"That this Synod, recognising the need for transgender people to be welcomed and affirmed in their parish church, call on the House of Bishops to consider whether some nationally commended liturgical materials might be prepared to mark a person's gender transition," reads the motion.

Newlands, who is in a civil union with another man, told the U.K. publication, The Guardian, his reasons for wanting the church to celebrate transgender identity.

The motion for church celebration of transgender identity is not without its critics. Andrew Symes, the executive secretary of the conservative Anglican Mainstream, told the Guardian that the "Christian faith has always taught that people are created male and female."

"We are aware there are a number of people who want to change from one gender to another and that's a new thing for the church to deal with," said Symes. "It would be something that would go against the teachings of the church up till now. It would be something that would cause controversy."

If the Church of England goes along with this, they are taking a cue from the Episcopal Church's playbook on same sex unions and the recognition of transgendered persons, several of whom are now priests in The Episcopal Church.

While TEC has not gone as far as allowing a liturgical celebration of an individual's gender transition identity, it will apparently allow the baptism of a child of two gay men without thinking of the implications of whether the two men (it could have been two women) could affirm the faith once delivered for all to the saints. Clearly they cannot.

When Central Florida Bishop Greg Brewer baptizes the son of two gay men, he and they will be forced to say the following:

Celebrant: Will you continue in the apostles' teaching and fellowship, in the breaking of bread, and in the prayers?
People:I will, with God's help.
Celebrant: Will you persevere in resisting evil, and, whenever you fall into sin, repent and return to the Lord?
People:I will, with God's help.
Celebrant: Will you proclaim by word and example the Good News of God in Christ?

You will note that it is not just the two men, but the whole congregation that enters into the affirmation of the baptismal covenant.

By any definition, these two men are living in unrepentant sexual sin and cannot possibly "proclaim by word and example the Good News of God in Christ?" They have never received the grace of repentance and forgiveness, ergo they are not in a position to say they are "examples" of the Good News. It is blasphemy to say otherwise.

Bishop C. FitzSimmons Allison (SC ret.) said the answer is to find a stand in couple for the child who could affirm the faith. Apparently, that is not an option Bishop Brewer is willing to entertain. His actions will undoubtedly raise rancor on the right if he goes ahead, and cause apoplexy on the left should he suddenly bow out.

The Church of England vicar's approach to rebaptism is just as bad, probably worse. What he says is a reflection of his own total ecclesiastical ignorance and demonstrates a degree of theologically illiteracy with few parallels.

The Apostle Paul writes in Galatians 3.25 -- 28 "But now that faith has come, we are no longer under a guardian, for in Christ Jesus you are all sons of God, through faith. For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ. There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is no male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus."

We are not baptized into any particular gender or name -- we are baptized in faith into Jesus Christ!

The Nicene Creed asserts one baptism very clearly -- baptism cannot, by its very nature, be repeated. We cannot receive the benefits of the atonement twice, or be baptized into Christ twice.

So the question is why is this even a motion to be presented to Synod? What deleterious minds allowed this to slip through the ecclesiastical cracks to make it to the floor? It has already been passed by the Blackburn diocese, but will have to wait to be debated by the General Synod. There is also no guarantee that it will pass.

A spokesman for the Archbishops' Council said: "Any of the 42 diocesan synods is free to propose items for debate at the General Synod. The Blackburn motion will join a queue of motions for debate and is therefore unlikely to be debated imminently. As the motion itself makes clear, any motion passed at General Synod would be the beginning not the end of a process."

The irony should not be missed. A story this week appeared in the Daily Mail in which the former Archbishop of Canterbury Lord Carey warned that unless urgent action was taken, the Church was just "one generation away from extinction".

The actions of people like Mr. Newlands will only hasten that day. Such acts of "inclusion" only empty churches, not fill them. The Episcopal Church can attest to that.

END