Anglican Church of Canada votes in favour of sodomite and lesbian marriage--after changing the vote count

Wherefore God also gave them up to uncleanness through the lusts of their own hearts, to dishonour their own bodies between themselves:
Who changed the truth of God into a lie, and worshipped and served the creature more than the Creator, who is blessed for ever. Amen.
For this cause God gave them up unto vile affections: for even their women did change the natural use into that which is against nature:
And likewise also the men, leaving the natural use of the woman, burned in their lust one toward another; men with men working that which is unseemly, and receiving in themselves that recompence of their error which was meet.
And even as they did not like to retain God in their knowledge, God gave them over to a reprobate mind, to do those things which are not convenient;
Being filled with all unrighteousness, fornication, wickedness, covetousness, maliciousness; full of envy, murder, debate, deceit, malignity; whisperers,
Backbiters, haters of God, despiteful, proud, boasters, inventors of evil things, disobedient to parents,
Without understanding, covenantbreakers, without natural affection, implacable, unmerciful:
Who knowing the judgment of God, that they which commit such things are worthy of death, not only do the same, but have pleasure in them that do them. Romans 1:24-32

How many legs does a dog have if you call the tail a leg?
Four. Calling a tail a leg doesn’t make it a leg. Variation of a quote usually attributed to Abraham Lincoln, although previously in circulation

More evidence that the Anglican Church of Canada, like the country itself, is a rotting corpse. As reported by Colin Perkel of The Canadian Press, July 12, 2016, updated July 13, 2016:

Questions about the integrity of the voting process in which Anglicans narrowly rejected a resolution to allow same-sex marriage emerged Tuesday, and led to a stunning reversal of the result.

Some members stood up to say their votes had not been recorded during voting late Monday, when passage of the resolution failed by a single vote.

"That is an issue of concern," said Archbishop Fred Hiltz, primate of the church. "We cannot leave this synod with this kind of confusion."

To pass, the resolution required two-thirds of each of three orders — lay, clergy and bishops. The clergy failed to reach that threshold by one vote that was apparently not counted because it was counted in the lay order.

The error was discovered after delegates requested a detailed hard copy of the electronic voting records.

Hiltz then declared the resolution in favour of same-sex marriage had passed.

"That is our reality," Hiltz told stunned delegates. "That the motion is in fact carried in all three orders."

"Same-sex marriage. In the church. In my lifetime," tweeted Lauren Bryant-Monk, of Halifax. "I'm so proud to be Anglican today."

The resolution still needs affirmation by the next synod in 2019 before it becomes church law.

On Tuesday, several bishops said they planned to go ahead with same-sex marriages regardless. They leaned on a statement from the chancellor of the general synod, who said the current marriage canon does not specifically ban solemnizing same-sex marriages.

Bishop John Chapman of Ottawa said he would proceed immediately with such unions in his diocese, although no one would be forced to officiate at such a ceremony.

"It is time my friends," Chapman said. "It is past time."

"Take heart," said Rev. Melissa Skelton, bishop of New Westminster, B.C. "This is not over."

It was indeed not over as questions swirled Tuesday about the vote itself. And then the recount changed the church's position.

"This is the best news I have heard in a long time!" tweeted Marlene Wells, from Nova Scotia. "My weepy day has ended; let's celebrate."

"I'm flabbergasted, honestly," said Eliot Waddingham, 24, a transgender person from Ottawa, who had earlier spoken of being brokenhearted by the initial vote. "I can't believe this."

Not everyone, however, was pleased.

Northern representatives complained about feeling bullied, while Larry Robertson, Yukon bishop, left the floor earlier Tuesday in protest, saying he was angered at what he called the adversarial process.

Hiltz acknowledged the "deep differences" that exist around the issue.

"We sometimes find ourselves very much being pulled apart," he told delegates on Tuesday. "Our work on this matter is not done. It's not sufficient for us to simply say we dealt with the resolution."

He promised a pastoral letter in response by Thursday.

While some fretted the issue would cause a rupture and spark an exodus of members, others said they believed the church would hold together despite the bruising nature of the debate in which some used terms such as "abomination" in reference to the LGBT community.

"It was painful process, it was a difficult process, but at the end of the day, we've ended up moving forward," British Columbia Bishop Logan McMenamie said.

Toronto Archbishop Colin Johnson called same-sex marriages — at the discretion of the bishop and with agreement of local clergy — a logical step in the evolution of the church.

About 1.6 million Canadians identify themselves as Anglican, according to Statistics Canada, and church figures indicate more than 500,000 of them are part of about 2,800 congregations across the country.

As reported by CBC News, July 12, 2016 (bold in original):

A Winnipeg Anglican priest's disappointment with her peers for voting against changing church law to allow same-sex marriages turned into surprise and joy when a voting error led to the result being reversed.

Rev. Allison Courey, an Anglican Church of Canada priest who is in a same-sex marriage, was in Toronto for the church's triennial conference, which wrapped up Tuesday afternoon. She said she went from one emotional extreme to the other in less than 24 hours.

"[It was] like saying God doesn't want you; that's pretty heavy. And we're saying today that, 'Yes, God does want you and welcomes you and made you how you are.' So that's pretty exciting," she said in an interview.

At first, the church announced that on Monday, clergy at the General Synod, as the conference is called, voted 66.23 per cent in favour of a resolution to allow the marriage of same-sex couples in the church, a result that fell just short of the two-thirds majority needed to pass the resolution.

But then, the church announced on Tuesday afternoon that a voting error was detected and the resolution has actually passed.

Courey said she was riding the subway in Toronto, where she normally would not have cellphone reception, when she received the news via text message.

"A text popped up between subway trains or something or other … and it just said, 'It passed' with like 20 exclamation marks," she said. "I was like, 'What? Is this old? Is someone confused?'"

She said she later learned about the voting error.

The resolution needed two-thirds approval from each of three groups — clergy, bishops and other delegates, or lay people. Bishops and lay people had voted more than two-thirds in favour.

The clergy failed to reach that threshold by one vote that was apparently not counted because it was counted in the lay order. The error was discovered after delegates requested a detailed hard copy of the electronic voting records.

"They had released the minutes, which actually recorded the names, because we voted electronically and our electronic votes were attached to our names. And they published those names, and so people were able to look at their names and say whether or not their vote was recorded correctly," Courey said.

"My understanding was just one or two were incorrect, and that was enough to push it back."

'I was hurting'

Courey is an Anglican priest but was married in the United Church, where same-sex marriages are allowed.

Before the voting error was declared, Courey expressed frustration and "deep sadness" with Monday's failed vote and the bitter and divisive debate leading up to it.

"I was called an abomination, which was unsavoury," she said of speeches before the vote.

"I was hurting, but I also was aware that it was kind of an institution that was condemning me and not so much a person. Being rejected by my own friends and family has been a lot harder than being rejected by an institution."

With the result changed, Courey said she will now seek to have her marriage recognized within her own church.

"I've already been married in the United Church so I'm not going to be married again, obviously. But to have it recognized officially in the [Anglican] church, for sure," she said.

"I feel like, well, I am being a little more public about being married, too."
'I think people were stunned'

The vote change also surprised Bishop Donald Phillips and Dean Paul Johnson of the Diocese of Rupert's Land, which covers part of Manitoba and northwestern Ontario.

Phillips and Johnson were both in the room when the announcement was made, and they said the mood was quiet.

"There was certainly no kind of rejoicing or hand-clapping or anything like that. I think people were stunned," Phillips said.

Said Johnson, "I think the vote was so close both times that there simply can be no rejoicing. I mean, it's clear that in terms of the vote, we're very split and we need to reach out and care for each other."

Phillips added that the close vote "would cause great heartache and pain and I think suspicion, perhaps, amongst those who thought that the vote had in fact failed and now it was turned around.

"So on the one hand, [I'm] relieved that the motion passed, but on the other hand still feeling pretty heavy-hearted for the rest of the Synod," he said.

Another item reported by CBC News, July 12, 2016:

...Hamilton community leader Deirdre Pike praised the decision. "The darkness has turned into light — it's the perfect analogy from the Christian point of view," she said.

Pike, who has been a Catholic since age 16, married Renee Wetselaar in 2013 at Christ's Church Cathedral, an Anglican church on James Street North.

"This is the direction society has to go in general," she said.

On Tuesday, several bishops said they planned to go ahead with same-sex marriages regardless of the vote. In a series of statements, they expressed dismay at the defeat, before the vote was recounted.

The Anglican Diocese of Niagara — which includes Hamilton — said earlier in the day it was breaking with the official position of the national church and would follow an "inclusive" position on same-sex marriage.

With the switch at the national level, now that won't be necessary.

"For the Anglican church of Canada to be a leader in this direction ... it's a really great opportunity for people in the LGBTQ community who are people of faith to celebrate," Pike said.

To pass, the church resolution required two-thirds of each of three orders — lay, clergy and bishops. The clergy failed to reach that threshold by one vote that was apparently not counted because it was counted in the lay order.

The error was discovered after delegates requested a detailed hard copy of the electronic voting records.

The resolution still needs affirmation by the next synod in 2019 before it becomes church law.

While some fretted that the failure of the resolution would cause a rupture in the church and spark an exodus of members, others said they believed the church would hold together despite the bruising nature of the debate in which some used terms such as "abomination" in reference to the LBGTQ community.

Pike told CBC News that the people who voted no to the vote will no doubt weigh on the church. "They still have to face the fact that some of the people in the pews of these parishes will be walking away," she said.

"But for right now, I'm just happily astounded."

It's useful to look at articles on this development from earlier in the week, when it looked as though the result would be different. First, as reported by Colin Perkel of The Canadian Press, July 7, 2016 (bold in original):

The Anglican Church, the third-largest in Canada, is set to grapple with whether to allow same-sex couples to marry in a divisive debate that has already stirred strong emotion and seems destined to come down on the status quo ban.

The issue, in the form of a resolution that recommends giving formal church blessing to same-sex marriage, is to be voted on at the church's six-day triennial General Synod that opens Thursday north of Toronto.

To pass, the resolution requires two-thirds of the hundreds of delegates to vote yes in each of three orders — lay, clergy and bishops. However, the latter group has already indicated the threshold likely won't be met, saying in February that "some of us talked of being mortified and devastated by this realization."

In response, Ottawa Bishop John Chapman apologized to members of the gay community and to those feeling "discouraged, angry, betrayed and hurt."

Indigenous bishops have also said they would resist having "Western cultural approaches" imposed on them, arguing aboriginal voices had been lost in the "very strained" debate.

Integrity Canada, which speaks for gay, lesbian and bisexual Anglicans, has called on the church to "repent of all activity" that diminishes or hurts their community.

Archbishop Fred Hiltz, the head of the Canadian church, would not comment Wednesday. However, he has previously acknowledged the divisive nature of the discussion, fretting that some clergy could opt for "civil disobedience" if the resolution fails, while some members would desert the church whatever the outcome.

Defections were also on the mind of Logan McMenamie, bishop of British Columbia.

"It saddens me," McMenamie said in an interview Wednesday. "I don't think walking away from one another would solve anything."

At the same time, he said, some bishops formerly opposed to the resolution may have changed their minds amid the feedback that followed their February statement.

Vote is culmination of three years of work

The pending vote — likely Monday — is the culmination of three years of work that began when the last General Synod, the church's legislative body, asked a panel to come up with the draft motion. The gathering directed a marriage commission to consult widely within the church and among partners, and include a "conscience clause" spelling out that no one would be compelled to take part in a same-sex marriage against their beliefs.

The commission was also required to show how same-gender marriage would jibe with the church's 1893 founding statement — the Solemn Declaration — and be defensible on both biblical and theological grounds.

"The experience of same-sex committed partnerships in our midst, clearly manifesting God's blessing and the fruit of the Spirit, are a powerful indication that God's view of marriage may be more inclusive than ours," the resolution's authors state in their report called the "Holy Estate".

"However, it is finally a decision that the church will have to reach, not by arguments alone, but by prayerful discernment of the movement of the Spirit in our midst."

The report, which included input from 223 church members, also offers insight into some of the passion the topic arouses.

"It shouldn't be up to me or any other layperson to decide what is and what isn't God's revealed truth," a person identified as J. Brown, of New Westminster, B.C., told the commission. "The fact that I have to write this letter to defend one of the most fundamental doctrines of the church as made clear by scripture, tradition and reason is disheartening to say the least."

However, the report notes the church has made controversial changes in the past, including allowing marriage after divorce and women into the priesthood.

Anglican clergy already have the ability to refuse to officiate a wedding, and the report notes the church would likely have a strong defence against any civil or human rights litigation against officials who refuse to authorize same-sex marriages...

As reported by The Canadian Press, July 11, 2016 (bold in original):

A passionate debate on whether the Anglican Church of Canada should bless same-sex marriages came to a head Monday when delegates to their triennial conference voted against authorizing such unions.

More than 200 delegates to the church's six-day General Synod just north of Toronto rejected the resolution after speakers lined up to make their points, with most speaking in favour of the resolution.

In order to pass, the resolution required two-thirds support from each of three orders — lay, clergy and bishops.

The bishops voted 68.42 per cent in favour of the resolution, and the lay delegates voted 72.22 per cent in favour. However, the clergy voted 66.23 per cent, just missing the percentage needed.

The vote by General Synod 2016, which followed complaints of bullying and intimidation, sparked bitter disappointment among some members.

"It is breaking my heart that there are people who see gay marriage as a separation from God and from love," said Eliot Waddingham, 24, a transgender person from Ottawa who was an observer.

The vote, she worried, was tantamount to a "death sentence" for the church.

Archbishop Colin Johnson of Toronto cited his own decades of marriage in arguing in support of the motion.

"I want my gay and lesbian colleagues to have the same joy," Johnson said. "I believe it's the right thing to do."

The Rev. Allison Courey of Manitoba's Rupert's Land diocese said she loved to study the Bible throughout her life and she did not choose to be a lesbian.

She made an impassioned plea in support of the resolution, saying "many of us" have committed suicide because "death was better than being rejected by God."

However, other speakers urged delegates to reject the idea of same-sex marriage, with one saying it would cause "ghettoes of resentment" if allowed, while several aboriginal delegates denounced the resolution as condoning an "abomination" and disobedience of God.

"God did not create another Adam," said one young speaker. "He created a woman."

The vote was the culmination of three years of work that began when the last General Synod, the church's legislative body, asked a panel to come up with the draft motion. Even if it had passed, the decision would still have needed to be affirmed by the next General Synod in 2019, which could have made its own amendments.

Before the main vote, delegates voted to amend what would have been an opt-out clause for those opposed to same-sex marriage on principle to instead give bishops authority to allow such marriages in each diocese.

The complaints about bullying emerged during weekend discussions on the resolution in smaller working groups. In remarks ahead of the vote, Archbishop Fred Hiltz urged respectful discussions on a topic that has proven bitterly divisive.

"Some members of our synod are deeply hurt. Some of them are deeply offended. Some are feeling unsafe to continue to speak lest they be reprimanded," Hiltz told the gathering. "This kind of behaviour is not appropriate. It's unacceptable."

Indigenous bishops resisting change

The bishops' group had indicated in February that the threshold would likely not be met. Indigenous bishops had also said they would resist having "Western cultural approaches" imposed on them.

The electronic voting was essentially conducted secretly at the request of delegates as a privacy measure.

Before the vote, Hiltz told delegates their decision would have consequences for the country's third-largest church.

"There may be people who feel compelled to leave our church," Hiltz said. "That's the gravity and the weight of the situation that is before us."

Another delegate, Stephen Warner, said he wasn't surprised to hear the complaints of intimidation given that every member was given a "bully pulpit" during the small group chats as the issue comes to a head.

"This is my seventh synod overall over five years," said Warner, 20, of Toronto. "I've never seen a more tense and dour environment..."

As reported by Jamie Long of CBC News, July 12, 2016 (bold, link in original):

The heads of the Anglican Diocese of Ottawa and the Anglican Diocese of Montreal have announced they are ready to perform same-sex marriages, one day after the church's national clergy voted narrowly against the same reform.

More than 200 delegates gathered just north of Toronto for a six-day General Synod of the Anglican Church of Canada, where delegates rejected by a single vote a resolution to allow same-sex marriage.

"We recommend the greatest pastoral response possible, allowing same-sex couples to be fully included in the life of our church with full and equal access to its liturgies and pastoral offices," the resolution read.

To pass, it needed two-thirds support from each of three orders — lay, clergy and bishops. Clergy voted 66.23 per cent, just missing the mark, while bishops (68.42 per cent) and lay delegates (72.22 per cent) approved the motion.

Ottawa bishop 'extremely disappointed'

After the vote, Bishop John H. Chapman released a statement to the Anglican Diocese of Ottawa, saying he was "extremely disappointed" by the vote.

"It is time my friends. It is past time," Chapman wrote, supporting a move to allow same-sex marriages in the Anglican Church.

"It is my intention … to proceed with same-sex marriages immediately within the Diocese of Ottawa. While no clergy will be required to officiate at a same-sex marriage, those willing may do so with my permission."

In his decision, Chapman also referred to Canada's Civil Marriage Act, which received Royal Assent in 2005. It allowed for same-sex marriage.

Mary Irwin-Gibson, the bishop of the Anglican Diocese of Montreal, also said the vote was "really disappointing for many, many people," but that her diocese is ready to perform same-sex marriages.

"I think our diocese in particular wants to affirm all members of our church, and particularly the LGBTQ people who want to be married in the church and waiting and hoping," she said...

As reported by Kalina Laframboise of CBC News, July 12, 2016 (bold in original):

The head of the Anglican church in Montreal says she will allow her clergy to perform same-sex marriages, even though church leaders shot down marriage reform at a national meeting on Monday.

Mary Irwin-Gibson, bishop of the Anglican Diocese of Montreal, will join Ottawa Bishop John Chapman in rejecting a decision by the church's General Synod, which won't recognize same-sex marriage.

A motion that would have amended the church's rules on who can be married was narrowly rejected by clergy gathered at a six-day meeting north of Toronto.

Irwin-Gibson was disappointed with the outcome of the vote, but indicated she won't let it determine how marriage is performed in the Montreal diocese.

''In terms of practical terms, for our diocese, I will be allowing some same-gender marriages to happen after I've discussed it with the clergy, and when the clergy come to me individually," Irwin-Gibson told CBC Montreal's Daybreak.

'Disappointing for many, many people'

In order for marriage reform to be formally accepted in the Canadian church, all three of its groups — clergy, bishops and ordinary members — have to be onside by a two-thirds majority.

The bishops voted 68.42 per cent in favour of the resolution and the lay delegates voted 72.22 per cent in favour. However, the clergy voted 66.23 per cent, just missing the percentage needed.

"It was really disappointing for many, many people," Mary Irwin-Gibson said.

"One way or another, there are people who are ready to do same-gender marriages tomorrow and there are dioceses that don't ever see the day coming," she said.

Hurt and exclusion

The narrow vote means same-sex marriage could one day be blessed, but Irwin-Gibson said many are running out of patience.

"That's going to be a long time," Irwin-Gibson said. "But there are people who are really impatient and really hurt and feel really excluded."

As reported by Associated Press, July 12, 2016:

The Archbishop of Toronto has joined several other prominent clergymen who say they will bless same-sex marriages in defiance of a narrow vote by the Anglican Church of Canada not to authorize gay unions.

More than 200 delegates attending the six-day General Synod 2016 narrowly rejected the resolution Monday night after hearing from more than 60 speakers, most of them in favor of gay marriage.

Toronto Archbishop Colin Johnson said he wanted his gay and lesbian colleagues "to share the joy" and that he believes most Anglicans support same-sex marriage.

The U.S. Episcopal Church, the Anglican body in the United States, is alone among Anglican bodies in approving gay marriage and has faced a backlash for its support of same-sex unions.

As reported by Lydia Neufeld of CBC News, July 12, 2016:

The bishop in charge of Anglican churches in Edmonton says she's considering her next steps after a national vote Monday against the church authorizing same-sex marriages.

"I am sick at heart for the outcome of the vote that defeated the motion," Bishop Jane Alexander wrote in a Facebook post on Tuesday.

"I want to be part of a broad and inclusive church," Bishop Alexander wrote. "I ask you to be patient with me as I work out our next steps in the diocese of Edmonton."

In order to pass, the resolution required two-thirds support from all three orders — lay delegates, clergy and bishops.

The bishops voted 68.42 per cent in favour of the resolution, and the lay delegates voted 72.22 per cent in favour. The clergy, however, voted 66.23 per cent, just missing the percentage needed.

"The vote itself, 72 per cent in favour across houses, is a testimony to the church that at the very least we want to engage, we want to talk, and we want to include," Bishop Alexander wrote. "This is not a church that has said, 'I have no need of you.' "

In the post, Bishop Alexander said she has spoken personally and publicly in favour of allowing same-sex couples to marry in the Anglican church, and asked for "prayers in the days ahead."

The Edmonton Diocese isn't the only one considering its options on the issue.

The bishops in Ottawa and Hamilton have come out with statements declaring that the broader church rules allow them to marry same-sex couples, and they will do that, despite the vote against amending the church marriage laws.

Some things regarding this event are worth noting. It should hardly need saying--but I'll say it, anyway--that divine truth isn't a matter of democratic vote, but revelation from God in the Bible. Rebellion against His will always comes down to the lie told by the serpent in Genesis 3:1--"Yea, hath God said...?" God's commands are not a matter for democratic vote; to determine by a two-thirds majority what God has already clearly stated in the Bible is not Christianity, but churchianity.

The perceptive reader will note the number of women mentioned in the above items who are in positions of leadership in the Anglican Church of Canada. It's not a coincidence that churches that rebel against the word of God and put women in positions of leadership will put sodomites and lesbians in positions of leadership--and not stopping there, will go on to bless their sinful lusts and lifestyles relationships.

The reader will note that it's the aboriginal church leaders who are among the most vocal opponents of sodomite/lesbian "marriage." And the reader will note that for the SJWs, who are often so vocal in support of native causes, the alphabet perversion agenda trumps any respect for aboriginal beliefs and culture. For the dwindling numbers of those in the Anglican Church of Canada, aboriginal and otherwise, who are actually Christians, God's advice is to "come out from among them, and be ye separate" (II Corinthians 6:17); "Come out of her, my people, that ye be not partakers of her sins, and that ye receive not of her plagues" (Revelation 18:4). They should join existing Christian churches (although sound churches are getting increasingly hard to find), or start their own.

Blogger Vox Day has recently written the book SJWs Always Lie, and his three laws of SJWs (Social Justice Warriors) are worth remembering, and are very helpful in understanding much of what's going on, and the mentality behind it:

1. They always lie.

2. They always double down.

3. They always project.

The second law of SJWs is especially prominent in the promotion of sodomite and lesbian "marriages" in the Anglican Church of Canada. The lesbian Rev. Allison Courey has already "married" her partner in the United Church of Canada, which is a little ahead of the Anglican Church in promoting abominations. When it appeared as though the approval of sodomite/lesbian marriages had failed by one vote, the reaction of the Bishops of Niagara, Toronto, Ottawa, and Montreal was not to respect the decision or the church's process of arriving at the result--as unbiblical as that is--but to go ahead and promote their agenda, anyway. In typical SJW style, they keep pushing and pushing until they get what they want, and now that the vote has just barely tipped in their favour, you can be sure that their position will be that the issue has now been decided, and no further debate will be permitted.

SJWs would rather destroy the church than abandon their agenda, as they've proven for the last half-century, going from feminist-centric to pervert-centric. It's worth noting that only 500,000 of 1.6 million nominal Anglicans are members of local congregations (and I suspect that the number who regularly attend and are active in church is a lot less). The Anglican Church of Canada, for all its efforts to be relevant, is considerably less relevant and influential in Canada than it was for most of the nation's history, before the SJW infiltration.