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Mass.
Episcopal Priests
May
Refuse All Marriages
by
365Gay.com from the Web, October 9, 2006
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Boston, Massachusetts --
Episcopal priests in Massachusetts, divided over the issue of same-sex marriage,
are considering a proposal that would see the church stop performing all
marriages.
The issue of whether to bless same-sex relationships has roiled Episcopal
priests since same-sex marriage became legal in the state, and has threatened to
sweep the Massachusetts diocese up in the controversy involving gays in the
church that has engulfed the worldwide Anglican faith.
Many denominations in Europe have gotten out of the marriage business --
allowing couples to have civil ceremonies and then if they want receiving a
church blessing later. But in North America most couples opt for church
weddings.
Recently a number of Unitarian pastors have refused to perform marriages as a
protest against laws barring marriage to same-sex couples.
The Episcopal Church does not allow priests to perform marriages for gay and
lesbian couples.
To avoid a looming crisis over the issue a group of Boston priests is urging the
diocese to leave marriage to civil authorities, questioning whether the church
should continue to be "an agent of the state."
"I feel this is a way to equalize an inequity in what Episcopal clergy can do
for gay folks and straight folks," the Rev. Margaret E. Lloyd, rector of Christ
Church in Plymouth told the Boston Globe. Lloyd is one of five Episcopal
priests sponsoring the resolution which will go to a vote later this month.
The Synod also will vote on a resolution calling on the legislature to reject a
proposed amendment to the state constitution to bar gay marriage in the only
state where it is currently legal. A third motion would ask the national
church to allow the same blessing rites as used for opposite-sex couples to be
used for gay blessings.
The outcome for all three motions is unclear. Some conservative parishes
say they will reject them, others say they may not take part in the Synod.
The worldwide Anglican denomination has been in turmoil since the election in
2003 of Gene Robinson as bishop of New Hampshire -- the first openly gay bishop
in the church.
Anglican leaders from the Southern Hemisphere who almost entirely oppose gays in
the church met last month in Kigali, Rwanda, last month and called for the
denomination to create two divisions -- one for conservatives, the other for
liberals.
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