THE Synod passed a motion decrying using nuclear weapons, on Friday morning.
The motion, presented by the Revd Roxanne Campbell (Brechin) on behalf of the church in society committee, was: “That this Synod agree the position that using nuclear weapons can never be theologically justified, and the Church commits to a policy of advocating for arms control, disarmament, and non-proliferation of nuclear weapons.”
Adopting the motion would bring the SEC into line with ecumenical partners who had made statements on this issue, Ms Campbell said, and help to “contribute to broader dialogue on peace, dialogue and the common good”.
Nuclear weapons are an “affront to God”, and their non-proliferation ought to be pursued “for the sake of humanity and the world”, she said.
In the talk that followed, Canon John McLuckie (Edinburgh) referred to a poem by Thomas Merton, and said that using nuclear weapons was “not only unethical but idolatrous”, as they assumed power that was God’s alone.
Robert MacDonald (Argyll & The Isles) said that each one could agree that it might be higher if nuclear weapons didn’t exist. But “tyrants don’t consider in peace from reconciliation”, he said, and the possession of a nuclear deterrent was indispensable.
Victoria Elliott (Edinburgh) said that she supported the motion, but felt that it needed more nuance. “Theologically, are we in the suitable position to be making sweeping statements?” she asked.
Morag O’Neill (Glasgow & Galloway) also spoke in favour of the motion. She has long lived near where the UK’s Trident submarines are based, and growing up with the “unconscious, subliminal fear” of nuclear war was not something she wanted for future generations.
The Revd Mary Jepp (Glasgow & Galloway) said that her work with Ukrainian refugees influenced her conviction that the Church’s first thought on such issues ought to be to defend the “weakest of the world” and implied that unilateral disarmament wouldn’t meet this requirement. Another contribution from the ground noted that the motion didn’t refer specifically to “unilateral disarmament”.
Jenny Whelan (Glasgow & Galloway) referred to the members of the Provincial Youth Committee who had spoken the day before today, and who had urged members to support the motion. “We don’t want our young people to be living under that threat any more. We have to do away with these weapons,” she said.
The Acting Bishop of Aberdeen & Orkney, the Rt Revd Dorsey McConnell, spoke of his upbringing within the United States. His father worked for the Strategic Air Command, and the family home had a bomb shelter, stocked with supplies to get the family through nuclear war. Among the inventory were some toy cars which were so desirable to the young Bishop McConnell that, when his mother told him they were reserved for the occasion of an attack, “that night I prayed for war,” he said.
As an acting bishop he couldn’t vote, but suggested that simply passing the motion was not the top of the job: underlying the world’s appetite for nuclear weapons were motives of greed, hatred, and ambition, he said.
The Bishop of St Andrews, Dunkeld & Dunblane, the Rt Revd Ian Paton, recalled spending time on a nuclear submarine, and suggested that those that served on them would probably support the motion, as they would favor to not be put within the position of beginning a nuclear war.
The motion passed by 85 votes to fifteen, with ten recorded abstentions.
Ecumenism
ALSO on Friday, the convener of the Inter-Church Relations Committee, Canon Charlotte Methuen, presented revisions of the canons of the SEC in order that they formally aligned with ecumenical agreements resembling the Saint Andrew Declaration.
The first reading of the revised canons last yr had occasioned some dissent from members who argued that they contradicted the SEC’s episcopal structure (News, 16 June 2023).
Bishop Strange reiterated a degree he made in last yr’s debate: that he welcomed changes that made commonplace practical arrangements legal inside church law — resembling allowing ministers from other denominations to preside in SEC services under certain circumstances.
The Revd Dr Stephen Holmes (Edinburgh) said that he could be voting against the canon on the idea that it “contradicted our basic doctrine” concerning the requirement that only those ordained by bishops could have fun the eucharist.
Churches grow “once they have a transparent identity”, he said, however the proposals would “dilute” that identity.
Several members raised concerns concerning the safeguarding checks on visiting ministers from other denominations.
Canon Methuen drew attention to the availability within the revised canon that a visiting minister have to be in “good standing” with their Church, which, within the case of Scottish denominations, meant that they were subject to the identical safeguarding requirements as SEC ministers.
The Provost of St Mary’s Cathedral, Glasgow, the Very Revd Kelvin Holdsworth (Glasgow & Galloway), agreed with Mr Holmes, and said “we must always not be using the eucharist to enable ecumenism”.
Canon Vittoria Hancock (Aberdeen & Orkney) remembered having the identical arguments last yr. “What did Jesus intend with the eucharist?” she said: “I don’t think he intended that his Church be broken into so many various parts that we cling on so furiously to our identity that we aren’t prepared to permit others to affix with us.”
The motion to amend the canon required a two-thirds majority among the many laity, clergy, and bishops. It cleared this hurdle in the primary two Houses, but there was some confusion about whether it did so within the College of the Bishops, where the vote was three to 1, with a recorded abstention.
After a number of moments of uncertainty, it was confirmed that abstentions didn’t count when establishing the bulk, and so the vote was passed, as were further votes to include the revised canons.
