The Living Church

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The Living ChurchAugust 23, 1998Marriage Addressed in Bishops' Report 217(8) p. 6-7

'We've lost over 10,000 lives in the name of religion.' The Rt. Rev. Josiah Idowu-Fearon, Bishop of Kaduna, in central Nigeria.


As the Lambeth Conference of Anglican bishops headed into its third week in Canterbury, participants were scheduled to spend more time in plenary sessions and to deal for the first time with resolutions. Reports from the four sections were made public as the full conference headed into its business sessions.

The report from Section One, titled "Called to Full Humanity," was of particular interest to a large number of participants because it was written following discussions on sexuality. That report was scheduled to be addressed on Aug. 5. The report is an affirmation of previous Lambeth Conference statements on the sanctity of marriage, and it also opposes "any discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation."

The report on sexuality was one of six contained in the 36-page main report from Section One. It also states marriage is the only acceptable means for sexual expression, while also recognizing that gays and lesbians are loved by God, and that all baptized members of the church, regardless of their sexual orientation, "are full members of the body of Christ."

"We must confess that we are not of one mind about homosexuality," the report states. It lists some forms of sexual expression as sinful, but does not include homosexual behavior.

The report states that bishops fall into four main categories: "Those who believe homosexual orientation is a disorder, but that through the grace of Christ people can be changed, although not without pain and struggle; those who believe that relationships between people of the same gender should not include genital expression, that this is clear teaching of the Bible and of the Church universal, and that such activity (if unrepented of) is a barrier to the Kingdom of God; those who believe that committed homosexual relationships fall short of the biblical norm, but are to be preferred to relationships that are anonymous and transient; and those who believe that the Church should accept and support or bless monogamous covenant relationships between homosexual people and that they may be ordained."

Many bishops support a moratorium on same-sex blessings and ordinations of non-celibate homosexual persons, the report indicates, and most bishops would not bless same-sex couples or ordain non-celibate homosexual persons.

Section One's main report also deals with human rights and human dignity, environment, modern technology, euthanasia and international debt.

The draft report from Section Two listed four major challenges facing the church:

1. The challenge that "God is calling us at this moment" and "is working in the world today quite beyond the limits of our budgets, structures and expectations."

2. The impacts of the global economy, particularly on young people and on the increasing flight from rural areas to cities.

3. "The globalization of the market economy" and its threat to "the identity and life of nations and communities," which often respond to this threat with "aggressive assertion of national and religious identity," which may bring persecution to religious minorities.

4. The need to remain "faithful to the distinctiveness of the gospel" in a world of increased mobility where people of different faiths must learn to live in harmony.

The 43-page report includes more than two dozen examples of mission and evangelism shared by members of the section. It also stresses the need for a clear mission strategy for every diocese, and it encourages the development of companion link relationships.

On Tuesday, Aug. 4, the business plenaries got under way with calls for a new international Anglican commission on ecumenical relations the first issue to be discussed. That effort came from Section Four under the theme "Called to be One." The report states that if the proposal for the international commission is approved, the new body will review regional ecumenical proposals "to ensure that they are consonant with an overall agreed vision of the goal of unity."

During the plenary session on Christian-Muslim relations July 27, the Rt. Rev. Michael Nazir-Ali, Bishop of Rochester (England), asked for a moment of silence upon hearing the news that three Roman Catholic nuns had been killed in Yemen, an Islamic nation.

"Islam and Christianity are both missionary faiths, and they find themselves in the same place and at the same time, and that means they are sometimes in competition with one another, particularly in Africa and in East Asia, but in nearly every part of the world," Bishop Nazir-Ali said.

The Rt. Rev. Tilewa Johnson, Bishop of The Gambia, told of ministering in a country that is 95 percent Muslim and 3 percent Christian. "Within the extended family there can be both religious communities," he said. "All state functions are preceded with prayers by leaders of both religious communities."

In the central part of Nigeria, where the Rt. Rev. Josiah Idowu-Fearon is Bishop of Kaduna, Christians and Muslims are in equal numbers.

"Christians have no rights in the central region and in the north," Bishop Idowu-Fearon said. "Provision is not made for Christian education in the state schools. The public propagation of the gospel by the media is prohibited.

"There is serious enmity or hatred, deep hatred, between Christians and Muslims in Nigeria, especially in the middle part of the country. We've lost over 10,000 lives in the name of religion and more thousands have been displaced."

Bishop Riah Abu-el-Assal of Jerusalem noted that Arab Christians comprise only about 1.5 percent of the population of Palestine and Israel.

"Our mere physical presence is at stake," he said, "lest the Holy Land become a museum of holy stones.

"Our experience with Islam has been one of mutual respect and mutual trust," he said of the 1,000 Anglican Palestinians in the Holy Land.

Jean Vanier, founder of the L'Arche communities for persons with disabilities, led an all-night vigil for bishops, spouses and Lambeth staff July 30. The vigil included three meditations, a service of light, a service of reconciliation and a liturgy of foot washing. Mr. Vanier presented a reflection and address on holiness, with responses being made by Bishops M. Thomas Shaw, S.S.J.E., of Massachusetts, David Alvarez of Puerto Rico, and Barnabas Deijen Mondal of Dhaka (Bangladesh).

Mr. Vanier said those "with mental handicaps, disabilities, are among the most oppressed people of our world. I have visited institutions, asylums which are really places of death ... places where these very special people are crushed and hurt, broken, with no voice. And yet, they are precious people."

In the responses, Bishop Alvarez told how his diocese cares for more than 350 children with AIDS, at nine centers throughout Puerto Rico. Bishop Shaw told how his order made its monastery a place of hospitality. "The desire of every Christian, male or female, old or young, black or white, gay or straight, poor or rich, sick or well is ... to find the 'God who is above all and through all and in all.' So my brothers and I have opened our doors to that desire."

Another plenary session focused on youth issues. It included a team of cheerleaders from inner-city London, videos about youth culture and youth ministries, and conversations with persons involved in youth ministry. Five bishops reflected on experiences of youth ministry in their dioceses.

"Our message to the bishops is that they themselves should go out and talk to the young people in their dioceses," said the Rt. Rev. Lindsay Urwin, Bishop of Horsham (England).

The weekend of Aug. 1-2 was a quiet one in Canterbury. Many of the bishops preached in parishes all over England, while others took the opportunity to make quick visits to various parts of Europe or to spend some time in London.