Highlights September 2021 - the big fix

Church in Wales Governing Body September 2021                                                                                                                                                   Source: YouTube

Highlights of the Church in Wales (CinW) meeting of the Governing Body, September 2021, have been published. 

Highlights for bishops of the CinW they may be but for the vast majority of Anglicans, they will be anything but that. Attracting widespread criticism, the process has been a gigantic fix.

Built around a Bill to authorise a service of blessing for same-sex partnerships, the meeting's opening prayers invited us to show "love, compassion and concern for all those who are anxious about the day's debate, especially for the members of the LGBTI+ community." Especially for the LGBTI+ community! Do others merit no concern?

Even the response 'In your love and tenderness, remake us' was geared towards voting in favour of the measure. The cleric leading the prayers was far from neutral having already been remade, 'living happily' in a civil partnership with a younger man, he is a noted LGBT activist in common with all three women bishops.

One of the more illuminating speeches came from the Revd Dr Jonathon Wright (S&B), who submitted an amendment that, according to the Chair, Judge Andrew Keyser QC, 'touched on a fundamental part of the Bill'. Dr Wright wanted to have it delayed until it could be considered holistically as part of the Church’s doctrine on marriage, and introduced with same-sex marriage at some future date.

The bishops were in no mood to stop and reflect on their actions, typified by the response the bishop of Monmouth, Cherry Vann, also in a same sex civil partnership, said that it would be "a huge missional and pastoral opportunity lost for yet another generation. . . The cry will go up, ‘How long, O Lord, how long?'"

Not the Lord, bishop Vann but GB members. The amendment was lost by 77 votes to 27, with no abstentions. 

The Bill itself was proposed by the bishop of St Asaph who was "conscious that some members saw the Bill as a departure from Biblical teaching and the historic faith of the Church", probably his most accurate statement, but nevertheless he asked if members would be “bold enough to take a decision in favour of faithful love and mercy, which will bring hope and joy?”

The bishops won, the Bill passed. The Church in Wales lost.

A wedding in all but name

"A prayer for our new service of blessing for same-sex partnerships which launches online today, for use from October 1"        Source: Twitter/CinW

  

Extracts from Church in Wales (CinW) Liturgy for the Blessing of a Same-sex Civil Marriage or Civil Partnership: Text authorised for use from 1 October 2021 -

Introduction

Beloved in Christ, we come together in the presence of God to celebrate the union of N. and N. and to ask his blessing on their future together.

Act of Commitment

N. and N. you have already committed yourselves to each other at your Wedding / Civil Partnership when, [in the presence of your family and friends] you made solemn promises to establish a covenant of love and faithfulness between you for the rest of your life together.

I now invite you, to renew your commitment to one another before God and the Church.

N. and N. is it your desire to proclaim afresh your love and commitment to one another [before your family and friends and] in the presence of God?

Couple: It is.

There follows The Blessing of the Rings (optional), The Exchange of Rings or Gifts or Lighting of a Symbolic Candle and The Blessing of the Couple.

It is no coincidence that in 'celebrating love' the CinW liturgy mirrors the marriage service which is described as the lifelong, faithful union between a man and a woman.  CinW bishops make no secret of the fact that their goal is to permit the marriage of same sex couples in church.

Love manifests itself in many ways. Pink News, for example, reveals that "Evangelical candidates for upcoming Church of England elections are being encouraged to discuss threesomes when asked about diversity and LGBT+ inclusion."

Why stop at threesomes? Based on the bishops' interpretation of love there could be many other forms of partnerships to consider, often very loving.

A 'leading evangelical' vicar explains the situation here in an interview with Coalition For Marriage (C4M).

The CinW appears content to lose many faithful worshippers to satisfy a minority of folk who reinterpret the bible in a way that satisfies their own desires.

The floundering Episcopal Church in the US made the same mistakes. The Church of England is following the same 'popularity' path to destruction despite throwing money at dwindling numbers while gay rights activists seek to take more control.

Ironically, if current downward trends continue, there will be no Anglican churches left in which to conduct marriage services.

Postscript [26.09.2021]

Christian Today "After the Church in Wales' same-sex vote, what options are open to evangelicals?"
 An interview with the Rev Peter Jones, Chairman of the Evangelical Fellowship in the Church in Wales (EFCW).