It is really hard to build bridges where there has been damage, hurt and trauma. I am thinking here of the huge gulf between the so-called liberal progressive churches and the conservative evangelicals. Before same sex unions were approved we had in the Anglican Church the full range and this to me has always been the unique strength and blessing of the Anglican Communion. People in either camp hate to hear this but we need one another. The conservative evangelicals, for their lack of flexibility and imagination still offer a solidity and a groundedness that contributes solidity and ballast to the rest of us. The liberal progressive side provides challenge to think and rethink our faith and encourage us to ask difficult questions and to really explore what and why we believe. Somewhere in our midst is the Holy Spirit, grieved and weeping over the damage we have done to the seamless garment that is real Christian unity.
Of course the conservatives didn't have to leave, but conservatives as we all know do not do compromise well. They need the presence and openness of the liberals in order not to become fossilized and there is a legitimate concern that the splinter congregations are also going to be rigid and largely closed to the work of the Holy Spirit. The rest of us need the honesty and authenticity of their quest for a biblically grounded faith. They need the rest of us to rescue them from becoming incurably fundamentalist.
These days I have almost nothing to do with conservative evangelical Anglicans for the simple reason that I don't know any, so I cannot say what they think of us or if they think about us at all. I know from some of the discussion that goes on in my parish book club and elsewhere that "fundamentalists" are pilloried and vilified as though they were the spawn of Satan. One would think that they are all intolerant religious bigots after the style of Fred Phelps and that they hate homosexuals and all of their friends and relatives to boot. Horror is expressed that there are not one, but two major congregations in downtown Vancouver that cater to conservative evangelicalism. I neglected to say that, including First Baptist, almost around the corner from us, we have not two but three. Quick, everyone, run back into the closet and lock the doors.
It isn't that simple. As I mentioned in my previous post, and to the good Anglicans in the book club, I would prefer to interact with persons instead of categories. I do not know what everyone in these conservative congregations really thinks or believes but it is very clear to me that no constructive dialogue is occurring and that whenever this is suggested, no matter which side you might happen to be on, there is going to be finger pointing and blaming because no one seems prepared to give their emotions a rest or make an effort to listen to one another.
Gay marriage is here to stay. The horse is long out of the barn. It is legal and the traditional "biblical" understandings of homosexuality are open to review and scrutiny, and it has been conclusively shown that same sex marriage is not in any way incompatible with Christian teaching or thinking. However, I do not think it is reasonable that we expect our evangelical conservative brethren to accept carte blanche same sex unions nor that this should be held as a condition for dialogue. We are called to love one another. We are not called to agree on everything.
There remain many obstacles. For many gay Anglicans, the wounds and trauma of many years of exclusion and persecution are too raw to make dialogue possible. They need to know they are safe, accepted and included and that none of their gains are going to be lost as a result of dialogue with their alleged "enemy." Yet I also wonder how much more quickly their healing would advance if some of them were willing, with adequate supports, to volunteer to dialogue with their conservative counterparts.
By the same token I think it is reasonable to be skeptical about the openness or willingness of many conservative evangelicals to engage in constructive dialogue about homosexuality and same sex marriage. Their conservative understanding of the Christian faith and their tendency towards biblical literalism precludes having an open mind. That said I still want to believe that there are some in their ranks with, if not the open mind, then at least enough love in their hearts to pursue dialogue.
Some of you reading this might be asking, "Why bother. It's time to move on." But is it. What about Jesus' prayer for his disciples, that we be made one even as he and the father are one? Do we simply write off our conservative brethren as apostates and heretics simply because we disagree on one apparently critical matter? What about patience? What about love? What about charity?
I remember very well and clearly my own journey towards acceptance of same sex marriage. It wasn't easy and it did not happen overnight. But in time, with much prayer and reflection it did happen. This does not mean that it will necessarily occur for others but surely as Christians we all have so much more in common already that we can find room to focus on the common ground that we share? I have absolutely no idea how this would look but surely there are some in the church who are praying for this and eventually will have the courage to try?
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