In his letter, Bishop Maze acknowledged continuing disagreement in the church on the gay issue. But as he sees it, the Episcopal Church (TEC) remains "in the forefront of the effort to assure that gay and lesbian persons are made welcome in our churches" and under the governance of two relevant resolutions; one, adopted by the 1976 General Convention, states that "homosexual persons are children of God who have a full and equal claim with all other persons upon the love, acceptance, and pastoral concern and care of the Church."

The second, adopted by General Convention 2003, states 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."

It is on this basis that TEC leaders have claimed that the denomination has not authorized same-sex blessing rites, meaning in a churchwide sense, though clearly the convention has authorized such rites as are composed locally for the same purpose.

Maze's rather confused explanation about exactly what he is authorizing reflects this double-mindedness. "Neither the General Convention nor the Diocese of Arkansas has produced or approved official rites for the blessing of same-sex unions....No congregation, vestry, or priest is expected to interpret the pastoral concern and care of the Church for gay and lesbian persons in a way that includes the possibility of formal rites of blessing," the bishop stated.

"However, those that do, have permission to proceed to work as a congregation to come to clarity around the issues involved when the Church blesses anything or anyone. If a couple seeks blessing in that congregation, they will join in that exploration much to the benefit of the congregation and the couple.

This is a pastoral response and it is expected that each case will reflect the uniqueness of the congregation and the couple involved. It is expected that the bishop will be informed of each process, receive a report of work done, and see any liturgy that is produced before proceeding with a blessing rite."

A source in the Arkansas diocese said that, as he understands it, the position of the diocese's deputies to General Convention is that the convention's 11th-hour resolution, calling for diocesan bishops and standing committees not to consent to the consecration of actively homosexual bishops, will be an acceptable enough answer for the Anglican Communion, even though it does not address gay blessings.

The same source says he thought it was "unusual for the bishop to make this decision now, because an election for a new bishop is slated for November this year, and the new bishop will be consecrated on January 6, 2007."

In his letter, Fr. Grisham said that there are currently "no blessing services planned or in preparation" at St. Paul's, "but I anticipate that there will be couples who would like to avail themselves of this ministry in the near future. We'd love for that to happen with absolutely no publicity..."

END

From Bishop Larry Maze:

Those on this list have received Lowell's notification that St. Paul's is ready to take the next step towards blessing same-sex relationships. St. Michael's, Little Rock, is also nearing that possibility. For some this will be good news, for others, not so good. I believe that it will be important that you have my official position as you respond to people about this and that is attached.

Two particular points need to be clear.

One, there are no official liturgies and what is being allowed is exploration of blessing. Two, there are no official liturgies because we are standing in so many places on this issue that to make anything "official" would not be an accurate representation of where we are. I'm very hopeful that you will enable all to understand this and to understand the freedom we have to stand in different places.

*****

Same-sex blessings in the Diocese of Arkansas:

By Bishop Larry Maze

The Episcopal Church continues to be in the forefront of the effort to assure that gay and lesbian persons are made welcome in our churches and are afforded equal treatment by society at-large. There is not agreement across the church in how to achieve those ends, but for the last 30 years the Episcopal Church has worked to implement a 1976 Resolution of General Convention which states that Homosexual persons are children of God who have a full and equal claim with all other persons upon the love, acceptance, and pastoral concern and care of the Church.

It is my belief that seeking ways of recognizing and blessing faithful, monogamous same-sex relationships falls within the parameters of providing pastoral concern and care for our gay and lesbian members. General Convention would seem to agree in a 2003 Resolution stating that A faith communities are operating within the bounds of our common life as they explore and experience liturgies celebrating and blessing same-sex unions. In the weeks ahead, those congregations that have been addressing the possibility of such blessings will likely move forward. Let me be clear about what this means and doesn't mean.

Neither the General Convention nor the Diocese of Arkansas has produced or approved official rites for the blessing of same-sex unions. Nor is same-sex marriage a possibility in the State of Arkansas. No congregation, vestry, or priest is expected to interpret the pastoral concern and care of the Church for gay and lesbian persons in a way that includes the possibility of formal rites of blessing. However, those that do, have permission to proceed to work as a congregation to come to clarity around the issues involved when the Church blesses anything or anyone. If a couple seeks blessing in that congregation, they will join in that exploration much to the benefit of the congregation and the couple. This is a pastoral response and it is expected that each case will reflect the uniqueness of the congregation and the couple involved. It is expected that the Bishop will be informed of each process, receive a report of work done, and see any liturgy that is produced before proceeding with a blessing rite.

These guidelines are given so that we can continue to take particular positions on this issue, without the expectation that everyone else will be in that particular position. We have much to learn from one another, knowing that the Spirit has led us into quite different places and that the truth about all this is still emerging.

Larry E. Maze
July 19, 2006