Be on your guard; stand firm in the faith; be courageous; be strong. Do everything in love. 1 Corinthians 16:13-14 (NIVUK)
We are grateful that the Diocesan Synod of Aberdeen & Orkney voted in favour of maintaining Canon 31 as it is, continuing the traditional teaching of marriage as a life-long union of a man and a woman.
The other six dioceses expressed a strong desire to alter this teaching to allow for people of the same-sex to be married in church by clergy nominated to do so. This indicates that the possible outcome in June will be that the proposed change to the Canon will reach the 66% needed in all houses. We continue to hope and pray that the Scottish Episcopal Church will step back from taking such a schismatic path. Most people in the Anglican Communion are deeply concerned for our Province and stand with those who believe they must stand firm in the face of such false teaching.
We know that there are many in the Scottish Episcopal Church whose voice is not being heard in all of this. They wonder what future there can be for them in a denomination which is departing from Jesus’ teaching on marriage. With the support of senior leaders from around the Anglican Communion, we are exploring how best to maintain an orthodox Anglican witness across Scotland, should the Canon on marriage be changed.
We encourage those with such concerns and who would like to know how best to respond to get in touch with us via admin@scottishanglican.net. In the coming months we will be publishing more information about what the future could look like, what support is available from the Anglican Communion and how we can stand firm in faith together.
