Encourage each lay person, deacon, priest and bishop in the Anglican Church of Canada to sign the Open Letter to the Canadian Government from the Queer Interfaith Coalition Requesting Support for the 2SLGBTQIA+ Community, reinforcing that the Anglican Church of Canada is a safe place for the 2SLGBTQIA+ community.

Affirms that nothing in the Open Letter is understood by General Synod to contradict the Theological affirmations of the “A Word to the Church” document adopted by the General Synod A101-R1 (2019), in particular that the Open Letter’s language of heresy must not be interpreted as a condemnation of those Christians who do not believe scripture permits Holy Matrimony for same-sex couple.

The Anglican Church of Canada prides itself on inclusion and has undertaken significant work to throw the doors of welcome open to the 2SLGBTQIA+ community in all its fullness.  It is now time to go further and stand shoulder to shoulder with our 2SLGBTQIA+ siblings who are at risk, “creating and advocating for religious communities that are reflective of these sacred tenets of intersectional equality so that all 2SLGBTQIA+ people can flourish.”

The Queer Interfaith Coalition is a group of religious leaders and laypeople from Jewish, Muslim, Christian and other backgrounds.  Their goal is to “reclaim the religious voice from those who have sought to weaponize faith.”

The text of the Open Letter is as follows:

The Queer Interfaith Coalition and its Affirming allies are reclaiming the religious voice from those who have sought to weaponize faith. We believe that all 2SLGBTQIA+ individuals are created in the Divine Image and that advocacy for their human rights is not antithetical to faith, but a central tenet of our religious faiths.

We denounce the historic and current harms caused by fear-mongering, misinformation, disinformation, political maneuvering, and hate speech. We seek to bring healing and justice on behalf of our communities of faith that have, far too often, been responsible for adverse religious experiences and spiritual wounds that have caused enduring harm to 2SLGBTQIA+ communities and their advocates.

We affirm that the shared understanding of our religious duty is to dedicate ourselves to advocating for the full and comprehensive human rights of all members of the 2SLGBTQIA+ community; promoting mental health, realizing the rights of 2SLGBTQIA+ children and youth, and ending gender-based violence. We commit to creating and advocating for religious communities that are reflective of these sacred tenets of intersectional equity so that all 2SLGBTQIA+ people can flourish.

We encourage people of faith to engage in the public square and support the Society of Queer Momentum’s response to rising anti-2SLGBTQIA+ hate, and be a part of mobilizing communities to call for the Government of Canada to take action on rising hate and violence.

We believe that every person is holy, every love and life is sacred, and that our faiths invite us to be more of who we are, not less. We call upon all people of faith to join us in denouncing the damaging heresy that some people are more deserving of equality than others.

We will not be silent. We will not be invisible. And we invite every person of conscience to join us in advocating for a world where the rights of 2SLGBTQIA+ individuals are no longer debatable.

(https://affirmingconnections.com/interfaith-coalition)

In the normal course, an ordinary motion must be passed by a majority of the members of General Synod present and voting together.

Six members of General Synod may, prior to the question being put, require a vote by Orders, with a majority of each Order being necessary to pass.

If a question passes on a Vote by Orders, any six members (two from each of three different dioceses) may immediately before the next item of business require a vote to be taken by dioceses. A motion passes if a majority (or a tie) of dioceses vote in favour.

Source: Sections 4 and 5 of the Declaration of Principles and sections 18, 19 and 20 of the Rules of Order and Procedure.