After changes to the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms that included the passing of Bill C250 in September of 2003, extending the list of minorities protected by hate crimes legislation to include “sexual orientation” and the subsequent changing of the definition of marriage, in 2005, to between “two people”, a statement of caution was sent out to churches from the Christian Legal Fellowship (CLF), “legal professionals in Canada serving Christ and others”. In response to developments in the law and in answer to the question, “What, if anything, should churches do in response to possible federal same-sex marriage legislation?” the CLF recommended that churches may want to consider taking steps i) to review and/or amend their constitutional documentation and ii) to conduct a legal audit of all their policies and constitutional documents, as well as their liturgies and teaching materials.
With the ELCIC’s continuing attempts to alter our church body’s definition of marriage and/or policies regarding it, congregations may want to look closely at the Position Paper on Marriage recently adopted by the congregation of Grace Lutheran Church, Kelowna, BC.
More….
To read the complete rationale, follow this link:
http://www.gracelutherankelowna.com
