Letters reveal divisions among the Bishops over prayers for same-sex couples

Jul 7, 2023 by Jill

by Francis Martin, Church Times:

A BURST of letter-writing has laid bare disagreements in the College of Bishops about the best mechanism for introducing the Prayers of Love and Faith to be used to bless same-sex couples in church.

The moves come as the General Synod prepares to gather in York on Friday.

Earlier this week (News, 5 July), a group of leaders from 11 different C of E organisations, including the HTB network, as well as the Catholic and Evangelical Groups on the Synod, wrote to the College of Bishops to argue that the Prayers, drafted under the auspices of the Bishops, should be subject to the Synod’s authorisation under Canon B2, a process that requires two-thirds majorities in each of the three Houses of Synod at the final-approval stage.

This has been widely interpreted as an attempt to halt the introduction of blessings for same-sex couples, an outcome of the Living in Love and Faith (LLF) process, or at least to delay them. When the Prayers were approved by the Synod in February, a two-thirds majority was achieved only in the House of Bishops.

Now even this support looks uncertain. The Church Times has seen a letter sent on Wednesday by a group of 22 bishops — including nine diocesans — who have written to their colleagues to welcome the letter from the “alliance of network leaders” and to support its call for the Prayers of Love and Faith to be returned to the Synod under Canon B2.

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