Tuesday, April 22, 2008

Dear Bishops Smith, Curry, and Ahrens,

I hope this finds you well and blessings to you all during this Eastertide.

I write to inform you about the sense of the community at St. Francis regarding marriage equality within the Episcopal Church.  I am very proud of the work that St. Francis underwentundertook to arrive at the proposal which follows shortly. 

After Bishop’s Smith’s directive to the parishes of the Connecticut Diocese to discuss the issue of marriage equality and report back the sense of each community of faith, St. Francis organized  a  five-week educational program in the fall of 2007. This program included speakers who exposed our parish to the various issues involved with marriage equality. A significant number of parishioners attended most, if not all, these sessions.

A small ad hoc group drafted the following proposal after the fall forums:

St. Francis Parish affirms its commitment to the inclusiveness inherent
in our baptismal covenant to respect the dignity of every human being,
including the commitment to bless equally the unions of all couples seeking
the sacramental recognition of marriage within the church. Further, we
encourage our Bishops, Standing Committee and General Convention
deputation to advocate for such changes to the Canons of the Episcopal
Church and to the language in the rites concerning marriage in The Book
of Common Prayer as will or may be necessary to make such rites fully
and formally authorized for all couples seeking to enter into the covenant
of Christian marriage, regardless of gender.

This group made an excellent presentation to St. Francis’ vestry during our March meeting which included personal and moving stories from several parishioners. The presentation and proposal were favorably received, and I have attached a copy of the documents used during that presentation.  The vestry then placed the proposal before the parish, seeking its input. 

Hearing two voices of dissent regarding the proposal and many more voices of support, the vestry voted unanimously at its April meeting to approve the proposal and send it to you, the Standing Committee and the deputies to General Convention.

I commend this work of the parish to you and, consistent with the action of our vestry, I ask you to act for marriage equality within the Episcopal Church.  Throughout the process at St. Francis, I was continually impressed by the commitment, respect, and genuine concern for one another that marked the discussions within our parish.  It was a model of Christian charity and faith seeking understanding.  Needless to say, I believe the overwhelming sentiment of the parish to be the correct course for our community and the larger Church.  Justice delayed is justice denied and separate is not equal as much in the sacred realm as in the civic arena.  Therefore, I urge you to be tireless advocates for the changes necessary to extend the Church’s existing marriage rites (which, of course, also includes the attendant rights and responsibilities) to same-gender couples. 

Thank you for considering this matter. Please feel free to contact me if you have any questions. I would find it a great blessing to have the opportunity to share with you some of the rich details of the extraordinary journey involved for both our community and individual parishioners.  My thoughts and prayers are with you as you lead the Church regarding this question that speaks to the heart of our baptismal vows.

Pax Christi,

Rev. Mark Lingle

Cc:  Standing Committee
       2009 General Convention Deputation

Why Marriage?
An introduction by Betsy Adams
followed by an excerpt from a column by Andrew Sullivan
published in The New York Times on May 17, 2004