Press release from the Church of England
Bishops agree key areas for further work implementing Living in Love and Faith
19/05/2023
The House of Bishops has set out the key areas in which it is requesting further work from the implementation groups taking forward the decision of General Synod on offering prayers of thanksgiving, dedication and for God’s blessing for same-sex couples.
During its meeting in York earlier this week, the House spent time reviewing the work of the three implementation groups set up after the debate at Synod in February on proposals on identity, sexuality, relationships and marriage.
The proposals debated at Synod, which were developed after a six-year period of listening, learning and discernment known as Living in Love and Faith, would mean that, for the first time, same-sex couples could have a service in church in which there would be prayers of dedication, thanksgiving or for God’s blessing following a civil marriage or civil partnership.
The proposals would not, however, change the Church’s doctrine of Holy Matrimony. The texts known as Prayers of Love and Faith will be voluntary, with freedom of choice about their use.
There will be protections both for those who, on grounds of conscience, will not be able to offer them and those who will.
Three implementation groups have been set up to refine the draft texts of Prayers of Love and Faith; work on new pastoral guidance for the Church of England; and examine what pastoral reassurance will be required to ensure freedom of conscience for clergy and laity.
At this week’s meeting, the House agreed that while the Bishops’ views differ on matters of sexuality and marriage, they wish to create a generous theological, ecclesial and pastoral space holding the Church together in one body.
After spending time meeting informally, reviewing the work so far, the Bishops have provided further steers for the implementation groups to shape their work.
They are requesting further work around key subjects which will shape the new pastoral guidance. They are also asking for specific proposals to be developed that will ensure that those who offer the Prayers of Love and Faith, and those who don’t, are respected, supported and protected, recognising they are made out of theological conviction.
A further update will be provided before the July meeting of General Synod.
The Bishop of London, Sarah Mullally, and Bishop of Truro, Philip Mounstephen, co-chairs of the group co-ordinating the work of the implementation groups, said: “The House of Bishops had a very constructive meeting in York this week and it has been pleasing to see how much progress has been made by the implementation groups even in a short time.
“We look forward to further proposals being developed.
“It is important to take the time we need to get this right however there is a strong sense of progress in implementing what Synod agreed.”
“to ensure freedom of conscience for clergy and laity…”
Freedom of conscience to opt out of prayers of blessing…
No freedom of conscience for priest and church community to marry gay and lesbian couples.
Claiming to ensure ‘freedom of conscience’ is spurious.
Large numbers in the Church of England believe, in all conscience, that gay and lesbian marriage should be allowed in the Church.
Their consciences continue to be dominated and trampled on.
Freedom of conscience is NOT being ensured. It’s being crushed.
I too lament that marriage is not on offer. But freedom of conscience here refers to something more specific in the context of the prayers. This is to do with “protections both for those who, on grounds of conscience, will not be able to offer them and those who will.” Within that more limited but important frame of reference, freedom of conscience is being ensured.
I think the wording could have been improved by making this clear, David, though at least there is a recognition that those seeking greater inclusion have consciences which might be affected as well as those who do not. I fear that, though there has been a huge shift among laypeople and frontline clergy, so that many are uneasy at being unable to hold weddings in church, quite a few bishops still seem to think that the offering of prayers is exceptionally generous, after over fifty-five years of the listening process and report after report urging greater inclusivity.
Very well said Susannah.
If they want uniformity at the price of fully enabling the expression of people’s consciences, at least say so. Or genuinely respect people’s sincere and eminently reasonable conscientious desire to make sacramental marriage available to all. You can have one thing or the other (as a long-standing supporter of equal marriage, I’d of course choose the latter), but not both.
“Bishops agree [on] key areas for further work ” Then there are the questions and objections by opponents, who seek any means to negate the process, and I’d say the Bishops can kick the can down the road for another 6 years. It took the Roman Catholic Church (RCC) 400 years or so to publicly state that Galileo Galilei was denied his due process rights (I didn’t even know accused heretics had any) by the Inquisition officials when they put Galileo under house arrest (newspapers of the time of the Vatican announcement mocked the RCC for taking 400 years to recognize… Read more »
Who writes this verbiage? Repetitive, inconclusive aand prevaricating!
Why can’t the be straightforward and admit they are so divided hold unreconcilable positions and that the whole process has been and is whitewashing. Church faithful deserve better and more honesty !
Has any work been done by the implementation groups to establish who, if anyone, will want a service including these “prayers of thanksgiving, dedication and for God’s blessing for same-sex couples”? What same-sex couple – having married in a register office, hotel, country house etc. but who might have wanted that marriage to have taken place in a Church of England church – would then want anything to do with the same church that had refused to marry them in the first place? And even then there is no guarantee of finding a priest who is prepared to engage with… Read more »
Probably none is the answer as the prayers are merely a stepping stone to SSM provision in all Church of England churches.
Even when same sex marriage is provided by the Church of England I think that it is a very small number of couples that would want to have their wedding in a Church of England church. Couples of oposite sex and same sex have many more options about where and how to hold their marriage and statistically that is happening less often in a church regardless of denomination. If you are a member of a denomination and have persevered through the pain that the church has directed at you then perhaps your community of friends are the church and so… Read more »
Some people might, but I agreed they are likely to be few, at least once they dig into the details and see how removed it is from any blessing or true acknowledgement of the marriage itself, in stark contrast to the blessing of a m/f civil marriage in which as the CofE website states, if the couple desire it, there can be a significant ceremony, “designed to have a similar feel to a wedding with hymns, readings, flowers and even bells if you would like that”. If that’s the full-fat cream service, the proposal for same sex marriage prayers is… Read more »