Wise Words from Giles Goddard
I commend Giles Goddard of for his powerful sermon at Trinity College Dublin.
An hors d'oeuvre:
. . .we need to find a way out of the absurd stalemate we are in over human sexuality. We need as a Communion to find a way to recognise that there are a great many Anglican and Episcopalian Christians whose faith and life, and the faith and life of those around them, is deeply enriched by their same-sex relationships. That these relationships are undoubtedly blessed and hallowed in the sight of God. A way which recognises differences of opinion; which does not force those who disagree to abandon their beliefs; but which recognises and celebrates the ways in which the love of Jesus is expressed in the world. Here we are in Ireland, close to a living example of what’s possible in extremely complicated issues with flexibility and care. I do not believe that something similar isn’t possible within the Anglican Communion. It’s time to find that way.Please do read it all.
TSH+
h/t to Thinking Anglicans
and thanks to Jim Naughton for pointing to my tendency to confound the Gileses!
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2 comments:
I don't understand the anguish of the preacher. There is a solution to the stalemate: conservative Anglicans are leaving the Communion en masse and forming their own churches and communions. Soon there will be little dissent to the new understanding of human sexuality within the churches in communion with Canterbury. The only downside (from the Establishment's point of view) is that the AC will be significantly smaller while most of the Global South goes its own way.
FrMichael
I can't speak entirely for Canon Goddard, but I'm not sure "anguish" is the right word. The desire of many liberal Anglicans, such as Canon G. and myself, is not that conservatives should leave. What is desired is a broader and more catholic church that embraces a diversity of views in a comprehensive manner: which has been the genius of Anglicanism. The goal is not uniformity, or monolithic unity, but fellowship or communion. Thus what you see as a "solution" is not what we see as an adequate solution to the "problem."
As to the Global South going its own way, that remains to be seen. The number of provinces willing to do that (at least as far as their Primate's are concerned) has dwindled; and serious questions are raised as to the extent they speak for their own synods and bishops.
We are definitely in a transitional time, but I think when all is sorted out we will be all the healthier for it. Some of the GS is going through a period of adolescence (That is not intended as condescension but a simple statement of fact) as they find their own footing and identity, and right now some are in the "my parents can't tell me anything" mode, including acting out and even running away from home, and loudly proclaiming, "You're not the boss of me" when no one is trying to boss them.
The church is in this for the long haul, and these hiccups will happen.
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