Stuffed by the House of Bishops.

 On 13th July the General Synod of the Church of England considered the following Private Members' Motion in the name of Professor Helen King.

‘That this Synod affirm that there are no fundamental objections to being in a committed, faithful, intimate same-sex relationship, and that such a relationship can be entirely compatible with Christian discipleship.’

The following amendment to the motion was proposed. It deleted all after 'That this Synod'.

a) affirm that all baptised, believing and faithful persons regardless of sexual orientation are full members of the Body of Christ;

 b) delight in the lives and ministries of LGBTQIA+ people in the Church of England;

 c) recognise a legitimate range of theological perspectives, held in good conscience, across the Church of England, on the right ordering of committed, faithful, intimate same-sex relationships, and;

 d) recognise that this includes views that affirm and views that reject the position that there are no fundamental objections to being in such a relationship and that such a relationship can be entirely compatible with Christian discipleship and ministry.

The amendment was carried, voting being as follows:

                     IN FAVOUR AGAINST 

 Bishops       12                      8 

Clergy        100                    68 

Laity          102                    76 

8 abstentions were recorded in the House of Bishops, 4 abstentions in the House of Clergy, and 4 abstentions in the House of Laity.

This wording became the substantive motion.  Voting was as follows:

                 IN FAVOUR    AGAINST

 Bishops       11                    14 

Clergy          93                    79 

Laity          101                    83

 4 abstentions were recorded in the House of Bishops, 0 abstentions in the House of Clergy, and 0 abstentions in the House of Laity.

Thus the motion was lost.  

When the original motion was published John Dunnett, National Director, Church of England Evangelical Council (CEEC),had this to say:

“This motion matters. While it might be viewed by some as committing General Synod to ‘nothing in particular’, this motion shows that the revisionists will find new and different ways to continually push their agenda – away from Scripture, away from our Church’s doctrine and towards liberal change – even when the House of Bishops is not doing so. And were the motion to find support it could be seen as paving the way for further change.

“The big question is how the bishops and indeed the new Archbishop will respond. Will the Archbishop see it as an opportunity to allow Synod to express its mind, or would she prefer the process to be steered by the House of Bishops, and therefore encourage her colleagues to vote against the motion?”

On the face of it Dunnett and his constituency have succeeded, but at the expense of the gay constituency.  The gay community has been stuffed by the bishops. Shocking, 

The voting in the Houses of Clergy and Laity is indicative of the direction of travel towards inclusion.  Voting for membership of the new General Synod takes place later this year.  Will the result of the election maintain the status quo, accentuate the direction of travel, or reverse it?  And what of the bishops: unelected and unaccountable.