LOS ANGELES: Pasadena church to treat 'all couples equally' in marriage
Episcopal News Service. May 23, 2008 [052308-03]
Pat McCaughan, Correspondent for Episcopal Life Media for Province VIII
A Pasadena, California church is gearing up to perform same-gender marriages in spite of efforts to delay a recent court ruling legalizing gay weddings on June 15.
All Saints Episcopal Church in Pasadena "will treat equally all couples presenting themselves for the rite of marriage," said the Rev. Canon J. Edwin Bacon Jr., in a statement released to the media on May 22.
That decision is consistent with the 125-year-old congregation's identity as a peace and justice church, added Bacon, rector. All Saints' has blessed same-sex unions for about 15 years; the church's website now offers "One Stop Shop for Marriage Equality in California."
Bacon praised the church's vestry, which met in special session and unanimously approved the decision to perform same-gender weddings, in response to a May 15 California Supreme Court ruling. That court decision ruled as unconstitutional the eight-year-old Proposition 22 ballot measure which outlawed gay marriage.
"I am inspired by the visionary stride All Saints' lay leaders took today. I am honored to serve a church where the leadership demonstrates such stirring courage to move beyond lip service about embodying God's inclusive love to actually committing our faith community to the practice of marriage equality," Bacon said.
Bishop Jon Bruno of Los Angeles said he is establishing a task force with other California bishops to help clarify how the court's decision will affect local congregations.
"I am establishing a task force with the other bishops to figure out how to have uniformity in California," Bruno said Friday in a telephone interview. "There is going to be a diocesan task force to work through policies and procedures with reference to upholding the laws of the state of California and the canons and constitution of the church," Bruno said.
Another task force, in response to Los Angeles area clergy seeking clarification, is being established, he said. In a May 21 letter to diocesan clergy and lay leaders, Bruno said: "There are canonical, prayer book, and pastoral questions which are raised and must be addressed. I will keep you informed and will act with all possible dispatch while attending to the canonical and pastoral issues the decision affect.
"I remind you that pastoral acts are personal decisions between clergy and members of your congregation. In the meantime, please remain patient and prayerful."
Bishop Jim Mathes of San Diego in a May 17 statement also acknowledged that the issue remains a political firestorm.
"With efforts already underway to place a constitutional amendment on November's ballot banning such marriages, it is clear that this issue will continue to permeate our political life," Mathes said.
"While supporting the rights of gays and lesbians, I am mindful that our church has not yet made the decision to bless same-sex unions," he added. "We are in the midst of a challenging but vital conversation about holy relationships in this diocese and indeed across the (Anglican) Communion."
Bishop Marc Andrus of California has also said the decision gives the church another opportunity to partner with our state to ensure that all families have the support they need to build relationships that strengthen our communities, state and country.
Opponents of the ruling, including Proposition 22 Legal Defense Fund and the Alliance Defense Fund, filed a request with the court on May 22, seeking to delay the ruling until after the November election when a proposed constitutional amendment might be decided.
"Permitting this decision to take effect immediately, in the light of the realistic possibility that the people of California might amend their constitution to reaffirm marriage as the union of one man and one woman, risks legal havoc and uncertainty of immeasurable magnitude," according to the court filings.
A spokesman for San Francisco City Attorney Dennis Herrera said they would fight any delay in issuing the marriage certificates to gay couples. Lawyers for the city are expected to file a legal response next week.
California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger and Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa along with other leaders have said they will oppose a constitutional amendment.
"At a federal level, the constitution has only been successfully amended to expand rights, not to remove them, and it follows that California would maintain a similar posture," said Bishop Mathes of San Diego.
As state officials were redesigning marriage certificates to reflect the changes, All Saints' Bacon said he anticipates "with great joy strengthening our support of the sanctity of marriage as I marry both gay and straight members and thus more fully live out my ordination vow to nourish all people from the goodness of God's grace."
Bacon said the decision "also aligns us with the Scriptures' mandate to make God's love tangible by 'doing justice and loving mercy' (Micah 6:8) and with the canons of our Episcopal Church that forbid discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation."
The New York Times contributed to this report.