Sexuality Conflict Roils ACNA

The Anglican Church in North America (ACNA), which split from the Episcopal Church (TEC) more than a decade ago in part because of disagreement over human sexuality, now finds itself embroiled anew in a related conflict.

Pieter Valk, a celibate gay man in Nashville who aspires to ordination as an ACNA deacon, created deargayanglicans.com as a vehicle for responding to a pastoral letter on “sexuality and identity” released by the ACNA College of Bishops in January. Valk posted a letter cosigned by an ACNA bishop and more than a dozen priests — and then quickly took it down as controversy erupted.

“I might have made that a little more difficult,” Valk told TLC, referring to his hopes of ordination. “I hope not.”

ACNA Archbishop Foley Beach responded to the Dear Gay Anglicans letter, saying the issue is serious enough “that I am writing this at 1:15 a.m.”

“Many of our bishops, and rightly so, feel this is an attempt to undermine our roles as guardians of the Faith and teachers of the doctrine of the Church. Some individuals have expressed that we are now TEC 2.0. Some think this is going to break the ACNA apart,” Beach wrote. Read More

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