ENGLAND: Anglican coalition writes Canterbury, bemoans church's absence from Stockholm consecration
Episcopal News Service. November 24, 2009 [112409-04]
Matthew Davies and Mary Frances Schjonberg
A coalition of British Anglican organizations that supports the full inclusion of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) people in the life of the church has written to Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams and Church of Sweden Archbishop Anders Wejryd expressing its "dismay" that the Church of England was not officially represented at the recent consecration of lesbian priest Eva Brunne as bishop of Stockholm.
"We do understand that, as the Church of England has not yet finalized plans for the ordination of women as bishops -- though we hope and pray that will happen soon -- it might not have been possible for an Anglican bishop to have laid hands on the ordinands as part of the consecration," the LGBT Anglican Coalition said in its Nov. 23 letter. "But that should not have prevented a bishop from attending and representing the Archbishop of Canterbury at the consecration..."
Brunne, who was consecrated alongside Bishop Tuulikki Koivunen Bylund of Härnösand on Nov. 8 in Uppsala, became the first openly gay female bishop in any Christian denomination.
The LGBT Anglican Coalition said it was pleased to hear that Church of England priest the Rev. Karen Schmidt was able to attend the consecration and participate in the service. Schmidt was representing the Diocese of Portsmouth, with which the Stockholm diocese has a partnership link.
The Church of England came under fire in early November when media reports claimed that five Anglican bishops, including Williams, had declined invitations to attend Brunne's ordination. However, The Local newspaper rewrote an earlier article and reported that Wejryd, who ordained Brunne and Bylund, disputed any claim of a boycott. Although the Archbishop of Canterbury was invited, Wejryd said Williams, like other international guests, rarely attend such events.
Brunne, 55, was elected in late May to be bishop of the Diocese of Stockholm by a vote of 413-365 over Hans Ulfvebrand in the second round of voting.
Brunne and her partner, Gunilla Linden, who is also ordained, have a three-year-old son. Their relationship received a church blessing, Ecumenical News International reported at the time of her election. Brunne is the first Church of Sweden bishop to live in a registered homosexual partnership, the Uppsala-headquartered church said.
Sweden has allowed same-gender civil unions since 1995 and on May 1 of this year began recognizing same-gender marriages after passing a gender-neutral marriage law. In late October, the Church of Sweden voted to allow its ministers to perform such marriages.
"Many of us are indeed very grateful that the Church of Sweden has taken such a clear lead in affirming the rightful place of lesbian and gay people at all levels in the life of the church," the LGBT Anglican Coalition said in its letter. "The recent decision of the Church of Sweden's Kyrkomötet [governing assembly] to conduct same-sex marriages has filled us with a real hope that such a courageous and prophetic act might one day be possible in the Church of England."
The Church of Sweden is a member of the Porvoo Communion, which groups the British and Irish Anglican churches and the Nordic and Baltic Lutheran churches that entered into a full communion agreement in 1992 to "share a common life in mission and service."
The churches involved are the Evangelical Lutheran churches of Estonia, Finland, Iceland, Lithuania, Norway, Sweden, and the Anglican churches of England, Ireland, Scotland and Wales. The Lusitanian Church in Portugal and the Reformed Episcopal Church of Spain -- both extra-provincial dioceses under the authority of the Archbishop of Canterbury -- also signed onto the agreement. The Evangelical Lutheran churches of Denmark and Latvia have observer status.
The name Porvoo comes from the town in Finland where a joint celebration of Holy Communion was held after the formal signing of the agreement in Järvenpää.
"The Porvoo Agreement has brought many blessings to our sister churches, Anglican and Lutheran, which share so much in our inheritance of faith and action," the LGBT Anglican Coalition said in its letter. "The interchangeability of ministers and exchange of resources continues to bring many blessings to dioceses which have a partnership link with a Porvoo church. May these links increase and continue to bear much fruit."
The letter was signed by the Rev. Benny Hazlehurst, Accepting Evangelicals; the Rev. Colin Coward, Changing Attitude; the Rev. Chris Newlands, The Clergy Consultation; Jeremy Marks, Courage; Mike Dark, The Evangelical Fellowship of Lesbian and Gay Christians; Canon Giles Goddard, Inclusive Church; the Rev. Sharon Ferguson, Lesbian and Gay Christian Movement; and the Rev. Christina Beardsley, Sibyls.
"It is our prayer that we may continue in an ever-deepening partnership of mission with the Porvoo member churches, and together celebrate the gifts of all God's people who are called to be ministers of God's Word and Sacraments, regardless of their sexual orientation or gender identity," the letter said.
The full text of the letter is available here.