Last week I wrote a post about the legalization of Gay Marriage. Now, today’s Herald has some good news: the church still knows it’s duty.
The new law says celebrants from organisations approved to conduct marriages are not obliged to marry a same-sex couple if it is against “the religious beliefs or philosophical or humanitarian convictions of the approved organisation”.
Catholic bishops’ spokeswoman Simone Olsen said: “No Catholic priests will be conducting same-sex marriages, and no Catholic church will be used as a venue.”
Auckland Anglican Bishop Ross Bay issued a statement yesterday instructing his clergy not to marry same-sex couples until a commission chaired by former Governor-General Sir Anand Satyanand reports on the issue in May next year.
“In the meantime the church will continue to work with its definition of marriage as between a man and a woman,” the bishop said.
“Priests of the Auckland diocese are expected to work within that understanding.”
But liberal Anglican minister Rev Glynn Cardy of St Matthew-in-the-City said a gay couple could marry in his church as long as they used a minister from another church.
“If a Presbyterian or Methodist minister came with a heterosexual couple and said can we marry here, the answer would be yes, therefore we would say yes to a gay or lesbian couple in the same way,” he said.
“The marriage would take place in an Anglican church but would not be taken by Anglican clergy.”
Mangere-based Maori Anglican priest Rev Hirini Kaa said the Maori part of the church had not issued instructions on the issue, and he would be willing to marry a gay couple.
“There is a large group of Anglican clergy who would happily and proudly marry a same-sex couple,” he said.
Presbyterian moderator the Rt Rev Ray Coster said a general assembly voted last October, with 75 per cent support, to uphold marriage as “the loving, faithful union of a man and a woman”.
“All ministers are expected to abide by the decision that marriage is a loving, faithful union between a man and a woman,” he said.
But a bid to prohibit ministers from conducting same-sex marriages narrowly failed to get the 60 per cent support needed to become church law, allowing ministers to conduct such marriages if they choose to do so.
Methodist general secretary Rev David Bush said the Methodist assembly had not taken a position on the issue and left it up to each local church.
Baptist national leader Rev Craig Vernall said Baptist churches were independent and were also free to make their own decisions, but he believed the vast majority would refuse to conduct gay marriages or allow them in Baptist churches.
I predict there will be a motion at the next General Assembly of the NZ Presbyterian Church to stop Presbyterian Ministers marrying Gays. And one from the liberal wing allowing it. The liberals, however, have a track record of losing here.
The other thing to note is that the remnant in the mainline churches — Anglican, Catholic and Presbyterian (the Methodists are shrinking) are becoming more hardcore on teaching from scripture. In NZ, Church is not a social thing. Most people are pagans. They are preaching to believers, and they have to base their teaching on scripture, where the teaching on this issue is clear.