Displaying items by tag: Same sex marriage

The chairman of the Global Anglican Future Conference, GAFCON, used his presidential address at its meeting in Kigali, Rwanda, to repeat calls for Justin Welby to repent. Archbishop Foley Beach of the Anglican Church in North America said, ‘Sadly, with broken hearts, we must say that unless the Archbishop of Canterbury repents, we can no longer recognise him as the “first among equals” and the spiritual leader of the Anglican Communion.’ His address referred to the General Synod vote earlier this year to agree to bless same sex unions. Archbishop Beach described the Kigali meeting of over 1,300 people from 53 nations as potentially one of the most important church gatherings in our time. He emphasised the importance of believers addressing sin - personal, provincial or church sin - and called on the Anglican Church to prioritise 'repentance, revival, renewal and moving forward'. The Church cannot be reconciled to God without repentance.

650 Bishops from across the Anglican Communion are debating at the Lambeth Conference if marriage is solely between a man and a woman. The once-a-decade conference ends on 8 August. There is now a three-way choice of voting options around homosexuality being incompatible with scripture. Originally bishops were asked to reaffirm a resolution of the 1998 Conference which considers homosexuality as ‘incompatible with scripture’. Now they can not only affirm it or abstain; they can vote against. This revised outlook has the potential to divide the church. A poll commissioned by the Ozanne Foundation found a clear majority of Anglicans believe that same-sex marriage is right, despite the church’s refusal to permit it. See

The owner of a wedding venue in Gloucestershire has said he is 'deeply sorry' after revoking a provisional booking for a same-sex couple's marriage reception. Kevin Chaffe and Ken Silvey had expressed an interest in booking Priors Court Barn in Brockworth, but Tim Wiltshire, the venue’s co-owner, contacted their wedding planner to cancel after finding out that the enquiry had been made by a same-sex couple. Chaffe took to Facebook to express outrage at this ‘disgusting, homophobic’ action. A social media backlash led to a barrage of negative reviews for the business. Wiltshire released a statement of apology that ended, ‘Of course everyone has the right to their own beliefs, and I now realise that my initial reaction was inappropriate in modern society. I am truly sorry’.

Since Donald Trump became  president, people are talking of renewed Christian political advocacy. With Democrats retaking Congress, and headline-grabbing activism around the migrant ‘caravans’ on the Mexican border, religious liberals could sway policy debates in 2019. Meanwhile the United Methodist Church’s bishops will hold a special conference in February to resolve a year-long debate about its current stance on homosexuality. It currently bans ordaining non-celibate homosexuals or blessing same-sex marriages. Many within and outside the denomination expect the conference to lead to a schism. A 1,300-page report has detailed how 301 Catholic priests abused 1,000+ children over several decades while the hierarchy shielded perpetrators from accountability. On 2 January, bishops began a prayer retreat over this problem, with a summit of Catholic leaders scheduled for February.

Conservative Anglican church group GAFCON has said some Primates may walk out of the Anglican Communion Primates' meeting, over the issue of same-sex marriage. The Scottish Episcopal Church will be asked to repent for its decision to let clergy conduct same-sex weddings last June. The Archbishops of Nigeria, Rwanda and Uganda refused to attend a recent Anglican Primates' meeting over what they deem to be a weak stance in the Church on the issue of sexuality. Meanwhile on 5 October Justin Welby said that a ban on Scottish Anglicans taking part in some votes and holding certain offices ‘will be followed through’, after a meeting where anger and disappointment were expressed. The ban would involve exclusion from debate on doctrine and from chairing Anglican Communion committees. Archbishop Welby said that no vote was taken against the Scottish Anglicans by the Primates, but there was a ‘consensus’.

There is an expectation in Australia that once the result of the same-sex marriage postal vote is announced on 15 November the matter will be resolved once and for all. According to opinion polls a Yes vote looks likely, clearing the way for amendments to the Marriage Act. But there’s a twist in this long-running, angry issue (on 21 September a man head-butted former prime minister Tony Abbott as he campaigned for a No vote). Opposition leader Bill Shorten seeks to define marriage as ‘a union between two people’ meaning that all are eligible: heterosexuals, homosexuals and people of any other gender or sexuality. This could be immensely complicated.

Justine Greening, equalities secretary, says the church should reflect ‘modern attitudes’ and public opinion, keep up with the modern world and allow same-sex couples to marry in church. The issue has split the church, which would have to call on the Government to change the law. Ms Greening told Sky News, ‘I think it is important that the church keeps up and is part of a modern country.’ Pray for God to lead His people; may they reject ‘modern man’ agendas in parliament and the media. Meanwhile disaffected conservative evangelicals are expressing wishes for an alternative Anglican structure in Britain. See

Members of the Church of England's ruling body have voted not to ‘take note’ of a controversial report on homosexuality and same-sex marriage. The report by the House of Bishops (see Prayer Alert 05-2017, dated 3 February) called for a ‘culture of welcome and support’ for gay Christians, but maintained that marriage in church should be only between a man and a woman, and services should not be held to bless same-sex relationships. Following hours of debate, the House of Bishops voted overwhelmingly (43 to 1) in favour of the report, and the House of Laity backed it by 106 votes to 83. But the report had to win backing in all three houses, and the Clergy rejected it by 100 votes to 93, with two abstentions. Bishops will now have to produce a new report on the issue. The decision was welcomed by LGBT rights campaigners, some of whom had staged a protest ahead of the debate. Lucy Gorman, an activist and Synod member from York, said: ‘Thank you Synod. With that vote we've sent a message to the outside world.’ The Archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby, concluded the debate with a call for ‘a radical new Christian inclusion’.

During the election campaign for a new Northern Ireland assembly, Sinn Féin has renewed its commitment to same-sex marriage. Promising to work to legislate for marriage equality, party members Gerry Kelly, Caral Ni Chuilin and Megan Fearon said there is a growing demand for a change in the law. Sinn Féin and other parties have previously tried to force through new laws to lift the ban on gay marriage in the Stormont assembly, but these moves have been blocked by opposition mainly from the Democratic Unionist Party. Ms Fearon, an assembly candidate for Newry and Armagh, said she has friends in Dundalk who can marry the person they love, but those who live just a few miles north of the Irish border cannot. She added: ‘So we are pledging to work actively for equality as we have always done. We want all parties who say they are progressive to state clearly what they will do for the LGBT community.’ In 2015 the assembly voted narrowly in favour of gay marriage equality, but the DUP vetoed any change in the law. Northern Ireland remains the only part of the UK where gay couples cannot get married legally.

A new report by the House of Bishops has said that the Church of England should adopt a ‘fresh tone and culture of welcome and support’ for gay people, but that there was little support for changing the Church's teaching that marriage was between one man and one woman. The report said the Church needed to repent of homophobic attitudes. It also said all potential clergy - straight and gay - will be asked about their sexual conduct and lifestyle., The Bishop of Norwich, Graham Jones, felt that present arrangements for asking ordinands and clergy about their relationships and lifestyle are not really working very well. He said, ‘All clergy are asked at their ordination whether they will fashion their lives after the way of Christ. We believe we should revisit how this is explored beforehand, so the same questions are addressed to everyone without distinction.’ But Andrew Foreshaw-Cain, a parish priest in north London who is in a same-sex marriage, told the BBC that the report was ‘a failure of leadership’. He added: ‘The LGBT community is going to be extremely hurt by this. We were asked to trust our leaders. Many of us made ourselves vulnerable during the shared conversations, and none of that has been heard. The bishops have gone ahead and talked as if we didn't take part in it and as if we are not there.’