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STATEMENT OF AFFIRMATION

     On several occasions Christ Church has stated its position on the present crisis of orthodoxy in the Episcopal Church in the United States of America (ECUSA).  Although the problems have been developing for decades, the situation became truly critical in August, 2003, when the General Convention of ECUSA took actions the full consequences of which have yet to be played out.  Because many communicants of Christ Church, as well as other faithful people worldwide, have grown impatient with the measured pace of the response to such actions by the Anglican Communion and the orthodox remnant within ECUSA, and because we at Christ Church are concerned lest our forbearance be interpreted as some degree of acquiescence to the actions taken by ECUSA and its claims to authority beyond that which it legitimately can exercise, we wish to re-affirm our faith on these matters as previously stated and as amplified herein. THEREFORE, BY GOD’S GRACE AND TO HIS GLORY, WE MAKE THE FOLLOWING AFFIRMATIONS:

1.  We affirm the Kuala Lumpur Statement on Human Sexuality , and in particular that:

(a)         God's glory and loving purposes have been revealed in the creation of humankind. (Gen. 1:26 & 27). Among the multiplicity of his gifts we are blessed with our sexuality.

(b)         Since the Fall, God's creation has been corrupted. Our fallen state has affected every facet of our being, including our sexuality. Sexual sin has existed in every time and in every culture. Jesus’ teaching about lust in the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5:27-30) makes it clear that although sex is a gift of God who created us as sexual beings, sexual sin is a real danger and temptation to us all.

(c)         The Holy Scriptures are clear in teaching that all sexual activity outside marriage is sin. We are convinced that this includes all homosexual practices as well as heterosexual relationships outside marriage because such violates the historic Christian faith as received by the Episcopal Church.

(d)         We find no conflict between clear biblical teaching and sensitive pastoral care. Repentance and forgiveness are part of the healing process. To heal spiritual wounds in God’s name we need his wisdom and truth, coupled with his compassion and grace. We see this in the ministry of Jesus in his response to the woman caught in adultery, "Neither do I condemn you. Go and sin no more." (John 8:11)

(e)         We encourage the Church to care for all those who feel trapped in their sexual brokenness and to become the channel of Christ’s compassion and love towards them. We wish to stand lovingly alongside and welcome all such persons into a process of healing within our community of faith.

(f)          We are deeply concerned that the setting aside of biblical teaching in such actions as the ordination of practicing homosexuals and the blessing of same-sex unions calls into question the authority of Holy Scripture, which is totally unacceptable to us.

2.   We affirm Resolution 1.10 of the Lambeth Conference 1998, and in particular:

(a)         We commit ourselves to listening to the experience of homosexual persons and to assure them that they are loved by God, and that all baptized, believing and faithful persons, regardless of sexual orientation, are full members of the Body of Christ;

(b)         While rejecting homosexual practice as incompatible with Holy Scripture, we call on all people to minister pastorally and sensitively to all, irrespective of sexual orientation, and to condemn irrational antagonism and violence toward homosexuals; and

(c)         We oppose the legitimation or blessing of same sex unions, and the ordination of those in same sex unions to Holy Orders. 

3.  We note with approval the findings and recommendations of the Lambeth Commission on Communion (“The Windsor Report”), particularly the following paragraphs:

(a)          Paragraph 53, which states:

Within Anglicanism, scripture has always been recognized as the Church's supreme authority, and as such ought to be seen as a focus and means of unity. The emphasis on scripture grew not least from the insistence of the early Anglican reformers on the importance of the Bible and the Fathers over against what they saw as illegitimate mediaeval developments; it was part of their appeal to ancient undivided Christian faith and life. The seventeenth and eighteenth century divines hammered out their foundations of “scripture, tradition and reason”; in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries we have seen the 'Chicago-Lambeth Quadrilateral', in which scripture takes first place. The Bible has always been at the centre of Anglican belief and life, embodied and exemplified by the fact that the reading and singing of scripture has always been at the centre of Anglican worship.

(b)         Paragraphs 57 through 62, which, recognizing that Holy Scripture is God’s “living and active word”, reaches the conclusion that:                          

[w]here a fresh wave of scholarship generates ideas which are perceived as a threat to something the Church has always held dear, it is up to the scholars concerned, on the one hand, to explain how what is now proposed not only accords with but actually enhances the central core of the Church's faith. And it is up to the Church, on the other hand, not to reject new proposals out of hand, but to listen carefully, to test everything, and to be prepared to change its mind if and when a convincing case is made.

(c)           Paragraph 135, which states in connection with the consecration of V. Gene Robinson as Bishop of New Hampshire:

We particularly request a contribution from the Episcopal Church (USA) which explains, from within the sources of authority that we as Anglicans have received in scripture, the apostolic tradition and reasoned reflection, how a person living in a same gender union may be considered eligible to lead the flock of Christ. As we see it, such a reasoned response, following up the work of the House of Bishops of the Episcopal Church (USA), and taken with recent work undertaken by the Church of England and other provinces of the Communion, will have an important contribution to make to the ongoing discussion.

and

(d)          Paragraph 141, which states in connection with the authorization of the development of rites for blessing of same sex unions:

The clear and repeated statements of the Instruments of Unity have also been to advise against the development and approval of such rites. Whilst proponents of actions in the … Episcopal Church (USA) may argue that such advice has only moral authority, we believe that it must be recognised that actions to move towards the authorisation of such rites in the face of opposition from the wider Anglican Communion constitutes a denial of the bonds of Communion. In order for these bonds to be properly acknowledged and addressed, the churches proposing to take action must be able, as a beginning, to demonstrate to the rest of the Communion why their proposal meets the criteria of scripture, tradition and reason. In order to be received as a legitimate development of the tradition, it must be possible to demonstrate how public Rites of Blessing for same sex unions would constitute growth in harmony with the apostolic tradition as it has been received.

4.  We note (with thanksgiving) the Primates of the Anglican Communion meeting in Dromantine, Northern Ireland, to consider the Windsor Report, issued its response in a formal communiqué in February, 2005. The tenor of this report was to endorse the findings of the Windsor Report, to reaffirm Lambeth Conference 1998 Resolution 1.10 as the position of the Anglican Communion, to chastise ECUSA for proceeding with the actions taken at General Convention 2003, to request that ECUSA “voluntarily” withdraw from participation in the activities of the Anglican Communion until the time of the next Lambeth Conference, and to invite ECUSA to “set out the thinking behind its recent actions”.

5.  We acknowledge with sorrow that ECUSA’s response to this latter invitation (given at the meeting of the Anglican Consultative Council in Nottingham in June, 2005) does not set forth any persuasive arguments “from within the sources of authority that we as Anglicans have received in scripture, the apostolic tradition and reasoned reflection” for the schismatic innovations of General Convention 2003.

6.  For the following reasons, among others, the actions of General Convention 2003 referenced herein are invalid of themselves, and, in any event, are not binding on Christ Church:

7.  We affirm and value, first and foremost, our identity as a Christian body.  We also affirm our Anglican heritage as a biblical and historic expression of the Faith.  We are prayerfully waiting to see if ECUSA will repent and return to its proper place as a constituent member of the Anglican Communion.  In this fervent hope we seek to exercise godly patience, and trust that the Holy Spirit will lead us.

We, the undersigned, who comprise the Rector, Wardens, and Vestry of Christ Church, Savannah, Georgia, do solemnly and faithfully support the above affirmations, God being our helper – August 20th, 2005.

The Kuala Lumpur Statement on Sexuality was produced in Malaysia in 1997 by 80 Archbishops, Bishops, and other leaders of the Anglican Church, primarily from the Global South.