The
bishops decided, Alexander said, that they should communicate their own
dividedness on the issue in advance of the next meeting of CoGS,
scheduled March 10-13, because “in many ways the House of Bishops is a
microcosm of the church, so it’s not just us who were feeling ripped in a
whole lot of different directions about it, but it’s going to be the
same for everyone who comes to General Synod.”
Sharing their own struggles “might be helpful as they [CoGS members] were thinking about process,” she said.
- See more at: http://www.anglicanjournal.com/articles/-bishops-statement-an-attempt-to-be-forthright-and-honest#sthash.gRMGiEbl.dpuf
The announcement came first in a statement on the 29th of February from the Canadian House of Bishops to the Council of General Synod following the bishop's meeting (Feb 23rd-26th) in Nova Scotia. With respect to a first reading of a revision to the Marriage Canon to be discussed at General Synod in July of this year, it was ascertained, during the bishops' meeting together, that: Sharing their own struggles “might be helpful as they [CoGS members] were thinking about process,” she said.
- See more at: http://www.anglicanjournal.com/articles/-bishops-statement-an-attempt-to-be-forthright-and-honest#sthash.gRMGiEbl.dpuf
...the draft resolution to change the Marriage Canon to accommodate the marriage of same-sex partners is not likely to pass in the Order of Bishops by the canonical requirement of a 2/3rds majority in each Order.The bishops' statement continued on to state:
We continue to wonder whether a legislative procedure is the most helpful way of dealing with these matters.This was followed by an article in the Anglican Journal on the 2nd of March which served as a springboard not only for those variously dismayed or encouraged by the the fact that fewer than 2/3rds of our bishops might vote to pass such a revision but also for those who felt that the process of Synodical discussion was being "torpedoed" by a bishops' straw poll released five months prior to General Synod as well as for some who believed the bishops' statement to be an example of good sense and fair warning.
If the General Synod of the Anglican Church of Canada as a whole proves differently minded from the House of Bishops at the end of a long and honest debate this summer, then the House of Bishops would be faced with a quandary. It will be interesting to see what transpires. It’s not a critical moment which can be palliated ahead of time or felt by degrees or introduced gently in increments. It is in July and not at the end of February that a failure to achieve a 2/3rds majority in the Canadian House of Bishops would need to be demonstrated with opinions revealed and the rationale behind those opinions expressed (in the lead up to the vote) on the floor of Synod by bishops on both sides of the issue along with those caught in the messy muddle in the middle.
This is as it should be.
The
bishops decided, Alexander said, that they should communicate their own
dividedness on the issue in advance of the next meeting of CoGS,
scheduled March 10-13, because “in many ways the House of Bishops is a
microcosm of the church, so it’s not just us who were feeling ripped in a
whole lot of different directions about it, but it’s going to be the
same for everyone who comes to General Synod.”
Sharing their own struggles “might be helpful as they [CoGS members] were thinking about process,” she said.
- See more at: http://www.anglicanjournal.com/articles/-bishops-statement-an-attempt-to-be-forthright-and-honest#sthash.gRMGiEbl.dpuf
Sharing their own struggles “might be helpful as they [CoGS members] were thinking about process,” she said.
- See more at: http://www.anglicanjournal.com/articles/-bishops-statement-an-attempt-to-be-forthright-and-honest#sthash.gRMGiEbl.dpuf
The
bishops decided, Alexander said, that they should communicate their own
dividedness on the issue in advance of the next meeting of CoGS,
scheduled March 10-13, because “in many ways the House of Bishops is a
microcosm of the church, so it’s not just us who were feeling ripped in a
whole lot of different directions about it, but it’s going to be the
same for everyone who comes to General Synod.”
Sharing their own struggles “might be helpful as they [CoGS members] were thinking about process,” she said.
- See more at: http://www.anglicanjournal.com/articles/-bishops-statement-an-attempt-to-be-forthright-and-honest#sthash.gRMGiEbl.dpu
Sharing their own struggles “might be helpful as they [CoGS members] were thinking about process,” she said.
- See more at: http://www.anglicanjournal.com/articles/-bishops-statement-an-attempt-to-be-forthright-and-honest#sthash.gRMGiEbl.dpu
The
bishops decided, Alexander said, that they should communicate their own
dividedness on the issue in advance of the next meeting of CoGS,
scheduled March 10-13, because “in many ways the House of Bishops is a
microcosm of the church, so it’s not just us who were feeling ripped in a
whole lot of different directions about it, but it’s going to be the
same for everyone who comes to General Synod.” - See more at:
http://www.anglicanjournal.com/articles/-bishops-statement-an-attempt-to-be-forthright-and-honest#sthash.gRMGiEbl.dpuf
The
bishops decided, Alexander said, that they should communicate their own
dividedness on the issue in advance of the next meeting of CoGS,
scheduled March 10-13, because “in many ways the House of Bishops is a
microcosm of the church, so it’s not just us who were feeling ripped in a
whole lot of different directions about it, but it’s going to be the
same for everyone who comes to General Synod.”
Sharing their own struggles “might be helpful as they [CoGS members] were thinking about process,” she said.
- See more at: http://www.anglicanjournal.com/articles/-bishops-statement-an-attempt-to-be-forthright-and-honest#sthash.gRMGiEbl.dpuf
I was told by one of my undergraduate professors that "in many ways" almost always precedes a statement of dubious or uncertain value. It should really be interpreted to mean "in not very many ways". Bishop Jane Alexander of Edmonton has stated, that "in many ways the House of Bishops is a microcosm of the Church”. This needs to be tested. If it's true then it must be taken for granted that our Bishops will be participants in the synodical process, that they will listen and that they will gather in small groups with priests, deacons and lay people to whom they bear some accountability for their public reasoning. They will navigate points of view which are not their own. They could, potentially, change their minds. In a synodical system the constituent parts do, in fact, speak for the whole in terms of the passage of such a canonical revision. Legislation will not pass unless it passes at every level. At the very least, though, the other two houses must be allowed make up their mind.Sharing their own struggles “might be helpful as they [CoGS members] were thinking about process,” she said.
- See more at: http://www.anglicanjournal.com/articles/-bishops-statement-an-attempt-to-be-forthright-and-honest#sthash.gRMGiEbl.dpuf
I think an expression by the House of Bishops to the CoGS that, as it stands in the context of its closed door meeting at the end of February, a 2/3rds majority should in no way be assumed in July, or is even unlikely, probably constitutes due diligence on its part. I’m glad such a statement was made. It seems a fair "heads up" to those involved in preparing the discussions.
But that’s as far as it goes.
that they should communicate their own dividedness on the issue in
advance of the next meeting of CoGS, - See more at:
http://www.anglicanjournal.com/articles/-bishops-statement-an-attempt-to-be-forthright-and-honest#sthash.gRMGiEbl.dpuf
The statement by the bishops and the follow-up article in the Anglican Journal gave voice to suggestions for something other than a legislative process – something other than the open discussion, the private conversations and the voting by orders which have accompanied every other change in liturgy, doctrinal development and ecclesial practice undertaken by the Anglican Church of Canada. A gulf between the mind of the bishops and the rest of General Synod would be a valuable datum should that prove to be the case in July. As uncomfortable as it might be it would nonetheless be the truth. It would be good to know.
The
bishops decided, Alexander said, that they should communicate their own
dividedness on the issue in advance of the next meeting of CoGS,
scheduled March 10-13, because “in many ways the House of Bishops is a
microcosm of the church, so it’s not just us who were feeling ripped in a
whole lot of different directions about it, but it’s going to be the
same for everyone who comes to General Synod.”
Sharing their own struggles “might be helpful as they [CoGS members] were thinking about process,” she said.
- See more at: http://www.anglicanjournal.com/articles/-bishops-statement-an-attempt-to-be-forthright-and-honest#sthash.gRMGiEbl.dpuf
Sharing their own struggles “might be helpful as they [CoGS members] were thinking about process,” she said.
- See more at: http://www.anglicanjournal.com/articles/-bishops-statement-an-attempt-to-be-forthright-and-honest#sthash.gRMGiEbl.dpuf