Critics Hail Gun-Control Resolution as Reason for Exodus from Michigan Episcopal Church

The Episcopal Diocese of Michigan has taken a tough stance on gun control, approving by a clear majority a resolution calling for universal background checks on all gun sales, an outright ban on military-style semi-automatic weapons and high-capacity ammunition, and legislation that would make gun trafficking a federal crime.

Additionally, delegates at 180th annual convention of the Episcopal Diocese of Michigan, held Oct. 24-25 in Lansing, also backed public policy that provides adequate funding to provide community-based services, hospital care and research into the causes and treatment of mental illness.

The strict gun-control resolutions are the latest example of a growing rift among Episcopalians over what some perceive as a liberal social agenda, the Detroit Free Press reports. Critics argue the policies infringe on Second Amendment rights; however, liberal Episcopalians defend gun-control and other social justice policies as a reflection of the values of the church and Christianity.

George Washington’s Episcopal Church was the largest denomination in the rebellious British colonies in 1776, according to a story examining the collapse of the church on Beliefnet.com. No other mainstream denomination suffered a worse loss in membership from 1992-2002 – when 32 percent of the 3.4 million congregants fled the Episopal church. In the National Council of Churches report in 2012, the church acknowledged it had lost another 2.7 percent of its members.

The Episcopal Diocese of Michigan, established in 1836, a year before statehood was achieved, reports a similar decline.

From 2000-2013, Sunday attendance at the approximately 90 churches in the diocese plummeted 35 percent, to 6,791, from 10,400. Similar declines of 37 percent were seen in the number of baptized members, the Free Press said.

The Rev. Steven Kelly, rector of St. John’s Episcopal Church, near Comerica Park in Detroit, told the Free Press that resolutions like the one approved last weekend are part of the reason for the decline. He said the diocese’s liberal social agenda turns people off.

Tell Us:

• Do resolutions such as this one make you more or less likely to be a member of the Episcopal Church?

“The people in my congregation don’t want to hear a social gospel,” Kelly said. “They want to hear about grace and forgiveness and salvation, so they can go out and do the right things, rather than have something new foisted upon them every week.”

He said Episcopalians have “a heartfelt desire ... to keep people safe from violence,” but the gun-control resolution won’t stop “those who intend violence” from getting weapons.

Those who support affirmative statements on social justice issue said the declining membership is part of an overall exodus from religious institutions nationwide.

Defending the resolution, Rev. Chris Yaw, rector of St. David’s Episcopal Church in Southfield, said the resolution reflects the church’s “work to bring God’s peace to the world.”

“God’s kingdom is not of violence; it’s of peace,” Yaw said.

The rationale for the resolution is:

“The Episcopal Church supports the U.S. Constitution’s protections of the rights of law-abiding citizens to keep and bear arms; but, we also stand for public policies to ban gun violence and assault weapons.

“Further we, the undersigned, believe that the victims of gun violence extend beyond the grave of those lost to these tragic shootings. Access to guns with rapid fire ability and high capacity magazines are a common, deadly ingredient in these repeated killings. Wholesale murder is made possible because, those without proper moral guide have easy access to these assault weapons.

“We as a society must face these hard truths. We must have federal and local legislation to ban assault weapons, limit the capacity of gun magazines, and institute universal background checks for all purchasers of firearms.”

The resolution included an affirmation from the Episcopal Church Office of Public Affairs, which stated:

“As an Episcopalian committed in baptism to seeking justice and peace and promoting the dignity of every human being, I commit to being part of the solution to the violence in our culture that claims the lives of 2,000 innocent children through gun crimes each year. I commit to the pursuit of laws that keep guns out of the hands of criminals, prioritize the needs of at-risk children, provide care for those suffering mental illness, and address the many ways in which our culture trivializes violence. I commit to holding my lawmakers, my community, and my own household accountable.”

The Diocese of Michigan includes southeast Michigan, as well as the Lansing and Jackson areas.

___________

Photo via Wikipedia Creative Commons