From Matt Kennedy at Stand Firm:
Friday, August 1, 2008 • 10:15 am
I am glad I came to this conference. It has given me a great opportunity to learn, listen to others, debate and share my views openly. It has been a great joy to meet many friends and to make new friends who love the Lord and are committed to preach the Gospel of Jesus Christ by word and deed. I have heard many inspiring stories from colleagues who put their lives at risk and suffer in order to stay faithful to God and His Church. I cannot describe the encouragement we received from and the fellowship with our ecumenical partners, especially the Coptic Orthodox. The conference has provided the Global South Bishops as well as other bishops from the UK, NZ, USA, Canada and Australia to meet and support each other. It has been a blessing to us all.
Archbishop Rowan and Jane Williams
Warmly welcomed every one of us and worked very hard to encourage us to be united. We are deeply grateful to them and their hard working staff. I am committed to pray and support Archbishop Rowan because I know that he so much wants the present crisis in the Communion to be resolved.
The task is not easy!
While some very positive things are happening at the conference, the unresolved issues are still dividing the Communion. I can only wonder if during the coming two days we will truly be able to do something about these unresolved issues. I have some doubts but I would have loved to go back to my people with good news of progress towards truly resolving our crisis and that we still all continue to uphold the mind of the Church as expressed in the Lambeth 98 Resolution 1.10 which reaffirmed the historic teaching of the Church. From my experience of the Bible studies and the indaba discussions I see a great wall being put up by the revisionists against those orthodox who believe in the authority of scripture. The revisionists among us push upon us the view that current secular culture and not the Bible should shape our mission and morals. In this we are not divided by mere trivialities, or issues periphery of faith but on essentials. I am shocked to say tat we are finding it very hard to come together on even the essentials of the faith we once received from the Apostles.
Everywhere we go here, we meet gay & lesbian activists, receive their newsletters or read about their many events. Many seem to be supported by North American churches. They are intent to push their agenda on us. No other lobbying groups seem to enjoy similar access, or be able to have their literature prominently displayed all over the campus and at the entrance to every residence. They are determined that their way is the only right way and that everyone else should follow. They are not at all open to listening to us or the historic church teaching. Yet, it is surprising that they push all these sexuality issues so intensively into the conference and then blame us for talking about them too much! In the attitude of some North American churches I am reminded of the arrogance of the American administration that made that mess in Iraq because it refused to listen to millions of voices from the wider world.
Through the advocacy of unscriptural practices, I would say they are inviting the church into a new form of slavery: a slavery to modern secular culture and to immoral desires and lusts. Simply because people feel desires to do certain things, or, to live in certain ways, has never before, of itself, meant that the Church should bless them in doing so.
Some say that same sex unions that are faithful relationships are alright. But I feel we cannot be truly faithful to each other unless we are faithful to God and his purpose is made clear in the creation of man and woman for each other. We cannot endorse an inadequate substitute, that is not open to the transmission of life.
The scientific literature (which as a medical doctor I have taken the trouble to review) does not support the conclusion that the experience of same sex desires is in fact fixed or determined by genetics or otherwise “hard wired” into people.
I see that every organ has a very specific function. We can eat from our nose but it is not created for eating unless the person is very sick and we fix a tube into his nose. The genital organs are created to compliment each other and to glorify God and his purpose in creation.
The church must offer a welcome to all an offer every loving support, but this does not mean it must endorse whatever temptations and lifestyles people desire. The church must uphold its moral teaching and call society to account: this is the true nature of the its prophetic witness to the world.
I was shocked to hear a lady bishop saying that we should not preach the Gospel but work only for social justice. Ultimately, there can never be full social justice without the Gospel. Mankind needs the salvation that only Jesus Christ can provide. The world needs redemption not simply secular improvements! Economic development is good but it cannot replace salvation.
Is there a way ahead?
Healing requires sometimes the taking of unpleasant medicine or surgical intervention. Healing of our wounded Communion requires hard decisions.
I was greatly encouraged by the truthful and realistic assessment made by the Windsor Continuation Group (WCG) about the situation of the Communion. Their recommendation of retrospective moratoria on the blessing of same sex unions, the ordination of active gay and lesbian people, and upon interventions across boundaries are indeed the only way forward to mend the torn fabric of the Communion. Their proposal of a “Pastoral Forum” if fully implemented, could protect the orthodox within TEC. These recommendations will help to stop further splits and will put an end to interventions. The big question is: will the Episcopal Church in North America (TEC) accept these recommendations? Will TEC recognize the importance of mutual submission?
The Covenant:
This is a way ahead that could prevent future crises. It can enhance our interdependence in essentials while also preserving our appropriate administrative autonomy and local identities. Some TEC bishops resist the idea of the covenant as they see it as punitive and limiting their sense of control. They think that it will restrict them from responding to the needs of the culture which they feel should have priority. But sadly, it must be asked, I they are not willing to abide by the mind of the church why do they say the Communion is important to them? If TEC and Canada do not accept the Covenant recommendations they will leave the wider Communion with the one option that was recommended by the Windsor Report and the Dar Es Salaam Primates’ Meeting. This was for them to withdraw from international Anglican Councils and bodies. This will create a safe distance for them to consider their priorities and mission and to clear away the mess created by the current crisis.
It is my prayer, as we gather here in Canterbury in the historic See of St. Augustine, that we will yet unite in mutual submission under God and be thus freed to carry forward the message of salvation in Jesus Christ to the waiting world that is so much in need of it.
Questions.
Q: As a doctor are individuals healed by good intentions or by positive interventions on the part of physicians?
A: Not good intentions. To heal someone you need sometimes to give then unpleasant feelings. you need to hurt sometimes to heal and these are faithful wounds and many times as a medical doctor I was involved in the process of healing and the patients were not happy
Q: Do you see positive intervention going on here at Lambeth?
A: I am waiting. I do not know what is going to happen in the coming days. I do think at this conference that there will be a positive intervention but that it will need to be done at ACC 14
Q: What do you think of GAFCON and why didn’t you attend?
A: I did not go because they changed the time and I have another commitment. I was also concerned that it would be a separatist movement because I am committed to the GS and I wanted to see the intent of going further and growing stronger in communion. Still all of the people of GAFCON are close friends and we will work together and grow together because we have the same foundation.
Q: What do you think about GAFCON
A: it had a lot of positive outcomes that will be useful for this Conference to observe and also for the GS meeting coming up. I think they did some very positive things that need to be built on.
Q Claiming the Blessing: You mentioned that the Episcopal Church is sponsoring gay activists, do you know how many activists?
A; I cannot count them but they are many. I do not have a number. You open this booklet and you will not be able to count all of the advertisements for their events. They are all over the place at the market place and where we meet. They are everywhere, I cannot count them.
Q: Have you ever cured anyone of homosexuality?
A; I believer what medicine says: A psychiatrist named Spitxer in 1980 asked the APA to drop homosexuality from the psychological diseases list. But he came back in 2003 with a second study and came to the conclusion that the orientation can be altered by reparative therapy.
Q: A lot of people who went to GAFCON are not here. Today ++Orombi said he could be heard by being silent. Do you think this was an attempt to sabotage the Conference?
A: I think their actions say something; that we are a wounded community. I had hoped that all of them would be here because their voice would be very valued. The absence of my brothers and sisters is a big loss. But I must say they still speak in their silence.
Q: Do you see any efforts on the part of the ABC to set up a rival GS primates group to set aside or undercut the GACON primates?
A: ABC Rowan is very supportive of the GS, you may recall that in 2005 he attended our meeting. He was aware of our meeting here at Lambeth and was supportive and in fact he is supportive of any regional groupings. So I do not see that he is pushing away the GS or concerned about it in a negative way. He does respect us.
Q: In the latest Reflections document it is said that the push for the acceptance of homosexual behavior was an attempt at re-colonization
A: I agree. They want to push this lifestyle on us and the idea that the culture dictates to the church. But all through the centuries the church has not blessed everything the culture comes up with. But these activists are completely driven by the culture. But we should be drive by the word of God.
Q: As a doctor and a pastor I have had to council the aggrieved party to move out to get the attention of the abused, Can GAFCON be seen in that light?
A: I am not part of GAFCON and would leave them to speak for themselves. But what you say reminds me of something I want to share. Our rejection of same sex blessings is linked by some to homophobia. We are not homophobic, we love and welcome homosexuals. And we would pastor to them in the same way we pastor to anyone else. We all need the grace of God, we are all sinners, and we are not homophobic but we cannot bless sinful behavior ours or anyone elses.
Q: Naughton: You mention the Robert Spitzer’s change of mind, did that change the APA’s position on homosexuality?
A: It did not unfortunately because it happened years after orientation had been accepted. When you bless and permit something it grows. When I was practicing I received a lot of letters from people who wanted to have their impulses altered and I referred them to others and they were helped. But when we fail to call sin a sin we allow it to flourish. The church turned a blind eye to divorce and so it became a fashion, now divorce in the west is much more than we have in the middle east. The church turned a blind eye to co-habitation and it became the norm. And if we do the same to same sex unions it will become a norm as well. But we nee to stand firm and be faithful.
Q: Naughton: Is there a program you would recommend?
A: When people come to me I would refer them because it is not my specialty.
Q: You spoke in a recent article about Africa being the future of the AC, do you see Africa taking leadership from now on after Lambeth?
A: in the first 1000 years, Africa shaped the Christian mind. That is not me it is (someone I missed) and Thomas Oden. If we stay faithful to the teaching of the apostles and if we went back to our heritage and the saints of the past and begin living in our heritage again and bringing it to the world I think we would be able to save the Christian mind as well.
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