The West coast edition of pro-homosexual newspaper Xtra has posted a news story about the recent vote at St John’s Shaughnessy. The article is reasonably balanced, incorporating interviews with three St John’s members: church spokeswoman Lesley Bentley, Network director Cheryl Maczko-Chang, and openly gay member Steve Schuh.

You can read the whole thing here. I have some comments on Mr Schuh’s bit.

Schuh was one of 11 people who voted against the resolution and the only one to stand up and speak against it.
. . .
He says his attempts to engage his church on discussions about the Bible have been fruitless.

I realise the latter statement is not a direct quote from Mr Schuh but, regardless, it’s risible. The allegation that St John’s is unwilling to discuss the Bible is completely absurd. Nothing could be further from the truth.

In its motion to realign with the Province of the Southern Cone through the Anglican Network in Canada, St John’s cites the failure of the diocese to uphold certain church resolutions, including the Windsor Report and the Lambeth Resolution. These resolutions state that same-sex blessings are incompatible with Scripture. Schuh points out that these same reports also underscore the authority of bishops in the church.

“What’s interesting about that is those exact statements also condemn what they are doing, which is violating diocese boundaries and authority. All of our clergy in the diocese are licensed by the bishop. They have the authority to do what they do because they are licensed by the bishop. In any other kind of employment situation the CEO would have fired them years ago.”

For one thing, Mr Schuh has oversimplified the Windsor Report. The Anglican primates themselves clarified its meaning in the Dar es Salaam Communiqué, calling for a scheme of pastoral oversight for Anglicans who are “unable to accept the direct ministry of their bishop or of the Presiding Bishop”. The scheme entails establishment of a Pastoral Council that would nominate a Primatial Vicar to oversee dissenting parishes and dioceses.

Once this scheme of pastoral care is recognised to be fully operational, the Primates undertake to end all interventions. (See pages 9-10 of pdf document.)

Moreover, the CEO analogy is most unfortunate. A good corporate CEO is interested in earning a goodly profit for company owners and providing satisfying jobs for employees—not, as Mr Schuh’s scenario envisions, indulging senseless power trips. Given that St John’s Shaughnessy is one of the largest Anglican parishes in the country and has experienced consistent growth both in members and giving, a sane CEO would certainly not fire parish clergy. If anyone would be fired, it’s New West Bishop Michael Ingham.