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Episcopal Diocese of California’s Commission on Marriage and Blessing!
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Pastoral Letter Regarding Same-sex Marriage
June 9, 2008
Dear Sisters and Brothers in Christ,
I welcome the ruling of the California Supreme Court affirming the
fundamental right of all people to marry. I am writing to you now to
recommend a path to use this decision to strengthen our support of our
lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgendered sisters and brothers, and our
continued witness to God’s inclusive love.
Clergy and lay leaders in the diocese have been working for the rights
of LGBT people and for their full inclusion in our Church for more than
forty years. Today, we continue to walk a journey that includes:
- Bringing the witness of our LGBT sisters and brothers to this
summer’s Lambeth Conference,
- Combating a ballot initiative this November that will attempt to
take away the rights recently recognized by the California Supreme
Court,
- Providing leadership at next summer's General Convention to
bring our marriage practices and theology in line with our
fundamental baptismal theology.
For far too long the onus has fallen on marginalized people to bear the
burden of inequalities that exist within the Church, and the decision by
our state’s Supreme Court has given us the opportunity to level the
playing field.
To that end, the Diocese of California seeks to provide, by advocacy and
example, a way forward for The Episcopal Church so that the marriage of
same-sex couples will be a part of our official marriage rites, without
distinction. Although The Episcopal Church does not have canonical rites
for same-sex marriage, it is our goal that all couples be treated
equally by the Church, as they are equally loved by God.
I therefore provide you with the following pastoral guidelines:
- I urge you to encourage all couples, regardless of orientation,
to follow the pattern of first being married in a secular service
and then being blessed in the Episcopal Church. I will publicly urge
all couples to follow this pattern.
- For now, the three rites approved for trial use under the
pastoral direction of the bishop, adopted by resolution at the 2007
Diocesan Convention (see appendix below), should be commended to all
couples (again, regardless of orientation) to bless secular
marriages.
- All marriages should be performed by someone in one of the
secular categories set forth in California Family Code, section 400
(see appendix), noting that any person in the state of California
can be deputized to perform civil marriages. The proper sphere for
Episcopal clergy is the blessing portion of the marriage.
- The understanding of The Episcopal Church currently is that
blessings are an extension of the pastoral office of the bishop. I
ask that you continue to inform me of all same-sex blessings.
- Couples who have been married under the auspices of the
California Supreme Court ruling must have the same pre-marriage
counseling as that required of any couple seeking marriage or
blessing of marriage in The Episcopal Church. This should be
understood as an offering of the Church’s support for marriage.
- I urge Episcopalians, clergy and lay, to volunteer as Deputy
Marriage Commissioners. There are over 4,000 civil same-sex
marriages planned in a short period of time in the city of San
Francisco alone and the city is asking for help in meeting demand. I
intend to volunteer for this at my earliest opportunity. This would
be one sign of affirmation for the Supreme Court ruling from our
diocese. By city requirement, clergy will not be allowed to wear
collars when presiding at secular marriages. (For more information
about how to be deputized, see the attached appendix.)
- All people receiving blessings of civil marriages in the Diocese
of California are free to use the same degree of publicity (e.g.,
newspaper notices).
These are interim measures as the Diocese of California and The
Episcopal Church continue our journey in the context of this prophetic
opportunity provided by the California Supreme Court’s ruling. I have
already initiated a process to arrive at a more studied, permanent
answer for Episcopal clergy presiding at same-sex marriages in this
diocese. That process includes the formation of a panel of diocesan
clergy to make recommendations about how to move toward equality of
marriage rites for all people. These recommendations will be discussed
across the diocese resulting in an official diocesan policy.
In the coming days, I will publicly state my opposition to the
initiative to overturn the Supreme Court ruling. The Diocese of
California will publish advertising around June 17 celebrating the
Supreme Court ruling and inviting same-sex couples to our churches for
pre-marital counseling and nourishment in communities of faith.
As always, I welcome your wisdom, your insights and your input on these
matters, and I continue in my commitment to work for a Church that sees
all of God’s children through the same eyes that God does.
Peace,
The Rt. Rev. Marc Handley Andrus
Bishop
Appendix to Pastoral Letter Regarding Same-sex
Marriage
Blessing Rites
The three rites approved by Diocesan Convention 2007 can be
downloaded from
http://marriageandblessing.org. Click on the link "CMB
2007 Report" to download a PDF. The Rites are found on pages 11 - 43 of
the report.
California Family Code
Section 400-401
400. Marriage may be solemnized by any of the following who is of
the age of 18 years or older:
(a) A priest, minister, rabbi, or authorized person of any religious
denomination.
(b) A judge or retired judge, commissioner of civil marriages or retired
commissioner of civil marriages, commissioner or retired commissioner,
or assistant commissioner of a court of record in this state.
(c) A judge or magistrate who has resigned from office.
(d) Any of the following judges or magistrates of the United States:
(1) A justice or retired justice of the United States Supreme Court.
(2) A judge or retired judge of a court of appeals, a district court,
or a court created by an act of Congress the judges of which are
entitled to hold office during good behavior.
(3) A judge or retired judge of a bankruptcy court or a tax court.
(4) A United States magistrate or retired magistrate.
(e) A legislator or constitutional officer of this state or a Member
of Congress who represents a district within this state, while that
person holds office.
401. (a) For each county, the county clerk is designated as a
commissioner of civil marriages.
(b) The commissioner of civil marriages may appoint deputy commissioners
of civil marriages who may solemnize marriages under the direction of
the commissioner of civil marriages and shall perform other duties
directed by the commissioner.
Deputy Commissioners of Marriage in the County of San Francisco
If you would like to assist with marriages in the County of San
Francisco, you will need to be deputized as a Deputy Marriage
Commissioner. Help is needed from June 17 - 28, and you will be asked to
work one of the following complete shifts: 8 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.; 12:30
to 5 p.m.; 5 to 7:30 p.m. If you would like to volunteer, send an email
to
olga.ryerson@sfgov.org:
include "Deputy Marriage Commissioner" in the subject line.
In other counties, you can contact the County Clerk's office for
information about how to become a Deputy Marriage Commissioner. As of
June 9, 2008, there is no expressed need from other counties within the
Diocese of California for volunteer Deputy Marriage Commissioners.
For the latest news we suggest you check:
2007 Progress Report:
On October 20, 2007, our Diocesan Convention overwhelmingly passed
this resolution:
RESOLVED,
that this 158th Convention of the Episcopal Diocese of California
commend to the Bishop of California the lectionary, rubric entitled
“Concerning the Service,” and three rites endorsed by the Commission on
Marriage and Blessing, and urge the Bishop to approve the trial use of
these forms as resources in the Diocese of California for
formalizing the blessing of same-gender unions.
In his address earlier in the day, Bishop Marc
Andrus made clear his support of the resolution, stating, “I welcome
the resolution on marriage and blessing being offered at this
Convention. I think the resolution properly augments my pastoral goal of
caring alike for all the people of the Diocese, not reinforcing damaging
distinctions.”
-
To read the introductory
remarks to the Convention of CMB co-chairs Joseph Lane and Lynette
Morlan,
click here.
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To read CMB co-chair Joseph
Lane’s informal narrative describing the day’s events,
click here.
History:
We would like to take this
opportunity to introduce ourselves and to report on the work we’ve
accomplished in 2005, 2006, and 2007.
Before we begin, here’s a thought that underlies
all of our work...
The Commission on Marriage and Blessing
celebrates the intention of the Episcopal Diocese of California to
support and bless both same-gender and heterosexual couples in godly
relationship, while hoping for the day when ‘marriage equality’ will be
the reality in our Church and State.
2005
Diocesan Convention passed
three resolutions in October 2005 relating to the new CMB, the
successor to the Bishop’s
Task Force on Marriage
and Blessing. The resolutions may be summarized as follows:
A.
Resolution establishing the CMB through the 161st Diocesan
Convention in October 2010
B.
Resolution charging CMB with developing resources for catechesis with
couples and communities of faith. These resources would be for clergy’s
use in pre-marital/pre-union counseling, as well as to help
congregations better understand their role in fostering/supporting good
relationships.
C.
Resolution charging the CMB and the Commission on Liturgy and Music
together to develop a rite or rites for the liturgical covenanting,
blessing, and sending forth of couples in committed same-gender
relationships.
2006
In February 2006, Bishop Swing appointed the Rev.
Joseph Lane as CMB co-chair, and instructed Joseph to appoint his
co-chair. Joseph felt it would be best to wait to appoint a co-chair
until he and the new CMB had a sense of who would be serving on the
Commission, and until he could nominate someone to the new bishop.
CMB met once (April 18) prior to the May’s
episcopal election, then again immediately following the election, on
May 9. Joseph and the Rev.
John Kirkley, president of
Oasis/California (O/C), met with Bishop-elect
Marc Andrus on May 10. At that time
Bishop Marc enthusiastically encouraged CMB to “do the work.” CMB met
again on May 31 to discuss how to best proceed with our new bishop.
Joseph was present at an O/C board meeting with the Bishop Marc on
October 3, which resulted in Bishop Marc’s
letter to the clergy, dated October 4, setting forth his
expectations regarding the blessing of same-gender unions in the Diocese
of California, as well as his expectation that CMB would develop
“liturgical resources for our pastoral use” in the diocese.
CMB met again on October 10 (with the Rev. Rick
Fabian, co-chair of the Commission of Liturgy and Music) and November
16, and developed this timeline for its work leading up to Diocesan
Convention in October 2007:
-
October — November ’06 – Commissioners choose
one or more subgroups: Rites, Resources, Church and State
-
December ’06 — February ’07 – Subgroups define
and begin their work.
-
March ’07 – Saturday retreat for subgroups to
present drafts to CMB:
a.
Rite/s (extant and/or new)
b.
Resources (draft documents and/or create a bibliography of extant
resources)
c.
Church and State (compose a position paper and, perhaps, craft a
resolution similar to the one being considered in the Diocese of
Massachusetts)
-
April/May/June – Complete work required for Diocesan
Convention in October ’07, including resolutions.
-
Early September ’07 – Complete any last minute edits
before materials go to press and to deanery convocations.
-
Early October ’07 – Incorporate feedback from deaneries.
Writing to Bishop Marc on
October 15, Joseph nominated the Rev. Lynette Morlan to be co-chair of
CMB, and Bishop Marc affirmed the appointment on October 24. Shortly
thereafter, Joseph and Lyn formally submitted a list of names
of people to serve on CMB, including individuals who had expressed
interest in serving to Bishop Swing during or following Diocesan
Convention in 2005, as well as a few additional recruits.
2007 and Beyond
The various CMB subgroups met during
the first part of 2007, including a working CMB retreat on March 31. We
launched this in early summer with
sections on rites, resources, and matters of church and state. We
reported to Diocesan Convention in
October, commending a list of Commission On Marriage and Blessing
Endorsed Rites
and Resources for consideration by
Convention, the Diocese, and Bishop Marc. Our proposal ws accepted by an
overwhelming majority of those attending the Convention.
Having completed the initial phase of our work on
rites, our primary tasks in 2008 will include continued development
of resources for couples, clergy, and
congregations (per the second of the three resolutions cited above) and
work on matters of church and state,
especially the issue of whether clergy should act as functionaries of
the State in marriage/civil union, etc.
__
Joseph
Lane Lynette Morlan
Co-chair
Co-chair
June 1, 2007
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