Living in Love and Faith — An update before General Synod
from Diocese of York:
There has been some uncertainty as to the current position regarding LLF, so the Archbishop of York and Bishops of Whitby, Selby and Hull offer a short factual note as a guide.
What has happened so far?
General Synod voted to approve the motion that is copied at the end of this note. Paragraph g) was added by way of an amendment. You will see that Synod welcomed the decision of the House of Bishops to bring in new pastoral guidance to replace Issues in Human Sexuality (1991), and ‘looked forward’ to the House of Bishops ‘refining, commending and issuing’ Prayers of Love and Faith for use with same-sex couples. ‘Commending’ material means that the House publishes it as being suitable for use by ministers at their own discretion, without it needing detailed approval by General Synod.
Drafts of Prayers of Love and Faith have been made public, but it needs to be clearly understood that the House has not yet Commended them for use.
What has been happening since February?
The House of Bishops, with its advisory teams, has been doing the work that Synod asked for in February. It recognises the range of conscientious positions that people across the Church hold. It has been shaping new Pastoral Guidance, and considering how to provide reassurance for those who choose either to use, or not to use, Prayers of Love and Faith in their own local contexts.
The text and structure of Prayers of Love and Faith have been refined into three parts:
- Prayers for Covenanted Friendships;
- a suite of resources for use in private pastoral prayer or within existing regular worship in parishes; and
- forms of separate stand-alone services.
At a future date, the first two of these will be Commended by the House of Bishops, with the proviso that the suite of resources should only be used publicly to pray with and for same-sex couples in acts of worship where Prayers of Love and Faith are not the principal focus.
The House of Bishops has decided that the third part of Prayers of Love and Faith — the stand-alone services — will follow the full process for authorizing public worship, including detailed consideration by General Synod and consultation with dioceses. This longer process is set out in a piece of church law called Canon B2, and so you may hear it described as the ‘B2 route’.
New Pastoral Guidance was produced with the help of a diverse working group. It has three sections: Use of the Prayers of Love and Faith; Church life in local contexts; and Ministry. This is a still-evolving document. There is further work to do considering whether the rationale of ‘pastoral provision’ might provide a basis for allowing clergy to be in same-sex marriages.
What will happen at the November Synod?
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