By R. William Carroll
The phrase occurs in the fourth resolve of C056, adopted by the 2009 General Convention:
Resolved, That bishops, particularly those in dioceses within civil jurisdictions where same-gender marriage, civil unions, or domestic partnerships are legal, may provide generous pastoral response to meet the needs of members of this Church;
Surely, I am not the only one who is tempted to see unhelpful condescension in this language. In this piece, I’d like to suggest a more charitable reading, which I hope might provide some guidance for how to apply C056 during the next triennium and beyond.
The language is intended to draw a distinction between public liturgies for blessing same sex unions (which have not yet been authorized by the Episcopal Church) and appropriate pastoral care, perhaps taking the form of a locally approved rite, while such liturgies are being developed. Indeed, the first three resolves outline a process that may (almost certainly will, perhaps by 2012) lead to public liturgies approved for use by General Convention.
It is indeed highly insulting if we read the language about generosity as if the diocesan bishop were being generous to provide pastoral care. This is in fact his or her duty, and the General Convention has already committed the Episcopal Church to the following (over 30 years ago, in 1976):
Resolved, that it is the sense of this General Convention that homosexual persons are children of God and have a full and equal claim with all other persons upon the love, acceptance, and pastoral concern and care of the Church.
One cannot be generous in discharging a duty. One is either being faithful and upholding one’s vows, or one is not. One can perform a duty with a generous or grudging spirit perhaps, but in the end a servant does only what is required by his or her Lord. There is a fundamental distinction between gratuitous liberality and what is owed. Among other things, a bishop promises to “encourage and support all baptized people in their gifts and ministries” and to “nourish them from the riches of God’s grace.” (BCP, p. 518)
At the same time, however, all of us (not just bishops) need to acknowledge that we have, as individuals and as a Church, fallen short of the mark and that we have waffled about whether we really mean it when we speak of a “full and equal claim.” If anyone has been generous these thirty years and more, it has been the LGBT faithful, who have endured from the Church they love a spectrum of pastoral care ranging from spiritual violence and rejection, on the one hand, to ambivalent and fickle tolerance, on the other, with an occasional outbreak of Kingdom hope here and there to sustain them on their wilderness journey.
I believe that when it speaks of a “generous pastoral response,” resolution C056 should be understood to be reminding us of the high standard to which we are held as Christians. It is calling the bishops, in particular, to the task of shepherds and apostles. In every ministry and apostolate, however, the standard is not our generosity but God’s. It is the generous love that overflowed to make the world. It is the love that sent the Son into the world, to live, suffer, and die for us, and to rise victorious over every power that corrupts and destroys the creatures of God. Seen in this light, the phrase “generous pastoral response” implies that we should go to great lengths so as not to further scandalize the LGBT faithful. The Church is called to nourish God’s people from the riches of God’s grace. None of the Church’s treasures belong to us. God is the source of every blessing and every good gift. They not ours to control, only to administer.
Does this mean that every bishop will rush to authorize blessings? Probably not, though I think it is chicanery of the highest order and an evasion of the apostolic ministry to read the “particularly” clause, as if a generous response is only called for in places where same sex marriage or civil unions are already accorded legal status. What the fourth resolve calls us to is to fulfill the vows we have already made to God, with the generous love of Jesus as the measure for our faithfulness. My hope is that the Holy Spirit will use this resolve to break down remaining barriers to baptismal equality. May God move our bishops and all the faithful to a new level of public honesty about the gifts and ministries of LGBT faithful in every diocese of this Church, to genuine listening where it has not occurred, to repentance wherever necessary. And may God lead us to witness, bless, and celebrate faithful love wherever it is found.
The Rev. Dr. R. William Carroll is rector of the Episcopal Church of the Good Shepherd in Athens, Ohio. He received his Ph.D. in Christian theology from the University of Chicago Divinity School. His sermons appear on his parish blog. He also blogs at Living the Gospel. He is a member of the Third Order of the Society of Saint Francis.