Services for blessing same-sex couples in the Church of England are unlikely to happen for well over a year, a bishop has said.
Bishop of London Dame Sarah Mullally said it was a “time of uncertainty” for the church and that while individuals were sure of their opinions on the matter, the church itself remains divided.
In February, the Church of England’s General Synod voted in favour of offering blessings to same-sex couples in civil partnerships and marriages after a marathon near-eight-hour debate across two days.
The church later formally apologised for its “shameful” treatment of LGBTQI+ people, admitting they had “received a hostile and homophobic response” at times but should be and are “welcome and valued”.
While the blessings were welcomed by some as progress on what has long been a divisive issue, those who have campaigned for same-sex marriage within the church said they do not go far enough, while others still feel they go too far.
Dame Sarah said prayers of blessing for same-sex couples should be able to be used “soon”, but that she recognised disagreement remained.
She said: “What we recognise is that as a church, we don’t all agree on these issues. And we’ve known that all along. The House of Bishops doesn’t agree, the church doesn’t agree.”
She said she and others in the church had focused on providing “pastoral reassurance” for people as things progress, reiterating the church’s stance on same-sex marriage had not changed, but that “we are making pastoral provision for those who wish to celebrate what is good within their (same-sex) relationship”.
Providing a timeline for how things will move forward, she said texts known as Prayers of Love and Faith could be used as part of Sunday morning and other services soon, but standalone services for same-sex couples to receive blessings were further down the line.
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‘Two-track approach’
Earlier this month the House of Bishops agreed in principle that the Prayers of Love and Faith should be commended for use and it is expected they could be in implemented shortly after the Synod’s next gathering.
She said: “What we’ve got is a two-track approach – for the suite of prayers to be used as part of existing services, so in a sense not the main focus of that service, they will be commended soon.
“But for standalone services, they will need further authorisation, which will take probably into about 2025.”
Were prayers to be used during a regular service, Dame Sarah said she would hope for “transparency” with churches possibly choosing to give advance notice “in the same way as if they put information out about their services at the moment”.