Date: Tue, 28 Dec 1999 21:16:24 -0500 From: Chris Ambidge Subject: *Integrator* volume 99-6, and cumulative contents for 1999 INTEGRATOR, the newsletter of Integrity/Toronto volume 99-6, issue date 1999 12 18 copyright 1999 Integrity/Toronto. The hard-copy version of this newsletter carries the ISSN 0843-574X Integrity/Toronto Box 873 Stn F Toronto ON Canada M4Y 2N9 == contents == volume 99-1, issue date 1999 02 28 [99-6-1] LIFT HIGH THE GATES / Reflections on continuing the dialogue process by Integrity/Toronto Co-Conveners Bonnie Crawford-Bewley and Chris Ambidge [99-6-2] UPDATE ON RONALD / What's been happening with our gay Ugandan friend [99-6-3] THE PRIMATE VISITS INTEGRITY/TORONTO / Details of the November visit of the Most Rev Michael Peers [99-6-4] NEW MONTHLY MEETING DATE AND PLACE [99-6-5] COMMON GROUND IN WEST PARK? / Ten bishops from around the world meet to discuss Anglican homosexuals. The bishops were happy with the process, but their statement says little of substance [99-6-6] CAMBRIDGE ACCORD UPDATE / Accord has a broad base of signatories, 130 signatures, 23 Canadian ======== [99-6-1] LIFT HIGH THE GATES by Integrity/Toronto Co-Conveners Bonnie Crawford-Bewley and Chris Ambidge Integrity/Toronto has been committed for over a decade to the process of dialogue. Our ministry is to work for full inclusion of lesbigays in the life of the Anglican Church, and we believe that engaging with other people in discussion, prayer and study is the best way to achieve that end. Other people within the church take the view that homosexuals are already quite included enough, and that changing the current policies and even culture of the church is being dangerously unfaithful. While Integrity heartily disagrees with their view, we are persuaded that no progress is to be made by surrounding ourselves with like-minded people and directing monologues at "the opposition". Rather, having real dialogue with those with whom we disagree seems to be having more of an effect. It is for this reason that we have engaged in dialogue with Fidelity over the past several years. It is for this reason that we extended an invitation to Fidelity members to join us around Christ's table in 1997, and again in 98 and 99. Their members have joined us on those occasions. Each of those times, Canon Paul Feheley (vice president of Fidelity) was the presiding celebrant. We believe that we are all beloved children of God, and that we are all, to the best of our individual lights, working to advance the Commonwealth of God. If we cannot meet at the Eucharistic table, all as followers of Jesus Christ, then we are indeed in sad shape. Some time ago, Archbishop Ted Scott said very helpful words: "There is absolutely *nothing* that you can do which will make God love you any less. Look across the street at someone you think is your enemy. Now realise there is absolutely *nothing* that they can do (or that you can do) which will make God love them any less either." We are prepared to talk with those who are prepared to talk with us; and listen to those who are prepared to listen to us. We realise that our position is not universally held among lesbigay Christians. We have been called Uncle Toms, or quislings, or worse, for repeatedly inviting "our enemies" to join us at the table. There are many answers to that, ranging from an examination of Jesus' dinner companions, to a realisation that the Eucharist is precisely where we can meet, where the playing field is as level as it can be, for we are all in the same relationship to our saviour. That is not to say that we agree with Fidelity's tenets, or they with ours, or that either side is "giving in". We have very profound disagreement. But Integrity/Toronto believes that the best way for us all to live together in the same church is to address those differences, and to stay in dialogue; neither trying to ignore our differences and paper over the cracks, nor repeatedly and loudly asserting our own positions without listening to others. Full acceptance of lesbigays in the life of the church is a big change for a large institution. Changes like that happen when many people take different approaches, and this is true for any big change in attitude; be it street poverty or nuclear disarmament or peril to the environment: it's pretty rare for a single approach to solve all difficulties. God's vineyard is large, and there are many workers in many different areas. The approaches will be different. Integrity/Toronto neither claims nor wishes to be the only representative of lesbigay Anglicans. There are other groups who have different approaches to the same goal: full acceptance of lesbigays in the life of the church. We wish them all Godspeed as they continue work in their parts of the vineyard. Canon Feheley spoke of future directions in his sermon last September to the joint Integrity/Fidelity Eucharist. Among other things, he said: "There remain some important questions for Integrity and Fidelity. What can we do apart from the Eucharist? Are we being called by God to go beyond this annual gathering to experience prayer, Bible study or worship together? ... "Are we looking at the obstacles present to each of us as opportunities to improve our life and faith, or are we viewing them as roadblocks? When I think about these opportunities and challenges for our faith to grow deeper and stronger, they seem to come up against a gate that blocks or stops them. I wonder if too many of us are living in gated communities with the gate -- that bar of hostility, prejudice and injustice -- not keeping the other side out, but keeping us locked in. Locked in our thinking, our experience, our way of life that never ventures out to truly seek and understand the other side. The gates on both sides need to be lifted high so that the Son of God may enter." Integrity/Toronto likewise abhors the idea of gated communities growing up within our church. Isolating oneself within a ghetto guarantees one's marginalisation from the larger community. The marginalisation of lesbigays is exactly what Integrity/Toronto is working to eliminate. ======== [99-6-2] UPDATE ON RONALD The last issue of *Integrator* told the story of Ronald, a gay man in Uganda who was being harassed by the authorities for his sexual orientation. He had been detained and released twice after Ugandan president Yoweri Museveni announced a crackdown on homosexuals at the end of September. Since we last went to press, Ronald managed to leave Uganda with two friends who were under the same threat. He is presently in Dar-es-Salaam, recovering from a bout of malaria. Tanzania is also a fairly hostile society for homosexuals, though the persecution he experienced in Uganda is not as direct in Tanzania, so his situation is a little better than when we last wrote. Ronald's life has been in turmoil, and he hopes to become more settled soon. ======== [99-6-3] THE PRIMATE VISITS INTEGRITY/TORONTO It had been nine years since the Primate, the Most Rev Michael Peers, had last celebrated the Eucharist with Integrity/Toronto, so we were very pleased to welcome him back to our November service. Members and friends came from Niagara as well as the Toronto area to join in. The Eucharist was in our usual Integrity style -- sitting in a semicircle before the altar for the liturgy of the word, and then forming a full circle for the liturgy of the table, administering the elements one to another. After the Eucharist, Archbishop Peers sat in our midst and reflected on where he saw the position of lesbians and gays in the church now, and how that has developed and changed over the past year. His initial over-view began with Lambeth 1998 and went on to the recent meeting of the Anglican Consultative Council in Dundee, Scotland. The ACC is a group of 60, bishops, clergy and laity from across the communion, and it declined to move on any of several Lambeth conference resolutions (including Resolution I.10, on human sexuality). There was a certain amount of kerfuffle before the ACC meeting, with Archbishop Moses Tay of Singapore very publicly refusing to come to a concurrent meeting of Primates. Archbishop Tay has extreme difficulty with the accepting-of-homosexuals position of Bishop Richard Holloway, the Primus of the Scottish church. While he regretted Archbishop Tay's boycott, Bishop Holloway arranged an event in Edinburgh where ACC members could, if they chose, listen to the testimony of gays and lesbians, parents and friends. Back in Canada, and more recently, Archbishop Peers reported on the meeting of the Council of General Synod the previous weekend. He mentioned two items which would be of particular interest to Integrity people. One came from the pension board: the pension canon has been amended to refer to a person's "partner", where that term refers to (a) a spouse, (b) a common-law spouse, or (c) same-sex partner. When this amendment was presented there was no debate, and no contrary votes. A second item was the report of the Faith, Worship and Ministry committee: Bishop Hiltz of FWM spoke of the *Cambridge Accord*, and reported that the Committee had asked the bishops severally and individually to add their signatures to the Accord. [See *Cambridge Accord Update*, article 99-6-6, below.] The Primate spoke approvingly of the *Cambridge Accord* (he has appended his own signature), seeing it as similar to the classic Canadian debate: a search to convince the centre. Archbishop Peers also spoke of the recent meeting of ten bishops of the Anglican communion who met in early November at the Holy Cross monastery in West Park NY to discuss matters around homosexuals. [See article 99-6-5, below.] Moving on to the future, he drew our attention to a couple of events on the horizon which will be of significance for Integrity people. In May 2001, the synod of the diocese of New Westminster will consider motions around church blessing of same-sex unions. The diocese is presently engaged in study on several levels in preparation for those synodical decisions to be made. Six weeks later will be the next session of General Synod. The agenda for that is already looking very full indeed, with our relationship to the Lutheran church and the probably enormous implications of recent litigation on residential schools all set to dominate discussions. However, the decisions of the New Westminster synod, whatever they are, may well also demand the attention of General Synod. In the short while between those two events, Essentials (a rather conservative group within the church, who are on record as decrying any change in the church's attitude to homosexuals) are holding a major conference, in Vancouver. The late spring and early summer of 2001 looks to be an exciting time. In a time for questions and answers later, the position of lesbians and gays in Africa, and more particularly in Uganda, was brought up. The Primate said that the Anglican church in those parts is very similar to the general society, in being quite unaccepting of gays and lesbians. Any efforts that we in North America might wish to make to assist lesbigays in general would be best made in partnership with a local group. Advocacy from abroad, without an indigenous partner agency, is pointless, because it will be seen as "those people again", colonial outsiders trying to oppress Africans with western ideas and ideals. Food for thought, indeed. Time went very fast, and the discussions had to be cut off as the clock advanced. In his time with us, Archbishop Peers had given us the benefit of his wisdom and experience, and his unique viewpoint, on the church as it grapples with the questions which faithful lesbians and gays raise among believers. From past to future, from Canada to Scotland to Africa, a lot of time and space was covered, and all begun and based in our worship of Jesus Christ. Integrity/Toronto is very grateful to Archbishop Peers for spending the evening with us. ======== [99-6-4] NEW MONTHLY MEETING DATE AND PLACE Please Note! As of January 2000, Integrity/Toronto will be meeting in a new place, at a new time. Our monthly Eucharists will now be held on the *Third Monday of the month* (not on the third Wednesday as previously); and in the chapel of *The Church of the Redeemer*. The Church of the Redeemer is at 162 Bloor Street W, the north- east corner of Bloor and Avenue Road. It's very easy to get to by transit: Museum subway stop and walk one block north, or St George subway stop and walk one block east. Go in the front doors of the church (either the centre or, more probably, the right-hand one of the three doors), don't go up or downstairs, but through the nave of the church to the chapel, in the transept. The first meeting at Redeemer will be Monday 17 January 2000. It will also be the Annual General Meeting of Integrity/Toronto. Our pattern of social meetings, on the first Wednesday of the month at a member's home continues unchanged. ***THANK-YOU*** Integrity/Toronto would like to thank the Church of the Holy Trinity, who have been our hosts for the past several years, and also the Church of the Redeemer, our new host parish. We believe that it is important, as a part of the church, that we have a church venue for our monthly worship services. ======== [99-6-5] COMMON GROUND IN WEST PARK? *Bishops happy with process, but statement * *says little of substance* At the beginning of November, at the invitation of the Archbishop of Canterbury, a group of ten bishops, representing a wide range of perspectives and backgrounds, met for four days at the Holy Cross Monastery in West Park, New York. Those bishops together made this statement: Within the atmosphere of prayer and through participation in the monastic rhythms of the Holy Cross community, the bishops entered into a process of structured dialogue on homosexuality within the larger context of human sexuality. With the guidance of experienced facilitators, trust and mutual respect grew as the bishops considered convergent (shared) and divergent (differing) points of view. The process of dialogue fostered a deep sense of the Spirit's presence in the midst of diverse convictions. The consultation demonstrated the great value of facilitated dialogue. The experience of Christ in each other during the four days' dialogue, fostered great hope for the possibilities of similar dialogue in all parts of the Anglican Communion. The experience of the West Park consultation called to mind words from the Report of the Lambeth Conference: "The challenge to our Church is to maintain its unity while we seek, under the guidance of the Holy Spirit, to discern the way of Christ for the world today with respect to human sexuality. To do so will require sacrifice, trust, and charity towards one another, remembering that ultimately the identity of each person is defined in Christ (section 1, Report)." This meeting is of particular interest to Integrity/Toronto members, partially because it was a communion-wide meeting of bishops in dialogue on homosexuality, and partially because our own bishop, Terence Finlay, was one of the ten. Bishop Finlay said that the participants were interested to hear of the Toronto dialogue process, to read the document *Emerging Common Ground* produced by the Toronto group in 1997, and interested to know that people in the Toronto dialogue feel the freedom to disagree and do not feel that they are going to be manipulated into another person's position while continuing the dialogue process. The bishops at West Park have reported back to the Archbishop of Canterbury, as the convener of the meeting, in a rather more substantial document than the statement above. The next step is up to Archbishop Carey. A number of people will have felt impatience at the West Park statement, which says nothing particularly definitive in either direction. Bishop Finlay said that the group who assembled there had a real commitment to waiting on the Spirit; and while the statement doesn't respond to those who want action, at the same time, doors were not closed; and all of the bishops remained open to what God is going to do with this. ======== [99-6-6] CAMBRIDGE ACCORD UPDATE In our last issue, we printed the *Cambridge Accord* [article 99- 5-5], a statement by several bishops across the Anglican Communion. The accord says that homosexuals should be treated with the respect due all humans, that no homosexual should be deprived of liberty or rights because of sexual orientation, and that violence against homosexuals is wrong, and cannot be justified by appeals to Christian tenets. One of the remarkable things about the Accord is the broad base of the signatories. Bishops who feel that the church should be more accepting of lesbigays, and bishops who are of a much more traditional leaning are all able to back the Accord. 130 bishops have now signed, 23 of whom are Canadian. They are Bishops: Asbil (Niagara, retired); Bedford-Jones (Toronto-York- Scarborough); Blackwell (Toronto-Trent-Durham); Bothwell (Niagara, retired); Coffin (Ottawa); Crawley (Kootenay); Finlay (Toronto); Fricker (Credit Valley, retired); Harvey (Eastern Newfoundland & Labrador); Hiltz (Nova Scotia and PEI); Hutchison (Montreal); Ingham (New Westminster); Jenks (British Columbia); Lawrence (Moosonee); Lemmon (Fredericton); Matthews (Edmonton); O'Driscoll (Huron); Peers (Primate); Peters (Nova Scotia and PEI); Scott (Primate, retired); Spence (Niagara); Tottenham (Toronto-Credit Valley); Townshend (Huron-Georgian Bay) ======== End of volume 99-6 of Integrator, the newsletter of Integrity/Toronto copyright 1999 Integrity/Toronto comments please to Chris Ambidge, Editor chris.ambidge@utoronto.ca OR Integrity/Toronto Box 873 Stn F Toronto ON Canada M4Y 2N9 http://www.whirlwind.ca/integrity -- -- Chris Ambidge chris.ambidge@utoronto.ca Integrity/Toronto http://www.whirlwind.ca/integrity Integrity is a member of the Alliance of Lesbian & Gay Anglicans http://www.alga.org