Toronto’s Church of the Holy Trinity has presented a direct challenge to the leaders of the Anglican Church of Canada by voting to hold weddings for same sex couples.
Their statement says, “Holy Trinity will continue to exercise its conscience and bless same-sex unions and marry same-sex couples.”
While Holy Trinity has been conducting blessing ceremonies for some time, Rev. Jim Ferry, a preist at Holy Trinity clarified, “We also intend, when the opportunity arises, to take the next step, which is a (same-sex) marriage ceremony.”
Ferry also claimed that numerous other parishes across Canada are “quietly” conducting same-sex blessings. “We’re not the only ones,” he said yesterday, according to the Ottawa Citizen. “There are other parishes across the country who have been quietly going ahead and doing same-sex blessings. They’re in the major urban centres, wherever there’s a significant population of gay and lesbian people.”
Holy Trinity parish, in downtown Toronto, is notorious for its heedless disregard for fundamental Anglican precepts, and is known for its pro-homosexual and anti-Catholic activism. During Toronto World Youth Day in 2002, Holy Trinity hosted an anti-Catholic event that included a speaker who advocated violent protest against churches.
Ferry has already been inhibited for such actions which are contrary to the Canons of the ACC. Shall we try for a second time
…and where is the letter from the bishop of the Toronto Diocese and or Primate Hiltz exhorting this church, it’s priest, and others across Canada to abide by our current marriage canons, as well as our most recent General Synod resolutions?
What, the parish needs the wedding fees?
#2 Yeah, how do they get away with that? Do their bishops count for nothing? Or were they put up to it, as a trial baloon?
You all forget. When reasserters violate the canons and “pastoral directions” or “Godly admonitions,” they are right wing nut cases who need to be punished. When reappraisers violate canons or pastoral direction or Godly admonitions, they are prophetic and should be celebrated.
YBIC,
Phil Snyder
#4 Very good question. Frankly, I have been shocked over and over in the last seven years at what happens here in the ACC. There is a real lack of leadership in Canada right now. There are solid believing bishops out there, who appear to be keeping their heads down for fear of losing national church dollars, and conversely, being sued.
Many of the “best” bishops are in Council of the North dioceses that depend on national church money to survive. In the cities, I suspect a priest like the one at HT Toronto could start a civil lawsuit against the diocese if he were fired, and argue for unlawful dismissal, since gay marriage is civilly lawful in Canada – after all, the priest is licensed by the province to conduct legal weddings. And, imagine what the press would do to the bishop and the diocese if the above priest lost his job over something politically incorrect.
Philip (#5), you forgot the symbol!
#6 – I think the freedom of religion section of the Charter of Rights and Freedoms would kick in here. The legal advice one priest I know got (for opposite reasons, as will become clear) is that, if he refuses to do a same sex blessing/wedding, he can’t be sued as long as the hierarchy of the church he is a part of says that they don’t permit them. If the church hierarchy does permit them, then the charter doesn’t protect him from being sued?
Clear as mud? Sorry, I have a cold….
It’s a scandalous thing for a Christian parish to declare it will perform same-sex (ahem) marriages, but this news is more than half a year old. Lifesite appears to have gotten its information from [url=http://www.365gay.com/Newscon08/01/011408ang.htm]365Gay.com[/url], which inexplicably reported this as if it were new. Note the shared mention of the ACoC’s [i]annual[/i] synod in Winnipeg [i]this week[/i]!
Perhaps Jim Ferry is in the habit of repeating himself, but his statement to the Ottawa Citizen “yesterday” as reported by Lifesite, matches [url=http://www.canada.com/ottawacitizen/news/story.html?id=9fb76c11-e42c-4ee8-a309-a4f20bbe9822&k=68955]a Citizen story dated July 7, 2007[/url].
The [url=http://holytrinitytoronto.org/community/SSMres_20070715.php]resolution passed on June 17, 2007[/url] concludes,
[blockquote]Whereas General Synod 2007 is poised to make a decision as to the acceptability of the blessing of same-sex unions in the Anglican Church of Canada;
Be it resolved that the Church of the Holy Trinity will, with the intention of remaining in the Anglican Church of Canada and the communion, continue to exercise its conscience and bless same-sex unions and marry same-sex couples.[/blockquote]
Holy Trinity’s intentions were known at the time of General Synod. Well known, I’d thought until this week.
Robroy,
Re: #7: Unfortunately, what Philip wrote in #5 is merely a statement of fact, this IS the way TEC looks at the situation, so no was needed.
Here’s another indication that The Sheepcat (#9) is right about the timing of this news. The link to LifeSite has gone dead and a search of the site does not turn it up: The story seems to have been withdrawn.
Be that as it may, I don’t recall hearing about this last summer. Too much else going on around the time of General Synod, I guess.
same sex “marriages”–Does not compute!! Nuff said!