What "Full Inclusion of All the Baptized in All Sacraments" Means for Claiming the Blessing

Updated

Claiming the Blessing (CTB) uses that phrase to mean exactly what it says: every person who has been baptized — including gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender people — should have full access to every sacrament and every order of ministry in the Episcopal Church. It is not a general statement about welcome or hospitality. It is a specific claim about church law, liturgy, and ordained ministry, and CTB has pursued it since 2002 through legislation at the Episcopal Church's General Convention.

The phrase, unpacked

Two parts carry the weight:

  • "All the baptized" — baptism, not sexual orientation or gender identity, is the qualifying condition for membership and access in the church. If someone is baptized, nothing else should restrict their participation.
  • "All sacraments" — this covers the full sacramental life, but CTB's advocacy has concentrated on two areas where LGBTQ Episcopalians were historically excluded: the blessing of same-sex relationships (and later, marriage) and ordination to all orders of ministry.

The phrase is therefore a theological and canonical argument, not a social slogan. It says the church's own sacramental logic — that baptism admits a person to full membership — is inconsistent with denying anyone the sacraments that follow.

What CTB has actually advocated for

According to the organization's own account of its history, its advocacy has included:

  • Liturgies for the blessing of same-sex relationships — developing and approving rites the church could use.
  • Equal access to all orders of ministry — ensuring qualified gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender candidates can be ordained as deacons, priests, and bishops.
  • Civil and sacramental marriage equality — supporting both legal marriage equality in the wider society and equal marriage rites in the church.
  • Implementation, not just policy — after the 2015 General Convention amended the marriage canons and approved liturgies for equal use by same-sex and opposite-sex couples, CTB's work shifted toward making sure those advances were actually available regardless of where a person lives.

That last point matters for understanding the phrase. A canon passed at the national level does not automatically change practice in every diocese or parish. CTB's stated concern after 2015 was that "your zip code does not define whether or not your marriage receives equal blessing by the church or equal protection by the Constitution."

The 2015 and 2018 turning points

CTB describes 2015 as a watershed year. At the 78th General Convention in Salt Lake City, resolutions amended the church's marriage canons and approved liturgies for equal use by same-sex and opposite-sex couples. In the same period, civil marriage equality became law in the United States.

At the 79th General Convention in Austin in 2018, CTB's work focused on:

  • Advocating for legislative guarantees of equal access to marriage across the Episcopal Church.
  • Amplifying the voices of those "left behind" in the eight dissenting dioceses out of 101.

This is where the phrase meets reality. National legislation can permit equal access, but a minority of dioceses resisted, and CTB framed its ongoing task as both securing and implementing the advances already won — "having now 'claimed the blessing' legislatively we continue to be committed to the work of living it out incarnationally."

Why this is a church-law question, not only a social one

CTB was convened in 2002 as a collaborative of organizations and individuals within the Episcopal Church, including Integrity, Oasis, Beyond Inclusion, and the Episcopal Women's Caucus, in partnership with The Witness magazine. Its stated focus areas were:

  • Promoting wholeness in human relationships
  • Abolishing prejudice and oppression
  • Healing the rift between sexuality and spirituality in the church

Those goals are theological and ecclesial. The mechanism for pursuing them was the General Convention — the church's legislative body — which is why the phrase "all the baptized in all sacraments" functions as a canonical standard to be written into church law, not just a value to be affirmed.

What this means if you're trying to understand the site

If you arrive at claimingtheblessing.org wondering what the organization wants, the answer is narrower and more concrete than "inclusion" as a general idea. It wants:

  1. Baptism to be the only gate to full sacramental participation.
  2. Marriage rites available equally to same-sex and opposite-sex couples, in every diocese.
  3. Ordination open to qualified LGBTQ candidates in all orders of ministry.
  4. The gap between national policy and local practice closed.

The site's own framing — "Proclaiming the Good News of God's inclusive love" — sits on top of that legislative and liturgical program. Understanding the phrase as a claim about sacraments and church law, rather than a statement of welcome, is the key to reading the rest of the site.