On Wednesday, January 7 the Chapel of St. Augustine of Canterbury, an Episcopal chapel at the University of Kentucky, held an event unlike any it had ever held before. We called it God Is Love: A Christian Response in Favor of Marriage Equality.
Bishop Doug Hahn welcomes a packed house to St. Augustine's and opens our Chapel Talk with prayer.
To offer some background for folks reading this blog who may not be Episcopalian, the General Convention of the Episcopal Church voted in 2012 to create a service for the Blessing of Same Gender Marriages. This was an official endorsement by the church's national governing body, saying that we Episcopalians have acknowledged that God blesses all of God's children and all of their relationships. Furthermore, as the priest-in-charge at St. A's, I have ministered with young gay and lesbian men and women who have very deep relationships with God and are often thankful to our chapel for being the one place where they can come and can be welcomed and appreciated for who they are.
The event was co-sponsored by our Episcopal Campus Ministry and the Ignite Lutheran Campus Ministry. My good friend Pastor Dana Lockhart helped organize and promote the event, which saw a distinguished panel of three Lutheran pastors and two Episcopal priests (the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America has also been blessing same gender marriages). The point of the evening was dialogue, not debate. Our goal was not to antagonize anyone, rather it was to let those LGBT students out there know that there was a place on UK's campus where they can come and belong. While some worried that there may be some tension from a few audience members, the overall tone of the evening was uplifting, and as a result the chapel has since found itself partnering more closely with LGBT groups on campus.
As a panel we addressed the issue of marriage equality--and the larger issue of homosexuality itself--by looking at what Holy Scripture says and what our traditions have said, which have influenced our decisions as Episcopalians and Lutherans to affirm these relationships and bless them. As an Episcopal priest I talked about the Three-Legged Stool, developed by theologian Richard Hooker, which states that the Anglican tradition rests on the legs of Scripture, Tradition, and Reason. While Holy Scripture is the beginning of all our discussions and decisions, it cannot possibly be the end--otherwise we would still be worshipping on Saturdays and never cutting our beards! The Traditions of Holy Mother Church must also factor into our decision-making, as we who are members of a catholic and apostolic faith hold dear the fact that we are part of something much larger than ourselves, spanning centuries, and that connectivity is to be honored. And lastly, we rest on our God-given Reason, which has shown us time and again that there are moments when we must go in a direction that neither Scripture nor Tradition speak to with certainty and firmness. Hence why we have female priests, for example, and why we have affirmed same gender marriages.
I don't want to use this blog to rehash all of our points, especially since I am including the YouTube link at the end of the post. Suffice it to say, I invite you to click the link below to view the full Chapel Talk, and please leave your comments.
If you are an opponent of marriage equality I hope that you will at least watch the video and listen to the prayerful decisions that our churches have reached. If you are in favor of marriage equality, and especially if you have been hurt by the institutional church in the past, I hope that you know that we are here, that the Church recognizes your worth and blesses who you are, just as God made you.
May you all continue to bless others as you yourselves are a blessing!
