Anglican unity under renewed pressure by conservative gathering

Anglican unity under renewed pressure by conservative gathering

The Boston Globe

ATHENS, Greece --The agenda for an upcoming gathering of conservative Anglican clerics includes discussions about dialogue with Islam and fighting poverty. But the wider message is expected to be protest: Another frontal attack against gay clergy and same-sex unions that threaten to break apart the world's 77 million-member Anglican communion.

The six-day meeting, beginning Tuesday in Egypt, will bring together some of the leading opponents of liberalizing trends and highlight the growing strength of Africa and other places outside the traditional Anglican spheres of influence in England and North America.

More than 120 conservative clerics and loyalists are expected from across the so-called Anglican "south" -- Africa, Asia and Latin America -- who have increasingly warned they could form independent, breakaway churches. The tensions have become so alarming that the leader of the Anglican communion, Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams, plans to travel to Egypt in an apparent attempt to calm dissent led by powerful Nigerian Archbishop Peter Akinola.

"The establishment is desperate to keep together the communion," said George Curry, chairman of the Church Society, a conservative lay and clergy Anglican group based in Watford, England. "But the liberals are unwilling to revisit or invalidate the movements that the conservatives find intolerable. This tolerance has been stretched to the breaking point."

An eventual breakup would be the most stunning fallout from struggles over homosexual issues that also have gripped Roman Catholics, Lutherans and other churches. It would create a range of new congregations able to veer in even greater conservative or liberal directions and end the English guidance over a church founded in the 16th century by King Henry VIII and spread around the world by the British Empire.

The divisions reached serious proportions in 2003 over the consecration of a gay bishop in New Hampshire by the U.S. Episcopal Church, as members of the Anglican communion are called in the United States. Conservative Anglicans also were outraged by the toleration of same-sex blessing ceremonies in some places.

In July, bishops in England -- the Anglican birthplace -- decided that gay priests can register for same-sex partnerships under a new civil law and stay in good standing if they remain celibate. The bishops also said that lay Anglicans who register civil unions will not be denied the sacraments.

Some conservatives bishops have broken ties with more liberal branches or cut financial links. In Brazil, the dispute led to the dismissal of a conservative bishop in Recife and more than 30 clergymen.

On Wednesday, Anglican leaders in Sydney, Australia, voted to consider changing its ties with the Church of England in protest of its failure to oppose gay priests and same-sex unions. Traditionalists in Europe and North America also have threatened to intensify breakaway efforts.

In September, the Nigerian archbishop warned that the Anglican communion will splinter unless the liberals back down and accept the traditional interpretations of Anglican teachings.

"Let there be no illusions," Akinola told a news conference in New York. "The communion is broken and fragmented. The communion will break."

Akinola's voice carries huge weight and is supported by Ugandan Archbishop Henry Luke Orombi. Together their churches have 26 million members, nearly a third of the world's Anglicans and equal to the Church of England. Africa is home to half of the world's Anglicans and is dominated by conservative leaders.

Both Akinola and Orombi are expected at next week's meeting in Ain Sukhna, about 100 kilometers (60 miles) southeast of Cairo.

"The demographic center of gravity for the Anglicans has moved to Africa and Asia," said Rev. Gerald Bray, a professor of Anglican studies at the Beeson Divinity School in Birmingham, Alabama. "If the first world churches don't accommodate the (Africans and Asians), they will simply go and establish churches of their own. It seems to be getting closer and closer to that point."

No room at the inn for gay churchgoers SHE belongs to a Roman...

No room at the inn for gay churchgoers SHE belongs to a Roman...

Sunday Times

The Constitution may guarantee the rights of homosexuals, but churches, mosques and synagogues take a different view, writes Jeanne van der Merwe

SHE belongs to a Roman Catholic parish in Cape Town. She is deeply spiritual, goes to Mass every Sunday and observes all the rites and ceremonies of the church.

Yet her relationship with the church, which is supposed to be her spiritual home, is plagued by ambivalence and secrecy born out of the church’s centuries-old antipathy towards same-sex relationships.

Her priest doesn’t know that she is gay, or that she and the woman who sits next to her in church every Sunday have been lovers for more than five years. She knows some priests are more open-minded than others but because there’s no way of telling how a priest would react to the nature of their relationship, she keeps it secret.

“Some years ago I formed a very close relationship with a Roman Catholic priest. We had many discussions about religion and spirituality. I grew to trust him enough to tell him that I was gay. Then he cut all ties with me,” said the woman, who prefers not to be named.

She knows her partner fears the stigma the church attaches to their lifestyle and has problems reconciling her sexuality with her religion.

“I grew up in a Catholic family and my partner is a staunch Catholic. If I had a choice I would much rather go to a [Buddhist] temple or even perhaps the Anglican Church. I feel as though I contradict my beliefs sitting in the Catholic Church,” she said.

Sharon Cox, a former Methodist, decided to opt out of mainstream churches after moving to several denominations and not feeling comfortable with any of them.

“Many of us attended church and went to Sunday school and then we’d come to a point where we are made to feel uncomfortable. We hear of how God doesn’t love us because of who we are. Invariably we are left with all sorts of conflict and struggle to reconcile who we are with what the church says,” she said.

She now belongs to a Cape Town-based branch of an international, inter-denominational Christian church that has rotating ministers sympathetic to gays, lesbians, transsexuals and bisexuals, yet she wishes she could feel at home in a mainstream church. “It’s a sad day when you have to have a special church that preaches an inclusive message. It’s sad that churches alienate people the way they do. Their message should be love,” she said.

For Muhsin Hendricks, a devout Muslim and qualified imam, the conflict between his religion and sexuality had dramatic consequences.

Six years ago, he was 29, married with three children, and a religious instructor at several Cape Town mosques.

“As a child I knew I was gay, but coming from an orthodox Muslim family it was difficult to talk about it. Instead I drowned myself in religion to block it out.

“After being married for six years I decided to come out. I had to leave my teaching job — the mosque I was teaching at was supposedly a liberal one, but they said it’s best if I just leave,” he said.

Shortly after coming out, he started building a support group for gay Muslims.

He believes mainstream Islam and sharia law’s interpretation of the Koran on homosexuality is narrow and incorrect and wants the Muslim Judicial Council to debate the place of homosexuality in Islam openly. So far, he has managed only one debate with the council on a community radio station.

“Muslims believe that when you sin, you keep silent. I say homosexuality isn’t a sin, so why can’t we discuss it?”

Called the Inner Circle, his organisation now has 40 members in Cape Town and seven in Johannesburg. Members meet regularly, pray and fast together and keep international ties with like-minded Muslims in other countries. But so secretive are gay Muslims that Hendricks’s organisation has a second tier of members — about 100 anonymous “e-members” who communicate only on e-mail so as not to be found out.

The only South African church that has been forced to confront homosexuality openly is the Dutch Reformed Church, after a minister’s partner laid charges of promiscuity against him with his church superiors.

Laurie Gaum, a popular Cape Town minister, was brought before a disciplinary hearing, which found him guilty of having a homosexual relationship and relieved him of his duties two months ago. He is appealing against the decision.

But the church’s spokesman, Johan Symington, said the church had come a long way in debating homosexuality. “In 1986 the church rejected homosexuality. But last year it said homosexuality in itself is not a sin as you can’t help being born that way. Hence we apologised to [gays] and declared that they are welcome in the church.”

But while gay people are increasingly asking why churches find it so much harder to accept their lifestyles than, for instance, divorce, mainstream religions seem reluctant to budge from their traditional views.

Gays turn away from mainstream faiths such as Catholicism, Islam, Judaism and charismatic Christian churches, which condemn homosexuality out of hand and are unwilling to reconsider their position. Instead, they see homosexuals as a group that should only be addressed with a view to “cure” them of their deviant sexual preferences.

Rowan Smith, Dean of the Anglican St George’s Cathedral in Cape Town, confessed his homosexuality to a packed congregation in 1994 and was appointed dean of the cathedral, regardless, in 1998. His very progressive parish, the one in which Archbishop Desmond Tutu served for 10 years, could make such a bold move because the Anglican Church does not have a central bureaucracy that decides the whole church’s view.

Yet the tacit agreement within his church is that gay people should live celibate lives.

“The church’s position is that any relationship not sanctioned by marriage must be celibate. The question is, how do you sanction a homosexual relationship? This is the issue the church needs to address,” he said.

He rejects mainstream religion’s reliance on the Bible to justify its anti-gay stance.

“We need to move beyond using those six verses from the Scriptures to beat gay people up and rather ask, what is the church’s attitude today? The church has accepted divorce even though the Scriptures are very harsh about that,” he said.

But most of South Africa’s mainstream religions still believe homosexuality is wrong.

Father Mike Odongi, spokesman for the Roman Catholic Church, said “there is no room in the Catholic Church for homosexuality”.

“The church takes its official position from the Bible. Homosexuality is contrary to nature. How does the cycle of humanity continue otherwise?” he said.

Sheikh Achmat Sedick, chairman of the Muslim Judicial Council, said homosexuality is “abnormal” and “perverted”, citing the Koran and centuries of Islam teachings.

Asked whether he was aware of groups like Hendricks’s and their feelings of alienation, he responded: “If they feel … alienated by the mainstream Muslims but would want to pray to the same God who uncompromisingly tells them that they should not get involved in such perverted lifestyles, then they are free to do so. They then have to wrestle … with the same God who gave them the necessary guidance, which they have rejected.”

Ron Hendler, Deputy Chief Rabbi of the Union of Orthodox Synagogues, said the union was “guided by Biblical law”.

“We certainly cannot accept or condone homosexuality. We aren’t judging them — it’s not for us to judge. It is a very sensitive issue and we know there’s a lot of pain around it. But we cannot say a deviant lifestyle is acceptable to our biblical tradition,” he said.

The quandary for gay religious people is that church membership is voluntary and churches are, like them, protected by the Bill of Rights.

Advocate Tseliso Thipanyane, of the Human Rights Commission’s office for economic and social rights, said South Africans had to find a balance between religious freedom and the guarantees in the Bill of Rights. “The Constitutional Court has already said the Muslim Customary Law is unconstitutional. A Christian school is not allowed to give corporal punishment, but it can say gay people are going to hell.

“The question is, where do you draw the line? You can’t ban the Bible. The Bill of Rights protects freedom of religion, culture and language, except where it infringes on constitutional rights,” he said.

“We can limit discriminatory practices, but it would be difficult to limit preaching in churches. People are free to go to the church of their choice, and if they don’t like what their churches preach, they can go to another one,” he said.

Diocese recommends priests be allowed to perform civil unions in CT

Diocese recommends priests be allowed to perform civil unions
Newsday

HARTFORD, Conn. -- Members of the Episcopal Diocese of Connecticut passed a resolution Saturday urging Bishop Andrew Smith to allow priests in Connecticut to preside at civil union ceremonies.

The resolution passed overwhelmingly at the diocese annual meeting, church officials said.

A law allowing same-sex civil unions in Connecticut took effect Oct. 1. But Smith reminded clergy in a recent memo that they are not authorized to officiate at blessings of same-sex unions. He said that won't change at least until the House of Bishops meets in 2006.

The resolution, while not binding, gives the diocese, "a sense of this convention at this time," Smith said. There will be other occasions to discuss whether priests should preside over civil unions or not, he said.

Gay issues have divided the U.S. Episcopal Church and are at the center of an ongoing dispute between Smith and six priests who had asked to be supervised by a different bishop.

They disagree with Smith's support for the Rev. V. Gene Robinson of New Hampshire, the church's first openly gay bishop.

Supporters of the resolution pitched it as a civil rights issue, saying just as it would be unthinkable to deny services to minorities, it is wrong to deny gay, lesbian and transgender people equality.

There should be "full inclusion" of all people, said the Rev. James Cooke of Meriden, who serves as a chaplain at Bridgeport Hospital. "This is what puts us on the edge of progressive Christianity."

Those opposing the resolution, urged the gathering not to confuse civil rights with sexual rights.

"I would like to be able to preside over civil unions, but this issue should not destroy the unity of the church," said Rev. Mark Delcruze, an attendee from Ridgefield.

Episcopal Diocese to vote on allowing clergy to perform civil blessings in Connecticut

Delegates to the annual meeting of the Connecticut Episcopal Diocese are scheduled to vote today on whether priests should be allowed to perform civil unions.

A law allowing same-sex civil unions in Connecticut took effect earlier this month.

Connecticut Bishop Andrew Smith sent a memo to clergy reminding them that they're not allowed to bless same-sex marriages. He said the policy extends to same-sex civil unions and won't change at least until the House of Bishops meets next year.

But some priests say he should make a distinction between civil unions and same-sex marriages. They're introducing a resolution that would allow priests to officiate at civil unions.

Gay issues have divided the U.S. Episcopal Church.

Episcopal Diocese to vote on allowing clergy to perform civil ...
WTNH -

Eames in new gay clergy row

Eames in new gay clergy row
Belfast Telegraph

CHURCH of Ireland Primate Archbishop Robin Eames has hit back at another leading Anglican Primate Archbishop Peter Akinola of Nigeria who has accused him of making "uncharitable" accusations about those who oppose the appointment of homosexual clergy.

Earlier this month Archbishop Eames delivered a series of lectures in the USA about the future of the Anglican Communion in light of the controversy following the appointment of the homosexual Bishop Gene Robinson in New Hampshire, USA.

He claimed during a lecture at the Yale Divinity School that the implications of recent actions by the Church of Nigeria, which had removed all references to being in communion with the See of Canterbury, were "most serious".

He claimed that this was in contrast to the Windsor Report which had sought a "corporate striving to find the will of God in contentious and divisive issues".

Archbishop Eames himself chaired the Lambeth Commission which produced the report.

In a separate meeting in Washington, he was reported in the Anglican Communion News Service to have expressed concern over the role that some conservative wealthy US donors were taking in the current controversy.

He was also reported as claiming that a number of Church figures in the developing world had been offered financial inducements to distance themselves from the Anglican churches of the USA and Canada, which have approved of same-sex relationships.

Conservative leaders have claimed, however, that they were simply trying to help poor Anglican provinces, which could not accept financial aid from those which "differ from them on the issue of homosexuality".

Earlier this week, the Nigerian archbishop, Dr Akinola, a leading opponent of same-sex relationships, issued a strongly-worded open letter to Archbishop Eames on the Anglican website.

He said that if Archbishop Eames had evidence of such financial inducements he should reveal them or "make a public apology to your brother primates".

In a statement, Archbishop Eames underlined that the current debate was "theological" and that he found himself "very disturbed by any speculation around the role that money may play in determining outcomes".

"I feel that when money or assistance is raised in any part of the Anglican Communion and offered for use where it might extend Christ's kingdom, it should be offered and accepted in those terms alone," he said.

Dr Eames said that he in no way questioned the "sincerity and integrity" of the leaders in the developing world, known as the Global South.

He added that he had endeavoured at all times to "maintain and understand" the integrity of their argument.

He also emphasised: "I categorically state I have never believed that any financial offer was accepted by any of those who represent the Global South on any other than terms of Christian outreach. I have communicated this to Archbishop Akinola this morning."

ANGLICAN CRISIS CONTINUES

ANGLICAN CRISIS CONTINUES

Sydney Star Observer, Australia

In a sign Anglicans' deep divisions over homosexuality could widen further, the Church’s Sydney synod has voted to reconsider its links with the Church of England.

Sydney’s Anglican synod passed a motion this week calling for debate about its relationship with the English Church.

Anglican reverend Mark Thompson said gay issues were at the heart of a possible split, Reuters reported. "The current crisis in the Anglican Communion has been brewing for some time, but (has been) brought to a head by the consecration of a practising homosexual," Thompson said in a statement.

Australian Anglicans’ national leader, primate Phillip Aspinall, recently said he believed the Church could find a middle ground despite differences over homosexuality.

The Nigerian Anglican Church has already removed references to Canterbury – Anglicism’s traditional centre – from its constitution, apparently angered by North American Anglicans’ support for gay rights.

Conservative Anglican leaders are due to meet in Egypt later this month, possibly to discuss establishing a separate Anglican Church.

Meanwhile, plans are in place for the Archbishop of Canterbury, Rowan Williams, to meet gay Anglican bishop Gene Robinson for the first time when he visits London next month.

The Guardian reported Williams was not opposed to meeting Robinson, whose appointment as bishop of New Hampshire in the US is a factor in the ongoing tensions in the worldwide Church.

 

Australian Anglican Primate: Gay and Women's Rights 'Won't Split Church'

Australian Anglican Primate: Gay and Women’s Rights ‘Won’t Split Church’

The primate of the Anglican Church in Australia and Archbishop of Brisbane, Dr Phillip Aspinall, has denied the Church will split over gay and women's rights.

ChristianToday, UK

Dr Phillip Aspinall, primate of the Anglican Church in Australia and leader of four million Australian Anglicans, has played down fears that the Australian Church might split from the Church of England over disagreements regarding gay priests and the ordination of women as bishops.

The primate’s comments follow the Sydney Diocese’s recent announcement that leading Sydney layman Robert Tong will put forward a motion for debate at the diocese’s annual synod to change the Church’s constitution, making the traditional link to Canterbury optional.

“I think a large part of the church in Australia would be reluctant to lose its very close connection with the Church of England and the Archbishop of Canterbury, even if such a move got support in Sydney and that remains to be seen,” said Dr Aspinall, who is also Archbishop of Brisbane.

“Whether it [the motion] got sufficient support on a national scale in Australia to result in a change to the constitution I think is a very open question,” he said.

The motion is expected to be put forward Tuesday night in the synod in Sydney by Mr Tong, who said: “Instead of an automatic linking with the Church of England in England, it will be a matter of giving the Australian church a choice.

The synod’s standing committee is requested to consider a re-framing of section six of the church’s constitution and report again at next year’s meeting, prior to full consideration at the Australia-wide general synod in 2007.

Dr Aspinall also told the Brisbane Courier-Mail that he would work to prevent a split within the Australian Anglican Church between liberals and conservatives, led by Archbishop of Sydney, Peter Jensen.

“I don’t think it will happen and I’m working hard to ensure it doesn’t happen,” he said. “There is a large centre in the church, and then on the edges there is room for differences of view and opinion, and disagreement does not mean disintegration.”

Dr Aspinall also expressed the belief that it was “pretty inevitable” that women would be ordained as bishops given that just under two-thirds of Anglicans in Australia believed it was right to ordain women.

CONNECTICUT: New vestry cuts ties with Connecticut Six

The Bristol Press

BRISTOL, CT (10/19/2005)--The newly elected vestry of St. John's Episcopal Church announced Tuesday that the parish is no longer affiliated with the so-called "Connecticut Six," a group of churches and clergy who have been in conflict with Connecticut Bishop Andrew Smith over his support for the church's first openly gay bishop. The 2003 consecration of the Rev. V. Gene Robinson of New Hampshire has divided the U.S. Episcopal Church and expanded the rift over gay issues among churches in the global Anglican Communion.

The new vestry at St. John's was elected at a special parish meeting held Sunday. On Monday the group, which is the lay leadership of the parish, unanimously voted to withdraw from the American Anglican Council and the Anglican Communion Network, according to a press release issued Tuesday. The two groups also have opposed consecration of Robinson.

The old vestry included church members loyal to the former rector, the Rev. Mark Hansen, who was removed in July by Smith. Hansen is one of the priests who have become known as the Connecticut Six. This group includes the Rev. Donald L. Helmandollar of Trinity Church in Bristol.

The pro-Hansen members had formed a group called "St. John's in Exile," according to the press release.

Consequently, the church had been left without any official lay leadership, said the Rev. Linda McCone, appointed in July by the bishop as priest in charge for the parish. McCone said Tuesday that the parishioners had waited to elect the new vestry until all legal requirements such as the notification period were met.

The breakaway group had sued the bishop, McCone and others, alleging among other things that Hansen's removal was unauthorized.

"I don't see how they can do that ..they aren't who they say they are," said Darlene Dopart, one of several parish members quoted in the press release. "I don't see how the court will let them get away with it. We are St. John's and we don't want to sue anyone," she said.

The new vestry said it was making its public statement "because the overwhelming sense of the congregation was that it was important for it to be clear that any other group of persons or individuals -- other than those elected by the people of St. John's at the Sunday meeting -- is not authorized to speak on behalf of the parish, enter into contracts in the name of the parish or otherwise suggest that they represent the interests or wishes of the more than 100 parishioners who have been regularly attending services at St. John's since July."

"The people of St. John's are the people who are in the pews every Sunday, not the people who are somewhere else," said vestry member Jim Doucette. "We are the ones who are rebuilding this church. It is hard work but it is happening."

Dave Desmarais, the newly elected senior warden of St. John's, said Monday the parish remains hopeful that, in time, some of those who have left will return once they see how St. John's is flourishing.

"We are tired of politics," said Art Paulette Jr., the junior warden. "When we come to church we want to hear preaching about the Gospel and we are doing that now for the first time in a long time."

In September, the six Episcopal churches that then comprised the Connecticut Six and five rectors -- Hansen was not included -- filed a federal lawsuit alleging that Smith and other diocese officials violated the civil and property rights of the churches' priests, members and officials.

Diocesan officials said Hansen was suspended for six months because he took an unauthorized sabbatical and St. John's had stopped making payments on a loan for its building. Hansen maintains that he notified Smith about his plans.

According to the new vestry, Hansen had effectively left late in 2004 when he took secular employment in New York City without notifying his bishop as required by the church's canons.

Information from the Associated Press is included in this report. http://www.bristolpress.com/site/news

Williams may meet gay US bishop

Plans are being made for Rowan Williams, the Archbishop of Canterbury, to meet the Anglican communion's most controversial cleric, Gene Robinson, the gay bishop of New Hampshire, for the first time when he visits London next month.

Bishop Robinson has been told in the past that he is not authorised to conduct services or administer communion in England and will not be invited to the next gathering of the rest of the world's Anglican bishops at the Lambeth conference in 2008. For the past 15 years the bishop has had a male partner, Mark Andrew, a health service worker, whom he met after the failure of his marriage.

An Anglican communion source involved in negotiations at Lambeth Palace said: "I know Rowan has no qualms about him coming and there have been no problems with his schedule while he is here."

The archbishop has already held private meetings with Jeffrey John, the celibate gay cleric whom he forced to stand down as suffragan bishop of Reading in 2003 and who is now dean of St Albans.

But a meeting with Bishop Robinson would exasperate conservative evangelicals and primates from the developing world who see the bishop as a satanic influence. His consecration in November 2003 was described by the conservative American Anglican Council as a "grievous day" in the church's history and denounced by the Archbishop of Kenya, who said: "The devil has entered our church."

Dr Williams is due to attend a meeting of bishops from the developing world in Egypt next week. The Anglican Church in Nigeria - the biggest in Africa - recently revised its constitution to delete references to its communion with the Church of England following the English bishops' decision in the summer to allow clergy to register same-sex civil partnerships so long as they guarantee that they remain chaste.

The Rev Rod Thomas, spokesman for the conservative evangelical group Reform, said: "Anything which appears to be going further in the direction of a liberal agenda is likely to exacerbate the crisis facing the Anglican communion. The archbishop must not appear sympathetic to those who have caused the crisis."

Bishop Robinson will speak at an Oxford Union debate and attend events to mark the 10th anniversary of the gay Christian pressure group Changing Attitudes, and services at St Martin-in-the-Fields in Trafalgar Square and in south London.

The Very Rev Colin Slee, dean of Southwark, said: "I think it is critical that Rowan meets him. This is a guy who has been legally, canonically, elected according to the statutes of his church and for the archbishop not to speak to him would be a major injustice."

The Rev Nick Holtam, vicar of St Martin-in-the-Fields, said: "It is such a significant thing to have the bishop at the centre of the controversy being able to speak directly to people here."

The Guardian understands that Dr Williams has no objection to meeting the bishop whose consecration two years ago convulsed the 70 million-strong worldwide communion, outraged church conservatives and strained relations with the Vatican. No appointment, however, has yet been arranged.

Williams may meet gay US bishop

Guardian Unlimited

* More news @ gay_blog.blogspot.com

Nigerian gay and lesbian Christians challenge Archbishop Akinola

Nigerian gay and lesbian Christians challenge Archbishop Akinola

Ekklesia

A network of lesbian and gay Christians in Nigeria has achieved national awareness by having an article published in a recent edition of the Daily Sun, the country’s national mass circulation newspaper.

In the face of a society and church which is often bitterly hostile towards them, the article challenges the Primate of All Nigeria, Archbishop Peter Akinola, with the reality of gay and lesbian worshippers in Anglican churches across the nation.

It reminds the Church of the commitment made by the Anglican primates, including Archbishop Akinola, to listen to the experience of homosexual persons in each province and to reflect on the issues they raise.

The Daily Sun piece highlights the work of Changing Attitude Nigeria, which has become the fourth national CA network to be formed. It joins one established in 1995 in England and subsequently in New Zealand and Scotland.

The group is calling for the full inclusion of lesbian and gay people in the Anglican Church throughout the world.

Changing Attitude’s newest network was formed in August 2005 by Davis Mac-Iyalla, aged 33. Mr Mac-Iyalla was at one time the administrator for the office of the Rt Rev Prof I Ugede, late bishop of Otukpo diocese.

He is a knight and lay reader and was principal of the diocesan school, but the education board felt it was not proper for a gay man head the school and sacked him.

The network is working to make lesbian and gay Anglicans recognized in every Nigerian diocese. Groups are already meeting in Port Harcourt, Lagos and Abuja, where the headquarters of the Church are located.

Already 120 gay men and lesbians are meeting and planning the group’s first General Meeting in Abuja on 26 and 27 November 2005.

Changing Attitude Nigeria described the recent move by the Most Reverend Peter Akinola to sever relations with the Church of England “as more political than religious. Jesus’ teaching is about love and care. If Jesus treated the converts this way, he would not have converted Matthew, the tax collector and Mary the harlot.”

Says Davis Mac-Iyalla: “What the Archbishop should have done is to meet with us, know our feelings and appreciate us for whom we are. That way we can be well integrated into society.”

He continued “Let society change their attitudes towards gays and lesbians. You have them in every sector in Nigeria, even in government. It is just that they are hidden because of the contempt the society has for them and it is the church that can lead the campaign for the change of attitude towards us.”

Changing Attitude England is a national organization of bishops, priests and lay people in the Church of England. It has a network of 20 groups in 22 dioceses working to support lesbian and gay clergy and lay people.

CA says it “works for a radical change in church attitudes by witnessing to the local church through personal testimony, education and providing information.”

[Also on Ekklesia this week: Guardian religious affairs correspondent Stephen Bates answers questions about his book 'A Church at War' on the argument about homosexuality in the Anglican Communion.]

Episcopal Diocese of Pittsburgh settles suit with parish

PITTSBURGH The Episcopal Diocese of Pittsburgh has settled a lawsuit filed by one of its parishes following the election of a gay bishop concerning how church property would be handled should a parish seek to break away.

The settlement affirms Episcopal Church law that says church property belongs to the diocese rather than the local parish and that the bishop would decide how to divide property if a church seeks a split.

Bishop Robert Duncan helped organize the Network of Anglican Communion Dioceses and Parishes, which seeks to represent members who oppose the denomination's increasingly liberal direction.

He opposed the election of the Reverend V-Gene Robinson, an openly gay man, as the bishop of New Hampshire.

The agreement calls for the diocese and a parish to "discuss in good faith" how property should be handled and for mediation to settle disputes. See Episcopal Diocese of Pittsburgh settles suit with parish @ WCAX 

We need your help - Marriage Equality Voter ID Action-Oasis California 10th Anniversary Service on Saturday, October 29th.

Dear Friends,

Please include the following announcement in your worship bulletin this Sunday, and include in your email distribution list.  We need a core of 15-20 volunteers who will assist with voter ID before and after attending the Oasis Eucharist on Saturday Oct. 29.  This is our first effort at a larger collaboration with California Faith for Equality.  My hope is that Advent, Holy Innocents, and St. John's might serve a "pilot congregations" to do voter I.D. within in our congregations as well next month.  If we can get some folks trained on Oct. 29, they can then do this work on Sunday mornings in our parishes.  Please let me know if you have any questions about this. 

_________________________________________________________________________________________________
Marriage Equality Voter ID Action—Oasis California 10^th Anniversary Service on Saturday, October 29^th.

Join LGBT and allied Episcopalians before and after the 10^th Anniversary Celebration at Grace Cathedral with Bishop Gene Robinson.  Help identify other Episcopal voters who will stand up to the religious right and pledge to oppose efforts to amend California’s constitution to ban gay marriage in the election in June 2006.

When:   Saturday, October 29^th, training begins at 9:30 am

Where:  Grace Cathedral, the plaza (between the Cathedral and the Diocesan House)

Contact:        Neil Penick, Senior Warden, St. John the Evangelist, San Francisco

415/515-5122
Neil_Penick@yahoo.com

 

-----------------------------------------------------------------------
The Rev. John L. Kirkley
Rector
The Episcopal Church of St. John the Evangelist
(415) 861-1436 - church office
rector@saintjohnsf.org
www.saintjohnsf.org
blogging at www.revkirkley.blogspot.com

 

 

At Grace Cathedral - Bishop Gene Robinson to Preach, Bishop William Swing to Preside at Oct. 29 Celebration of Oasis California's 10 years of LGBT Ministry

SAN FRANCISCO, CA - - New Hampshire Bishop V. Gene Robinson and Bishop of the Diocese of California William Swing are joining forces to celebrate ten years of ministry to the Bay Area by Oasis -- the Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, and Transgender Ministry in the Episcopal Diocese of California. Bishop Robinson will preach and Bishop Swing will preside at the special event in Grace Cathedral an 11 A.M. Oct. 29.

"Bringing these two bishops together reflects our commitment to serving more gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender people around the Bay during the next decade through our ministry," Oasis President the Rev. John Kirkley said. "We're currently working with 32 Episcopal Churches that welcome Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, and Transgender people. We're looking to add more congregations and expand our 'recruiting' effort during the next ten years." More information about Oasis, the Oct. 29 celebration and Oasis congregations is at www.oasiscalifornia.org.

During the grace Cathedral event, Oasis will thank Bishop Swing -- who is soon to retire -- for his support of its ministry. "During Bishop Swing's tenure, he led us through the darkest days of the AIDS epidemic with grace and compassion," Kirkley continued. "Lay and ordained ministry among LGBT people has flourished under his leadership, and he voted to consent to the election of Bishop Robinson in the diocese of New Hampshire. On Oct. 29 we will thank Bishop Swing for his support of our community."

Bishop Robinson's consecration is cited by some as the cause for continuing conflict within the Anglican Communion, Kirkley said. During this debate, some critics have vilified gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender people. Oasis has called for repentance by the Church for its ambivalence regarding the human dignity and sacramental equality of all God's children.

"As we move into our second decade, we continue to advocate for the full inclusion of gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender people in church and society, and support congregations working to heal the divisions caused by heterosexism in our diocese and world-wide Communion," he added.

Web site:  http://www.oasiscalifornia.org/

Gay and women's rights 'won't split church'

Gay and women's rights 'won't split church'
Brisbane Courier Mail,  Australia 

ANGLICAN Primate Phillip Aspinall, leader of the nation's four million Anglicans, has played down the possibility the Australian church could split from its English counterpart over issues such as gay priests and the ordination of women bishops.

Leading Sydney layman Robert Tong last week gave notice of a motion for debate at the diocese's annual synod to change the national constitution to allow for severing the automatic relationship with the Church of England in England over sexual matters.

"I think a large part of the church in Australia would be reluctant to lose its very close connection with the Church of England and the Archbishop of Canterbury, even if such a move got support in Sydney and that remains to be seen," Dr Aspinall, who is also Archbishop of Brisbane, said.

"Whether it got sufficient support on a national scale in Australia to result in a change to the constitution I think is a very open question."

If the motion, expected to be put tomorrow night in Sydney, is passed, the earliest the matter could be considered by the Australian church as a whole would be at the next general synod, due in 2007.

Dr Aspinall also demurred when asked whether there may be a split in the Australian church between a liberal stream and the more conservative stream, characterised by the views of the Archbishop of Sydney, Peter Jensen.

"I don't think it will happen and I'm working hard to ensure it doesn't happen," Dr Aspinall said. "There is a large centre in the church, and then on the edges there is room for differences of view and opinion, and disagreement does not mean disintegration."

He thought women bishops were "pretty inevitable" because just under two-thirds of Anglicans in Australia believed it was right to ordain women.

Dr Aspinall reiterated his earlier, much-publicised concerns about the Howard Government's industrial relations legislation.

He said he had been neither annoyed nor hurt when Peter Costello had said he was not qualified to comment on industrial relations.

"I thought it wasn't a very thoughtful thing to have said," he said.

* More news @ gay_blog.blogspot.com