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(PASSED)

Exploration of the Role of the Church in Marriage
Submitted by the Rev. Roderic Wiltse

1 BE IT RESOLVED THAT this the 165th Convention of the Diocese of Missouri requests that the community of the Diocese of Missouri begin an ordered, disciplined dialogue to explore the purposes of marriage and the role of the Church in this relationship;

2 BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED THAT the Bishop be requested to appoint a committee from the delegates to this convention to begin immediately such a dialogue and exploration.

3 This committee shall have members from every convocation.

4 A quarterly written report on the progress of its deliberations shall be presented to the Diocese beginning in January 2005;

5 BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED THAT every congregation within the Diocese be requested to initiate a ten-month study of the Sacrament of Holy Matrimony.

RATIONALE
The Rev. Dr. William Countryman, professor of New Testament ay the Church Divinity School of the Pacific, said in St. Louis in 2002, "Classical Anglicanism is focused not on the detailed and certain knowledge of the mind of God, but on maintaining life and conversation in the faithful community.

"We believe that no one will ever know it all, but that the Spirit will work with us in the unity (not uniformity) of the church to bring us toward truth...Classical Anglicanism values the ongoing life and conversation of the faithful community, however awkward and irritating it may become, far above such doctrinal assurances, attractive though they may seem.
"We are pretty sure that God's help will not fail us if we continue to work and pray together."

Our life as Christians, Anglicans, Episcopalians, is the ongoing dialogue that seeks elusive truth. Today we are challenged from all sides as a faith community that holds Holy Matrimony to be an important part of our sacramental life. Today, in the United States over 50 per cent of all marriages end in divorce. (Divorce is not the culprit, but has become an avenue of escape from painful and destructive relationships.)

Today, in the United States only 52 per cent of those couples sharing, a common roof, a common bed, and a common table, are married. Thirty years ago, in the United States, 70 per cent of couples sharing a common life were married.