New Zealand Anglican Church delays decision on same-sex weddings for two years
Wellington Anglican Paul Day posted on Facebook that he was leaving the Church for a second time "over the ongoing hatred they show for people like me". This is a good thing to have the pro-homosexual, bible ignorant anti-God people leave rather than kill a church and it holiness.
"I know you must be writing this with the collective fury we all feel right now," he said on the page of the liberal church St-Matthew-in-the-City. St Matthew's vicar Rev Helen Jacobi, who was an observer at the General Synod in Napier, said: "Today I hang my head in shame."
Massey University social work professor Mark Henrickson, who led a research project on New Zealand's gay community, said he was a lifelong Anglican but withdrew from the Church two years ago when it set up a working party on how to "bless" gay unions without actually marrying them in church. "I have disassociated myself from the Church for the last two years since the last General Synod and I don't see any reason to amend that decision now," he said.
This is a good thing as the church is Christ body and Christians are meant to be holy as Christ is holy. Once you celebrate the sin of homosexuality you are no longer Christ's church and body.
This week's synod voted to set up yet another working party to report back on the issue at the next synod in 2018. Same-sex couples wanting an Anglican ceremony will have to wait at least two more years for a church blessing.
This week the New Zealand and Polynesian branches of the Church held their two-yearly meeting, or synod, in Napier where one of the major items up for discussion was a report entitled A Way Forward, which raised the option of blessings for same-sex couples.
At the 2014 synod church leaders ruled out marrying same-sex couples and upheld the "traditional doctrine of marriage", which defined marriage as being "between a man and a woman ... life-long and monogamous".
This prevented same-sex marriages in Anglican churches. A working group was appointed to write the report, which suggested blessing ceremonies for same-sex couples instead. However, try telling God that on judgment day "We blessed sin...was that okay?"
These would require the legal marriage to take place elsewhere, there would be no exchange of rings and the pair themselves would be blessed, not their marriage. Following three days of discussion in Napier this week church leaders chose not to make any decision on granting blessings following disagreement on points of theology. Instead the synod appointed a second working group, which will prepare another report for the 2018 synod.
Archbishop Phillip Richardson said the church leadership held two views that could not be reconciled.
This week's synod voted to set up yet another working party to report back on the issue at the next synod in 2018. Same-sex couples wanting an Anglican ceremony will have to wait at least two more years for a church blessing.
This week the New Zealand and Polynesian branches of the Church held their two-yearly meeting, or synod, in Napier where one of the major items up for discussion was a report entitled A Way Forward, which raised the option of blessings for same-sex couples.
At the 2014 synod church leaders ruled out marrying same-sex couples and upheld the "traditional doctrine of marriage", which defined marriage as being "between a man and a woman ... life-long and monogamous".
This prevented same-sex marriages in Anglican churches. A working group was appointed to write the report, which suggested blessing ceremonies for same-sex couples instead. However, try telling God that on judgment day "We blessed sin...was that okay?"
These would require the legal marriage to take place elsewhere, there would be no exchange of rings and the pair themselves would be blessed, not their marriage. Following three days of discussion in Napier this week church leaders chose not to make any decision on granting blessings following disagreement on points of theology. Instead the synod appointed a second working group, which will prepare another report for the 2018 synod.
Archbishop Phillip Richardson said the church leadership held two views that could not be reconciled.
