The Rev. Caroline Hall Speaks Out ..............

Suffer the little children to come unto me (but make sure their parents are straight)

By

The Rev Caroline Hall

There has always been a problem with Lambeth 1998 Resolution 1.10 wherever you stand on the spectrum of Anglican belief. The part which most bothers LGBT Anglicans and their allies states that 'homosexual acts" are "incompatible with scripture". I'm not sure which part MOST bothers conservatives, whether it's "We commit ourselves to listen to the experience of homosexual persons, and we wish to assure them that they are loved by God", or the call "to minister pastorally and sensitively to all

irrespective of sexual orientation."

The latter is obviously a stumbling block for former Episcopalians in Bedford, Texas where a school affiliated with ACNA turned away a four year old because she has two Moms!! "The canons of our church take a traditional stand on Christian marriage," St. Vincent's School chaplain Randall Foster said. "We didn't want to send the tacit message that we endorse the relationship. We cannot do anything that would give legitimacy to same-sex relationships." (read the article here) "St. Vincent's School as a ministry of St. Vincent's Cathedral upholds the clear teaching of the Christian faith, the Holy Bible, and the Anglican Church in North America," the Rev. Ryan Reed, dean of St. Vincent's Cathedral School, told CNN.

Integrity member Katie Sherrod, Communications Director of the Episcopal Diocese of Fort Worth has been doing some fancy footwork to help the press understand that even though the school has a sign saying that it's Episcopal and is using Episcopal property it is actually part of the province of the Southern Cone. For more details of the accreditation complications see Episcopal Cafe.

There is no way that turning away a four-year old because her parents are two legally married (in Canada) lesbians can be considered ministering '"pastorally and sensitively to all irrespective of sexual orientation." It's blatant discrimination. Can these people be members of the same group of churches who are saying that in order to be in communion we all need to sign the proposed Covenant AND uphold Resolution 1.10?

I guess they must be reading a different version of Resolution 1.10.

(Thanks to Thinking Anglicans for their coverage of this bizarre incident.)

The Rev. Caroline Hall is the former Vice President of International Affairs for Integrity USA and is the Priest-in-Charge at St. Benedict's Episcopal Church, Los Osos, California. She is a frequent contributor to Walking With Integrity.