from Christian Today
The Church in Wales Governing Body has voted to make same-sex blessings permanent following a five-year trial period in which they were allowed on a temporary basis.
The vote during a meeting in Llandudno on Thursday is likely to lead some Welsh Anglicans to leave the Church or seek alternative episcopal oversight.
The motion makes the blessings permanent by incorporating a rite for the blessing of same-sex marriages and partnerships into the Book of Common Prayer. It passed overwhelmingly.
The measure needed a two thirds majority of each of the Orders which comprise the Governing Body: bishops, clergy and laity. All five bishops voted in favour. The clergy voted 32 – 7 in favour, with 5 abstentions, and the laity 48 – 8 in favour, with 2 abstentions.
The vote comes as little surprise given the Church’s recent appointment of Cherry Vann as its first openly gay Archbishop of Wales, and a majority “in favour of the view that the time is right to offer equal marriage”, according to a pastoral letter from the bishops last December.
Archbishop Vann welcomed the outcome, saying,“I want to thank everyone for the ways in which this debate was conducted – calmly, and with mutual respect. The Bench of Bishops and I recognise that this is an issue about which people hold strong convictions.