‘Two-Track’ Church Suggested by Archbishop of Canterbury

PARIS — The Most Rev. Rowan Williams, the archbishop of Canterbury, said profound differences among the world’s 77 million Anglicans over gay clergy and same-sex unions could divide their church into a “two-track model” yielding “two styles of being Anglican.”

The formula could avert a formal breach between liberals and conservatives but bring new strains in the relationship between the global Anglican Communion and American Episcopalians who resolved this month to open the door to ordaining openly gay bishops and to start the process of developing rites for same-sex marriages.

Archbishop Williams insisted that the issue should not be debated “in apocalyptic terms of schism and excommunication but plainly as what they are — two styles of being Anglican.”

In a lengthy message published Monday on his Web site, the archbishop offered a detailed and nuanced response to events at the Episcopal convention in Anaheim, Calif., this month when gay-rights advocates in the United States chalked up major victories over conservatives on sexual issues. The Episcopal Church is the official branch of the Anglican Communion in the United States.

The developments were seen by liberals and conservatives as likely turning points in the history of the divided Episcopal Church, reflecting the profound rifts over sexual issues within Anglicanism — the world’s third largest network of Christian churches after the Roman Catholic and Orthodox Churches. The differences have crystallized around the Episcopal Church’s consent in 2003 to the consecration of the church’s first openly gay bishop, V. Gene Robinson of New Hampshire.

The Episcopalians had agreed to a moratorium on the election of gay bishops, but it was lifted at the convention in Anaheim.

The archbishop of Canterbury is the spiritual head of the Anglican Communion, which is composed of 38 provinces worldwide. The Episcopal Church claims about 2.3 million members.

In his message, Archbishop Williams repeated his view that “a blessing for a same-sex union cannot have the authority” of the full Anglican Communion, any more than a blessing for a heterosexual couple living outside marriage would have.

That, in turn, means that as long as the broader church “as a whole does not bless same-sex unions, a person living in such a union cannot without serious incongruity have a representative function in a Church whose public teaching is at odds with their lifestyle.”

The issues have confronted the archbishop with deep divisions not simply between liberals and conservatives in the United States but also across the broader church with its many followers in Africa, Britain and elsewhere. Four conservative dioceses in the United States and many individual Episcopal churches have broken away from the national denomination to forge alliances with conservative Anglican groups such as the Anglican Church of Nigeria.

Archbishop Williams said: “There is at least the possibility of a twofold ecclesial reality in view in the middle distance: that is, a ‘covenanted’ Anglican global body, fully sharing certain aspects of a vision of how the Church should be and behave, able to take part as a body in ecumenical and interfaith dialogue; and, related to this body, but in less formal ways with fewer formal expectations, there may be associated local churches in various kinds of mutual partnership and solidarity with one another and with ‘covenanted’ provinces.”

The archbishop has promoted the idea of covenant — described by some analysts as a kind of good-behavior guide for churches — to overcome the rift.

“This has been called a ‘two-tier’ model, or, more disparagingly, a first- and second-class structure,” the archbishop’s message said. “But perhaps we are faced with the possibility rather of a ‘two-track’ model, two ways of witnessing to the Anglican heritage, one of which had decided that local autonomy had to be the prevailing value and so had in good faith declined a covenantal structure.”

The message continued: “It helps to be clear about these possible futures, however much we think them less than ideal, and to speak about them not in apocalyptic terms of schism and excommunication but plainly as what they are — two styles of being Anglican, whose mutual relation will certainly need working out but which would not exclude cooperation in mission and service of the kind now shared in the Communion.”

See Anglican Sees ‘Two-Track’ Church @ New York Times

Archbishop warns ordination of gay clergy could lead to two-tier … guardian.co.uk
Anglican Head Warns Of Two-Tier Church After Gay Vote On Top Magazine Archbishop of Canterbury responds to General Convention actions on … Austin American-Statesman

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Maine’s Gay Marriage FAces Likely Ballot Initative

Portland, ME – Maine Governor John Baldacci signed into a law today a bill ending the ban on marriage for same-sex couples. The Maine Civil Liberties Union, which lobbied hard for the bill, applauds the governor for recognizing that lesbian and gay couples in the state should no longer be denied the legal protections, recognition and respect that comes with marriage.

“Our great state became the first to end the ban on marriage for same-sex couples solely through the legislative process,” said Shenna Bellows, Executive Director of the Maine Civil Liberties Union. “While we know that the bill signed into law may ultimately have to be approved by the voters, today marks a turning point in the fight for the freedom to marry.”

Although Governor Baldacci had not previously stated publicly whether he would support the bill, he signed it into law just a day after the bill passed the state house by a vote of 89 to 57. Because of the state’s referendum process, it is likely that an initiative will be placed on the ballot where the voters could reject the legislation. Opponents of the freedom to marry have 90 days from the date of adjournment of the legislature to gather just over 55,000 signatures to put the issue on the ballot, which will stay the law from going into effect and bar couples from being able to marry. The initiative will be on the ballot in November 2009 or June 2010.

“We understand that many Maine people on both sides feel as passionately as we do,” added Bellows. “We are confident that if our opponents succeed in making this a referendum issue, the majority of Mainers will vote for fairness.”

To learn more about the fight for marriage in Maine, visit www.mainefreedomtomarry.com.

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Today is a turning point. And, as Harvey Milk used to say so often, we’re “here to recruit you.”

A few minutes ago, the California Supreme Court heard the final oral arguments in the case to overturn Proposition 8. Within 90 days, we will know whether the court will restore equal rights or uphold injustice.

No matter what the state Supreme Court decides, the fight for equality will continue in California and across the country.

If we win, the same people who backed Prop 8 will find another way to undermine equal rights. If we lose, we will need to take our case to the people of California again. No matter what, we’ll eventually need to win full equality under federal law.
At nearly 700,000 members and growing, the Courage Campaign is building an army to prepare for this fight — the kind of people-powered movement that Harvey Milk would lead. A movement that proudly portrays — and tells the stories of — the people victimized by the discrimination of Prop 8, “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” and the Defense of Marriage Act.

We’re here to recruit you. Will you help the Courage Campaign build this movement? Please contribute what you can today to restore marriage equality to California and bring equal rights to America:

http://www.couragecampaign.org/BuildTheMovement

Harvey Milk understood the need to organize communities from the bottom-up, the need for gay, lesbian, bi-sexual and transgender people to be out and proud as leaders in this movement, and the need for straight allies to join them in solidarity.
That’s why we worked so hard to get the film “Milk” to movie screens across America. We wanted to show a new generation of Americans how Harvey organized to win landmark victories in the fight for equal rights.
Just like Harvey did in 1978 when he led the movement to defeat the “Briggs Initiative,” the Courage Campaign is organizing across California to repeal Prop 8 — training marriage equality activists at “Camp Courage” events, launching Equality Teams county-by-county, and producing online videos like the heartbreaking “Fidelity,” viewed by more than 1 million people.

The only way we will win true equality in California and across the country is by giving people the power to do it themselves. And that’s what the Courage Campaign is doing. Please contribute what you can afford today to help the Courage Campaign build this people-powered army from the ground up:

http://www.couragecampaign.org/BuildTheMovement

Thank you for joining us in supporting the Courage Campaign.

Sean Penn, Gus Van Sant, Dustin Lance Black, Cleve Jones, Bruce Cohen and Dan Jinks
“Milk” Actor, Director, Screenwriter, Historical Consultant and Producers

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Courage Campaign Issues is part of the Courage Campaign’s online organizing network that empowers nearly 700,000 grassroots and netroots activists to push for progressive change in California. * Tags = gay men gay news lesbian news transgender bisexual