Source: Diocese of New Westminster and Canada.com
Two British Columbia parishes in the Diocese of New Westminster have voted to ask to be added to the list of places where same sex blessings may take place.
St. Mary’s Kerrisdale in Vancouver, and the Church of the Holy Spirit in Whonnock, Maple Ridge (formerly St. John’s Whonnock), voted by large margins to ask Bishop Michael Ingham to grant his permission for the parishes to conduct services for persons in committed, monogamous same sex relationships.
Same-sex blessings have created a major schism within the Anglican Church, with at least 15 churches voting to separate from the Anglican Church of Canada over the issue.
At present, same sex blessings may take place only in eight parishes of the diocese.
A moratorium on allowing further parishes to hold blessings was imposed in 2006 after a Synod vote. The moratorium came in response to the Windsor Report, made to the Archbishop of Canterbury by an international Anglican panel.
It has been the Canadian Church’s interpretation of the Windsor Report that it asked that no additional parishes be authorized as places of blessing at this time.
Last December, the New Westminster's Bishop Michael Ingham reported to Diocesan Council that a panel of three lawyers expert in Canon law gave an opinion that nothing the national Church had done at its triennial meeting (General Synod) last summer required that the Diocese end the practice of blessing.
The national Church refused to “affirm” that diocesan synods and bishops could authorize the blessing of homosexual couples. However the General Synod, the Anglican Church of Canada’s supreme legislative body, also voted that the blessing of same-sex unions is “not in conflict with the core doctrine (in the sense of being creedal)” of the Canadian Church.
Still, last December Bishop Ingham said he was continuing the moratorium. In the current climate, and with the Lambeth Conference coming this summer, it would not be wise to lift the moratorium, he said. The Lambeth Conference is a meeting of all of the Anglican Communion’s bishops that takes place every ten years.
The Anglican Church of the Holy Spirit in Whonnock voted on same-sex blessings on Sunday and only one member voted against the idea.
"We're very inclusive. We're a progressive [church] here in the valley, which tends to be more conservative, and so it's important that we stand up for our liberal voice," said Rev. David Findley-Price.
"People say [homosexuality] is a choice. Well, it's not a choice. It's just part of the natural order of creation. All we're saying is let's bless people who have come to love each other as part of the natural order of how the universe is created. We have to move away from flat Earth theology and become more enlightened."
Church members also passed a unanimous motion affirming support of Bishop Ingham, who is considered a global leader in the campaign to give gay and lesbian members full rights within the Anglican church.
"I think it's an important thing. Lots of press is being given to others about how they're breaking away. There are a number of Anglican parishes that are not wanting to break away. . . . We're moving forward with the inspiration and revelation of the Holy Spirit. We believe God speaks to us and is saying move forward, move on, here's the evidence and the truth," said Findley-Price.
Findley-Price pointed out that only 15 of more than 2,000 Anglican churches in Canada have decided to separate over same-sex blessings.
Full article: Diocese of New Westminster > News ( DNN 3.1.0 )