SCOTTISH Episcopalians affirmed that transgender, non-binary, and intersex people are “made in the image of God” after a debate at the Scottish Episcopal Church’s (SEC’s) General Synod on Saturday.
Half an hour had been scheduled for the debate on the final morning of the Synod, but, in the end, the item stretched to almost three 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 in the image of God; are loved by God; should be accorded the same dignity, respect and rights as cisgender people; and can and should participate fully in the life, worship, mission and ministry of the Scottish Episcopal Church”.
The Revd Amy Jo Philip (Edinburgh), who is transgender, moved the motion. “Are we welcome in the SEC?” she asked. “I know I am, but do my trans siblings?”
Transgender people were marginalised in society, she said, and “the body of Christ has always been most what it is called to be when it cares for those on the margins.” The public debate had become polarised, and the Church had an opportunity to be “prophetic” and to show a better way, she said.
The Revd Dr Jenny Holden, the Adviser for Christian Life in Aberdeen & Orkney diocese, seconded the motion. SEC churches all have a sign saying that everyone is welcome, she said, but it was important for people to feel “called by name”.
In the debate, the Revd Roger Dyer, also of Aberdeen & Orkney diocese, said that accepting the motion was a chance 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 people who had taken their own lives. “Let us be known as that Church that is safe for absolutely everybody to come to,” she said.
The Bishop of St Andrews, Dunkeld & Dunblane, the Rt Revd Ian Paton, said that “calm heads and kind hearts are needed on all sides”, but that the current “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 would be “devastating” for trans people.
Some members expressed reservations, however, about the timeframe of the debate and some of the language in the motion.
The Revd Ollie Cleggs said that he came from an Evangelical church: he is 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 particular group as “more worth of God’s love”.
One member also referred to the use 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 changed the third clause from “should be accorded the same dignity, respect and rights as cisgender people” to “should 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 could be heard as saying that they did not.
The amendment would also remove the reference to cisgender people, which Bishop Paton spoke against: it was an unfamiliar word to many, but it should not 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 first ten minutes of the allotted time being spent debating whether an amendment which had been tabled should 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 people are made and loved by God”, followed by a request that discussions about the issue be held in dioceses, bringing a “comprehensive summary of views” to next year’s meeting of the Synod.
Debate on the issues was important, but “that debate must be deep, wide-ranging, and open,” Ms Fairclough said. “It requires time; it requires a space which feels safe 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 original 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 necessary, but an “explicit welcome” was an urgent need and was not contained in 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 rather than applause.
