Pastoral Letter on Civil Marriage Equality issued
by the Right Reverend Thomas Clark Ely, Bishop of Vermont
Mountain Echo, October 2009

On August 24, 2009, I sent a Pastoral Letter to all canonically resident clergy, as well as to certain licensed clergy serving congregations in the Diocese of Vermont. The subject of the letter is pastoral considerations in light of the new civil marriage equality law in Vermont that went into effect September 1, 2009. Following my vacation I emailed that Pastoral Letter to all clergy and various lay leaders in the Diocese of Vermont. The letter is posted here, and I encourage you to read it in its fullness.

The letter reviews some of the history that is part of our Vermont experience with regard to same gender unions as well as events in The Episcopal Church, including the recently completed 76th General Convention. I discuss some of the key points emerging from conversations I’ve had with many lay and clergy leaders and then offer some thoughts and guidance for our ongoing pastoral ministry here in Vermont. Throughout the letter I offer some of my own personal thoughts, insights, questions, concerns and struggles in an effort to share my thought process in a more substantial way. I also try to honor the reality that we are not all of one mind about these developments in our common life here in Vermont and beyond.

The heart of my Pastoral Letter is a discussion of six key themes that emerged in my conversations with lay and clergy leaders in Vermont. Those six themes are:
1. The question of whether the church should be involved in the civil marriage process.
2. The sense that many if not most couples who come to the church for marriage, civil unions, or a blessing of their committed life-long relationship do not distinguish between the role of the priest as an agent of the state and the priest as a religious leader.
3. The suggestion that we find ways to limit the role of clergy to the religious portions of the marriage service for gay, lesbian and straight couples alike.
4. The idea that if clergy cannot or do not sign civil marriage licenses for gay and lesbian couples, it represents a step backwards and is not a very generous pastoral response.
5. The understanding that the Constitution and Canons of The Episcopal Church and The Book of Common Prayer refer to marriage as between a man and a woman and therefore to officiate at the marriage of a same gender couple is to violate the “teaching” and “tradition” of the church as set forth in the canons and prayer book.
6. The importance of seeing our ministry here in Vermont in the context of the larger ministry of The Episcopal Church and the Anglican Communion.

I believe these are key issues, themes and questions that we need to engage as we move forward, and, as I stressed in my letter, there is a complexity to all of this that calls upon us to think and pray and talk together in a spirit of
gentleness and not in a spirit of judgment. I do not presume that what I have written in this Pastoral Letter is the last word on the subject. What it provides is a point of departure from which we can move forward given the new reality of civil marriage equality here in Vermont.

The letter provides generous and specific guidance to clergy in the exercise of their pastoral ministry, without directing them in terms of their individual pastoral response. This approach is important because the clergy of our diocese are the ones dealing with this pastoral reality in their local contexts, and they are not of one mind in terms of the best way to offer generous pastoral care to those who seek the church’s blessing upon their committed relationships. What I do hope is that a generous and loving spirit will move among us as we live more fully into this dimension of our life and ministry together.

I also said in my letter, “that because of the nature of my role as bishop, and various sensitivities current within The Episcopal Church and Anglican Communion, I am choosing for myself, and for the time being, to refrain from solemnizing the civil marriage of any couple. I will gladly participate in the liturgy of any priest or deacon who invites me to preside at the Eucharist and offer a blessing in conjunction with their civil marriage. While this does impose a limitation upon my pastoral ministry, especially my ministry to clergy and clergy families, I feel it is important to do so at this time for the sake of my relationship with other bishops.”

For me, personally, this continues to be a remarkable journey in which I have been blessed by the open and honest conversations that continue with respect to this important dimension of our life and ministry as the church. I am especially grateful for those who have honored this conversation by sharing thoughts, ideas and convictions that they knew were not embraced by the majority. Those honest and heartfelt beliefs are part of the fabric of who we are as a diocese.

This journey will continue for me as part of a new appointment I just received from the Presiding Bishop. Following General Convention, I was appointed to a term on the Standing Commission for Liturgy and Music. That means that our experience here in Vermont will have a direct link to the important work General Convention assigned to this Commission during the current triennium. Please pray for the work of this Commission.

I hope that as you read and reflect upon this Pastoral Letter, it will provide an opportunity for us to be in continuing conversation about the faithful, committed, life-long relationships of all our members.

Faithfully,
+ Thomas

Go to index of Bishop Ely's Mountain Echo columns and letters to the diocese