Remarks by
Rev. Nancy L. Wilson
Office of the Moderator
Metropolitan Community Churches
July 16, 2007
On Sunday, June 24, 2007, the Anglican Church of Canada, acting as an independent province of the worldwide Anglican Communion, attempted to straddle an impossible fence: the divide between acceptance and action.
In consecutive votes that both affirmed the compatibility of same-sex blessings with "core doctrine" and denied priests and parishes the freedom to offer such blessings, the House of Bishops sent a clear message not about LGBT relationships but about their own unwillingness to fully honor their call as both prophets and pastors.
Whether we see marriage equality as the "civil rights battle" of our time or only a piece of a much more encompassing struggle for human equality, the Church Universal has a responsibility to lead the way in dismantling social prejudice, not upholding it. Many believe the Anglican Bishops who countermanded the supportive majority votes in both the lay and clergy houses, did so out of the fear of losing communion with churches in Latin America and Africa.
I am reminded of St. John's counsel: Perfect love casts out all fear. We cannot save our relationships with one another by acting on our fears of loss. Only by calling one another to accountability for the love we share in Christ, will our ties and affinities be strengthened.
As the leader of a worldwide communion that serves people of diverse cultural and ethnic backgrounds, I am compelled to address the racism that allows us to pit the Northern Hemisphere against the Southern, people of European descent against those of African or Latin descent, as justification for inequality, hatred, or violence. There are many, many people of African, Latin and European descent, to name a few, whose voices are represented by Metropolitan Community Churches, and who believe passionately in human equality within the Church and beyond its borders. There are many, many people of diverse heritages who have made tremendous sacrifices and taken great personal and professional risks to call for and ensure human solidarity and equality.
As denominational leaders, our common responsibility is to provide pastoral care for the people we serve as well as to lead our communities with prophetic vision and courage. While no one of us fulfills that call perfectly, love is our common calling. In service to that call, I ask that believers of all Christian traditions join in praying for courage for all people in leadership, that we might bridge the gap between acceptance and action in pursuit of the day when all our lives, and our many families, and our diverse ways of loving are acknowledged as equally holy and equally blessed in the eyes of God.
/signed/
+Nancy
Rev. Nancy L. Wilson
Moderator
Metropolitan Community Churches
This statement prepared in conjunction with MCC's Global Justice Team, Rev. Pat Bumgardner, Chair.
Rev. Nancy L. Wilson
Office of the Moderator
Metropolitan Community Churches
July 16, 2007
On Sunday, June 24, 2007, the Anglican Church of Canada, acting as an independent province of the worldwide Anglican Communion, attempted to straddle an impossible fence: the divide between acceptance and action.
In consecutive votes that both affirmed the compatibility of same-sex blessings with "core doctrine" and denied priests and parishes the freedom to offer such blessings, the House of Bishops sent a clear message not about LGBT relationships but about their own unwillingness to fully honor their call as both prophets and pastors.
Whether we see marriage equality as the "civil rights battle" of our time or only a piece of a much more encompassing struggle for human equality, the Church Universal has a responsibility to lead the way in dismantling social prejudice, not upholding it. Many believe the Anglican Bishops who countermanded the supportive majority votes in both the lay and clergy houses, did so out of the fear of losing communion with churches in Latin America and Africa.
I am reminded of St. John's counsel: Perfect love casts out all fear. We cannot save our relationships with one another by acting on our fears of loss. Only by calling one another to accountability for the love we share in Christ, will our ties and affinities be strengthened.
As the leader of a worldwide communion that serves people of diverse cultural and ethnic backgrounds, I am compelled to address the racism that allows us to pit the Northern Hemisphere against the Southern, people of European descent against those of African or Latin descent, as justification for inequality, hatred, or violence. There are many, many people of African, Latin and European descent, to name a few, whose voices are represented by Metropolitan Community Churches, and who believe passionately in human equality within the Church and beyond its borders. There are many, many people of diverse heritages who have made tremendous sacrifices and taken great personal and professional risks to call for and ensure human solidarity and equality.
As denominational leaders, our common responsibility is to provide pastoral care for the people we serve as well as to lead our communities with prophetic vision and courage. While no one of us fulfills that call perfectly, love is our common calling. In service to that call, I ask that believers of all Christian traditions join in praying for courage for all people in leadership, that we might bridge the gap between acceptance and action in pursuit of the day when all our lives, and our many families, and our diverse ways of loving are acknowledged as equally holy and equally blessed in the eyes of God.
/signed/
+Nancy
Rev. Nancy L. Wilson
Moderator
Metropolitan Community Churches
This statement prepared in conjunction with MCC's Global Justice Team, Rev. Pat Bumgardner, Chair.
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