A major Church of England working group has recommended church blessings for same - sex couples in civil partnerships.

Just released today is a long awaited Pilling report of the “Working Group on human sexuality” (which in practice, is a working group on homosexuality, and how to deal with it in the context of Church practice. Although there is no recommendation to change any part of current Anglican teaching on sexual ethics, there is a great deal in the report that will be welcomed by lesbian and gay Anglicans, and other LGBT Christians.

The report makes 18 recommendations, of which a recommendation that priests should be permitted to conduct church blessings for same - sex couples entering permanent and committed partnerships is the most newsworthy.

In addition, I find the following notable, and to be welcomed:

• That the presence and ministry of gay and lesbian Christians, lay and ordained,are welcomed and affirmed
• That the Church should repent for the homophobic attitudes it has sometimes failed to rebuke and should stand firmly against it whenever and wherever it is to be found.
• The whole Church is called to real repentance for the lack of welcome and acceptance extended to homosexual people in the past and to demonstrate the unconditional acceptance and love of God in Christ for all people.
• The Church needs to find ways of honouring and affirming both those gay men and lesbians who have embraced a chaste and single lifestyle, and also those who in good conscience have entered partnerships with a firm intention of life-long fidelity.
• Whether a candidate for ordination is married, single or in a civil partnership should have no bearing on the nature of the assurances sought from them that they intend to order their lives consistently with the teaching of the Church on sexual conduct. Intrusive questioning should be avoided.

In addition to the outcomes of the process, in the form of these 18 recommendations, the process adopted should be noted. The commission investigated both scriptural and scientific evidence, and also consulted widely with formal groups, and with individuals who made recommendations, including a range of LGBT groups.

As the Catholic Church prepares for its own deliberations on marriage and family, it would do well to learn some lessons from this Anglican process.

For more, Thinking Anglicans notes these news reports:

• John Bingham Telegraph Churches should perform gay blessings, CofE says
• Sam Jones The Guardian Church should allow blessings of gay relationships, CofE report says
• Anglican Communion News Service Report on sexuality: “Hold Church-wide facilitated conversations”
• Church of England Newspaper Same sex ‘blessings’ recommended in report
• BBC News Same-sex blessings backed by Church of England report

Related articles

• Homophobic bullying in the CofE: responses (thinkinganglicans.org.uk)
• What is in the Pilling report? (thinkinganglicans.org.uk)