Bishops' Pastoral Statement on Homosexuality
Episcopal News Service. September 26, 1990 [90255]
We have met in mid-September, 1990, in a climate in which many voices from across the church ask -- often insistently -- for a definitive word on issues of human sexuality. During our meeting, the presiding bishop led us to consider our particular role as bishops of the church called to be guardians of her faith, unity, and discipline, and leaders of her pastoral life.
We begin by acknowledging that on the issues of human sexuality, wide diversity and confusion mark our church and most Christian communions, to say nothing of society at large. Two issues in particular rise to the surface -- the affirmation of those living in faithful same-sex relationships and the ordination to Holy Orders of avowed and sexually active homosexual men and women.
We are not of a single mind in our understanding of the demands of Holy Scripture, of faithful obedience to tradition, or informed awareness of the actual lives and choices faced by homosexual men and women. Yet, our discussion of this vexing issue was characterized by mutual respect and a common search for the truth.
The 1988 General Convention called the church to a disciplined dialogue, the creation of occasions to discuss human sexuality, in the context of which there would inescapably be a focus on homosexuality. Those discussions began, and they must continue. As your bishops, we reaffirm our commitment to stimulate prolonged opportunities for such dialogue, in which members of this church, both heterosexual and homosexual, may study, pray, listen to, and share "our convictions and concerns, our search for stable, loving, and-committed relationships, and our journey toward wholeness and holiness." To call for dialogue in a puzzling and complex area is not to abdicate our leadership -- it is precisely to give it in a way consistent with our Anglican heritage: to call God's people to stand faithfully in the midst of life, seeking the mind and heart of God.
Obviously, we do not expect easy answers. Dialogue is not going to produce consensus. It may not even provide grounds for a compromise presently beyond our ken. But our prayerful hope is that it will provide greater understanding of the mind of Christ.
We have been called to recognize that, no matter how deeply each of us may feel about homosexuality, there are other people of good faith who also take seriously the authority of Scripture and may conclude differently. We have been called to recognize that we cannot carry out our ministry if we each simply assume that we already have the whole truth and nothing at all to learn. We call on you to share our recognition of the inherent faithlessness of a closed mind, one that blocks God from illuminating old truths in a fresh way, from calling us to new understandings or from leading us into new ways of thinking.
As thorny as questions raised in dialogue about human sexuality may be, as bewildering as it may be to encounter believing Christians in often sharp disagreement, faith does offer answers. It offers a journey together as we look at those questions. It offers an understanding of moral discourse and the need for theological reflection in our lives. It calls us to repentance, prayer, and discernment. If we model what it is to live in the tension of disagreement with all its ambiguity, to listen to one another, to be respectful to one another, to pray for one another, then we will have placed our brokenness in the hands of God where it belongs. We will have tested our experience against the traditions of Scripture, and we will have made a real contribution. So our presiding bishop said to us, and so we say to you.
We urge each of you to pray for the strength and will to enter into this dialogue. It will be tempting to many to shun discussion of something as intimate, as potentially uncomfortable, or even as possibly disturbing as human sexuality. If you believe that you have a firm position, you may not welcome challenge, the risk that deeply held convictions must be reexamined. For God's sake, accept the challenge and be open to risk. Unlike most other issues with which the church has wrestled within easy memory, this one is crowded and clouded with stereotypes and preconceptions. Many if not all of these must be examined before those in prayerful dialogue can proceed to such accepted sources of authority for Christians as Scripture, tradition, and reason.
If you take part in this dialogue to which we call you, if you agree to probe for the answers that our faith has to offer, we urge you to pray for the will to nurture and practice the art of listening. In perhaps no other area of human discourse is it so important that you listen to what others are actually saying. Do not fall victim to the common error of "hearing" what you think people are likely to say. Let your ears be open to concerns and convictions being shared in fresh ways by people who may be experiencing pain in personal struggles. Do not let your senses warp someone else's expression of a faithful approach to human sexuality because it does not match your own. No one needs to change his or her mind to listen with respect, courtesy, and, yes, love.
We urge you to pray for patience. This may be especially difficult for those who expect early resolution, an up-or-down vote at the forthcoming General Convention. All of us have learned to tolerate ambiguity in our adult lives, after we "graduated" from an age of instant gratification (or denial) and clear-cut if not always welcome rules. So, we believe, will it be in these matters for some time to come.
We recognize that it would not be faithful to the Gospel to ignore the anguished cries of homosexual men and women who feel hurt, rejected, and angry by what they see about them. At the same time, we recognize that it would not be faithful to the Gospel to ignore or simply label as homophobic the anguished cries of men and women who feel hurt, rejected, and angry that what they see as sin is not being reaffirmed as such. In acknowledging the pain and sense of powerlessness of both groups in the face of a delay in the time for decision, we acknowledge the extent to which the whole church groans in travail, waiting for the guidance of the Holy Spirit.
But hear us carefully. We find it unacceptable to wait passively for that guidance. We must pray for it and work very hard to be prepared to comprehend it. The dialogue to which we again call you offers, we believe, the most faithful process for our community of believers to discern God's will.