One of the things that Anglican Churches have always done well is our music. I believe that a large part of the reason why is that we have always had generous people willing to donate money so that superior musical instruments can be purchased and installed in our churches. If you look at the great cathedrals in England you will find some of the truly great pipe organs in the world. Those organs were made possible by the people who donated money for the building, installing and maintenance of organs. Our organ donors have made the musical exceptionalism of the Anglican Church possible.
Ok. That’s not what was meant by the question, but I couldn’t resist the impulse to use a little humor.
I suppose that there are some religious groups that prohibit either the reception or the contribution to human organs for transplantation. I personally have no idea why that would be a religious issue such that it had to be legislated from on high. I certainly have opinions myself about the issue of organ transplantation. I also have religious ideas about the proper treatment of the human body, both in life and after death. Frankly, I would not respond very well to someone else telling me what I must and must not do with my own body.
I suppose that the issue of Abortion has opened the door to some of these ideas. But, abortion has to do with what we do to with somebody else’s body, namely that of the baby. Each Anglican Christian is charged with the responsibility for honoring God with their own body in their own way and according their own understanding.
If you have not the faintest idea of how to go about honoring God with your own body, then we, your clergy, have failed to educate you well. I bear much responsibility for that failure. If you have questions about Abortion, Blood Transfusion, Organ Transplantation, Capital Punishment, Autopsy, Cremation or any of a hundred other ethical decisions that each of us have to make, please give me the opportunity to give you some help in making some very important life decisions.