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Open letter from clergy in the Diocese of BC
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An open letter to the Metropolitan of the Province of B.C. and Yukon, To the Bishop of the Diocese of B.C., and General Synod delegates from the Diocese of B.C.
June 8, 2007
Grace and peace to you in the Name of Jesus Christ, our risen Lord.
We are writing as concerned members of the clergy of the Diocese of British Columbia, part of the One, Holy, Catholic and Apostolic Church. We are united in our commitment to the authority of Holy Scripture, and our desire to see the Anglican Church of Canada submit itself to the Lordship of Jesus Christ in every area of its life. We are writing in response to the proposed motions* to be debated and voted upon at the General Synod 2007 of the Anglican Church of Canada.
• We are concerned, as are others who have written on this issue, that these motions will lead to our exclusion from the worldwide Anglican Communion, and from our place within the One, Holy, Catholic and Apostolic Church. Through faith and baptism we are indeed members one of another in Christ Jesus, not only with Canadian Anglicans but with members of the Anglican Communion, and with all baptized Christians throughout the world. We desire to remain in communion with our fellow Anglicans around the world, and to preserve and strengthen that fellowship which we share with our fellow Christians of other denominations. We believe that proceeding with the blessing of same sex unions will serve to further impair that communion and fellowship.
• We are concerned that "local option" will reduce God's Word from commandment to mere "suggestion." How can we honestly proclaim God's Word as truth, when the Anglican Church down the street, or in the next community, proclaims the opposite as truth? Our ministry would be one of contradiction, and our house would be divided.
• We believe Christian love calls all humanity to the standard of sexual fidelity within marriage, and sexual abstinence in all other situations. We believe this standard is true for all people irrespective of sexual orientation, or marital status.
• We believe that we are all made in the image and likeness of God and the church has an obligation to provide pastoral care for all persons. That care must, however, conform to the Apostolic teaching of the New Testament. Through faith in Christ, we all have the hope of transformation into His likeness.
• We believe that Holy Scripture speaks with one consistent voice on the divine initiative of human sexuality in terms of male and female, and that the fall resulted in a distortion of that divine initiative.
• We believe the Holy Spirit guides us into all truth, and that truth will be consonant with the revealed teachings of Holy Scripture. We do not accept a "prophetic call" which would reject those teachings related to sexual relationships outside of a monogamous heterosexual marriage.
• We believe Christian love calls us to recognize our personal sinfulness, and to repent, turning to Jesus Christ. Jesus told the woman caught in adultery, "...neither do I condemn you," ... "Go now and leave your life of sin." Jesus calls us to turn all areas of our life over to his control, no less than our sexual desires.
• We recognise the need for many Christians and churches to repent for the way that homosexuals have been treated in the past. We desire to be a community of Christ, directing people to the unconditional love of God who requires us to recognize our own sinfulness, and our need to be transformed through Jesus Christ by the power of the Holy Spirit.
As you gather at General Synod, be assured of our constant prayers.
Yours Faithfully in Christ
The Rev'd Ron Corcoran, St Matthias, Victoria
Fr George Daley, St John the Divine, Courtenay
The Rev'd Mark Davison, Brentwood Memorial Chapel
The Rev'd Glyn Easson, St John the Baptist, Duncan
The Rev'd Canon Andrew Gates, St Paul, Esquimalt
The Ven. Sharon Hayton, St Mary of the Incarnation, Metchosin
The Rev'd Andrew Hewlett, St Mary of the Incarnation, Metchosin
The Rev'd Jim Lyster, St Peter, Comox
The Rev'd Charles Massey, St Peter, Comox
The Rev'd Rodney May, St Matthias, Victoria
The Rev'd Kyle Norman, St Philip, Cedar
The Rev'd Rick Root, St Andrew, Sidney
The Rev'd Nigel Tully, St Peter, Lakehill
Capt. Rick Sandberg (Church Army)
Fr Brian Kirby (on leave)
The Rev'd Graham Bradshaw (Ret'd)
The Rev'd David Brown (Ret'd)
The Rt. Rev'd John Frame (Ret'd)
The Rev'd Canon David Fuller (Ret'd)
The Rev'd Dr. David Gifford-Cole (Ret'd)
The Most Rev'd Reginald Hollis (Ret'd)
Fr. Lars Olsson (Ret'd)
The Rev'd Dr. Michael Pountney (Ret'd)
The Rev'd Harry Silvester (Ret'd)
The Rev'd Glenn Sim (Ret'd)
The Rev'd Chris Stoker (Ret'd)
The Rev'd Joy Vernon (Ret'd)
The Rev'd Michael Wearne (Ret'd)
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