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Locals criticise Rector for observing marriage rules
by Pat Ashworth
Posters have been put up in the village of Shere, in Surrey, demanding the resignation of the Rector, the Revd Charles Lawrence. Mr Lawrence has been criticised by parishioners, who allege that he refuses to marry couples unless they are resident in the parish or habitual worshippers. Until the Marriage Measure, which was approved by the General Synod last July, has received the Royal Assent, this remains the requirement. The new legislation will considerably widen the regulations, and allow couples to get married in a church that has a particular meaning for them. The new criteria include the parish their parents lived or worshipped in (during the child’s lifetime), and the parish where their parents or grandparents were married. The Bishop of Guildford, the Rt Revd Christopher Hill, affirmed that Mr Lawrence was not doing anything in contravention of ecclesiastical or civil law: “You cannot criticise someone for keeping the law.” A diocesan spokesman said on Wednesday: “It is terribly sad to encounter a church and priest where so many good things are happening, which is embroiled in a dispute of this kind. . . Small disputes can grow exponentially, and we look to see something of the grace of God emerging from this in the long-term.” |
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