"Prayers of Love and Faith"

This is my understanding of the story so far:

In what is presented as a significant move the Bishops of the Church of England will offer its clergy a variety of flexible ways to affirm and celebrate same-sex couples in church. The resource is intended as a loving and celebratory response to same-sex couples and will include prayers of dedication, thanksgiving and for God’s blessing.

The prayers will be entirely discretionary and have been formulated with legal advice to ensure that the formal teaching of the Church of England as set out in the canons and authorised liturgies – that Holy Matrimony is between one man and one woman for life – is not compromised.

In some (*) of our Church of England parish churches you will be able to have your same-sex (**) civil partnership or “marriage” (***) blessed (****). This offer is also open to couples in covenanted, non-registered friendships (*****).

(*) the prayers are offered in the knowledge that not all clergy will be able to use them in good conscience

(**) sexual relations between persons of the same sex cannot be condoned by the Church because the Scriptures declare extra-marital sex to be incompatible with being in God’s kingdom but clergy need not tell you that

(***) the marriage of two persons of the same sex is not capable of constituting a marriage for the purposes of ecclesiastical law, i.e., a civil marriage between members of the same sex is not a marriage in the eyes of the church

(****) your relationship cannot be blessed as such but we can ask God to bless you as a couple

(*****) these prayers are not intended for couples who are not of the same sex

There have been angry responses from those who consider the apology offered by the Bishops to LGBTQI+ people to be meaningless, while same-sex couples are not allowed to get married in Church.  

There have been angry responses also from those who believe that the resources to all intents and purposes change the Church's teaching on marriage and sexual morality.

Some are relieved that the Church has found a way to leave "holy matrimony" (marriage as understood by the Church) unchanged while affirming same-sex covenanted relationships, others are concerned that the "don't ask, don't tell" policy in relation to sexual intimacy outside marriage might make a return.

For some it is a time for celebrating our doctrinal diversity, for others it is a time of mourning our loss of integrity.