The Church No Longer Agent for the State in Civil Marriages

[Louie Crew <lcrew@ANDROMEDA.RUTGERS.EDU>]

Several years ago, someone put forward a resolution at the convention of The
Diocese of Newark that that our congregations would provide only
ecclesiastical marriage but not officiate for the state in the civil bonds.

I was surprised when it failed decisively.  Now I am glad that it did. Some
of the most persuasive arguments came from people well known for their
support of lgbts.  They pointed out that whatever we intended by the
resolution, most of the public would hear it as 'the Episcopal Church is
going out of the marriage business to spite heterosexuals.'

They argued that resolution would hurt evangelism.   Weddings are one of the
ways many guests are first introduced to the church.   We make a much more
effective witness by providing weddings for lgbt couples than by denying
them to straight couples.

When I taught at the Foreign Language Institute in Beijing (1983-84), I was
struck by the way many in the communist party stressed as a justice issue
that everyone ought to be equally poor.  I thought they would have been much
more persuasive, and much happier, if they stressed that everyone ought to
be equally rich.

In the current public discourse I think we are much better served by
straights and lgbts alike who say "lgbts ought to be equally included" than
we are by insisting that everyone ought to be denied access until all have
it.

Generosity always trumps stinginess.

That does not mean that we should  become doormats nor that have to yield to
heterosexuals the middle to which many of them feel entitled   I state to
them often and believe it:  "God loves you just as much as God loves lgbts.
God give you the blessing to hear the good news in that."  I hope that the
Holy Spirit will whisper that to the Archbishop of Canterbury that God loves
him just as much as God loves lgbts.

Louie
Louie Crew, 377 S. Harrison St., 12D, East Orange, NJ 07018 973-395-1068
http://queereye4lectionary.blogspot.com/  Queer Eye for the Lectionary