St. John the Evangelist Anglican Church

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954 Old Sackville Road,
Sackville, NS, Canada B4E 1R3
stjohntheevangelist902@gmail.com

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934 Old Sackville Road,
Middle Sackville, NS B4E 1R3

902-864-3154

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Current Interest

Our new Primate
The Rt. Rev. Dr. Linda Carol Nicholls

July 17th, 2019

A Memo from Archbishop Cutler – An update RE: General Synod

This is an updated version of a statement I made on Facebook on Sunday July 14th, 2019.

There are certain advantages and disadvantages in being 4 hours outside of your usual time zone. A disadvantage is that I haven’t had more than 4 hours of sleep any night since I have been here. (That may have as much to do with what’s been on our agenda at the General Synod as the time change). An advantage is spectacular sunrises over the mountains for the past couple of mornings, I still find it strange that there are mountains to the east!

There is a pretty old analogy in there. The sun comes up every day and it shines on everyone without distinction, though there are lots of days when we don’t seem to get much benefit from it, we still do. We don’t control the sun. God’s grace, love and mercy is likewise present every day and it is given to everyone. There are certainly days when we don’t feel it, not because it is absent but because either we choose to not feel it or someone blocks it from us. We don’t control it.

Saturday was a day that might have changed my life, as our church elected a new Primate. It didn’t, I am staying, and I’m very glad about that – congratulations to our new Primate the Most Rev. Linda Nicholls, who is the first woman to serve in this ministry in our church. I could barely think about the election. It wasn’t real in comparison to what we had done the day before, as we voted on the second reading to amend the Canon on Marriage.

So here is where we are from my perspective.

We followed a legal process to change a law of the church. The vote failed according to the well-defined process that we use in such cases. In order to pass it required a 2/3 majority in the three houses of Synod. The results were Laity 80.9%, Clergy 73.2%, and Bishops 62.2% in favour. The aggregate total in favour was 75%, however it did not achieve the required threshold in the House of Bishops. That legal route is now closed. In order for an amendment to the canon to be reconsidered it will need to be re-introduced at the next Synod in three years. From my perspective: the law has failed us, now it is time for grace to abound.

As the Synod continued, the one additional action which had an impact on this situation was a statement from the House of Bishops which re-affirmed the bishops’ discretion in providing a Marriage rite for same sex couples within their diocese. It was the first time that the term “local option” was explicitly used in an official document of our church.

There was an existing de-facto “Local Option” in the Anglican Church of Canada with respect to permission given to clergy and parishes to offer marriage rites to same sex couples before this Synod began. On Friday the General Synod adopted, by an 85% majority, a document entitled “A Word to the Church” which acknowledged this reality and affirmed that dioceses where this was the situation, had done so “in good faith”. The later statement from the House of Bishops reiterated the “Local Option”. It is my intention to use my episcopal authority to exercise this option in the Diocese of Nova Scotia and Prince Edward Island. I believe that our conversations at our Diocesan Synod in 2017 gave a clear indication that, in that forum, a majority of our diocese wants to move in this direction. I do personally believe that such a direction is consistent with the faith in the saving and reconciling work of Jesus Christ which I am sworn to uphold. I also believe that I have seen in the life and witness of faithful, committed same sex couples the outworking of God’s grace and that glimpse of the kingdom which our Marriage liturgy speaks of.

I am now on vacation. I will begin work on a bishop’s policy when I am back in the office in mid-August and will strive to release it by September 1st, 2019. Please note that I am exercising the local option to authorize same sex marriage in the diocese – this will be an option for Parishes and clergy. Clergy already have a conscience clause in the Canon on Marriage which gives them discretion on which marriages to preside at. Parishes will need to “opt in” if they wish to offer same sex marriages. Further details, including a rite for Marriage will be contained in the policy.

I want to acknowledge the tremendous pain, disappointment and anger felt by many members of our diocese in the midst of this ongoing debate. I have received messages and emails from a number of people expressing their feelings. Though our plenary debate was for the most part more respectful than it was in 2016, the result of the vote literally provoked anguish. This certainly appears to be at odds with the vision of the Kingdom which Jesus proclaimed.

There is a portion of our guidelines for respectful debate, used at this Synod, which I keep coming back to: Trust Ambiguity.

Thank you for upholding me and all our Diocesan delegates in your prayers. It has been a draining week filled with intense and emotionally charged debates and very long days of meeting. It has been a historic Synod for many reasons: The election of the first woman Primate, the creation of a self-determining Indigenous church within the Anglican Church of Canada, the next steps in reconciliation with indigenous peoples, the approval of a strategic planning process including an examination of the General Synod structure and order of procedure, further strengthening of the relationships between the Anglican and Lutheran churches on this continent, the approval of additional alternative liturgical material, the endorsement of a call to climate action and to combat modern slavery, and a celebration of the work of the Anglican Foundation and the Primate’s World Relief and Development Fund.

There have been many initiatives and resources commended to dioceses for further work and I look forward to how we will engage in these various calls to mission and ministry.

With every blessing

+Ron

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