In a historic meeting, nearly 200 Episcopal Church General Convention deputies gathered here March 18 to begin a churchwide consultation on same-gender blessings.
The Standing Commission on Liturgy and Music invited one lay and one clergy deputy from each of the church’s 109 dioceses and three regional areas to hear about and reflect on its work to date on the mandate given to it in General Convention 2009 Resolution C056.
The resolution, passed in 2009, directed the SCLM to work with the House of Bishops to collect and develop theological resources and liturgies for blessing same-gender relationships. The commission is to report to the 77th General Convention in 2012 in Indianapolis.
Jesus weeps…
Intercessor
The earliest Episcopal Church SSB of which I am aware took place around 1974 in Southern California. The relationship broke up soon after and the priest in question told me he’d never do one again. This is an absurd charade wherein people in bureaucratic control of an organization decide that just because they have the power to do so it must be ok. The Bible and Judaeo-Christian tradition have become a mere Rorschach ink-blot into which they look and interpret as they please.
It is a wonderful reminder of what the sacramental rite of Holy Matrimony is to actually officiate at a wedding from time to time. The 1979 rite is superb, and has the full teaching of the Church Catholic in it. As we watch the deviations and alterations necessitated by the New Thing come forth, we only have to mark the differences to know how far we are being asked to travel from the mind of Christ and the orders of creation. We can remain confident that such departures are a dance with death and cannot generate or lead to new life. Abide in the vine, keep the faith: the squall of deviation will blow itself out.
The *full teaching*of something called “Church Catholic”. Really? How about the bottom of page 427 of the 1979 BCP: “…in the name of the Father and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit (or in the Name of God).”
Just to make sure the non-christian spouse(s) or parents or whoever isn’t offended, right? “In the Name of God” is how James Pike began his sermons after he decided the Trinity was “excess baggage”. Now this goes by the name “Church Catholic”. Does it surprise you that the Catholic Church (note the word order) doesn’t think it *is*? As long as the actual God who exists is being elbowed out, it isn’t surprising that one more bride or groom is elbowing their way in.
If they approve, it’ll be nothing more thana rubber stamping…….as we’ve come to expect.
What an interesting explosion, Nw…. Help me, I can’t keep track of all the allegiances, as I’ve shown before: are you another papist, or something else again?
He, he – how time flies. Just 4 years ago we were assuring the Communion they weren’t occurring at all. Now remind me why trust broke down in the Communion…
OK, #4 — “Our Lord Jesus Christ adorned this manner of life”,
“when it is God’s will, for the procreation of children and their nurture in the knowledge and love of the Lord”
“in sickness and in health, for richer for poorer, for better for worse, until we are parted by death. This is my solemn vow.”
“with all that I am and all that I have I honor you, in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit” (more about the allowance in just a moment)
“who has made the way of the cross to be the way of life”
Those are just some of the sentences I can do from memory. Now let’s go read up on the intercessions for the couple and the blessing. If all that does not represent the church’s teaching on marriage, then what in the world does? The allowance at the blessing of the rings clearly anticipates that one of the partners may not be Christian; otherwise you use the threefold name. It’s a small allowance in an otherwise significant and substantial rite that is through and through trinitarian and also sets forth the atonement (as well as absolutely presupposing the union of one man and one woman; you have to destroy the integrity of the rite to make it say otherwise). I appreciate this blog, but the sometimes willingness to simply dismiss the current Prayer Book out of hand is frustrating.
B.J, I agree. Pretty good service. I even thought it was a great idea to have the congregation express support to the married couple vocally. So, how about dropping the “Pike Memorial”? Unless one is ashamed of the Trinity. If it’s a problem for one (or both!) of the couple, they can go to the land office and get married. A Christian sacramental service *presupposes* Christians, not Unitarians or Muslims are taking part. If they aren’t they don’t belong there. That’s nothing new at all. Same for the eucharist.
No, Frank, it is NOT blowing itself out. Quite the reverse. And that’s the problem. As the deviation gathers strength and numbers, it ceases to be a deviation, and this is exactly what is happening. Who then is the deviant?
For these people, Christianity divines the truth by democratic means: Everyone votes and the majority decides what the truth shall be. This has the power of the entire American culture behind it. This approach to truth an enormous advantage because minorities, voting together, make a majority when the minorities start with the assumption that those who disagree with them are disqualified by virtue of their insisting that truth rests on quite a different basis.
They are winning all the battles. The evidence is very clear. L