Updated Tuesday evening
CBC News BREAKING Anglicans to allow same-sex marriage after recount
A statement from The Ven. Dr. Michael Thompson, General Secretary
Associated Press via the Guardian Anglican church of Canada backs same-sex marriage, a day after rejecting it
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The Anglican Journal reports: Canadian Anglicans reject same-sex marriage by one vote:
A resolution to change the marriage canon (church law) to allow for the solemnization of marriages of same-sex couples failed to pass by a fraction of a percentage point at the Anglican Church of Canada’s General Synod July 11.
The vote, which required a two-thirds majority in each of the orders of laity, clergy and bishops, received 72.22% support from the laity and 68.42% in the order of bishops, but only 66.23% percent in the order of clergy—0.43% shy of the 66.66% needed.
There is another report: Relief, despair as same-sex marriage motion fails.
Subsequently, several dioceses made their own anouncements: Niagara, Ottawa to offer same-sex marriages; Toronto to consider:
Within hours of the defeat of a motion to amend the marriage canon of the Anglican Church of Canada, at least two dioceses had announced plans to go ahead with same-sex marriages, with a third saying it would consider this course of action.
In a prepared statement, Niagara Bishop Michael Bird cited General Synod Chancellor David Jones, who announced in synod Monday, July 11, that the marriage canon in its present form does not explicitly prohibit same-sex marriage.
In Jones’s words, the statement said, the canon “does not contain either a definition of marriage or a specific prohibition against solemnizing same-sex marriage.” It’s also clear, it continued, that Anglican conventions allow bishops to authorize “liturgies to respond to pastoral needs within their dioceses, in the absence of any actions by this General Synod to address these realities.
“Accordingly, and in concert with several other bishops of the Anglican Church of Canada, it is my intention to immediately exercise this authority to respond to the sacramental needs of the LGBTQ2 community in the Diocese of Niagara,” said Bird…
Statement by the Bishop of Niagara
Statement by the Bishop of Toronto
Credit to the bishops not just for the actions they are taking but also because they had a contingency plan ready in case the vote didn’t pass. That is proper leadership.
Now that’s what you call leadership. It’s what we need in the Church of England: moral leadership at a local level, with people acting according to their integrity and conscience, even if it means defying central authority. This is a justice issue and a conscience issue. And it’s unconscionable that top-down authority should impose uniformity on a Church that we know full well, in England, is divided down the middle. I am gutted for LGBT+ people and all those who affirm them in the Anglican Church in Canada. But I am proud of those who are going to take a… Read more »
Expect statements from as many as 10-12 dioceses in the coming days and weeks. It is quite clear from Michael Bird’s statement (and the speed in which it was posted) that it was prepared ahead of the vote. The surprise was that the vote passed in the Order of Bishops, but failed (by 1 vote) in the Order of Clergy. Speculation was that, although a majority of bishops were personally in favour, enough were either willing to pander to conservatives or afraid of losing their invitation to Lambeth that it would not pass in the bishops. By the vote count,… Read more »
“It’s what is needed in England if change does not come very soon: a network of local churches, PCCs, priests… who knows, even bishops and dioceses… willing to exercise courage of conviction and good conscience.”
In England statute prohibits same sex marriage and the danger is any marriage conducted in England by an independent minister would be void. In England, the conservatives have very effectively salted the ground to prevent the sort of moves announced in Canada.
Audit showed problem with electronic voting. Actual clergy result 52-26, and the motion carried.
Some who voted vs same-sex marriage motion have left the plenary after Hiltz says votes show that same-sex marriage motion passed #GS2016— anglicanjournal (@anglicanjournal) July 12, 2016
Time for some shared conversations?
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Yes! Go Canada!
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I understand that the Canadians are bringing their delicacies to the naughty step, as the Scots are bring shortbread biscuits and whiskey. Americans are bringing microbrewed beer. (You don’t want our GMO food…).
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Thanks be to God for justice, equality…and recounts! Alleluia! 😀
[And welcome to the Time-Out corner, AngChCanada. We in TEC have saved you a seat. ;-/ ]
So with TEC, the Canadians, the Scots (and is it the Welsh too, I forget) the Anglican Primates can no longer claim it is just one aberrant province. It is a game changer in international terms.
And of course wonderful news for Canadians.
Closer to home it ramps up pressure on the Church of England. A pastoral accommodation is clearly not going to be regarded as sufficient. And if other provinces see no fundamental barrier, any objections are more likely to look to the public as homophobia rather than any reasoned difficulty.
Changing the Marriage Canon requires being passed in each of the three Orders at two successive General Synods. After First Reading (which occurred today, after the recount confirmed two-thirds of each Order in favour), the amendment will now be referred to the Synods of the 4 Ecclesiastical Provinces and the Synods of the 30 dioceses for consultation and comment (but not approval). The provision will then come back to General Synod in 2019 for Second Reading, at which time it could be carried by two-thirds in each of the Orders, amended, or defeated. So there will be consultation.
As noted it was always clear that no matter what the vote, Bishops would proceed to do this anyway. In the diocese of Toronto the question will be what conservative parishes do/be allowed to do.
Talk about eucatastrophe! I’m overjoyed.
“In the Canadian Church, conservatives have always been generously accommodated on every issue, liturgical renewal, Christian initiation, ordination of women as priests and bishops, re-marriage after divorce, you name it. In some regards they have been allowed there own informal parallel church within a church. Don’t let anyone tell you differently.”
On the other hand, they are Christians too, and we cannot, or should not, leave them behind.
I don’t think there’s any question that “conservative” parishes (isn’t marriage itself “conservative”?) will proceed as they have always done. I don’t expect wedding bells for same-gender couples at Little Trinity any time soon, nor can I imagine they will be in any way penalized for that. The change is permissive: “conservatives” seem perpetually afraid that “liberals” are going to behave the same way they do! (i.e. Will “liberal” parishes in New Brunswick be able to marry same-gender couples?)
An aftermath of the eventual result has brought complaints from the losing side of the arguments that they were not pastorally cared for after the amended result came through. I wonder if they themselves ‘care about’ the same-sex couples whose lives so far have been marred by the Church’s indifference to their situation?
There is so much to be said about those who have worked diligently and patiently for so long to make this a reality. It seems strange to me that this piece of news has garnered to little attention here on TA, at least so far. I guess that the denunciations from GAFCON Primates haven’t yet hit the news. Could it be that attacking Canadian Anglicans just isn’t as exciting as American ones? After the Primates’ Meeting put the Episcopal Church under sanction and warned the Canadians that they were on a slippery slope, the Canadian Church moved forward. This will… Read more »
“An aftermath of the eventual result has brought complaints from the losing side of the arguments that they were not pastorally cared for after the amended result came through.”
Should I hope that those of us who voted to remain in Europe will be given an accommodation which keeps us in Europe even though the UK leaves. Wait. That’s not the same is it? Or is it?
“Could it be that attacking Canadian Anglicans just isn’t as exciting as American ones?”
Perhaps, but it may also be relevant that the American revision went into effect after a single General Convention. We may well find ourselves in the “naughty corner” in 2019.
I don’t think that most Canadian Anglicans are concerned about what GAFCON and their friends will do now or in 2019. We have long-suffering gay people in our families and parishes and they are our real concern. Throwing them under the bus for the sake of being called bad names is just not going to happen. I admire the laity most because they’re the ones who really know what matters In the real world.
@Rod Gillis: I would think that the Canadian ACNA (The Network) have been hoping the day would come when they could scare people into joining them by declaring the Anglican Church of Canada apostate once and for all. Some of the comments have been from people saying they were leaving to join a “Biblically faithful” church. Since “Biblically faithful is one of their buzzwords, I suspect that some of these people are already there and are just trolling Anglican Church of Canada sites. If they seem so determined to go, it’s odd that they considered us sufficiently “Biblically faithful” until… Read more »
“…expect their pals in GAFCON to say something in support”
…and of course in the Global South tout court, and one might expect the ABC and ABY as well.
GAFCON isn’t the only interested AC bloc.
Not that this matters much for what the ACinC does/has done.
Glad to see my good friend Bishop Mark MacDonald’s vote has now been counted.
How the wider Communion views this, Mr Gillis, will be for all to observe in the coming months.
Have a good day.
Meanwhile reps from elsewhere in The Communion, The Communion General Secretary…spoke publically at GS last week.
Indeed he did. Indicating clearly that what ACoC went on to agree is not the position on marriage clearly stated and confirmed by the Communion at Canterbury.
So, again, we shall see. And again, glad that voting snafus have not been rectified.
Clearly the Bishops were going to move forward regardless, which is what we learned when they thought they had lost. If you call that transparent, you hold a different dictionary than others. But that is already likely.
When will “Global South” Churches stop judging the specks in the eyes of others while ignoring the beams in their own? They have only paid lip service, if that, the resolutions from Lambeth asking that gay people be treated with dignity and respect and some of them either openly or tacitly support the criminalization and possible jailing and execution of gay people in their own backyards. Why would such people be allowed to determine the lives of gay people anywhere, let alone in evil places such as Canada, Scotland, or the United States? Blackmail and intimidation have not worked and… Read more »
Committed to the Communion means what? Wanting the Communion to accept what ACoC has done?
The Communion has an identity. JIF indicated what that is re marriage.
ACoC can be committed to flying to planet Uranus. But do those who know how to undertake this believe this commitment means anything other than divergence from agreed flight plans? Of course not.
+Stephen Andrews was the longstanding front runner and his appointment was very much expected and applauded.
Wycliffe has the largest PhD component in the (newly reorganized) Toronto School of Theology by a wide margin and a substantial Masters constituency vis-à-vis other schools.
+Stephen takes over at a robust time for Wycliffe.
Wycliffe is an Anglican school with general evangelical students as well. I suspect we are the largest provider of ordinands in the ACoC. In the TST we are the largest PhD contingent.