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Why I Stay (Barnes) |
The magazine, "Christianity Today," in the January 21, 2003 issue, contains an article "Why I Walked," by the Rev. Dr. J.I. Packer. The article details why Dr. Packer felt it necessary to "walk" from the Synod of the Diocese of New Westminster last June, and why he believes he is justified in declaring himself "out of Communion with the Bishop".1 With all due respect, I believe that the Rev. Dr. Packer made a wrong decision. Here's my reasoning. I must stay! Through baptism I am a member of Christ's Holy Catholic Church. It is not my Church. I did not create it, nor choose it. The Church was founded by Christ, and she belongs to him. Through baptism in January 1935 I was adopted into his Church, and through faith, I claim the saving grace that he provides for me, that I might grow into that person of grace, which he has called me to become. In my Christian journey, in 1951, Christ filled me with the gifts of the Holy Spirit, through the sacrament of confirmation, making me a minister of Christ. In 1961, through the sacrament of ordination, he shared with me the gift of priesthood, a very share in his own priesthood, and called me to lead the people of his Church in offering his holy sacrifice, to learn and grow in the faith of the Church, until they are finally brought to the destiny that he has called them to, to become saints, the holy people of God. It is not my Church, one that I can choose or not choose. It is his Church. I cannot leave without leaving Christ and this I cannot do. I must stay. Would St. Paul countenance me leaving? I think not. No matter what the concern, and in the early Church there were many concerns, St. Paul did not leave. When confronted with the Issue of circumcision in the first decade of the Church, did St. Paul threaten to leave? No, he stayed to uphold and argue for the truth. Did the other apostles then choose to leave, because St. Paul seemed to have "won the day"? Not at all - "it seemed good to the Holy Spirit and us...," the Scriptures reported that they said. Each apostle spoke and prayed and argued for their own point of view, until "it seemed good to the Holy Spirit and us..." They knew that the Church belonged to Christ, not to them. They could no longer leave the Church than leave Christ. True, they continued to have differing opinions, as the Epistles of St. Paul make clear, but they stayed together, in spite of differences. They chose not to "walk." Nor can I do otherwise. The decision to "bless gay unions" taken by Synod 2002 was, in my opinion, a wrong decision. Without the so-called "conscience clause," every priest in the Diocese would have been forced at least in principle to bless relationships that they might have believed immoral. It changed both the doctrine and the morality of the Church. The decision in my opinion should be revised or rescinded. But it can only be revised by those who stay and fight for change. Why I Stay - pg 2 | |
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(This page is maintained by Rev. Dr. John Oakes and Kirsten Oakes .) |
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