Showing posts with label gay clergy. Show all posts
Showing posts with label gay clergy. Show all posts
Saturday, August 29, 2009
THE GUARDIAN: Gene Robinson chides Archbishop of Canterbury for talk of two-tier Anglican communion
The first openly gay bishop in the Anglican communion has launched an outspoken attack on the Church of England and the Archbishop of Canterbury, Rowan Williams.
In an exclusive interview with the Guardian, Gene Robinson, the Episcopalian bishop of New Hampshire, criticised the policy of the Church of England towards gay and lesbian clergy. Alluding to the significant number of clergy who are gay, he said: "I think gay clergy in the Church of England are thought of as a problem to be solved or at least lived with, rather than a gift from God."
Robinson, who is in Britain to speak at the Greenbelt festival at Cheltenham Racecourse this weekend, added that he could not accept the archbishop's recent comments that if the Episcopal church refused to uphold the current moratorium on consecrating actively gay bishops or blessing civil unions, the communion might have to be reorganised into a two-tier, or "two-track" model. "I can't imagine anything that would be more abhorrent to Jesus than a two-tier church," he said. "Either we are children of God and brothers and sisters in Christ, or we aren't. There are not preferred children and second-class children. There are just children of God." >>> Aida Edemariam | Friday, August 28, 2009
Monday, July 27, 2009
THE TELEGRAPH: Dr Rowan Williams, the Archbishop of Canterbury, has admitted the Anglican Communion may divide into a “two-track” church due to deep divisions over the ordination of homosexual clergy.
Dr Williams acknowledged for the first time that believers may have to accept "two styles of being Anglican" in order to avoid schism.
The decision by Episcopal bishops in the US earlier this month to press ahead with the ordination of homosexual priests and bishops – effectively overturning a ban on the practice – has pushed the 80 million-strong global church to the brink of an irrevocable split.
Traditionalists in the US and Canada have already formed a rival province to the Episcopal church to resist against the liberal tide.
Dr Williams appeared to accept that his efforts to preserve the unity of the communion had failed as he sketched a new Anglican structure that would allow local churches to loosen their ties with the main church body.
"This has been called a 'two-tier' model, or, more disparagingly, a first- and second-class structure. But perhaps we are faced rather with the possibility of the two-track model, two ways of witnessing to the Anglican heritage," he wrote.
"It helps to be clear about these possible futures, however much we think them less than ideal, and to speak about them not in apocalyptic terms of schism and excommunication but plainly as what they are – two styles of being Anglican." >>> Matthew Moore | Monday, July 27, 2009
Saturday, May 23, 2009
BBC: About 20 people have staged a demonstration outside the General Assembly meeting which is due to debate the appointment of a gay minister.
The protest, at The Mound in Edinburgh, was led by Pastor Jack Bell of the Zion Baptist Church in Glasgow.
The Reverend Scott Rennie was backed by a majority of the congregation and the local presbytery as the new minister at Queen's Cross Church, Aberdeen.
But some have since said they were unaware of Mr Rennie's sexuality.
The matter was referred to the General Assembly, the church's supreme court and will be debated on Saturday evening.
Mr Rennie, a 36-year-old divorced father-of-one, was previously a minister at Brechin Cathedral.
He has said he was open with the congregation at Queen's Cross about being gay and living with his male partner.
But more than 400 Kirk ministers and almost 5,000 Church of Scotland members are said to have signed an online petition opposing the appointment. >>> | Saturday, May 23, 2009
Listen to BBC audio: Reverends Ewen Gilchrist and David Randall discuss opposition to gay minister Scott Rennie’s appointment: The Church of Scotland is to decide whether gay minister Scott Rennie will be allowed to take up his post following a petition opposing his appointment from evangelical church members. The Reverend Ewen Gilchrist, who has been standing in for Mr Rennie ahead of his appointment, discusses the case with The Reverend David Randall. >>>
ASSOCIATED PRESS: Church of Scotland Votes to Appoint Gay Minister
LONDON — The Church of Scotland has voted in favor of appointing an openly gay minister — the latest case involving sexuality to create a division in the Anglican Communion.
The church's ruling body voted 326 to 267 Saturday to support the appointment of the Rev. Scott Rennie, 37, who was previously married to a woman and is now in a relationship with a man.
Rennie was first appointed as a minister 10 years ago, but has faced opposition from some critics since he moved to a church in Aberdeen, Scotland, last year.
Protesters had lobbied the Kirk — the Church of Scotland's ruling executive — over Rennie's case, saying his appointment was not consistent with the teachings of the Bible.
"We are absolutely opposed to that on the basis of what God has to say about homosexuality in the Bible," one opponent, Pastor Jack Bell of the Zion Baptist Church in Glasgow, Scotland, said.
The case has divided Scottish religious leaders and follows tensions within the worldwide 77 million-member Anglican Communion. About 900 elders and ministers took part in a debate on Rennie's case, but many chose to abstain from casting a vote. >>> Copyright © 2009 The Associated Press | Sunday, May 24, 2009
Wednesday, May 13, 2009
TIMESONLINE: The Church of Scotland is moving towards a schism after one of its ministers compared an increasingly determined campaign against gay clergymen to the war against the Nazis.
The Rev Ian Watson railed against homosexual lifestyles, declaring that such people would not “inherit the kingdom of God” in a sermon that religious leaders and politicians condemned as deeply disturbing.
Mr Watson is a prominent opponent of Scott Rennie, an openly gay minister whose appointment to a parish church last year has caused divisions. Mr Rennie, a divorced father of one, lives with his partner, David, and has the support of his Aberdeen Presbytery. The Church of Scotland is due to debate his appointment at its General Assembly next week after a petition was signed by almost a third of ministers pushing for all gays to be banned from the pulpit.
A motion has been lodged urging the Church not to “train, ordain, admit, readmit, induct or introduce to any ministry of the church anyone involved in a sexual relationship outside of marriage between a man and woman”. >>> Mike Wade | Wednesday, May 13, 2009
Tuesday, June 17, 2008
THE GUARDIAN: The Church of England faces a tense summer as it wrestles with the divisive issues of women bishops and gay clergy, a senior official said yesterday.
William Fittall, the secretary general of the general synod, the church's legislative body and national assembly, said a combination of public debates, a breakaway Anglican conference and the clash between conservatives and liberals was giving Christians cause for concern.
"There is no doubt that we are at an unsettled moment in the Church of England," said Fittall. "This was always going to be a big summer. [The] Lambeth [conference of bishops] is a big event in the wider communion and the fact that it is considering women bishops goes to the heart of what kind of church we want to be. The weekend's story has caused further anxiety on the part of many."
He was responding to the Bishop of London's decision to order an investigation into the "marriage" last month between two gay priests, the Rev Peter Cowell and the Rev David Lord, who exchanged rings and vows at St Bartholomew the Great church in the City of London.
A statement issued by the bishop of London, the Right Rev Richard Chartres, said services of public blessings for civil partnerships were not authorised. Church Leaders Fear Summer of Strife over Women and Gay Clergy: Conservatives threaten to split from communion as decisive conference looms >>> By Riazat Butt, religious affairs correspondent | June 17, 2008
The Dawning of a New Dark Age – Dust Jacket Hardcover, direct from the publishers
The Dawning of a New Dark Age –Paperback, direct from the publishers
Sunday, June 15, 2008
BBC: Two gay clergymen have had their partnership blessed in a church.
The Reverend Martin Dudley gave the rites at St Bartholomew the Great Church in the City of London for the Reverend Peter Cowell and the Reverend Dr David Lord.
He told the BBC that there is a 'very large number' of gay people and gay clergy in the Church of England. [Source: Vicar: 'No Regrets' on Gay Vows] | June 15, 2008
THE SUNDAY TELEGRAPH: An Anglican church has held a homosexual "wedding" for the first time in a move that will deepen the rift between liberals and traditionalists, The Sunday Telegraph can disclose.
Two male priests exchanged vows and rings in a ceremony that was conducted using one of the church's most traditional wedding rites – a decision seen as blasphemous by conservatives.
The ceremony broke Church of England guidelines and was carried out last month in defiance of the Bishop of London, in whose diocese it took place. News of the "wedding" emerged days before a crucial summit of the Anglican Church's conservative bishops and archbishops, who are threatening to split the worldwide Church over the issue of homosexual clergy.
Although some liberal clergy have carried out "blessing ceremonies" for homosexual couples in the past, this is the first time a vicar has performed a "wedding ceremony", using a traditional marriage liturgy, with readings, hymns and a Eucharist.
Both the conservative and liberal wings of the Anglican communion expressed shock last night. Male Priests Marry in Anglican Church's First Gay 'Wedding' >>> By Jonathan Wynne-Jones, Religious Affairs Correspondent | June 15, 2008
The Dawning of a New Dark Age (Paperback - UK)
The Dawning of a New Dark Age (Hardback - UK)
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)