|
||||||||
| Canadian Church Leaders Write Parliament/Prime Minister on 'Equal' Marriage | |||
|
Below is the text of two letters sent today by Canadian Church offices on the subject of gay marriage following a recent decision of the Canadian Supreme Court. The Moderator's letter to Members of Parliament Dear Minister________________: Please accept greetings from The United Church of Canada, and our gratitude for your service to Canada through the work of Parliament. I am writing to you because of the recently delivered Supreme Court opinion on marriage legislation, and the prospect of an early introduction of such legislation in the House. We wish you well and pray for you as you prepare for the coming session. I want to contribute a perspective from the United Church to your deliberations. Whether or not you agree with what I am setting before you, I think you should be equipped with the knowledge that the General Council of Canada's largest Protestant denomination welcomes equal marriage. I believe that this decision has been reached not by abandoning Christian faith, tradition, and values, but by implementing them. I write to you in the hope that you will resist the assumption that anyone who speaks from Christian faith, tradition, and values must be against equal marriage. Some are, some aren't. This is true within the United Church, just as it is true within Canadian society as a whole. The United Church has been deeply engaged with questions of same-sex relationships for 20 years. In August 2003, its highest court asked the Government of Canada to include same-sex marriage in marriage legislation. I am attaching a copy of the letter to the Prime Minister outlining the United Church's resolution. In some ways, The United Church of Canada is tracking a common path with the courts and the federal government. While our General Council indicated its welcome of equal marriage, our polity upholds the freedom of each of our congregations to follow its conscience. In the year and a half since the Council's decision, many of our 3,000 congregations have been engaged in the same discussion that is about to take place in the House: whether or not to proceed with equal marriage. We know this conversation is difficult for many of our congregations, just as it has been difficult in the public sphere. In our own house we experience all the elements of this issue that are familiar in Canadian society: a clear opinion from the highest court; varied beliefs and expectations on the part of participants; freedom of religion; discussion preceding emerging policy; and the price to be paid for it. I want to put before you now a Christian perspective on faith, tradition, and values. I write of these precious things because I believe they ought to be considered in making public decisions. I am aware of your responsibilities toward a multicultural and multi-faith society, and so what follows is not intended to be normative for all. It is specifically and unapologetically of the Christian tradition, a tradition that runs deeply in Canadian life and history. I understand faith to be a way of living. To have faith is to implement a vision in one's daily life; in this sense, all live by some faith or other. Faith is not simply about the received doctrines. Doctrine is essential to religious life but it is not the final arbiter, neither of our decisions nor of our hope. After all, doctrines have been used to support slavery, apartheid, and the exclusion of women. Some will protest that we must have faith in the Bible, and that the Bible takes an unfavourable view of intimate same-sex relationship. But I would answer that Christian faith is not an uncritical repetition of a received text. It is a mindful commitment to the power of love, to which the text seeks to give witness. Every generation of the Christian faith must decide how they will honour that demand of love in the living of their days. Changing circumstances and changing ideas are not the enemy of faith. In fact, change is the only medium in which faithfulness can truly become faithfulness. Uncritical repetition is more like being on autopilot. Similarly, I understand tradition to be a living treasure. Tradition is not to be confused with habit, custom, or convention. These are simply vessels that seek to hold the living tradition of God's presence in the world. Habit, custom, and convention are not themselves the light; they come to bear witness to the light. John's gospel says that the Word of God became flesh in Jesus Christ. The Word became a living being, John writes, not words. The Supreme Court follows this traditional wisdom when it declares metaphorically that the constitution is a living tree. In Christian tradition the measure by which we choose a course of action is the measure of the love of Christ, a measure that judges even scripture. It is never legitimate to use the words of scripture to promote a loveless agenda. Further, I understand value to be created by God, not by ancient custom nor by current fashion nor by general approval. God does not love because human creatures have value. Rather, it is in loving human creatures that God gives them value. Value is a gift-not a rule, not a partisan lever, and certainly not a weapon. It is wrong to invoke the love of God in order that one person's "values" might diminish another's value. Those who claim that homosexual people threaten to dismantle the value of heterosexual marriage would do well to remember that if anyone destroys marriage, it is married people, not gays and lesbians. In the end, faith, tradition, and values do not decide for us. They equip us to take up the responsible and difficult task of deciding for ourselves. This deciding is itself an act of faith. So we pray for one another, we struggle to live in the love of Christ, and we take our step in humble trust that the next generation will deal generously with us, knowing we did our best with the vision of love God gave us for our day. For me, Christian faith, tradition, and values contribute to our hope for that day when earth once more is fair and all her children one, including gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgendered people-all her children. The General Council of The United Church of Canada believes that equal marriage is a step on the path to justice, peace, and the common good. If prayer is a part of your life, please pray that we may tread lightly, wisely, lovingly, bravely, and faithfully. Thank you for your consideration of these thoughts, which are offered in a spirit of commitment to the good of Canada. Please consider attending a breakfast I will be hosting on marriage on Thursday, February 24, on Parliament Hill. In the meantime, I am attaching an essay on marriage I wrote for The Globe and Mail, in the hope that you may find it useful. Again, let me extend to you my prayers and the prayers of the church, as you pursue the difficult path of putting into legislation the best hopes of Canadians. May God bless you in your efforts and may your efforts be a blessing. Sincerely, United Church of Canada letter to Prime Minister Paul Martin The Right Hon. Paul Martin Dear Mr. Prime Minister: On behalf of the General Council of The United Church of Canada, we write to express our church's position regarding equal marriage. The most recent gathering of the General Council, the national governing body of the church, resolved to call upon the Government of Canada to recognize same-sex civil marriages in federal marriage legislation (Record of Proceedings, 2003). The General Council comprises some350 members of the church representing every region in Canada. The United Church is Canada's largest Protestant denomination with more than three million members and adherents in 3,500 congregations across Canada. The United Church performs more than 15,000 marriages annually. Beginning in 1984, the United Church affirmed our acceptance of all human beings as persons made in the image of God regardless of sexual orientation. Consequently, no distinction can be made in human rights on the basis of sexual orientation. This was affirmed by the federal government when sexual orientation was included in the Canadian Human Rights Act in 1996. Within the church we affirmed that all persons who profess faith in Jesus Christ, regardless of their sexual orientation, are eligible to be considered for ordered ministry in 1988. And in 1992, the church mandated that liturgical and pastoral resources be made available to congregations for same-sex covenants. Recent United Church resources for marriage preparation make no distinction between heterosexuals and homosexuals. As a Protestant denomination, the United Church does not regard marriage as a sacrament. Procreation is not a defining dynamic of marriage in the United Church. Nevertheless, the church places an extremely high value on the seriousness of vows taken before God and in the presence of witnesses. The church urges congregations to help couples to prepare for a life together and offers counselling and enrichment courses. A significant and unique contribution that the United Church brings to the issue of equal marriage is the denomination's own experience of making same-sex marriage ceremonies available to its congregations and, at the same time, respecting the right of those within the denomination who do not wish to offer such services. The United Church unequivocally supports the rights of same-sex couples to have access to civil marriage; it also unequivocally supports the right of communities of faith to decline to perform such marriages. Currently, equal marriage is only available in parts of Canada, impinging on the religious freedom of United Church congregations that do wish to perform same-sex marriages and have them recognized in civil law. We appreciate the federal government's support for equal marriage for all Canadians and intention to address the current anomaly as soon as possible. The United Church of Canada requests the Government of Canada to recognize same-sex civil marriages in federal marriage legislation. Peace, Peace, cc. The Hon. Irwin Cotler, Minister of Justice The Hon. Stephen Harper, Leader of the Opposition and the Conservative Party Gilles Duceppe, Leader of the Bloc Québécois Jack Layton, Leader of the New Democratic Party |
|
||
 |
 |