Week Ending 06/12/17

Scottish Episcopal Church Votes to Allow Same-Sex Marriage

As predicted, the Synod of the Scottish Episcopal Church voted to change its marriage canons so that clergy who wished to could preside at the marriages of same-sex couples.  The press in Scotland was supportive of the decision. GAFCON  immediately followed through on their threat (see Update here) of appointing a missionary bishop to Europe with special responsibility for Scotland and England.  GAFCON chose to delegate oversight to the American schismatic group ACNA and Archbishop Foley Beach immediately announced the person who would be consecrated. The Executive Secretary of the Anglican Communion noted that provinces were independent, but went on to cite the 1998 Lambeth resolution of sexuality and stated that there would be no formal response from the Communion until after the primate's meeting. The Archbishop of Canterbury has responded by sending a letter to all of the Anglican Communion primates that while serving as a general report to the primates, included a strong section condemning the appointment of the missionary bishop as contrary to long established church custom, contrary to a 1988 Lambeth Conference resolution, and declaring that such a bishop would have no recognition or standing in Britain.  Mark Harris offers further insight into Archbishop Welby's letter.  More responses will surely be forthcoming.

Two Studies Trace Links between Theology and Politics and Giving

A study by the Barna Group on the motivation of Christians as they decide how much to give to church and other good causes categorizes American Christians as either "Givers" or "Keepers" based on the way they approach charitable giving.  While giving special emphasis on Millennials, the study breaks data down by age groups, church attendance, wealth, and other factors.  A summary of the report is here.  The full report is only available for purchase.  The New York Times
summarized a research paper identifying the political affiliations of over 130,000 clergy from Christian and Jewish traditions.  There were clear patterns by denomination, and in many cases the clergy were more committed to a particular political affiliation than the laity.  About 70% of the over 2000 Episcopal clergy they traced were registered Democrats.  The full report is worth reading because the study covers regional differences, and explores stances on issues such as abortion and same-sex marriage.