SCOTTISH Episcopalians affirmed that transgender, non-binary, and intersex individuals are “made within the image of God” after a debate on the Scottish Episcopal Church’s (SEC’s) General Synod on Saturday.
Half an hour had been scheduled for the talk on the ultimate morning of the Synod, but, ultimately, the item stretched to almost 3 times that length.
The motion under debate, which was eventually passed, said that the Synod “affirms that transgender, non binary, gender non-conforming and intersex people: are made within the image of God; are loved by God; needs to be accorded the identical dignity, respect and rights as cisgender people; and may and may participate fully within the life, worship, mission and ministry of the Scottish Episcopal Church”.
The Revd Amy Jo Philip (Edinburgh), who’s transgender, moved the motion. “Are we welcome within the SEC?” she asked. “I do know I’m, but do my trans siblings?”
Transgender people were marginalised in society, she said, and “the body of Christ has at all times been most what it known as to be when it cares for those on the margins.” The public debate had turn out to be polarised, and the Church had a chance to be “prophetic” and to point out a greater way, she said.
The Revd Dr Jenny Holden, the Adviser for Christian Life in Aberdeen & Orkney diocese, seconded the motion. SEC churches all have an indication saying that everyone seems to be welcome, she said, however it was vital for people to feel “called by name”.
In the talk, the Revd Roger Dyer, also of Aberdeen & Orkney diocese, said that accepting the motion was a likelihood for the SEC to “grow in our holiness”.
Deborah Munday, a lay representative from the diocese of Moray, Ross & Caithness, recounted the times that, as a police officer, she had sat with the families of trans individuals who had taken their very own lives. “Let us be often known as that Church that’s protected for absolutely everybody to return to,” she said.
The Bishop of St Andrews, Dunkeld & Dunblane, the Rt Revd Ian Paton, said that “calm heads and type hearts are needed on all sides”, but that the present “highly politicised culture wars” were putting trans people under huge pressure. Inclusion was central to the identity of the SEC, he said, and to reject the motion could be “devastating” for trans people.
Some members expressed reservations, nevertheless, in regards to the timeframe of the talk and a number of the language within the motion.
The Revd Ollie Cleggs said that he got here from an Evangelical church: he’s the Rector of St Mungo’s, Balerno, and Currie, in Edinburgh diocese. He asked that the Synod be given “a bit more time on this”. Discussion was a “key thing”, he said, and this motion felt “rushed through”.
Elizabeth Roads, from the diocese of St Andrews, Dunkeld & Dunblane, said that the motion was “exclusive not inclusive”, and that it singled out a specific group as “more value of God’s love”.
One member also referred to the usage of the term “cisgender” and suggested that it “leaves us more binary than before”. Cisgender refers to people whose sense of identity correlates with their biological sex.
The Revd Dr Jaap Jacob, of Brechin diocese, proposed an amended version of the motion which modified the third clause from “needs to be accorded the identical dignity, respect and rights as cisgender people” to “needs to be accorded dignity and respect”, removing the term “rights”. He said that this was to avoid the perception of disagreeing with the recent Supreme Court ruling (Comment, 2 May).
The Provost of St Mary’s Cathedral, Glasgow, the Very Revd Kelvin Holdsworth, spoke against this, saying that the Supreme Court had been clear that transgender people had rights, and the motion might be heard as saying that they didn’t.
The amendment would also remove the reference to cisgender people, which Bishop Paton spoke against: it was an unfamiliar word to many, however it mustn’t be considered in any way offensive, he said.
The amendment was defeated: 29 votes in favour, 73 against, with 11 recorded abstentions.
Time-keeping was not helped by the primary ten minutes of the allotted time being spent debating whether an amendment which had been tabled needs to be treated as a counter-motion.
The amendment, proposed by the Revd Amanda Fairclough (Argyll & The Isles), would have replaced the text of the motion with an affirmation that “all individuals are made and loved by God”, followed by a request that discussions in regards to the issue be held in dioceses, bringing a “comprehensive summary of views” to next yr’s meeting of the Synod.
Debate on the problems was vital, but “that debate have to be deep, wide-ranging, and open,” Ms Fairclough said. “It requires time; it requires an area which feels protected to everybody; it requires not having the camera lens or the pen of the Church Times listening in to what we’re doing.”
The Revd Andy Elliott (Aberdeen & Orkney) said that the unique motion was the “absolute bare minimum”, and asked members to reject the amendment. Several other members did similarly, and said that there was not time to delay.
Ms Philip said that further discussions were essential, but an “explicit welcome” was an urgent need and was not contained within the amendment.
The amendment was defeated: 21 votes in favour, 87 against, with three recorded abstentions.
The original motion was put to the vote and passed: 92 votes in favour, 12 against, with five recorded abstentions. In line with the Primus’s request, after the result there was a moment of silence reasonably than applause.
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