Resolved, by the 166th Annual Convention of the Diocese of Chicago that we acknowledge with sorrow the deep divisions which exist within our church and diocese concerning matters of human sexuality, and acknowledge particularly the serious divisions that have arisen in response to actions taken at the 74th General Convention.

While these divisions have caused great pain and stress within our Communion, we nevertheless proclaim that that which unites us, namely our Lord Jesus Christ, is greater than that which divides us, namely our own imperfect human understandings of his word and grace.

In the strength of that proclamation we, the Diocese of Chicago, as a Diocese of the Episcopal Church in the United States of America, pledge to continue to work, worship, and take our place within the Episcopal Church, within the Anglican Communion, and within the larger ecumenical community as we proclaim Good News to the world.

By the grace of God we will continue to hold one another, and especially those whose opinion differs from our own, in the bonds of Christian love, and we pledge to strive to maintain that unity for which our Lord prayed; speaking to one another the truth in love, listening to each other with Christ-like affection, and bearing with one another in sorrow and in joy.

EXPLANATION

Our Lord Jesus Christ, Jesus prayed constantly that his disciples might be one as he and the Father are one, and gave his disciples the New Commandment to love one another. In spite of his clear desires, from the beginning days of the Church, Christians of deep faith and commitment have held differing opinions in matters of polity and discipline.

Anglicans have a rich history of holding divergent positions in tension as they waited for the slowly unfolding will of the Spirit. They have often found unique ways to maintain unity within diversity when other denominations failed. The Anglican Communion has an admirable history of establishing a communion of constituent churches in divergent cultural and national situations. The Primates of those various churches of the Anglican Communion have most recently stated that “what we hold in common is much greater than that which divides us in proclaiming Good News to the world” To that statement we hold and wait upon the grace of God.