US Church votes in favour of transgender ordination
Posted: 13 Jul 2012 @ 00:56
THE Episcopal Church in the United States has voted
overwhelmingly in favour of allowing the ordination of transgender
people.
At its 77th General Convention, it approved an amendment to its
non-discrimination canons to include "gender identity and
expression". The amendment makes it uncanonical to bar
"transgender" people from the priesthood.
The vote was carried by the House of Deputies, made up of clergy
and lay people.
TransEpiscopal, a group of transgendered Episcopalians, said:
"We are filled with joy at this clear affirmation that the
Episcopal Church welcomes and values the ministerial gifts of
transgender people, lay and ordained. We are also delighted by the
strong support and broad understanding of trans issues shown by
deputies representing a wide range of regions and generations in
this Church."
A member of the delegation from the UK, Christina Beardsley,
said that the debate was "wonderful". One of the most "profound"
contributions, she said, came from the Bishop of Rochester, New
York, the Rt Revd Prince Singh, who said: "Just by being people of
faith we inevitably occupy liminal space and identity, and so
embracing trans people would take us into deeper depths of what it
means to be a pilgrim people."
The House of Bishops at the Convention also approved a new rite
for same-sex blessings, by a majority of 111 to 41.
The rite, "The Witnessing and Blessing of Lifelong Covenant",
now moves to the House of Deputies for final authorisation.
The liturgy contains a so-called "conscience clause", which says
that neither priests nor lay people would be coerced or penalised
in any way for supporting or barring the ceremony. This clause
would bring comfort to those in the "increasingly isolated
theological minority", the Bishop of Springfield, the Rt Revd
Daniel Martins, said.
The liturgy has been authorised for provisional use, and the
Standing Commission on Liturgy and Music has been asked to conduct
a review process over the next three years.
Some bishops warned that the rites would put the Church "out of
the Christian mainstream", but the Bishop of Washington, Dr Mariann
Edgar Budde, said that an official service was needed to honour and
bless the "lifelong same-sex couples" who "have served Christ and
Christ's mission in ways incalculable to measure".
The official liturgy for same-sex blessings has been in
development since 2009, when it was authorised by the last General
Convention.
On the Anglican Covenant, the House of Deputies carried a
revised resolution which said that the Church was too divided to
make a decision on the Covenant now. It asked for another
task-force on the Covenant to report to the General Convention in
2015.
A resolution calling for "positive investment" in Palestinian
territories was also passed, in order to promote a sound economy
and infrastructure; but the House of Bishops decided to postpone a
conversation about "corporate engagement" with companies in the
Church's investment portfolio which operate in the territories.
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