On 8 MAR 2016, a federal district court judge in Puerto Rice ruled that the US Supreme Court decision on marriage equality in 2015 did not apply to the island commonwealth. On 8 APR, the 1st US Court of Appeals, based in Boston MA, overturned Judge Pérez-Giménez’s decision.
“The gracious arms of our Lord are open to all who seek him. As the Episcopal branch of the Jesus movement, we continue to open our arms to our brothers and sisters who are adversely affected by this bill.” – Bishop Seage
“In their statement, they wrote that they wondered if a legislative process is “the most helpful way of dealing with these matters”. The Council has also considered other options. If a legislative solution were not the best way to proceed on this question, we would ask the House of Bishops for some concrete examples of other options.”
Bishop John Chapman, of the diocese of Ottawa, expressed frustration over what he said was an attempt on the part of some bishops to “blackmail” other bishops into choosing between the unity of the church and the dictates of their consciences. “A couple [of bishops] made it pretty clear that if this motion were to pass, they would seriously question their membership in the Anglican Church of Canada.” – Anglican Journal
For as long as TEC has been struggling with LGBT equality of all the baptized, so has the UMC. And like TEC’s overseas units, the UMC overseas units are more conservative than their US counterparts. Unlike TEC, the UMC overseas units are large enough that their representatives at the UMC quadrennial General Conference have so far been successful in preventing the UMC from embracing the full equality of its LGBT baptized. And the overseas units, unlike their US counterparts, are growing larger.
“The two integrities proposed within our church should not be hermetically sealed internal sects within our church, but clergy and people living and worshipping together cheek by jowl agreeing to disagree about this as we do about so many other things, continuing to be in full communion”
UPDATED statement by Archbishop Hiltz
… it became clear to us that the draft resolution to change the Marriage Canon to accommodate the marriage of same-sex partners is not likely to pass in the Order of Bishops by the canonical requirement of a 2/3rds majority in each Order.
ACANZP Working Group has proposed a path towards blessing of same-sex marriages which seeks to hold together greater inclusion and the traditional doctrine of marriage.
It was not open to him, argued Dr Hiltz, to offer to suffer the same consequences alongside his brother bishop, since this would preempt the decisions of the Anglican Church of Canada’s own General Synod this July.
UPDATED: How global is the Global South when it comes to the Anglican Communion?