Welsh Anglicans to bless gay unions
Church in Wales Governing Body vote on 6th September 2021 to offer services of blessing to same sex couples in civil marriages and civil partnerships. Laity voted 49 for and 10 against, with one abstention. Clergy voted 28 for and 12 against, with two abstentions. The bishops were unanimously in favour.
Reports and comment (latest at the top):
General Statement from the Evangelical Fellowship in the Church in Wales:
The Evangelical Fellowship in the Church in Wales deeply regrets the recent decision of the Governing Body to authorise a liturgy to bless same-sex civil marriages and partnerships…
…First, by making this decision, the Church in Wales has departed from the apostolic faith as revealed in Scripture…
…Second, this decision has damaged the Church in Wales’ relationship with the majority of the provinces in the global Anglican Communion, which remain committed to an orthodox understanding of human sexuality…
… At this very difficult time, we have been enormously grateful for the words of encouragement and support that we have received from across the breadth of the Anglican Communion…
After the Church in Wales’ same-sex vote, what options are open to evangelicals? from Christian Today: Interview with Rev Peter Jones, chairman of the Evangelical Fellowship in the Church in Wales (EFCW).
Unpersuasive and unorthodox – a response to Bishop Gregory Cameron’s words to the Welsh Governing Body, by Martin Davie: “Cameron’s claim that the bill to permit the blessing of same-sex marriages is not a ‘a sell out to the secular spirit of the age’ goes against the historical evidence… many Western Christians have become seduced by the thinking of the world around them and have sought for apologetic reasons to develop a reading of the Bible and an understanding of Christian sexual ethics that is line with it… the Welsh bill to permit the blessing of same-sex marriages is part of this process of cultural assimilation.”
What should we make of the Church in Wales’ gay marriage blessings? by Gavin Ashenden, Christian Today
‘Heartbroken’ Welsh evangelicals reach out to Gafcon, by Julian Mann, Christian Today
Gay blessings leave Welsh Evangelicals with an uncertain path forward, from Anglican Ink
Same-sex blessings made to look just like marriage, Rev Jim Griffiths interview, Coalition for Marriage
What will happen to evangelicals in the Church in Wales? By David Baker, Christian Today: “[…] Sadly, evangelical bishops in the Church of England seem to have remained publicly silent…In the absence of anything else, it looks as though many Welsh evangelicals will have no option but to turn to Gafcon. This decision…is emotionally devastating for some….The most surprising thing to me about all this has been the seeming lack of any pre-prepared contingency plans for this situation. Evangelicals in the Church of England …please take note.”
Church in Wales votes to bless same sex ‘marriages’, by Carys Moseley, Christian Concern: “Denial of the authority of Christ…False analogies and pseudo-intellectual excuses…ambiguity about religious freedom…Grotesque hypocrisy…Apostate bishops – wolves in sheep’s clothing…”
Church in Wales gives ‘gospel-inspired lead’ to C of E, says Bishop of Liverpool, by Madeleine Davies, Church Times: THE vote to enable same-sex civil partnerships and marriages to be blessed in the Church in Wales is a “creative and gospel-inspired lead” for the Church of England, the Bishop of Liverpool, the Rt Revd Paul Bayes, said this week.
Will the Church of England soon follow the Church in Wales on same-sex marriage? By Julian Mann, Christian Today: If Church of England traditionalists are to stand up for the counter-cultural Christian sexual ethic, they are going to have to defy the allegedly conservative newspaper, The Daily Telegraph, whose reporter enthusiastically welcomed the Wales decision and pointed out that Anglicans in England are now behind the more progressive churches in Scotland and Wales.
Debating the Church and same-sex marriage, by Ian Paul, Psephizo: On Friday 3rd September, I had a phone call from a BBC researcher asking if I would appear on BBC1 on Sunday morning for a debate about the Church of England and same-sex marriage, in the light of the coming vote taking place in the Church in Wales.
Church in Wales and what it means for the rest of us, by Stephen Kneale, Building Jerusalem: “Anglicans in other places should take note. The warnings from your nonconformist brethren have been happening over and again. The trajectory of the former red lines that have long been crossed to the current ones being crossed time and again in different places does not bode well for the Church of England either.”
Church in Wales to give blessings for same-sex marriages: BBC News report quotes Jeffrey John and the Evangelical Fellowship of the Church in Wales
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