New Zealand’s ‘way forward’ on same-sex marriage: an evaluation
by Andrew Goddard, Covenant:
Background to the Report.
Like most of the churches in the Western/Northern world, the Anglican Church in Aotearoa, New Zealand, and Polynesia (ACANZP) has for some time been discerning how to respond to cultural changes in relation to same-sex relationships. The latest report, to be debated at its General Synod in May 2016, arises from the “Way Forward Working Group,” whose title, remit, and constraints were set by an agreement reached at the 2014 General Synod (A Way Forward – He Anga Whakamua — Na Sala ki Liu). There was to be no change to the traditional doctrine of marriage but recognition of “a diversity of voices about what constitutes a right ordered intimate relationship between two persons regardless of gender.” The group was to develop a process and a structure and to propose a liturgy that would hold together with integrity and “in communion under scripture, doctrine and law” those who believe blessing same-gender relationships is contrary to “scripture, doctrine, tikanga, or civil law” and those who believe it is consonant with these (tikanga is a reference to three culture streams within ACANZP: Maori, Pakeha [i.e., European influenced], and Pasefika [i.e., Polynesian]). In doing so the working group was asked also to consider ordination and the theology of marriage.
The report therefore does not address whether such blessings are consonant with or contrary to these authorities. Rather it presupposes that they may legitimately be held to be consonant and offers a rationale for such a view. This is presumably why its bibliography in relation to sexuality contains almost wholly “revisionist” writers such as James Brownson, Margaret Farley, Charles Hefling, Mark Jordan, Eugene Rogers, and Rowan Williams, and the bibliography includes — like the report itself — nothing that would enable readers to understand the views of those who believe such blessings are contrary to Scripture and doctrine.
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