On April 25, 2004 the Religious Coalition for Reproductive Choice (RCRC) sponsored the “March for Women’s Lives” on the Mall in Washington, DC. One of the primary purposes of RCRC outlined in its mission statement is support of the constitutional right to abortion, and participants carried signs with slogans demeaning the sanctity of life in a chilling fashion. Both the Episcopal Church USA and the Episcopal Women’s Caucus are members of RCRC and were listed as co-sponsoring organizations for the event.

Episcopal News Service (ENS) ran a story applauding participation by individual Episcopalians, “Also marching behind the Episcopal Church banner were the Rev. Margaret Rose, director of the Episcopal Church Office of Women’s Ministries; Executive Council members Louie Crew and John Vanderstar; long-time women's rights activist and General Convention deputy Marge Christie; and Maureen Shea, director of the Government Relations Office.” Under the banner of “justice”, the Episcopal Church’s official news service justifies, in fact blesses, participation in a blatant pro-abortion activist rally.

Also over last weekend, Otis Charles, the 78-year old retired bishop of Utah and former president of the Episcopal Divinity School in Cambridge, Mass., “married” his homosexual partner Felipe Sanchez Paris. The so called “wedding ceremony” was held before several hundred people at St. Gregory's of Nyssa Episcopal Church in San Francisco.

Mr. Paris had been married and divorced four times previously. The bishop had been married 42 years and fathered five children before reaching the conclusion he was gay in 1976. He did not make a public announcement until after his retirement in 1993, and he and his wife divorced shortly after that. According to news accounts, the bishop was “guided by his belief that all human beings are called upon to live as fully as they can.”

These accounts also describe details of the 2 hour and 45 minute service, depicting theatrics in no way reminiscent of the sacramental nature of marriage. The news reports failed to note that marriage is a holy institution ordained by God, a sacramental union of a man and a woman. According to Scriptural standards, anything else is mockery.

For several weeks, CLAIMNG THE BLESSING has been publicizing a event entitled, “It’s All About Love: A Celebration of Music, Faith and Equality” scheduled for May 2, 2004 at All Saints Episcopal Church, Pasadena. The event is billed as a benefit for CLAIMING THE BLESSING, “a national collaborative of organizations that advocate for gay rights in the church and same-sex marriage”. “It’s All About Love” also boasts a bevy of stars gathered to honor special guest V. Gene Robinson, and tickets range in price from a modest $100 - $200 for open seating to higher levels of reserved seating: Bronze ($1000), Silver ($2500) and Gold ($5000). For those willing to “benefit” CLAIMING THE BLESSING with a $10,000 donation, the prize is two tickets at a private dinner with V. Gene Robinson.

The first and obvious problem is interaction with a bishop for sale – no matter how noble a cause might be, selling access to a bishop is reprehensible. A more subtle but perhaps more disturbing concern, however, is the fundraiser itself. Why does CLAIMING THE BLESSING need such massive funds? On their website, we read:

“Our initial commitment was obtaining approval of a liturgical blessing of the faithful, monogamous relationship between two adults of any gender at General Convention 2003. The results were history making, and CLAIMING THE BLESSING was instrumental in making that history happen:

· Resolution C051 was passed, recognizing for the first time that "local faith communities are operating within the bounds of our common life as they explore and experience liturgies celebrating and blessing same-sex unions."

· Gene Robinson was confirmed by General Convention and consecrated Bishop Coadjutor in the Diocese of New Hampshire: the first openly gay bishop in the Episcopal Church and Anglican Communion.

What CLAIMING THE BLESSING offers is an alternative to those presuming to speak for Christian values - an alternative desperately needed as the Religious Right responds not only to General Convention 2003 but to the recent decisions by the civil courts in Texas and Massachusetts and to President Bush's call for a constitutional amendment banning gay marriage .”
from CLAIMING THE BLESSING website

Note that this is CLAIM THE BLESSING’s initial commitment. The word “initial” begs the question, “what’s next?” Did the organization not succeed in its goals at General Convention 2003? Was not their very raison d'être fulfilled? We see a hint of the answer on the website:

“There is much reason to rejoice - and much hard work left to do. Perhaps the greatest indicator of how much we have achieved is how mobilized our opposition has become: they are well financed, well organized and well focused. Never has CLAIMING THE BLESSING's organized, recognized progressive collaborative voice been more important.”

from CLAIMING THE BLESSING website

Clearly the work of CLAIMING THE BLESSING has only begun, and it is essential that we understand that sexuality is only the presenting problem – the real issue is the authority of Scripture as the foundation of Christian theology and doctrine.

For orthodox Christian Anglicans, these three events illustrate unequivocally that we face an unparalleled attack on the sacrament and sanctity of life and marriage in both civil and religious arenas. Those involved with these incidents would claim they uphold marriage, family and morality.

The distinction lies in definition and interpretation. As Susan Russell, Executive Director of CLAIMING THE BLESSING, said about Scripture, there is a “crucial difference between contradicting God’s revelation and expanding our understanding of God’s revelation.” From the AAC perspective, if revisionists succeed in altering or destroying the traditional theology of sexuality, marriage and family, we stand to lose all truth, for the final target will be the salvation message itself.

As Bishop Ingham of Canada has predicted, the horizon holds a not too distant battleground centered on the exclusivity of Christianity – is Jesus truly the way, the truth and the life, or will He be reduced to “one of the ways” to fulfillment and self-actualization? We hope and pray that the Lambeth Commission and the Primates of the worldwide Anglican Communion will consider the often unseen and rarely spoken goals of revisionism and their threat to morality.

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