In The Days

• Source: The Christian Post
• News Date: 3/5/10
• Author: Lillian Kwon
• Submitted By: Mike Raley

Episcopal clergy in Washington, D.C. have been given the green light to preside at same-sex marriages.

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Days Of Lot—Sins of Sodom—Did not strengthen the hand of the Poor and Needy

“Behold, this was the iniquity•Strongs 5771: {avon, aw-vone´; or {avown (2 Kings 7:9; Psalm 51:5 (7)), aw-vone´; from 5753; perversity, i.e. (moral) evil:—fault, iniquity, mischeif, punishment (of iniquity), sin. of thy sister Sodom, pride, fulness of bread, and abundance of idleness was in her and in her daughters, neither did she strengthen the hand of the poor and needy.”
—Ezekiel 16:49

“And they were haughty, and committed abomination•Strongs 8441: tow{ebah, to-ay-baw´; Ot tonebah, to-ay-baw´; feminine active participle of 8581; properly, something disgusting (morally), i.e. (as noun) an abhorrence; especially idolatry or (concretely) an idol:—abominable (custom, thing), abomination.
•Strongs 8581: taw-ab´; a primitive root; to loathe, i.e. (morally) detest:—(make to be) abhor(-red), (be, commit more, do) abominable(-y), x utterly.
before me: therefore I took them away as I saw good.”
—Ezekiel 16:50

The Falling Away

“Let no man deceive you by any means: for that day shall not come, except there come a falling away•Strongs 646: apostasia, ap-os-tas-ee´-ah; feminine of the same as 647; defection from truth (properly, the state) (“apostasy”):—falling away, forsake. first, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition;”
—2 Thessalonians 2:3

“For thou hast trusted in thy wickedness: thou hast said, None seeth me. Thy wisdom and thy knowledge, it hath perverted•Strongs 7725: shuwb, shoob; a primitive root; to turn back (hence, away) transitively or intransitively, literally or figuratively (not necessarily with the idea of return to the starting point); generally to retreat; often adverbial, again:—((break, build, circumcise, dig, do anything, do evil, feed, lay down, lie down, lodge, make, rejoice, send, take, weep)) x again, (cause to) answer (+ again), x in any case (wise), x at all, averse, bring (again, back, home again), call (to mind), carry again (back), cease, x certainly, come again (back), x consider, + continually, convert, deliver (again), + deny, draw back, fetch home again, x fro, get (oneself) (back) again, x give (again), go again (back, home), (go) out, hinder, let, (see) more, x needs, be past, x pay, pervert, pull in again, put (again, up again), recall, recompense, recover, refresh, relieve, render (again), requite, rescue, restore, retrieve, (cause to, make to) return, reverse, reward, + say nay, send back, set again, slide back, still, x surely, take back (off), (cause to, make to) turn (again, self again, away, back, back again, backward, from, off), withdraw. thee; and thou hast said in thine heart, I am, and none else beside me.”
—Isaiah 47:10


Bishop John Bryson Chane of the Diocese of Washington made the announcement Thursday, a day after gay and lesbian couples began applying for marriage licenses.

“Through the grace of Holy Baptism, there are no second class members of the Body of Christ, ” Chane said in a statement. “We are of equal value in the eyes of God, and any one of us may be called by the Holy Spirit into holy relationships as well as Holy Orders.”

Chane joins Episcopal bishops in other states – including Iowa, Vermont and Massachusetts where same-sex marriage is legal – in permitting clergy to wed homosexual couples.

The Episcopal Church approved a resolution last summer allowing “bishops, particularly those in dioceses within civil jurisdictions where same-gender marriage, civil unions or domestic partnerships are legal” to “provide generous pastoral response to meet the needs of members of this church.”

The resolution also noted the need to consider providing theological and liturgical resources for the blessing of same gender relationships. The Episcopal Church does not permit its “Order of Marriage” to be used in the marriage of same-sex couples.

The latest move by the Diocese of Washington marks a break with the rest of the worldwide Anglican Communion – of which The Episcopal Church is the U.S. branch. Anglican leaders have affirmed and reaffirmed a moratorium on the blessing of same-sex unions as well as the consecration of practicing homosexuals. The global body officially rejects homosexual practice as incompatible with Scripture. At the same time, it calls Anglicans to minister pastorally and sensitively to all irrespective of sexual orientation.

Chane has cited the familiar Scripture passage on loving your neighbor as yourself as one of the reasons he felt “compelled” to offer the sacraments of the church to gay and lesbian couples.

He also contended, “[I]f one is fully initiated into the Body of Christ, the Church, then one has full access to all the sacraments of the Church, including marriage, ordination and consecration. Through the grace of Holy Baptism, there are no second class members of the Body of Christ, and certainly no outcasts. We are of equal value in the eyes of God, and any one of us may be called by the Holy Spirit into holy relationships as well as Holy Orders.”

The Religious Freedom and Civil Marriage Equality Amendment Act of 2009 was passed by the Washington D.C. City Council in December and signed by Mayor Adrian M. Fenty. Congress did not intervene to prevent the bill from becoming law on Wednesday. The U.S. Supreme Court also refused to intervene.

A group of ministers, including Bishop Harry Jackson, are pushing for a ballot initiative to try to overturn the act.