The 140th Annual Convention of the Episcopal Diocese of Albany
Bishop’s Address
By
The Right Reverend William H. Love
Read it all here...
As I look around the wider Church, I can’t help but give thanks to God, for this Diocese and all the Lord is doing here. I firmly believe Albany is one of the great dioceses of the Church and will be used by our Lord in mighty ways if we remain faithful, keeping our focus on Christ, trusting and following Him, remaining obedient to His call.
I was recently asked what my vision for the Diocese is. Quite simply, my vision is that Albany will be a diocese of disciples making disciples, through faithfully living the Great Commandment and the Great Commission: We are to love the Lord our God with all our heart, and with all our soul, and with all our mind. And we are to love our neighbor as our self. We are to go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to obey everything that Christ has commanded us. We are to do so, trusting not in ourselves, but rather in the One who has called us and in whose name we are sent, remembering that He has promised to be with us to the end of the age.
It is when we try to rely on ourselves, our own strength, our own intellect and understanding, our own sense of right and wrong, our own desires irrespective of others that we tend to get ourselves in trouble, creating chaos in our lives and that of our family, society and the Church.
Please don’t misunderstand what I am saying. God blesses us with different strengths and abilities, different interests and desires. He has blessed us with a mind and He expects us to use it. Yet He expects us to exercise these different aspects of our life in conjunction with Him, not apart from Him.
When asked by the disciples to teach them to pray, Jesus said, "Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy Name, thy kingdom come, thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven." In this prayer, Jesus teaches us that we are to seek the Father’s will, above all else. As Jesus was about to ascend to heaven, He gave us the Great Commission referenced above. Note what He says, "Teach them to obey everything that I have commanded you." (Mt 28:20). The bottom line in all of this, it that what God thinks and desires, His will, is important and is not to be ignored, without putting the salvation of our souls at great risk. It is for these reasons that I keep stressing the importance of studying God’s Word as revealed in Holy Scripture and spending time with Him in prayer, that He may speak to our heart and soul and mind, drawing us ever closer to Him.
In II Timothy 3:16, Paul writes, "All scripture is inspired by God and is useful for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness…" If we want to know what God thinks, what better place to go than to His holy Word, as revealed in the Bible.
One of the great misunderstandings about the current crisis in the Church is that it is all about sex, more specifically, the appropriateness or inappropriateness of homosexual relations. While that is certainly an issue, it is really a symptom of a far greater issue centered on one’s understanding of Holy Scripture and its authority in our life.
Is the Bible really the Word of God, or is it simply a creation of man? Does it apply to us today, or was it simply for the people at the time in which it was first spoken or written? Does it have authority over our lives, or can we simply pick and chose the parts we like and ignore the rest? Depending on one’s answer to these questions, determines to a great extent how we understand the other issues that are dividing and threatening to destroy the Episcopal Church and the wider Anglican Communion.
In the next few moments, I am going to try to share with you my understanding of some of these issues and why I made some of the decisions that I have. I realize not everyone shares my understanding of the issues confronting us.
In the Episcopal Church, every man or women ordained as a deacon, priest or bishop publicly states: "I do believe the Holy Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments to be the Word of God, and to contain all things necessary to salvation." (BCP) As your bishop, I take this declaration as part of the ordination vows very seriously. I believe that the Holy Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments are not only the Word of God, but the living Word of God that continues to speak to us to this day and for all time.
In so saying, I am very much aware that the Bible as we know it today is a compilation of works, representing various literary styles, written by human authors over hundreds of years. While parts are intended to be interpreted literally, other parts are figurative, and some are poetic or history. Underlying all of it, however, is God’s inspired truth, as referenced by Paul in II Timothy.
To argue as some have tried, that whatever prohibitions God may have had toward homosexual behavior, as revealed in Leviticus 18 or Romans 1, only applied to the people to which the original text was written, and therefore does not apply to today’s culture, and modern societies’ enlightened understanding of sexuality, would seem to suggest that somehow God was limited in His understanding of human sexuality. I might remind us of the faith we proclaim every time we say the Nicene Creed: "We believe in one God, the Father, the Almighty, maker of heaven and earth, of all that is, seen and unseen." If God is Almighty and if He created all that is, as we proclaim, and as Holy Scripture attests to, how can we say that we are more enlightened in this generation that God was when he first inspired Moses and Paul to write the words He gave them?
It is argued by some, that people, who identify themselves as homosexual in orientation, were created that way by God and therefore it is in accordance with His will that they live out their gift of sexuality in a same sex relationship. Others state that science has proven that people, who are homosexual, were born that way. To the best of my knowledge, there is no scientific study that proves that people are born homosexual. There is no genetic link that has been discovered. In regard to God creating people homosexual in orientation, Matthew 19 makes a strong case against such an argument. Jesus said, "Haven’t you read, ‘that at the beginning the Creator made them male and female,’ and said, ‘For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh?’ So they are no longer two but one."
The marriage service in the Book of Common Prayer makes reference to the same passage from Genesis that Jesus quotes in Matthew 19. The Church has always taught that marriage is intended to be between a man and a woman, and that such marriage is ordained by God. The current move to legalize homosexual marriages and make them equivalent to heterosexual marriages is a new development and has no scriptural support or previous cultural support. It is turning marriage into something, which I would argue, God never intended it to be. While the legal and societal ramifications of homosexual marriages is potentially devastating, the greatest tragedy, especially if the Church starts blessing such unions, is that the couple will be lured into believing that their lifestyle is in accordance with God’s will, even though Holy Scripture speaks against it. And as such they will be living in a state of sin, seeing no need for repentance, thus denying them selves of our Lord’s forgiveness – the forgiveness He made possible 2000 years ago on the cross.
God loves His people – All of them, regardless of sexual orientation, so much so, that He sent his Son Jesus Christ to take the sins of all the world upon Himself, offering Himself as a sacrifice for the sins of his people, dying on the cross for His people, rising to new life for His people, inviting us into that new resurrected life. He doesn’t want to loose a single person. The current debate is not about whether God loves people who identify themselves as being homosexual, but rather about one’s behavior and lifestyle. While God loves His people, He does not necessarily bless and approve of all our behavior.
Individuals promoting support of the homosexual lifestyle, often speak of this as being a justice issue. They often make reference to the prejudice and hateful treatment they have received by others. In many ways I would agree. People of homosexual orientation have often been treated shamefully throughout history. Unfortunately, the Church has been guilty of turning a blind eye in the past, not speaking out against physical, verbal and emotional abuse aimed at our homosexual brothers and sisters. In our baptismal covenant we pledge "to strive for justice and peace among all people, and respect the dignity of every human being." (BCP) Our homosexual brothers and sisters deserve no less.
Unfortunately, in our attempt to make up for past injustices, I believe some in the Church are going too far to the other extreme, by embracing and encouraging people in a lifestyle which, I believe God through Holy Scripture has spoken against. To do so, is doing them a great injustice, for the reasons mentioned above. We can love the person without embracing and blessing the lifestyle. As Christians, we pledge to support and uphold one another in our life in Christ. Sometimes, the greatest love and support we can show a person, is the hardest. To speak out against that which we believe is wrong is never easy, but often is the very thing that most needs to be done.
Tomorrow, we will have an opportunity to do that, as we consider the proposed additions to the Canons of the Diocese of Albany. As already stated, there is great confusion within the Church and society concerning the appropriateness of sexual relations other than those between a man and a woman within the confines of marriage.
The proposed canons are not intended to be divisive, although some have come to see them that way. But rather, they are intended to provide clarity, in a time where there is great confusion within the Episcopal Church as well as the Anglican Communion concerning marriage and sexual relations outside of the confines of marriage between a man and women. Please note that the proposed cannons apply to everyone, regardless of one’s sexual orientation. There is one standard concerning sexual relations by which we are all called to live. While recognizing that many heterosexual couples have chosen to engage in sexual relations outside of marriage, the Church will not bless such unions. We have only to look at the high number of unwanted pregnancies, abortions, emotionally scared unwanted children, poverty stricken single mothers, and a whole host of other societal concerns to see the potentially devastating impact of engaging in sexual relations when the couple is not committed to one another and prepared to take on the responsibility of caring for children. Not only do our people need to know what the Church’s teaching has historically been concerning these issues, but it is also important that the wider Anglican Communion knows where the Diocese of Albany stands on these issues. As your bishop, I have pledged to support and uphold that which was asked of us in the Windsor Report. I cannot over emphasize the seriousness of these issues and the current state of affairs in the wider Anglican Communion.
The proposed canons are consistent with past and current diocesan policy and are not in violation or contradiction with National Church canons.
Given the recent executive order issued by the Governor of New York, ordering all state agencies to recognize the legality of homosexual marriages of couples coming from other states and Canada where such marriages are legal, and the active move within New York to follow suite, I believe it is important that we act now, rather than later.
I realize we are dealing with very highly charged and emotional issues, in which there is a wide variety of opinions. Some of you have shared your personal struggles. I have seen the anguish in your face and felt the heaviness of your heart as you struggle with how best to love and be there for a child or brother or sister who is living in a homosexual relationship. I have heard the frustration, confusion and anger you feel. There are some who have suggested that there will be a floor fight as a result of the resolutions coming before us tomorrow. I hope those who might be looking for a fight, will be sorely disappointed, finding instead brothers and sisters in Christ dealing with very difficult issues in a loving and Christ-like manner. May God’s grace be with us as we move forward.
As important as the business session is, it is only a small part of our weekend together. In many ways, our Convention has become a Diocesan Family Reunion. May the Lord bless us in our time together, drawing us ever closer to Him and through Him, to one another. I am honored to call you brothers and sisters in Christ and to serve our Lord with you. May all that we do and say be in accordance with His will and to His honor and glory and the benefit of His Church and people. God Bless You.
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