Last Sunday, December 17, saw the first “Prayers of Love and Faith” being offered in the Church of England. These new official prayers allow LGBTQIA couples to receive prayers of blessing in local churches as part of ordinary worship services.
“A couple has become one of the first same-sex partnerships to receive a blessing at a Church of England service, the BBC and PA reported.
“Prayers for Catherine Bond and Jane Pearce were held at St John the Baptist Church in Felixstowe, Suffolk.
“Both are associate priests in the parish and celebrated the “love and friendship” and “commitment to one another”.
Blessing a pair of priests follows the pattern of church officers being amongst the first to take up same-sex blessings and weddings when churches begin to offer them – for example, Priests John Davis and Rob Whalley, the first couple to have a civil marriage blessed in an Anglican Church in Australia.
However, as reported in an earlier report by The Other Cheek, the prayers do not mention sex, and the services cannot resemble marriage. There are strong parallels to an announcement by Pope Francis allowing same-sex blessings that are not part of formal liturgies and that do not resemble marriage. A significant difference is that the Church of England announcement avoids mentioning sex (although some bishops have said that active sexual relationships are involved); the Catholic announcement reasserts that sex is only lawful within a man-woman marriage.
The Church of England House of Bishops voted 24 votes to 11, with three abstentions to “commend” the prayers. These prayers can be used within routine church services. Authorising stand-alone blessing services would require a two-thirds vote by the General Synod (church parliament), and there are believed to be enough conservative votes to block this.
A coalition of those opposed to the introduction of same-sex blessings is calling themselves “The Alliance.” Holy Trinity Brompton (HTB) and the network of churches planted or “re-potted” by them have in the past been accused by some staunch conservatives of downplaying the same-sex marriage issue. But crucially, they are part of “the Alliance.”
HTB signatories to the alliance statement opposing blessing include Revd Archie Coates, Vicar of Holy Trinity Brompton and Head of HTB Network; Revd Nicky Gumbel, President of Church Revitalisation Trust, HTB Network; Revd Sarah Jackson, CEO of Church Revitalisation Trust, and Chair of HTB Network on General Synod; and Revd Jago Wynne, Vice-Chair of HTB Network on General Synod.
They join leaders of the broader Church of England Evangelical Council, the catholic group on Synod, Church Society (broadly similar to Sydney Anglicans), celibate gay leaders from Living Out, and the charismatic New Wine group.
“The Alliance exists to proclaim the good news of Jesus Christ afresh in each generation to the people of England,” the statement affirming the traditional doctrine of marriage said. “We want to play our part in achieving this vision of revitalising the Church of England. We long to see a church that is younger and more diverse, one which is growing as missionary disciples live out their calling as followers of Jesus in all of life. We are committed to the parish system, including revitalising churches and growing fresh expressions of church so that all parts of the Church of England might flourish.
“This common framework means that, in conscience, we are compelled to resist the current direction of travel of the Church of England. It looks to alter what we stand on. It hinders our vision for the future.”
The Alliance matched their opposition to same-sex blessing with a determination to remain within the Church of England.
However, retired Bishop Wallace Benn, a strong evangelical voice for conservative evangelicals while serving as Bishop, issued a statement suggesting that unless strong differentiation from the progressives in the Church of England is possible, people may have to leave.
“Evangelicals need to act together and fully support CEEC (Church of England Evangelical Council), as it seeks a negotiated provision that will provide orthodox oversight long term, safety for the selection and training of our ordinands, and security for our parishes and the clergy appointed to them. What is really needed in Anglican polity is an orthodox Province with our own bishops and appointment system. In the end, nothing less will do. Hopefully, adequate provision can be granted within the CofE, which would prevent so much division and heartache, but if not, it will need to be created with the help of GAFCON and the Global South leaders outside. We need to earnestly pray and wait and see what will happen.”