Dear Friends,

I am writing further to my letter to the diocese sent during General Synod following the vote on changes to the Marriage Canon that would allow for the marriage of same sex couples.

Since the motion to change the marriage canon passed first reading at General Synod in 2016, we have been engaged in a process within the diocese that was established to afford us a means to consider this issue within our common life.

The first step in that process was fulfilling our constitutional obligation to consider the proposed amendment prior to second reading at General Synod. A planning team was established made up of our General Synod delegates from 2016 to which was added a number of people from across the diocese. I am immensely grateful for the work they did. Regional meetings and a clergy day were held, written submissions received and a full day’s discussion and a straw poll were part of our last synod. The considered views of our diocese, including all written submissions and the results of the straw poll, were forwarded to General Synod by way of a memorial resolution passed at our diocesan synod in November 2018.

The next step in addressing our diocesan response regarding the marriage of same sex couples was to await the decisions taken at General Synod 2019. These decisions would inform the response of the next regular session of our diocesan synod scheduled to be held in October of 2020. It is my view that, only after having reviewed the decisions taken at General Synod on this matter, could we be in a position to determine the nature of any request made to me by our own synod.

A number of significant decisions were taken at General Synod 2019.

First, the proposed amendment to the marriage canon was defeated but, as General Synod Chancellor David Jones has ruled, the current canon does not specifically prohibit same sex marriage. He further ruled that the defeat of the proposed amendment to change the language of the canon to make it gender neutral did not mean a prohibition of same sex marriage had resulted in the existing canon.

The second major decision was that the document “A Word to the Church” submitted to General Synod by the Council of General Synod was received by the synod with 85% support of all Orders voting together. It raises the possibility of local option for those dioceses who wish to, or already have proceeded to, authorize Equal Marriage. Below are the affirmations listed at the conclusion of “The Word to the Church.”

The third significant matter coming out of General Synod was the letter prepared and shared by the House of Bishops with General Synod and the Church. The letter noted that “Although the bishops are not of one mind, we look with hope to the ‘Word to the Church’ which General Synod 2019 overwhelmingly approved on Friday, July 12.” The letter went on to state that “we are walking together in a way which leaves room for individual dioceses and jurisdictions of our church to proceed with same sex marriage according to their contexts and convictions, sometimes described as ‘local option’.”

It is my firm view that the processes of our church, both at the national and diocesan level have served us well, providing an objective standard upon which difficult issues, debates and decisions can be grounded. While the proposal to change the language of the marriage canon to make it gender neutral was fraught and tense, the general tone throughout was respectful. It is my opinion that, with all these decisions and rulings taken together, we have arrived at a place where a pastoral and social justice response is now possible that respects the local context and integrity of each diocese and jurisdiction to proceed as they best determine.

The bishop of each diocese, among other things, remains its Chief Liturgical Officer, responsible for decisions touching the worshiping life of the diocese. That being said, I am of the firm conviction that major changes in the worshiping, sacramental and liturgical life of the diocese should only be taken together with the advice and recommendation of the diocesan synod. This is how I understand the phrase “Episcopally led and synodically governed” to operate within our common life.

I voted in favour of the resolution amending the marriage canon to make its language gender neutral both at first reading in 2016 and on second reading in 2019. I also voted in favour of the resolution receiving the document “A Word to the Church” sent to General Synod from the Council of General Synod. I also stand by the letter sent from the House of Bishops to the General Synod and through it to the Church. This being said, I will only move forward to approve provision and policies for equal marriage in the Diocese of Ontario if requested by our diocesan synod to do so.

Some within and beyond the Synods of the Church will agree with these decisions and others will disagree as we do in the free and democratic society in which we are blessed to live. The spectrum of views regarding this matter as indicated in “The Word to the Church” is certainly extant across our own diocese. We ask our synod delegates to exercise their conscience, respectful of the trust we have placed in them. I am so proud of the diligence and care exercised by those entrusted with that responsibility from the Diocese of Ontario both as our diocesan synod gathered last year and as our delegates participated in the decisions of General Synod.

I am aware that there are clergy and lay people within the diocese who wish to address this matter by way of petitioning me to convene a special synod. While the diocesan constitution is clear that only the bishop can convene a special synod, I would be prepared to accede to such a request should such a petition be presented that included the names of clerical and lay synod delegates constituting a quorum. According to our constitution, that would be one quarter of each order. Failing this, we will address this matter at our synod in 2020 as has been laid out in the agreed process of which all synod delegates should be aware.

Hopefully this letter will give you further insight as we move to the final step in our process culminating in our diocesan synod next year. I also hope it may provide additional information beyond what can be gleaned in the popular press and through social media much of which has been singularly unhelpful. I would continue to urge measured responses and thoughtful discussion as the days unfold.

May the Peace of Christ and the guiding wisdom of the Holy Spirit attend us all.

Faithfully,

Bishop Michael

AFFIRMATIONS CONTAINED IN THE DOCUMENT “A WORD TO THE CHURCH”

Council of General Synod asks General Synod and the whole church to make the following affirmations.

Affirmation #1
Indigenous Spiritual Self-determination
Whatever the action of the church at this General Synod, we affirm the right of Indigenous persons and communities to spiritual self-determination in their discernment and decisions regarding same-sex marriage.

Affirmation #2
Diverse Understandings of the Existing Canon
We affirm that, while there are different understandings of the existing Marriage Canon, those bishops and synods who have authorized liturgies for the celebration and blessing of a marriage between two people of the same sex understand that the existing Canon does not prohibit same-sex marriage.

Affirmation #3
Diverse Understandings and Teachings
We acknowledge the ongoing reality that there is a diversity of understandings and teachings about marriage in the Anglican Church of Canada, and we affirm the prayerful integrity with which those understandings and teachings are held.

Affirmation #4
Our Commitment to Presume Good Faith
We affirm our commitment to presume good faith among those who hold diverse understandings and teachings, and hold dear their continued presence in this church.

Affirmation #5
Our Commitment to Stand Together
We affirm our commitment to walk together and to preserve communion, one with another, in Christ, within this church, within our Anglican Communion, and with our ecumenical partners.

OFFICES OF THE INCORPORATED SYNOD OF THE
DIOCESE OF ONTARIO:
165 Ontario Street | Kingston, ON K7L 2Y6
(613) 544-4774