29 November 2013
Church launches consultation on same sex marriage and civil partnerships
The Methodist Church has launched a
consultation on the implications of same sex marriage
legislation for the Methodist Church.
The Methodist Conference asked a working group to look at the
implications of the Marriage (Same Sex Couples) Act for the
Methodist Church back in July. The group's task is to report on
whether the Conference should embark on a process of reviewing the
Church's position on marriage and on civil partnerships. The
consultation is open to Methodists and will run until early
February.
Susan Howdle, chair of the same sex marriage and civil partnership
working party, said: "The working party has begun its consultations
by meeting a few pilot groups as well as having very lively
conversations at 3Generate 2013 Children's and Youth Assembly. From
this, we have begun to identify some of the key implications which
the legislation poses for our Church. We are now embarking on
wider consultation, trying to fulfill our brief to be as open and
inclusive as possible."
Following agreement by the House of Lords and the House of
Commons, the Marriage (Same Sex Couples) Bill received Royal Assent
on 17 July. The Act makes provision for the marriage of same-sex
couples in England and Wales.
Susan Howdle continued: "We do urge as many Methodists as possible
to respond, thoughtfully and prayerfully, to the consultation in
order to help us to gauge the mind of the Church. We hope the time
scale will allow at least some of the responses to be from groups
who have met for discussion, but individual responses are equally
welcome."
The Methodist Church's position is that marriage is a gift of God
and that it is God's intention that a marriage should be a
life-long union in body, mind and spirit of one man and one
woman.
Notes:
1. Methodists without internet access can contact the Help Desk at
Methodist Church House on 020 7486 5502 to ask for a copy of
the consultation to be sent to them in the post
2. The consultation can be downloaded from
/ssmcpworkinggroup.
For more information on the same-sex marriage and civil
partnership working group, see here:
/ssmcpworkinggroup