The Church of England voted on Thursday to offer blessings to same-sex couples, though they still can't marry in the church. The church described the decision in a variety of ways: as a breakthrough, a flawed compromise, or an outright mistake.
begins with a stark acknowledgement, as the synod's members said they"lament and repent" the historic harm done to LGBTQI+ people by the Church of England, in its failure to welcome them.
Same-sex couples still won't be able to marry in the church, but they can"come to church after a civil marriage or civil partnership to give thanks, dedicate their relationship to God and receive God's blessing," according to the measure.Georgia Church Leaves United Methodist Over LGBTQ Clergy, Same-Sex Marriage
Speakers on all sides of the issue cited a range of theological and social beliefs, in a debate that underlined the difficulties not only of reconciling the human with the divine but also of a centuries-old institution adjusting to shifting social norms — and doing so in a way that reflects the diversity of its members, both within the United Kingdom and beyond.
"The Church continues to have deep differences on these questions which go to the heart of our human identity," the Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby and the Archbishop of York Stephen CottrellBy clearing the way to bless same-sex marriage, the Church of England could soon see"racial injustice, disunity and racial segregation" among its parishes, said Busola Sodeinde, a church commissioner in London.
The synod's decision, Sodeinde warned, could lead to an exodus of churches in Africa and Asia, where views of same-sex unions may be very different from prevailing opinions in the U.K. She urged the church's leaders to work to learn more about those regions' attitudes, with an eye toward another vote this summer.
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