THE Governing Body of the Church in Wales has voted overwhelmingly to make its liturgy for the blessing of same-sex marriages and civil partnerships, trialled for the past five years, permanent, by incorporating it into the Welsh Book of Common Prayer.
The motion was approved on Thursday after a long debate (adjourned from the previous day), at the end of which the Archbishop of Wales, the Most Revd Cherry Vann, commended members for their graciousness.
A two-thirds majority was required and obtained in all three Houses: Bishops nem. con.; Clergy 32-7, with five recorded abstentions; and Laity 48-8, with two recorded abstentions
The Governing Body met in Llandudno this week. A procedural motion from Canon Richard Wood (Bangor) at the start of the debate on Wednesday sought a secret ballot rather than a show of hands on the main motion.
There were “not an insignificant number who feel themselves under pressure about speaking or voting”, he said. “Voting this way would be a true reflection of the mind of the Governing Body.”
But others argued that transparency was essential for accountability. “We’re not here just to have a good time,” one member said.
The Archdeacon of the Gwent Valleys (Monmouth), the Ven. Stella Bailey — speaking of the “dark reality” of having received “hate-filled hostile letters” — said: “If we hold a theological position, we should have the integrity to articulate it openly.”
The Revd Kevin Ellis (Bangor) was, he said, in favour of a private vote, but “with a heavy heart. I wish it wasn’t necessary.”
The procedural motion was lost by 57 to 43.
The committee stage, chaired by His Honour Judge Andrew Keyser KC, involved a string of 18 proposed amendments. Those seeking to substitute “covenant” with “promise” were either lost or fell, but most of the agreed changes were a simple tidying up of rubrics in the interests of flexibility. The conscience clauses were tightened up.
When it came to final consideration, the proposer, the Bishop of St Asaph, the Rt Revd Gregory Cameron, who has championed the rite throughout, was visibly emotional. “You can’t say we’ve rushed the process,” he said of the 16 years of discussions. “Please, please, can we have a Church accepting of difference and not be a Church that inflicts such pain?”
The Bishop of Llandaff, the Rt Revd Mary Stallard, said of the trialling exercise: “I believe the Church in Wales did something good and beautiful to aid [our] diversity — honest diversity that shows the welcome arms of Christ open to all. The process of withdrawing of welcome would feel the very opposite of life-giving.”
The arguments had been often rehearsed on both sides over the years, and there was no indication that anyone had radically changed their view; but, at the end, Archbishop Vann thanked the Governing Body for the delivering the patient and gracious manner of debate which she had requested.