William Crawley has reported that CIEF, EFIC, New Wine and Reform Ireland have published a joint statement ahead of the proposed consecration of the world's first lesbian bishop tomorrow. Taken from the EFIC website, here is the statement in full:
As members of the Church of Ireland we wish to express sorrow that Mary Glasspool, a person who is living in a same-sex relationship, is to be consecrated as one of two new assistant bishops in Los Angeles on May 15.
The elevation to senior church leadership of a person whose lifestyle is contrary to the will of God revealed in Scripture is both wrong and disappointing.
The decision to elect and confirm Mary Glasspool to the position of suffragan bishop is a clear rejection of the many pleas for gracious restraint made from within the Anglican Communion, not least by the Archbishop of Canterbury, the Windsor Report and the most recent Primates’ Meeting. The Episcopal Church (TEC) has taken this provocative step despite knowing the division and difficulties created by Gene Robinson’s consecration in 2003. This shows a deliberate disregard for other members of the Anglican family and suggests that TEC does not greatly value unity within Anglicanism and indeed throughout the universal Church.
We wish to express our support for the many people within The Episcopal Church who feel alienated and hurt by this development. We stand in fellowship with them and with those who have separated from that Church for conscience’s sake, many of whom now face legal proceedings and financial sacrifices as a result.
Many Christians of all traditions and denominations will share our sorrow and see Mary Glasspool’s consecration as a defiant rejection of pleas for restraint and, even more importantly, as a rejection of the pattern of holiness of life called for in Scripture and endorsed by believers over the centuries.
Jointly issued by the committees of the Church of Ireland Evangelical Fellowship, the Evangelical Fellowship of Irish Clergy, New Wine (Ireland) and Reform Ireland, Ascension Day, May 13th 2010.
This is another heartbreaking situation in the Anglican Communion. I think the statement is well worded, sensitive, (yet firm) and I agree with it. I just wish I understood the situation better - what are they doing in LA and why - are they deliberately trying to be provocative or are they simply not aware of or aloof to the consequences of their actions?
ReplyDeleteThanks for your comment Daniel. It's a great statement, and good to see those evangelical groupings working together on the important things. It's hard to know where it will all end up and what it could mean for us in the Church of Ireland... Very sad.
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