CANADA: EX-GAYS MAKE SUBMISSION TO LAMBETH/EAMES COMMISSION

Dear Members of the Eames Commission,

Greetings and blessings to you in the name of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. You have accepted a calling to do what some might consider impossible—to reconcile two sides on a very divisive issue. We praise you for your willingness to serve and ask that God bless you with His infinite wisdom as you seek a resolution.

We are a small group from across Canada who have long felt like voices in the wilderness. We are people who were once active in homosexual behavior or who have struggled with exclusively same-gender attractions. We represent a much larger group than appears on this paper.

We have understood and accepted God’s biblical condemnation of such activity as sin, and in some cases we have experienced His loving and merciful healing of the brokenness that led to our involvement in such activities.

Individually we have often been cowed into silence by those who seek to revise biblical teachings on this issue. When we have had the courage to speak out, we have been ignored, dismissed, or overruled.

What we ask is that our stories be heard.

We believe the church should offer and promote God’s healing of human brokenness rather than enabling behavior that Scripture calls sin. God loves us as we are—but loves us too much to leave us that way.

We pray that you will have the courage to proclaim God’s Good News and call for reunification of our church under the authority of God’s Holy Word—the Bible.

Please be assured that you remain in our thoughts and prayers as you complete your task.

(Signed by clergy and lay representatives from Anglican dioceses across Canada.)