jQuery Slider

You are here

CANADA: Same-sex marriage supporters will not be happy until you agree with them

CANADA: Same-sex marriage supporters will not be happy until you agree with them

by David of Samizdat
https://www.anglicansamizdat.net/wordpress/?p=27154
May 31, 2019

From the Anglican Journal, the formal mouthpiece of the Anglican Church of Canada comes this:

Being a Queer Wife and Fierce Mother

BY ELIZABETH WELCH

Every Saturday, my wife, Danelle, reads my sermon and every Sunday she helps me vest before worship. She is my partner in all things and I could not fully live into either my vocation as a priest or my vocation as a parent without her by my side. I did not grow up dreaming of being a mother, yet unexpectedly becoming the parent of a teenager was a heaven-sent gift. Every day my prayers of thanksgiving begin thus, "Thank you for my wife and daughter; thank you for our family."

We had the "most churchy" wedding, said one of our friends. We fought long and hard to get here. I've been spat on, told to "burn in hell," called "an abomination," and informed that I am "unchristian and disgrace to the Church." The daily micro-aggressions that occur within and outside the world of the Anglican Church include being glared at when I hold my wife's hand, being asked "what went wrong" that made me the way I am, and having to explain ad infinitum that we are "actually" married and that we are a "real" family.

All these experiences make it painful to watch how much the conversation about marriage has become focused on "safety for traditionalists." I can only interpret that the safety of my family is irrelevant. In truth, I would like to stop talking about marriage, but I can't because I am a mother. A mother who would go to the moon and back for her child.

Most days being an ordained priest brings me deep and abiding joy, and I am so blessed to be at St. George. But some days I really wish God would let me leave this vocation and lead me to somewhere where I can do good for the world without feeling like I have to protect my child from this institution to which I've made a life-long vow.

I am resigned to our fate. Even if the resolution passes the second reading, those with the power to do so have decided that the Anglican Church of Canada is called to continue to institutionally endorse that it is acceptable to practice and preach that God only approves of marriages between "a man" and "a woman." Given the incredibly high suicide rates among those youth who do not have accepting homes and communities, I will pray that the LGBTQ2+ children who grow up in these churches will not succumb to despair before finding the support they need to heal from the trauma of all the harmful homophobia that is embedded therein.

If the proposed "Amendment to the Amendment" passes, I ask our Synod delegates to please bring a resolution that requires every church to state explicitly and clearly whether it is affirming of LGBTQ2+ people, including making available to them the sacrament of marriage. Theological ambiguity is dangerous for us -- not just uncomfortable, but dangerous. Please put as much effort into ensuring our safety as has been put into ensuring the comfort of "traditionalists." American activist Glennon Doyle writes that "fear is just love holding its breath." I hope everyone at Synod takes a lot of deep breaths.

The Rev. Elizabeth Welch is incumbent at St. George, Cadboro Bay.

What I find interesting about this article is mainly in the last paragraph. The "Amendment to the Amendment" mentioned in it is intended to pacify conservatives who hold to the traditional view of marriage or, as Fred Hiltz put it: "offer some protection to those whose views were not reflected in the outcome of the vote. Such an amendment would be worded, he said, to ensure that "people of a conservative view of marriage would feel absolutely free to continue to aspire to that view--teach it, uphold it and practice it."

This seems to upset Rev. Welch who is unhappy that orthodox parishes might choose to remain in the closet; they should be compelled to come out, otherwise we will have "dangerous" "theological ambiguity". In other words, liberals will not be satisfied until everyone in the Anglican church agrees with same-sex marriage and all clergy are willing to perform them -- while smiling; there must be uniformity of thought, action and theology. In Ecclesiastical Newspeak, this is known as "Diversity".

It's worth noting that the liberal juggernaut has been gradually whittling down the opposition for decades. First, we had to accept homosexual clergy; then partnered homosexual clergy; then same-sex blessings; then same-sex marriage; now we must agree with same-sex marriage or be guilty of Thought Crime. What comes next? I shudder to think.

David of Samizdat is an independent Anglican journalist who writes under a pseudonym to protect his identity.

Subscribe
Get a bi-weekly summary of Anglican news from around the world.
comments powered by Disqus
Trinity School for Ministry
Go To Top