What do lesbians and gay men want?

The sin of heterosexism is an institutionalized form of systemic injustice which benefits heterosexual persons at the expense of homosexual persons. It functions in much the same way that racism benefits members of one race at the expense of members of another race, or the way sexism benefits members of one sex at the expense of members of the other sex. It does not necessarily involve homophobia, and, because it is institutionalized, it is often unconscious and rarely intended to be cruel or even mean-spirited. It is an assumption of privilege at the expense of others. In this case, it is the privilege of one sexual orientation over another.

The church is captive to and advances the sin of heterosexism by withholding blessings on homosexual persons who are committed to live together, upholding the biblical standard of faithful, life-long monogamous relationship. This is especially painful to lesbians and gay men when they are simultaneously dismissed and denigrated because they are "promiscuous".

Further, while this country operates on the premise of "the separation of church and state," our church authorizes her priests to function as agents of the state in the sacrament of marriage. A frequent argument against the blessing of homosexual relationships is founded on the argument that the marriage of lesbians and gay men is a denied civil right. Likewise, the argument against the civil marriage of homosexuals is often bolstered by the fact that the church does not bless lesbian and gay relationships.

Therefore, we ask the 73d General Convention to

1. instruct her priests to immediately cease and desist functioning as agents of the state so they may function solely as the officiants and celebrants of the sacraments of the church.

2. direct the Standing Commission on Liturgy and Music to prepare for consideration by the 74h General Convention rites of blessing for relationships between two men, two women, or a man and a woman.

3. direct the House of Bishops to study the issue of heterosexism and deliver a Pastoral Paper before the 74,h General Convention, with an appropriate study guide.

4. affirm the authorization, found on page 13 of the Book of Common Prayer , "... for other special occasion for which no service or prayer has been provide in this Book, the bishop may set forth such forms as are fitting to the occasion," as the necessary component to bless the relationships of the human members of God's family, in whatever composition of gender they may be found, until these formal rites are developed.

5. affirm the specifics of the 1979 Canon Title 111.4.1 which states that "access to ordination shall not be denied because of race, color, ethnic origin, national origin, marital status, sexual orientation, disabilities or age, except as otherwise specified by the Canon."