Mullally, allowing that “we are in a period of uncertainty, and that many in the church on all sides feel pain at this time,” said the current synod should encourage the House of Bishops to continue its implementation.
Getting the prayers to be permanently authorized will be a harder task, as that will require a two-thirds majority in synod. They received 52% of the vote Wednesday.
Mullally and the bishop of Winchester, Philip Mounstephen, who have been co-chairing the Living in Love and Faith steering group, said in a statement, “The truth is — and as we have seen again today — that the Church of England is not of one mind on questions of sexuality and marriage.
“Yet we must also reflect on all that we have heard from Synod — from across the whole spectrum — and redouble our efforts to find a space where we can live with our current disagreements because we believe that is what God is calling us to do.”
Several speakers during the lengthy debates described their own experiences of being gay in the Church of England. “I realized what it means to be queer, the way you love beyond gender, the shame I’d absorbed about me, but Jesus showed me how to be ourselves,” said the Rev. Chantal Noppen, from the Diocese of Durham, telling the gathering, “We need to make progress.”
Paul Ronson, who said he had been a church organist for 45 years, said: “We’ve all had enough. This has gone on long enough. Nothing can separate me from the love of God, I say to those who say I am going to hell.”
The prayers to be tested for same-sex couples are below:
A Prayer of Dedication
God of grace,
whose beauty, ever ancient, ever new, sings through all creation:
enfold your servants N and N
with your encouragement, hope, and love. Fill them with the grace to rejoice always
in their love for one another,
and to follow the Way of holiness and hope revealed in your Son Jesus Christ.
All Amen.
A Prayer of Thanksgiving
Gracious God,
from love we are made
and to love we shall return.
May our love for one another
kindle flames of joy and hope.
May the light and warmth of your grace inspire us to follow the Way of Jesus Christ, and serve you in your Kingdom,
now and for ever.
All Amen.
This article originally appeared here.
