Canadian province will bless civilly married same-sex couples
From the Anglican Journal
The assembly of the Anglican Parishes of the Central Interior (APCI) has requested its bishop, Gordon Light, to allow clergy whose conscience permits to bless civilly married gay couples where at least one party is baptized. The assembly passed the motion when it met October 17-19.A notice of a similar motion was filed at the synod of the Diocese of Ontario but was declared out of order by the diocesan bishop, George Bruce, who acted on the advice of the diocesan chancellor (legal advisor). The ruling was appealed at the synod held October 16-18 but was upheld by a majority vote of delegates.
At the APCI assembly, Light gave concurrence to the motion but suspended any action pending consultations with the Canadian House of Bishops, which meets October 27-31 to discuss, among other things, how best to respond to renewed proposals for moratoria on the blessing of same-sex unions, the ordination of persons living in same-sex unions to the episcopate, and cross-border interventions.
Since the 2007 General Synod, four dioceses have already passed similar motions -- Ottawa, Montreal, Niagara, and Huron. The diocesan synod of New Westminster approved same-sex blessings in 2002.
