This is an article from
Theology Wales:
the Church and Homosexuality
Full contents:
Guest Editor's Introduction
- Rev Jenny Wigley
Presidential Address
- Archbishop Barry Morgan
Same-sex relationships
- Bishop Richard Harries
The freeing of Anglican identities - Rev Dr Lorraine Cavanagh
Facing up to our differences
- Rev Jean Mayland
Same-sex unions
- Rev Dr Will Strange
Homosexuality - the biblical evidence
- Rev Prof DP Davies
Engaging with the scriptures
- Canon Robert Paterson
A view from the pews
- Tim Heywood
guest editor's introduction
Rev Jenny Wigley
The Guest Editor for this special edition of Theology Wales is Rev Jenny Wigley.
Jenny is a vicar in the parish of Central Cardiff, andDeputy Director of the South Wales Ordination Course. In addition to parish ministry, Jenny has worked in University Chaplaincy and taught at St Michael's College, Llandaff. She is married to Steve, a Methodist minister, and they have twin sons age 10.
The Background
Sometimes it feels as if it is easier to answer a question about what divides Anglicans from one another than what keeps us together. Over the years, dire warnings have been issued that we are on the brink of schism over one issue or another - most recently, the divisions have centred on homosexuality. Should people of homosexual orientation be ordained? Should they be ordained if they are in sexually active relationships? Should the Church offer a rite of blessing for same-sex partnerships? Reports have been produced, Bishops and Primates have conferred, but the disagreements over these issues are far from being resolved.
Worldwide, there have been a number of triggers which have heightened the tensions within the Anglican Communion. A diocese of the Anglican Church in Canada authorised a liturgy for the blessing of same-sex relationships; Gene Robinson, an openly gay man living with a partner, was consecrated as a Bishop in the Episcopal Church of the United States. Nearer home, the nomination of Jeffrey John (gay and celibate) as Bishop of Reading caused such a furore that the Archbishop of Canterbury persuaded him to withdraw his acceptance of the nomination (Canon John has since been appointed Dean of St Albans).
Here in the UK, the secular press has continued to run stories about rich evangelical parishes withdrawing financial support for the Church of England, and of clergy and PCCs refusing to recognise the authority of "liberal" bishops.The will he/won't he saga of Jeffrey John was another headline-writer's gift.The Church was portrayed as being at war with itself, and at odds with (western) society's tolerance of homosexuality.
The Anglican Communion
The statement of the 1998 Lambeth Conference affirmed heterosexual marriage or sexual abstinence as the only choices for Christians; homosexual practice was declared to be incompatible with scripture. But the statement also committed the bishops to listening to the experience of homosexual persons, and called on people to "minister pastorally and sensitively to all irrespective of sexual orientation". 1
After the Conference, 187 bishops signed a pastoral statement in which they expressed their concern that gay and lesbian voices had not been adequately heard; they pledged to continue to reflect, pray and work for the full inclusion of homosexual Christians in the life of the Church.
In October 2003, following a meeting of the Primates of the Anglican Communion, the Archbishop of Canterbury announced the setting up of a Commission chaired by Archbishop Robin Eames, to examine possible ways forward in situations where individual Provinces may feel a unable to maintain full communion with one another. The Commission is scheduled to report in autumn 2004. Its membership includes Professor Norman Doe, of Cardiff University, and the Archbishop of Wales.
The Debate in the Church in Wales
These controversies, conferences and commissions form the larger context reflected by this special edition of Theology Wales. Its publication was prompted by a debate at the meeting of the Governing Body in September 2003.At that meeting, the GB asked the Bench of Bishops to prepare a study guide on issues related to human sexuality and the Church, for discussion across the Province.
Taking its cue from the GB's desire to avoid any further polarisation of views, the collection of articles in this journal sets out to represent the thinking of individuals with particular areas of expertise and experience, who have been asked to share some of that with the wider Church. It is by engaging in a process of reflection, rather than by responding to their particular conclusions, which will be of most value. For that reason, the articles are interspersed with questions, some appropriate for individuals, others for groups to use.The aim is for us all to go a little deeper, to understand better both our own positions and those with which we may profoundly disagree, and to engage in what the Bishop of Oxford refers to as "interpretative charity".
Archbishop Barry's Presidential Address to the September 2003 Governing Body opens this edition of Theology Wales. He reminds us of something that lies at the heart of the Gospel - God's selfless attention to us, which demands our selfless attention to others. Also included is an article by the Bishop of Oxford who looks at what broadly informs our judgement on issues of sexuality - scripture, science, culture, and the statements of the Anglican Communion and the C of E itself.
Listening to one another is what underpins the article by Lorraine Cavanagh, as she explores the dynamic of interpersonal exchange, and the narrative of identity. It is also central to Jean Mayland's reflection on a conference she convened in 2002, to enable the churches in the four nations to come together to discuss issues of human sexuality.Those days together resulted not in greater understanding but in hurt and disappointment for many of the participants, which is a salutary warning for us all that even the most carefully planned and facilitated encounters do not guarantee "interpretive charity".
Will Strange asks us to examine the way in which we go about making our moral choices; what is the value of experience/self description over against an objective standard for matters of truth and ethics?
Two articles look at the Biblical material in detail. DP Davies examines the core texts and particularly the letters of Paul, exploring how particular passages might have been first heard, and then how we might be able to listen to them today. Robert Paterson comes at those texts from a different perspective, to enable us to explore our attitudes to scripture more broadly before tackling those which deal specifically with homosexual practice.
Finally, Tim Heywood offers his testimony, as someone for whom his own homosexuality is a "given" not something which he feels the need to justify. He is given the final word in this collection, reminding us that gay and lesbian Christians are to be found in all our churches, though many choose not to be open about their sexuality.
Other resources
Of the many publications on this subject, there are three that I have found particularly helpful in extending my own awareness of the issues. Walter Wink's Homosexuality and Christian Faith 2 is a collection of short essays, including a piece I found extremely moving by Bishop Paul Wennes Egerton (a Lutheran) on his family's response to the news that his eldest son was gay.
Another collection of helpful essays is The Way Forward? 3 , edited by Timothy Bradshaw; it includes contributions from different sides of the debate.
Finally I would recommend the WCC publication Living in Covenant with God and One Another, 4 by Robin Smith, which is a wide ranging study of sexuality and human relations using the statements of the different churches as tools for group discussion. Although it was published in 1990, and some aspects of the debate have moved on, this does not detract from its creative approach to enabling reflection and discussion.
Major pieces of work on homosexuality have been undertaken by our sister churches in England and Scotland, and several of our contributors refer to two reports from the Church of England.The first of these is the Statement by the House of Bishops published in 1991 Issues in Human Sexuality. 5 Under 50 pages long, and admitting that it could not pretend to be the last word on the subject, its stated intention was to promote an educational process.
In 2003, the house of Bishops produced a new report, with the confusingly similar title of Some Issues in Human Sexuality. 6 This is a comprehensive scholarly study, looking not just at homosexuality, but also issues of bisexuality and transsexualism. After a chapter on the background to/nature of the current debate, there is a detailed look at the biblical and theological issues surrounding sexuality in general, and homosexuality in particular, drawing on a range of contemporary scholarship. There are shorter sections on bisexuality and transsexualism followed by a chapter looking at homosexuals, bisexuals and transsexuals in the life of the church. The final chapter explores the ways in which different churches have handled recent controversies over sexual ethics.
Some Issues. is not an easy read, but it does offer a range of standpoints and theological opinion.There is a detailed bibliography for each chapter, a good starting point for those wishing to delve more deeply into particular aspects of the debate. The Archbishop's Council published A Companion to Some issues in Human Sexuality 7 as a guide to help individuals and groups use the report. It contains a brief summary of each chapter, followed by questions.
The Episcopal Church of Scotland has also produced material to promote discussion of issues of sexuality - Human sexuality: a Study Guide , published in 2001. 8 This is available over the internet with permission to print/photocopy. It looks at the authority of scripture and at the main biblical texts and explores the sexuality of Jesus. It also covers a number of issues in human relationships, Christian ethics, insights from genetics and the social sciences.While it doesn't offer anything like the range of theological perspectives of Some Issues ., its broad based, open ended questions are very helpful in putting the narrow debate (on homosexuality) into a wider context.
Commenting on responses to the Study Guide, the Bishops of the Church of Scotland said "in this area, the church is called to set an example to the world as to how debate on matters involving deep disagreement and sincerely held convictions could be conducted". 9 The aim of this special edition of Theology Wales is to enable the Church in Wales to play a part in that exemplary process.
1 The Official Report of the Lambeth Conference 1998 Morehouse Publishing 1999, P381
2 Wink,W (ed) Homosexuality and Christian Faith: questions of conscience for the churches Fortress Press Minneapolis 1999
3 Bradshaw,T. (ed) The Way Forward? Christian Voices on Homosexuality and the Church 2nd edition SCM 2003
4 Smith, R. Living in Covenant with God and One Another: a guide to the study of Sexuality and Human Relations using statements from member churches of the World Council of Churches WCC 1990
5 Issues in Human Sexuality Church House Publishing 1991
6 Some Issues in Human Sexuality Church House Publishing 2003
7 Cox, J. & Davie, M. A Companion to Some Issues in Human Sexuality Church House Publishing 2003
8 Human Sexuality: a study guide www.scotland.anglican.org/humansexuality
9 Statement by the College of Bishops of the Episcopal Church of Scotland February 2004