The diocese of Huron’s annual synod, or governing convention, voted on May 26 to ask the bishop to give clergy permission to bless same-sex marriages, “where at least one party is baptized” and to authorize an appropriate rite.
The margin in favour was 72 per cent in both clergy and lay houses (97 clergy in favour, 36 against; 227 lay people in favour, 87 against).
The diocesan bishop, Bruce Howe, said he “gave concurrence” to the motion based on the large percentage in favour, but he added that he intended to consult with other bishops before acting on the vote.
Well, you have to expect that an article on a Canadian diocese in The Anglican Journal is going to be about as objective and balanced as an article about TEC in Episcopal Life. And sure enough, this one is about as shallow, one-sided, and bad as I expected. There isn’t even any attempt at presenting a dissenting opinion.
All the quotes are of the “Hurray, isn’t this great?” type. But the defenses of this radical act cited are amazingly trite and flimsy, such as the old liberal canard that only “seven verses” in the entire Bible are opposed to homosexual activity etc., etc., etc.
The article points out that there aren’t yet any congregations in the Diocese of Huron that have joined the Anglican Network in Canada (ANiC). Well, I hope that changes soon.
David Handy+