Episcopal Press and News
General Convention Hopes to Resolve Sexuality Issues -- or at Least Learn to Discuss Them Better
Episcopal News Service. June 15, 1994 [94119]
James H. Thrall, Communications Officer for the Episcopal Diocese of Connecticut and president of Episcopal Communicators
In questionnaires filled out by local Episcopal study groups that met throughout the church to discuss human sexuality, 95.9 percent of the respondents agreed that "human sexuality is a gift from God and it is good."
Opinion might be far more mixed, however, over whether debate on the topic of sexuality has always been God's gift to the Episcopal Church's General Conventions.
In past conventions, contentious issues touching on sexuality, particularly the question of ordaining non-celibate homosexuals or blessing same-sex unions, have occupied large amounts of legislative time and generated more heat than light. While some have welcomed the opportunities for the national body to discuss a crucial topic, others have been frustrated that the discussions have reached no clear resolutions while stealing energy away from other concerns.
With the approach of the next General Convention in Indianapolis, August 24-September 2, efforts are under way this time to curb debate in favor of dialogue.
Central to the discussion in Indianapolis will be a pastoral teaching on human sexuality that will be presented at the opening session at the House of Bishops. Like the local study groups, the teaching was mandated by the hotly debated Resolution A104s/a, the compromise position on sexuality hammered out at the 1991 General Convention in Phoenix.
The contents of the 70-page document, titled "Continuing the Dialogue: A Pastoral Teaching of the House of Bishops to the Church as the Church Considers Issues of Human Sexuality," have been embargoed until convention opens, but interviews with members of the drafting committee suggest that it will take a basically centrist approach necessary to win passage from bishops holding widely divergent views.
"It will be a document that most of the House of Bishops will be able to accept," and one that should "be helpful to the church," said the Rev. Barnum McCarty of the Diocese of Florida, one of six members of the House of Deputies included in the teaching's drafting committee.
"I think it's a pretty good piece of work with a good chance at passage," said Bishop Richard F. Grein of New York, chair of the drafting committee. "But we're not going to get everyone to sign on."
There might even be a minority report from some bishops, which Grein thinks could be a positive addition if it helps "keep the church talking."
Such a minority report is more likely to come from conservative members of the house, said the Rev. Jane Garrett of Vermont, another deputy included on the drafting committee. She warned, "It is not a definitive document. There is no way it could be," especially since the drafting committee itself represented the "whole spectrum of belief and opinion on the subject, and when you put those people together, you don't get a definitive document."
At the same time, Garrett said, "We hung in together," and the document "moves us forward because it provides a model for continuing to dialogue and to live with the questions."
Episcopalians United, an organization that has opposed what it contends is the liberalization of the Church's teaching on homosexuality, is "very concerned that this whole thing has been done in secret," said Roger Bolts, associate director.
Widespread comment should have been sought instead of "this top-secret, closed session kind of thing," Bolts said. Because the teaching "will be sprung on people at convention... no one will have time to digest it before a whole parade of resolutions come up," he said.
Bolt is concerned that the pastoral may support "local option" on some issues such as the blessing of same-sex unions, so that "it's up to the bishops in each diocese to do whatever they want." He noted, "That's the indication that we get from the bishops who talk to us, that it's ready to acknowledge the homosexual lifestyle as an alternative lifestyle that the church needs to recognize."
But E. Kim Byham, publisher of The Voice of Integrity, the publication of Integrity, an organization of gay and lesbian Episcopalians, downplayed any concerns conservatives might have. From what he knows of the early drafts of the teaching, Byham said, "I certainly wouldn't call it prophetic by any means."
Plans are for the House of Bishops to vote on the teaching at its first session as General Convention opens, then present it in a shared session with the House of Deputies.
The bishops have had two opportunities to review the text in small groups at their meetings in Panama and Kanuga, and another opportunity to comment as individuals on the text, Grein said. Then the draft received comments from scholars and theologians. A final draft of the letter was sent to the bishops for their final review in mid-June.
If approved, the pastoral teaching could deflect at least some of the legislative activity on sexuality that has occupied past conventions.
Within the House of Bishops, "there is a hope that there will be no resolutions on human sexuality entertained at this convention," beyond a call to study the bishops' teaching, said Bishop O'Kelley Whitaker, retired bishop of Central New York and assistant bishop in Southern Virginia. He was convener of the steering committee overseeing the diocesan-level study groups on human sexuality. Legislation, he said, is simply not the best way to address issues of sexuality.
While there has been no official position by the bishops, "I think there is a kind of general understanding that if we pass the pastoral and then pass resolutions that go against that teaching, that would be ridiculous," said Bishop Edward L. Salmon, Jr., of the Diocese of South Carolina. "That's what I think is in the wind."
Salmon is vice-chair of the Standing Commission on Human Affairs, which has spent the three years since the last convention preparing a report that discusses the inclusion of youth, the elderly, but also homosexual members of the church.
Already a general call for fewer resolutions at this convention has limited the number submitted about sexuality. Still, resolutions offered by various dioceses which will have Integrity's support call for liturgical forms to be developed for the blessing of same-sex unions, for opening access to the ordination process to non-celibate homosexuals, for the expansion of federal civil rights to cover sexual orientation, and for educational materials to be prepared for gay and lesbian youth struggling with their sexual orientation and for their parents.
Feeding into the bishops' teaching and presumably all the discussion at General Convention are the results of more than 15,000 questionnaires completed primarily by lay people in nearly 80 percent of the dioceses who participated in local study groups on human sexuality. Extrapolating from the number of questionnaires completed, as many as 30,000 people may have participated in the study, Whitaker said.
While too small a sample to be seen as representative of the views of the entire church, the results are clearly "what a very large number of persons believe and express who have had an opportunity to participate in these dialogues, to read the material made available to them, and to complete the questionnaires," the report states.
As such, the results show a surprising openness on some of the more disputed issues of sexuality. Nearly 65 percent, for example, agreed that it is possible to be a faithful Christian and sexually active as a gay or lesbian, and more than 80 percent said "homosexuality is a genuine sexual orientation for some people."
An overwhelming 98 percent agreed that it is possible to be a faithful Christian and be divorced, while more than 70 percent said people living with persons of the opposite sex without marriage could be faithful Christians.
At the same time, respondents were more evenly split on whether "single people should abstain from genital sexual relations," with a slight majority (48.9 percent) saying that they should abstain. Nearly two-thirds called short-term sexual relationships unacceptable, and more than 90 percent said the church should take an active role in teaching young people about sexual issues.
Bolts, however, called the material used by many of the study groups "indoctrination pieces" that created results that were "dramatically skewed." Where "Scripture was put forth," he said, "it was from a very liberal side of theology. Participation in the study was skewed to parishes that were looking to promote the gay agenda."
Whitaker called the Resolution A104s/a that mandated the study groups "inspired." "What they were calling for is a major shift in the way the church deals with issues," he said. In past conventions, legislation too often prompted "very rough" debate that only polarized people. Hopeful about finding another style to deal with issues, the church is called "to develop new skills -- the skills of dialogue."
The small group gatherings showed that "we are beginning to learn how to talk about this and not to pontificate upon it," Whitaker said. Reports from the groups frequently included such language as "I've developed a new sensitivity for people," or "I understand where people are coming from," he said.
Participants in the study groups also should feel reassured that their views really were taken seriously, especially in the bishops' pastoral teaching, Whitaker said.
While Bruce Garner, president of Integrity and a member of the Standing Commission on Human Affairs, underscored the importance of dialogue, he also said he hoped the convention would include action as well.
"I don't think dialogue is a side-step. Dialogue is my most valuable tool. I've seen some 180 degree turn-arounds in attitude through dialogue," he said. At the same, "I'm not afraid of legislation," he said. "Some people are afraid that legislation will make something happen. That's what legislation is supposed to do."
Episcopalians United also plans to honor the call for fewer resolutions, said Bolts, who praised the "streamlining" of convention that House of Deputies President Pamela Chinnis has accomplished. At the moment, he said, his organization is taking a "wait and see" approach before laying out a strategy of what legislation to support.
Bolts said that he expected there would be a resolution, which his organization would support, similar to one offered by Bishop William Frey, dean of the Trinity Episcopal School for Ministry, at the Phoenix convention. Frey's resolution, which failed to pass, would have insisted that clergy refrain from engaging in genital sexual relations outside of marriage. Other resolutions earning Episcopalians United support have been submitted by bishops that would prohibit the blessing of same-sex unions.
In its report to convention, the Standing Commission on Human Affairs calls the church to task for not doing more to make youth, the elderly, and gay and lesbian persons feel more included in the life of the church. The report also offers a resolution that could be seen to set aside sexual orientation as a factor in the ordination process.Calls for inclusion and acceptance.
While the Episcopal Church repeatedly has expressed its support for the human and civil rights of gays and lesbians, "It comes as no real surprise, that the legislation of the past General Conventions has not changed all attitudes and behaviors," the commission's report states. In fact, the report continues, "It is ironic that in this Decade of Evangelism, we seem intent on alienating and keeping out one of the few identifiable groups of people who want to be welcomed in."
The report goes on to ask, "What can we as a church do to facilitate a dialogue about how to widen the circle of Episcopalians who are supported in their committed relationships without devaluing the traditional teaching of the church?"
The commission's resolution, similar to one submitted by the Diocese of Washington, would change language of the canons to read: "No one shall be denied a place in the life, worship, and governance of this church except as otherwise specified by canon."
While the resolution does not specifically mention ordination, its intent is to stress that certain distinctions are secondary, said the Rev. Dr. Howard Anderson of the Diocese of Minnesota, who was chair and then consultant for the commission. "Secondaries are things like color, male/female, able or disabled, gay or straight, young or old," he said. "They shouldn't automatically exclude anyone from serving in any level of the church."
Bolts of Episcopalians United, however, noted that canons do require candidates for ordination to be living "godly, righteous and sober lives," which to his understanding of the teaching of the Episcopal Church would still exclude non-celibate homosexuals.
Even with its diverse membership, Anderson said, the standing commission was able to find consensus when it went beyond sexuality to address the more fundamental issue of "the centrality of the baptismal covenant, which is clearly one that includes rather than excludes."
Even those who disagree on some of the thorny questions about the role of homosexuals in the church should be able to come together on a such a statement advocating their acceptance in the church, said Salmon. While he might not support the blessing of same-sex unions, for example, he said, "If someone were to try to mistreat a lesbian or homosexual person, they would get my full wrath."
General Convention leaders already have been taking their own highly publicized steps to underscore the call for more inclusive treatment of the church's homosexual members.
In 1992, Browning became the first presiding bishop to attend a national convention of Integrity, urging its members to "hang in" and continue to engage the wider church in dialogue about their presence and role.
A year later, Chinnis was the first president of the House of Deputies to attend Integrity's convention where she pledged personal vigilance for "the whole issue of gay and lesbian rights." She also revealed for the first time publicly that her son is homosexual.
Browning also joined leaders of other churches in calling for an end to the ban on gays in the military when that became a national issue in 1993. In a letter to President Bill Clinton, Browning wrote that the Episcopal Church's General Convention "is clearly on record in support of upholding the full civil rights and equal protection under the law of homosexual persons." He also wrote to Armed Forces chaplains asking them "to be at the forefront of alleviating all discrimination."
Even apart from the bishops' pastoral teaching, events since the last General Convention have sharpened the focus on sexuality.
The election of a bishop in Minnesota, the Rt. Rev. James Jelinek, who openly stated his intention to ordain non-celibate homosexuals, created a furor as some bishops and standing committees withheld their consent in an unsuccessful effort to prevent his consecration.
At the House of Bishops meeting in Panama in September 1993, Bishop Otis Charles, former bishop of Utah and recently retired dean of the Episcopal Divinity School in Cambridge, Massachusetts, made history as the first Episcopal bishop to publicly reveal that he is homosexual.
Ordinations of non-celibate homosexuals have been held or threatened, and committed relationships between people of the same sex blessed in some Episcopal churches, including a highly publicized ceremony held at All Saints' Church in Pasadena, California.
And General Theological Seminary was forced to change its housing policy after a faculty member complained it discriminated against her as lesbian living in a committed relationship with another woman. The policy now permits same-sex couples to live in seminary housing, if they have the approval of their diocesan bishop.
Despite all the parish study groups, all the questionnaires, all the commentaries and sermons included in the dialogue of the past three years, it remains to be seen whether bishops and deputies in Indianapolis will call on the church to keep talking about sexuality. Some will pressure the convention to utter a final word on the matter, others will contend that some voices still must be heard. At the sound of the final gavel of the convention, Episcopalians may still wonder if debate on human sexuality is really God's gift to the General Convention.