hiltz raised “fears” about the future of the denomination.
“He is the first bishop who has publicly given his support to same-sex marriage so there are concerns of his position,” Masters said.
The big order of business at today’s General Synod session was debate and decision on the SSB resolutions from Council of General Synod (CoGS). As it happened, the decision part is held over until tomorrow, but the debate was interesting in a perverse sort of way.
There are three resolutions: A185, A186, and A187. Resolution A186 states that “the blessing of same-sex unions is consistent with the core doctrine of The Anglican Church of Canada”, and A187 gives authority to any diocesan synod to permit SSBs, if that’s OK with the bishop.
A185 specifies that the other two motions must be passed by 60% majorities in each of the two orders—bishops and clergy/laity—as well as by 60% of the dioceses. As I blogged in March when CoGS announced the motions, the 60% figure was pulled out of a hat. It has no logical basis or historical precedent. The most obvious interpretation of the 60% rule is that it attempts to soften the blow of dispensing with the more usual requirement of 2/3 majorities in two consecutive synods—in other words, a sop to SSB opponents.
(The full text of the three short motions is posted at TitusOneNine).
In what follows, I rely on the amazing and dogged work of Peter, who blogged the evening session in detail at Anglican Essentials website.
Resolution A185 was debated first. An amendment was presented calling for a return to the standard of a 2/3 majority in two consecutive synods. (I note that The Rev Dr Lee Titterington, Rector of St Paul’s, Dawson, Diocese of Yukon, spoke in favour of the motion. Way to go, Lee!) After some debate, the amendment was voted upon and failed.
After further debate, A185 was voted and also failed. That means that even the 60% majority does not apply, which means that only 50% is required for passage.
A motion to refer A186 to a theological commission was presented. This required 50% in both orders to pass. It passed 21-16 in the Order of Bishops, but failed 95-150 in Clergy/Laity, so the motion was defeated.
After more debate, Archbishop Hutchison suspended debate for the evening. A motion to carry on regardless was offered, but failed to garner the required 2/3 majority.
So, the bar for passage of SSBs was lowered from the artificially low 60% to the preposterously low 50%. The situation looks bad for orthodox Anglicanism in Canada, but all is not lost.
Even many supporters of SSBs recognise that it is a deeply divisive issue, passage of which would carry enormous consequences for church unity, both within the ACC and the international Anglican Communion (Kenneth Kearon’s fanciful musings notwithstanding). For that reason, some of those supporters may regard a bare 50% majority as an insufficient basis for implementing such a significant change and may therefore be led to oppose A186 and A187. We can hope and pray that happens.
Another hopeful sign is that, soon after the 60% majority requirement was tossed aside, a majority of bishops voted in favour of referral. We can hope and pray that a similar majority will vote against the actual motions tomorrow, rather than allow them to slip through with only 50%.
Tonight many prayers are ascending for the Anglican Church of Canada. Lord, have mercy on us. Renew our faith. Let us hear, and obey, your Word.
Finally, I note a comment my friend The Rev Joe Walker left at Peter’s Anglican Essentials blog:
I loved the quote from the Cree teenager:
My name is Dean Sewap from Cree Pelican, the Diocese of Saskatchewan. If this is passed I would feel that to be faithful in my walk with Jesus, I would need to leave the Anglican Church. I don’t want to leave. I live my church. First nations parishes feel strongly about this but I feel that our voice is not being heard. Please be patient with us. Now is not the time to go ahead with this. God bless you.
This young man is far from the only First Nations Anglican who feels that way. Here is another indication that liberals like to talk about inclusiveness and mutual respect but, when it’s time for action, pushing through their agenda is more important than vaunted principles. The Zacchaeus Fellowship has been treated similarly.
Thanks to the Anglican bloggers who have provided coverage and comment. All have relied on Peter’s dedicated live-blogging. Peter: you da man!
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