Human Sexuality Commission Established in West Texas
Episcopal News Service. February 18, 1976 [76062]
NEW BRAUNFELS, Tex. -- The 72nd Annual Council of the Episcopal Diocese of West Texas voted February 6 to establish a Commission on Human Sexuality.
The commission will study the following topics: the Christian theology of sexuality; the church's ministry in sex problems; homosexuals in the church family; married sex; the single's sex problems -- pre-marital, widowhood, etc.; and basic physio-psychic sex education: adults and children.
The motion to establish the Human Sexuality Commission in the diocese was passed by a 90 percent vote.
There were 82 clergy delegates, 251 lay delegates and 102 alternates at the Council. This Council was one of the largest in history outside of San Antonio. Nearly 1,200 persons jammed the New Braunfels Civic Center Auditorium Thursday night, Feb. 5, where, at the opening service, the Rt. Rev. Scott Field Bailey, D.D., was installed as the new Bishop Coadjutor by the Rt. Rev. Harold C. Gosnell, D.D., bishop of the 60-county diocese. Some 1,100 of those in attendance received Holy Communion at the service, Bishop Gosnell said.
Bishop Bailey will succeed Bishop Gosnell upon the latter's retirement in February 1977, when the Council will be in Victoria.
Mrs. Rollins Rubsamen, San Antonio, chairman of the Diocesan Central Hunger Committee, announced that her committee has dispatched $1,000 of its funds to Guatemala for relief of earthquake victims there. This committee, established as an ad hoc group at last year's Council in Del Rio, has done such an outstanding job during its short life, that the 1976 Council voted permanent status for it as a division of the Department of Christian Social Relations so that it could continue its attack on world hunger.
A straw vote to determine how the delegates felt on the issue of ordination of women to the priesthood resulted in 168 delegates voting against ordination and 111 for it. Ordination will be an issue at the General Convention of the Episcopal Church in the U.S. next September in Minnesota. Bishop Gosnell had asked in his annual address that no resolutions on this issue be passed but added that a straw vote might be taken.
Minutes earlier the clergy delegates had shot down by a two-to-one margin a memorial (or notice) to the Presiding Bishop of the Episcopal Church to express opposition to ordination of women as priests. Even so, the delegates indicated by a wide margin that they were opposed to ordination.
Proponents of the memorial contended that ordination of women would "deviate from Scripture and apostolic tradition" and that the Church should remain "firm to its theological belief."
A diocesan budget of $765,086 for 1976 was adopted.
The Council also passed a resolution that a state law passed at the last Texas legislative session bringing all schools and day care centers, private or church sponsored, under the responsibility of the State Welfare Department be amended to exclude churchsponsored schools or day care centers in the next session of the legislature. Proponents of the measure, who contended provisions in the law could put the church institutions out of business, urged Episcopalians to let their wishes be known to their state senators and representatives.