Synod’s Shared Conversations
Through a mixture of rain and smooth, cool breezes and muggy stillness, General Synod spent iii days engaged in 'Shared Conversations' nigh the Church and sexuality, the final event in a 2-yr process of conversations involving representatives from dioceses coming together to do the same around the state. Feedback from previous events had been somewhat mixed, and for me (and I remember a good number of others) this besides proved to exist like the proverbial curate'southward egg.
There were very practiced moments, and some genuinely helpful results of the process of listening to different views. The final plenary session on Tuesday morning brought together interesting insights from the dissimilar small groups, and gave a sense that progress had been made. In our groups of xx or and then, we had spent time in threes talking well-nigh our journeys of religion and how they related to the question of sexuality, and and then looked at some scriptures together, and for me this was the high betoken. I was with one person who has similar views to me, and another who took a very different position, but both were fascinating people with some profound insights whom I establish very stimulating to be with. Here was a glimpse of what a genuinely skilful process could look like, and we all felt frustrated that nosotros could not spend more fourth dimension together in word.
The plenary sessions on Mon afternoon were a more mixed thing, one bones problem being that in that location was only besides much input in one go which made it very difficult to process and was very tiring. The first of these three involved listening to the experience of iv same-sex attracted young people and their experiences, and information technology was deeply moving and challenging. I felt nosotros should have simply sabbatum for a while or had a break without proverb anything; the pain and the trauma which was shared deserved more space and time for u.s.a. to live with. The young people came from ii organisations which I have been informed I am not supposed to name as part of the St Michael's protocols. 1 of the organisations says clearly that information technology believes information technology is important to piece of work within the church's current didactics; the other seeks to prioritise the creation of safe infinite. Although representation from these organisations was not the chief issue, it is not completely irrelevant that the two groups were not equally represented. 2 of the four had painful stories about church building leaders and members responding to them in insensitive, crass and damaging ways; the other 2 had found Christians responding to them positively and helpfully, without a hint of condemnation or judgementalism, which itself highlights i of the paradoxes around this issue.
The middle session, exploring issues of changing culture, was the all-time for me. There was a proper representation of different views, and the juxtaposition of contrasting approaches prepare out clearly what is at stake and what our options are. There is ever here a temptation to listening for confirmation of 1'southward own view in such a range of speakers, and I am always wanting to find out how those who disagree with me viewed the speaker who agrees with me; it is all very well having my views confirmed, but is the position at all engaging and persuasive for others? I think it was meaning that the clearest believer in the Church building's electric current teaching was viewed positively by many who disagreed with him—and this was helped by that person's acknowledgement of the presence of virtue in the lives and relationships of people living in aforementioned-sex activity sexual partnerships, even though this person did not believe this was a holy way of life in line with God's intention.
The last of these three sessions was far less helpful and far more than problematic. A leader from Africa explained that, if the Church inverse its teaching, many churches in Africa would demand to severe the links with their 'older blood brother'—only he did not requite a compelling explanation of this conviction other than that this was the teaching Westerners themselves had brought in the 1930s. There must exist many more compelling advocates of the theological position of these churches, and it was unhelpful that we were not offered a better explanation. A leader from the US said that the clash was betwixt leaders, and at the grassroots people were actually working together well, which was a rather unconvincing business relationship of the position in TEC where the church has been taking congregations to court virtually the ownership of holding. The two other speakers also advocated that nosotros could larn to live together, so in that location was a strong sense of the process leaning into a 'alive and let live' approach, without exploring the possibility that this question might not be 1 of theadiaphora. The breezy bonhomie of the chair of this group didn't really fit.
The worst plenary session of all was the start one, and it was very telling that what many view as the most important theological question—what does Scripture say and how should we make sense of it—was the one most badly misjudged. I don't think information technology is an exaggeration to describe it equally an accented travesty of process. There were three speakers, i of whom supports the current instruction position of the Church, the other 2 arguing for change. The first person stayed inside the brief, and spoke for seven to 8 minutes; the second appeared to ignore the brief and spoke for 17 minutes, without intervention from the chair; the 3rd spoke for 12 minutes. Then nosotros were offered 8 minutes on the Church's current and historic teaching, and 29 minutes on why this was wrong. And the dynamic of putting the 'orthodox' position starting time meant that, every bit in all such debates, the advantage is handed to the others. Added to that, the start speaker, whilst eminently qualified in other ways, was non a biblical scholar, whilst the side by side ane advocating change was. There was no vocalism from a Catholic perspective, engaging with the reception of Scripture inside the tradition, and the 'orthodox' view was repeatedly labelled not every bit the Church'southward teaching, but as 'conservative'.
Even worse than that was the content of the second and third presentations, and the way the format prevented proper interrogation of the claims made. It was claimed that the givenness of sexual orientation is the settled view of Western culture, when it is contested both within and outside the church, is not supported by social-scientific inquiry, and has been abased as a basis of argument in secular LGBT+ debate. It was claimed that all the texts in the NT referring to same-sexual practice activity are in the context ofporneia, 'bad sex', which was either commercial or abusive—which is a bones factual error. It was claimed that St Paul 'could not take known of stable same-sexual activity relations' which is not supported by the historical facts. And information technology was claimed that same-sex relationships were the 'eschatological fulfilment of Christian marriage' since they involved loving commitment without procreation. It was not fifty-fifty acknowledged that many in the bedchamber would discover that a deeply offensive assertion, quite autonomously from its implausibility. Merely the format of the presentation precluded proper exploration of these authoritative claims. Information technology felt to me similar a serious power play, and I felt I had been subject to an abuse of skillful ability.
All this was made worse when ane of the key organisers, having picked up some negative feedback on this, stood up near the end of the 24-hour interval to tell usa (in essence) that if yous thought this outset session was unbalanced, then you were wrong. It confirmed a bones lack of understanding of the concerns raised by those responsible for the process—concerns non of some extreme group at one end of the spectrum, but concerns of those who simply believe in the Church'southward current teaching position. Nevertheless over again, throughout the whole twenty-four hours, information technology appeared to be impossible to detect someone who would just speak to assert the current position, and who was presented not every bit being at one end of the spectrum, but as being a regular, orthodox Anglican. Information technology is hardly a coincidence that (in the forthcoming Church Times article) all those pressing for a change in the Church'south pedagogy idea that it was very fair, and that we had heard the biblical arguments. It wasn't, and we didn't. After two years of planning, the 'orthodox' speakers were only finalised in the previous week. This confirms some of the suspicions of the 'conservatives' who stayed away, merely I call up it was a mistake not to be there, as their presence could have helped u.s.a. in this.
This was exacerbated for me past the facilitation in groups. Several times nosotros were reprimanded for actually trying to talk over the issues involved, and understand what each other believed and why, and what the differences were. We were not supposed to exist discussing this, but only talking virtually how we might talk nigh it. When questions were raised nearly the process itself, this was clearly out of bounds, and our facilitator responded by using emotional linguistic communication—'I am disappointed…I am sad.' The cardinal problem here was the underlying approach—that at that place are no right answers, and no given positions, and so what is needed is a juxtaposition of different views then that mutual respect can sally. This might be just correct for a position of political disharmonize, where there is no 'objective' position which can deed every bit a reference point. But how can this be right in a context where the Church itself already has a committed position, 1 that has the weight of history behind information technology, and a position which, in theory, all the clergy and the bishops accept themselves signed up to believing, supporting and education. Any group which included clergy in same-sexual activity marriages would need to face the disproportion that they take in their midst people who are disregarding the teaching position of the Church, and that cannot be an insignificant factor in shaping the contend. That is not a reason to avert listening to the whole range of views. Merely it is a reason for thinking that we are not working with atabula rasa, where we are simply doing theologyde novo as if there is non a deep and broad theological legacy to wrestle with.
Information technology is not immediately articulate where we become from hither. At that place was a sense of frustration in our group that this could take been an opportunity to serious engage with the issues; many of us had been engaged in discussion on this and others issues with people with whom nosotros disagreed, and we did not need to be infantilised by being told to 'hold things'. (If I hear anyone comment 'What I hear your saying…' in the next few days, I won't exist held responsible for my actions…!) It was clear that small group discussion is essential to any futurity date; an old-style Synod debate will take u.s.a. back to a binary win/lose position. I have a question about whether Synod is genuinely competent to debate and decide on this effect; we were not all elected on the basis of our theological competence; a group of 500 is the worst place to discuss such things; and it seems to me to exist usurping the role of episcopal leadership. Then we will demand to look to the Business firm of Bishops to propose a style forward of which Synod will need to have expert understanding and to which Synod will need to give its assent.
If in that location is a change either in the doctrine of marriage or of the significant pastoral adaptation beyond what we already have (in terms of the differing standards for laity inIssues and the concession on civil partnerships for clergy), so I think this volition pb to a serious division and peradventure a split in the Church. There was a strong consensus that that was what nosotros all wanted to avoid. Just whatever happens, if those managing the process exercise not demonstrate a much ameliorate understanding of and engagement with thosewho really believe in what the bishops currently teach then at that place volition exist trouble ahead.
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