The Anglican Church of New Zealand is “exploring ways” to offer blessings to same-sex couples. Rev. Charles Hughes has noticed that without going through abnormal hermeneutical contortions to make the Bible say what you might like it to say, it roundly condemns homosexual activity, making it an unlikely candidate for a liturgical blessing. So he is leaving along with his congregation.
The rector’s bishop, Ross Bay, has acted with the all the charity that one has come to expect from bishops: he has revoked Hughes’ licence to minister as an Anglican priest.
Next will come the split, the battle over buildings, the freezing of bank accounts and more revoked licenses – all for what? Pacifying a noisy contingent of Anglican homosexuals determined to have their own way come what may.
From here:
An Anglican pastor has quit the church and is taking his congregation with him after the governing body moved ahead with plans to bless same-sex relationships.
Charlie Hughes, the former vicar of St Michael’s in Henderson, says he cannot reconcile the decision of the church to recognise same sex relationships with his ordination vows.
He said the vows were a pledge to uphold the constitution of the Anglican Church. The constitution states it is “not lawful to ordain anything contrary to God’s word written”.
“It’s not because we have a problem with people who are in a same sex relationship but because of the commitment we have to shaping our lives around the teachings of the Bible,” Mr Hughes said.
[….]
The Bishop of Auckland the Very Reverend Ross Bay told St Michael’s parishioners that he understood there would be “confusion and even anger” over the situation.
He said Mr Hughes had spoken of making a decision of conscience.
“I respect his decision and so have accepted the inevitable consequence that his licence as vicar must lapse as a result.”
Thanks for posting this! I just emailed the church to urge the congregation to follow their rector’s courageous stand for the Truth of God’s unchanging Word. And I assured them that, as we have found in NA, one can be fully Anglican AS WELL AS faithful to the authoritative Word of God and two centuries of church teaching… but it may require separating from the decaying ecclesial structures.
There isn’t anything decaying in the ecclesial structures of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints… hint, hint.
Well said, Charlie.
I’m afraid there will be many moving from the CoE after this capitulation by the Synod to the demands of the GLBT group and their supporters. You are so right in distinguishing between the standards of the Bible and the claimed rights of individuals whose behaviour flies in the face of the clear words of Scripture.
The Bible is not concerned with rights but with what is right in God’s eyes.
There is indeed an inconsistency between same sex relationships and membership of a Christian church.
May God bless your stand and your ministry, wherever it might be from here on.
The apostasy virus is spreading throughout the Anglican Communion with the full endorsement of apostate bishops who seem to think that their purple shirt and white collar makes them superior to the authority of Scripture. If they did the honourable thing they would simply resign but that will never happen as long as they have the support of the laity whether that be failure to call apostate clergy to account or simply following under the apostate teaching. We can only pray for genuine conversion and repentence without which what is known as the Anglican Communion will simply become totally dead as it is rapidly becoming in North America — except for the Anglican Church in North America and the Anglican Network in Canada.
In the good old days, bishops were appointed. Nowadays, in most cases, they are elected by the laity.
In The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Bishops are appointed the same way they were in the days of the original apostles:
5 We believe that a man must be called of God, by prophecy, and by the laying on of hands by those who are in authority, to preach the Gospel and administer in the ordinances thereof. (Articles of Faith:5)
nudge, nudge