A process as trivial as voting doesn\u2019t stop liberals; if liberals don\u2019t get their own way through a vote, obviously the rules will have to change to make voting redundant. The important thing is to discern what the spirit is saying to the church – the spirit of theological liberalism, that is.<\/p>\n
From here<\/a>:<\/p>\n Council of General Synod (CoGS) unanimously agreed March 12 to send to the upcoming General Synod a draft resolution prepared by the Commission on the Marriage Canon changing the Anglican Church of Canada\u2019s law to pave the way for same-sex marriage.<\/p>\n At the same time, however, CoGS said that while it is legally obliged by General Synod 2013’s Resolution C003 to send the same-sex marriage motion to General Synod 2016, it has also considered \u201cthe possibility of other options.\u201d<\/p>\n In a message to the church,\u00a0 CoGS said, \u201cThe General Synod may discern a legislative option is not the most helpful, and if so, we faithfully hope that through dialogue at General Synod an alternate way will emerge.\u201d<\/p>\n CoGS did not indicate what these \u201cother options\u201d\u00a0 might be, but the message was clearly a response to an earlier statement it received from the House of Bishops that a vote to allow same-sex marriage was \u201cnot likely to pass in the Order of Bishops.\u201d In their statement to CoGS, the bishops had also questioned whether \u201ca legislative procedure is the most helpful way\u201d of dealing with the issue of gay marriage.<\/p>\n [\u2026.]<\/p>\n In its statement to the church, CoGS also said,\u00a0 \u201cWe recommend the greatest pastoral response possible, allowing same-sex couples to be fully included in the life of our church with full and equal access to its liturgies and pastoral offices.\u201d<\/p>\n The wording of this last sentence was cause for much debate on the floor of the Council when it was presented to members for approval. The original draft had read, \u201cWe must permit the greatest pastoral response possible, allowing same-sex couples to be fully included in the life of our church with full and equal access to its liturgies and pastoral offices,\u201d and some CoGS members felt this came too close to telling General Synod how it should vote.<\/p>\n \u201cWhen we do this, when we say, \u2018You have full access to the liturgies and pastoral care,\u2019 we\u2019re saying, \u2018Go ahead and marry,’ \u201d said Bishop Larry Robertson, of the diocese of the Yukon, expressing an opinion also stated by Archdeacon Terry Leer, of the diocese of Athabasca. \u201cI cannot and will not accept that.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" A process as trivial as voting doesn\u2019t stop liberals; if liberals don\u2019t get their own way through a vote, obviously the rules will have to change to make voting redundant. The important thing is to discern what the spirit is … Continue reading