GROUPS working on the Living in Love and Faith (LLF) process met in Leicester last weekend to discuss next steps in the introduction of stand-alone services, and the provision of episcopal oversight for the sevices’ opponents.
A decision about whether clergy will be permitted to enter same-sex civil marriages, however, has not yet been made by the House of Bishops, in spite of votes in the College and House a year ago in favour of this change.
In a video shown to St Albans diocesan synod and subsequently posted on YouTube this month, the Bishop of Leicester, the Rt Revd Martyn Snow, says that stand-alone services of blessing for same-sex couples will be available for use “before too long”.
The question of stand-alone services “has proved contentious”, he says, but the House of Bishops and the General Synod have agreed that they can be introduced “with an understanding that they do not constitute a change in our doctrine of marriage.”
Opponents of such services will be able to “request spiritual and pastoral oversight from another bishop”, Bishop Snow says in the video, though the detail of this provision “is still to be determined”.
On the question of permitting clergy to enter same-sex civil marriages, a booklet on “next steps”, due to be published on Friday, says that “bishops are proposing that further theological work is carried out in the coming months on this matter, for decision by the House of Bishops in early January 2025. This will then be presented at the February 2025 General Synod.”
Three LLF working groups, made up of lay and clergy members, met in Leicester for a two-night residential meeting. A fourth working group, comprising nine bishops and chaired by Bishop Snow, is working on a Bishops’ Statement, setting out areas of agreement on the issues, which is expected to include a position on whether clergy can be in same-sex marriages.
The groups gathered on Thursday evening last week — two days after the Archbishop of Canterbury had announced his decision to resign (News, 15 November).
Concerns have been raised that the Archbishop’s departure might put pressure on the agenda at meetings of the House of Bishops, reducing the time available for making important decisions about LLF. A Church House spokesperson said, however: “The Archbishop’s decision to step down does not alter the commitment or capacity of the House of Bishops to continue their vital work on LLF.”
According to a timetable in a General Synod paper published before its meeting last July, and reaffirmed by Church House this week, the House of Bishops is expected to decide in January whether to remove restrictions on clergy entering into same-sex civil marriage. This is premised on the completion of work by the theological advisers to the House of Bishops and members of the Faith and Order Commission.
The Church Times reported last year that both the College of Bishops, which comprises all serving bishops in the C of E, and the House had voted in favour of permitting clergy to enter into same-sex marriages (News, 27 October 2023).
These indicative votes — carried by 72 to 26 in the College, and 18 to 15 in the House — followed the circulation of draft pastoral guidance in September last year.
The draft was produced by a small working group. A version seen by the Church Times reveals the proposed wording on the “expectations of the lives of clergy and licensed lay ministers”.
“Sexual ethics are only one aspect of our life in the world, and it is important to attend to the whole person, and the shape of their life as a whole. Nevertheless, in line with promises made in the ordinal, the expectation is that an ordained minister understands and is committed to ensuring that if they enter (or are already in) a close intimate relationship, this should be permanent, stable, faithful and exclusive,” the proposed guidance says.