5/19/2022
5/19/2022
Dear Friends in Christ,
There’s a widespread and popular opinion that politics don’t belong in the pulpit. And if you’re talking about political partisanship and telling people who they should vote for, I wholeheartedly agree with this opinion. It gets little trickier however, when it comes to so-called political issues. Especially when those political issues are also justice issues. And doubly especially when those so-called political, justice issues are also being touted as religious issues, or espoused by people on the basis of their religious beliefs. Right now, the rights and freedoms of the marginalized and vulnerable are being infringed upon by political agendas, and in the name of religion. The most recent example of this is in the leaked Supreme Court decision to overturn Roe vs Wade.
As I said in my sermon on Sunday, abortion is a complicated moral issue for me, even though I would never presume to take away another woman’s right to choose (or anyone’s right to choose what treatment is appropriate for their own bodies). This reflection is not intended to tell you what your position should be on abortion. But I have heard the anxiety, frustration, outrage, and concern from many of you about this decision, and because it feels like our faith is being hijacked by extreme religious views it is important for us to speak out, and so I wondered if it would help to hear what the Episcopal Church’s official position on abortion is.
The Episcopal Church has issued statements and passed resolutions at its General Convention since Roe vs Wade became law. While it, “emphatically oppose[s] abortion as a means of birth control, family planning, sex selection, or any reason of mere convenience” since 1967 the Church has maintained its “unequivocal opposition to any legislation on the part of the national or state governments which would abridge or deny the right of individuals to reach informed decisions [about the termination of pregnancy] and to act upon them.”
At the 71st GC in 1994 convention passed resolution 1994-A054, which reaffirms and expands resolution 1988-C047 made at the 69th GC in 1988. This statement confirms that abortion is a complicated moral and spiritual issue. It affirms the sacredness of life from conception to death and advises that pregnancy should be entered into with reverence and care. It recognizes that abortion has tragic dimension but is sometimes necessary, and it affirms its support for a woman’s right to choose, stating emphatically that “this 71st General Convention of the Episcopal Church express its unequivocal opposition to any legislative, executive or judicial action on the part of local, state or national governments that abridges the right of a woman to reach an informed decision about the termination of pregnancy or that would limit the access of a woman to safe means of acting on her decision.” You can read the full statement here.
Life is sacred, but life is also complicated and messy, and things happen that we don’t plan and cannot foresee. Abortion is often tragic and painful and, in most instances, a last resort, done when there are no other options. There are many ways in which our world does not live into God’s best intention for it and suffers pain and hurt because of it. But our God is bigger than our struggles and able to redeem our pain and bring new life from our distress. However you feel, and whatever you decide, as people who follow Jesus we are called to stand up for the vulnerable and downtrodden, and to speak out for those who the world seeks to silence. This currently includes women, people of color, LGBTQ people, and anyone whose sense of identity and well-being threatens the white
supremacist status quo. Jesus had a special a place in his heart for those the world identified as “unclean” or unacceptable and offered them healing and reconciliation. Jesus often expressed outrage at the religious and social powers that sought to exclude and diminish them. By virtue of our baptism when we promised to “strive for justice and peace among all people, and respect the dignity of every human being” we too are called to stand with the marginalized and vulnerable. There is a place for our outrage, but it must always be tempered with love, and always be offered from a place of seeking wholeness and redemption, not anger and retribution.
Yours in Christ,
Rev. Jane+