The Diocese of Virginia’s annual council has authorized the preparation of canonical changes that could authorize diocesan clergy to bless same-sex couples.

Meeting on Feb. 20 at Virginia Theological Seminary, the council asked the Rt. Rev. Shannon Johnston, Bishop of Virginia, to appoint a group of laity and clergy that will report to the next annual council.

The panel, council said, “shall recommend consistent standards to be written into diocesan canons so that, if services of blessing same-gender unions are authorized, our clergy and people have a clearly understood and enforceable set of rules to guide the application of clergy discretion in providing pastoral care to same-gender couples seeking such blessings.”

The panel “is not to opine on whether the blessings of same-gender unions should be authorized,” the council said, “but it is to set forth its canonical recommendations to govern blessing such relationships if such services of blessing are authorized.”

The original resolution before council would have authorized such services.

In other votes, the council:

  • Established the first Sunday of Lent as Episcopal Relief and Development Sunday.
  • Encouraged widespread use of the Charter for Lifelong Christian Formation.
  • Authorized a task force on preventing domestic violence.
  • Commended peaceful resolution of conflicts, while rejecting an amendment that called for the end of litigation against former congregations of the diocese.
  • Urged increased support for the diocese’s assistance to Anglicans in Sudan.
  • Expressed its solidarity with the Episcopal Diocese of Jerusalem, and called for increased financial aid to that diocese.
  • Commended Bishop Johnston and the Rt. Rev. David C. Jones, bishop suffragan, for their commitment to the Anglican Communion.
  • Urged a congregation-level study of the Anglican Covenant.
  • Called for generous donations for relief and development in Haiti.
  • Adopted a budget of $4,885,464, a decrease of $11,500 from the 2009 budget of $4,897,026.

The council was scheduled for Jan. 28-30, but it postponed most voting on Jan. 29 as a winter storm struck in Richmond. The panel reconvened on Feb. 20 to complete its business.

Douglas LeBlanc