28 July 2008LGBT ANGLICANS BACK ON CHOPPING BLOCK
CANTERBURY, UK—The Rev. Susan Russell, President of Integrity USA, issued the following statement after today's release of Part Three of the Windsor Continuation Group's Preliminary Observations:
"LGBT Anglicans are back on the chopping block based on the work of the Windsor Continuation Group. While we recognize that this is a long-term process, sadly, what was continued today was the process of institutionalizing bigotry and marginalizing the LGBT baptized. Acceptance of these recommendations would result in de facto sacramental apartheid.
"We applaud the strong testimony in today's hearings from TEC bishops who are committed to be pastoral to all the sheep in their flock, not just the straight ones. We call on them to take that witness to their Indaba groups. We ask them to remember the 1976 commitment of the Episcopal Church to 'full and equal claim with all other persons upon the love, acceptance, and pastoral concern and care of the Church' for the LGBT baptized.
"It is a sad thing indeed that the message today's report sends out from the Anglican Communion to the world is that homosexuals getting married in California are of more concern to the church than are homosexuals being mugged in Nigeria.
"As Integrity continues to offer our witness here at Lambeth Conference, we demonstrate our deep commitment to our ongoing relationship with the rest of the global Anglican Communion. At the same time, we will witness to our conviction that the vocations and relationships of the LGBT baptized are not for sale as bargaining chips in this game of global Anglican politics. At the end of the day, too high a price to pay for institutional unity."
The Rev. Susan Russell is available for interviews and comment.
Press contact in the UK:
--Louise Brooks, Senior Press Officer, +44 (0)7503 695 579, tvprod@earthlink.net
Press contact in the USA:
--Jan Adams, Field Organizer, +1-415-378-2050, jan@integrityusa.org
""It is a sad thing indeed that the message today's report sends out from the Anglican Communion to the world is that homosexuals getting married in California are of more concern to the church than are homosexuals being mugged in Nigeria"
ReplyDeleteWell, one of them happens in a 'Church' with the blessing of the same, and the other doesn't.
Discipline within the church would prevent the one, but most certainly would the other.
The sad thing is, the PECUSA has unrepentant sinners pretending to be Bishops.