As the Vestry of St. Catherine’s Church, we are divided by the actions of the 74th General Convention of the Episcopal Church. Some of us celebrate it as an enlightened step forward, while others lament what they see as the Episcopal Church’s abandonment of the teaching of scripture and tradition. Many of us are confused. We are struggling with compassion, acceptance, and long held concepts of sin and morality. We recognize that we all fail to live up to God’s standards of holiness. We affirm that God forgives all who repent of their sins and believe in Jesus Christ as Savior. God adopts us into his family and fills us with the Holy Spirit to do His work on this earth. We affirm that God speaks to us through the Holy Scriptures, that God inspired their human authors, and that God still speaks to us through the Bible.
We are bound together by our love for Jesus Christ and His works through St. Catherine’s Parish family. As faithful Christians, our Baptismal Covenant reminds us that we should:
1 Seek and serve Christ in all persons;
2 Strive for justice and peace among all people
and respect the dignity of every human being; and,
3 Continue in the apostles’ teaching and fellowship
in the breaking of the bread, and in the prayers.
We affirm that sexuality is God’s gift to all human beings. We affirm that Holy Scripture commends the sacrament of Holy Matrimony between a man and a woman to be honored among all people.
We are all experiencing the empty pews that are no longer occupied by dear friends in whose faces, voices, and ministries we experience Christ. Their leaving diminishes us and we want them to know that their return would be greeted with great joy.
Many of us, however, have made the commitment to remain at St. Catherine’s, regardless of our position on this issue. We understand that a commitment to stay is harder for those who disagree with the General Convention and we ask all members to be patient. We have made a commitment to keeping an open door to meaningful and respectful dialogue. We affirm that all the viewpoints held and expressed are serious, thoughtful, and prayerful reflections, and we, as a community, can move forward in our common Christian beliefs while respecting individual convictions.
We commend Bishop Neil Alexander for his initiative in opening a dialog with the people of his diocese and we ask him to listen with an open heart and mind for the depth of the division within his flock. We ask for his prayers and pastoral guidance.
We ask you to continue to pray for our church and for our parish and
with us to remain steadfast in our faith and in our work in this place.