British Methodists ponder blessings for civil partnerships
Mar. 21, 2006
NOTE: A photograph is available at http://umns.umc.org.
A UMNS Report By Kathleen LaCamera*
The British Methodist Church is deciding how to respond when same-sex couples request the church's blessing on their civil partnership.
Since December, same-sex couples in Britain can opt for legal recognition of their relationship through a civil partnership agreement. These legal contracts give same-sex partners many of the rights of married couples, including survivor benefits, pension rights and paternal responsibility for each other's children.
Opinion among British Methodists about how the church should address this issue is wide ranging.
The Rev. Cynthia Park is clear about what she believes the Gospel calls her to do. Two local women, among the very first in England to undertake a civil partnership, asked Park to offer a prayer at a celebration following their official signing ceremony.
The celebration took place in a local Brighton hotel. Park said she was "thrilled to oblige" and told United Methodist News Service that in accordance with current Methodist guidelines, she offered a prayer and not a blessing.
The Indiana-born pastor, who moved to the United Kingdom 30 years ago, serves the Dorset Gardens Methodist Church in Brighton. The church is located in an area with one of the largest concentrations of gay and lesbian people in England.
Park readily acknowledged that the current debate is a "mixed issue for everyone," even those in her own congregation. Even so, the congregation is committed to being at the forefront of ministry to the gay and lesbian community.
"There is a feeling that the church hates gay people. We're proud to be a congregation that says, 'That's not true. God loves everybody,'" Park said.
But she admitted she worries about the outcome of the current debate. "I know how much our church values church unity. ... I hope our church will move along the lines of justice for everyone and not just unity."
The Rev. Paul Smith, pastor of the Plymouth Mission and chair of Methodist evangelical Headway organization, said the issue is of "deep concern" to evangelicals.
"Civil partnership is a contract. What the law of the land says about civil partnerships we have to live with," he explained. "But there's a world of difference about living with it and endorsing it."
Smith believes that to conduct a blessing for a same-sex civil partnership would contradict the teaching of Scripture, fly in the face of 2,000 years of teaching from the church and go against the view of the majority of Christians in the world today.
"We've embarked on a pilgrimage of faith where we try to listen to each other and understand one another, and that's all to the good," he observed. "But when we've done all the listening and done all the understanding we can, decisions have to be made."
Debate set for June
The issue will be formally debated in June at the 2006 Annual Conference of the British Methodist Church, when a working party reports its findings from a nationwide listening exercise. Until then, church leaders have encouraged ministers to use good pastoral practice, be guided by their conscience and avoid using church premises for any blessing ceremonies.
Ann Leck, co-chairperson of the group reporting to the conference, noted that as British Methodists, "we are journeying, we are exploring, and views are changing, but a lot of sensitivity is needed around this."
Her fellow co-chairperson, Margaret Parker, believes that the "harsh reality is that the church is divided" on this issue but also adds that Methodists are better at listening to each other now when it comes to contentious issues than they have been in the past.
The United Methodist Church, which is separate from the British Methodist Church, prohibits United Methodist clergy from performing same-sex unions and bars such ceremonies from being held in United Methodist sanctuaries.
Two hundred miles north of London in the Derbyshire town of Leek, a group of laypeople, charged with oversight of pastoral care at the Leek Methodist Church, already is debating what this issue means for the community.
"People came out very boldly and said, 'This is something we have to do. It's right, it's good and this is the Gospel. This is where we need to be,'" recalled the Rev. John Simmonds, pastor. "Others came out just as strongly and said, 'No, we couldn't possibly do this. This is against the will of God and against the Bible.'"
Sharing views
Simmonds and some of his parishioners say the chances of a same-sex couple actually coming to the Leek church with a request for a blessing are remote.
"The group basically said, 'Don't worry, John, it's not going to happen here," Simmonds added. "I said, 'Well look, if I'm approached to conduct a liturgy in which people want to seek God's blessing on their partnership, I would do that in some setting outside the church. But I'd like to think ultimately you'll come around to the view that if people want God's blessing in a holy place it might be possible to do it here.'"
After the meeting, several parishioners who spoke out against offering prayers or a blessing on civil partnerships got in touch with Simmonds to say they just "needed bit of time" to reflect on the whole issue.
"There was no falling out over this, just a firm sharing of views," Simmonds told United Methodist News Service. "On this issue, the church is more on a learning curve, rather than a collision course."
When Margaret Parker and Ann Leck present their report to the annual conference in Edinburgh this summer, they are expecting a lively debate reflective of the discussions already taking place around the country. So far, no one is making any predictions about the official outcome.
"What decision will be made is very uncertain," Parker said. "It's wide open."
*LaCamera is a UMNS correspondent based in England.
News media contact: Linda Bloom, New York, (646) 369-3759 or newsdesk@umcom.org.
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United Methodist News Service Photos and stories also available at: http://umns.umc.org
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