The reason why the chapel should bless homosexual wedding | Giles Fraser |

A



couple of weeks in the past, two Anglican clergymen celebrated their own
civil cooperation
at a service in a well-known London church. Old newspapers finally weekend called it a gay wedding ceremony. A number of pals of my own were on solution and informed of a happy and great affair. But you will find people who have been seriously angry; those who would quote scripture to believe it threatens ab muscles textile of relationship by itself.

Just what exactly, subsequently, could be the Church of The united kingdomt’s theology of matrimony? Back the sixteenth and 17th hundreds of years, because the
Book of Popular Prayer
had been developed, relationship was said to be for a few reasons:

First, it actually was ordained when it comes down to procreation of children. Next, it absolutely was ordained for a remedy against sin, and abstain from fornication. Thirdly, it had been ordained for your common culture, assistance and convenience that the one should have for the some other, both in prosperity and adversity.

How do these three issues relate to the prospect of gay matrimony?

The next priority insists that relationship is made to bring people into loving and supportive connections. Clearly no person can reject that homosexual women and men can be found in just as much need of warm and supporting connections as anyone otherwise. And equally worthy of them as well. That one appears rather obvious. Another top priority relates to the support of monogamy. The
Archbishop of Canterbury
themselves has actually correctly recognised that celibacy is actually a lifetime career to which many gay folks are not known as. And that’s why, it strikes me, the chapel ought to be supplying gay individuals a basis for monogamous connections that are permanent, devoted and secure.

To ensure will leave the question of procreation. And plainly a gay couple cannot generate babies biologically. But neither can individuals who marry much later in daily life. A lot of lovers, for an entire selection explanations, discover they can not consider kids – or, simply, you should not choose to. Is actually relationship becoming declined them? Of course perhaps not. Therefore – in addition to after contraception became completely acknowledged within the Church of England – the modern wedding service shifted the emphasis far from procreation. The extra weight in the present wedding ceremony liturgy is found on the production of warm and secure interactions. Personally, it is something by which homosexual Christians have actually an ideal to participate. I understand lots of people of goodwill are certain to disagree with me with this. But gay relationship isn’t about tradition conflicts or church politics; it’s fundamentally about someone loving another. The fact that two gay men over 50 actually announced this really love in presence of God, before relatives and buddies as well as in the framework of prayerful reflection, is a thing in my opinion the chapel should enjoy. It isn’t really like there’s a whole lot real love in this field that we can afford to get dismissive of what little we carry out discover. Which is why my view is we must commemorate actual love however and wherever we find it.

It is a transcript of Giles Fraser’s idea for the Day, broadcast on Wednesday 18 June.