Liturgy for Civil Unions Upsets Conservatives

Liturgy for Civil Unions Upsets Conservatives

NewsMax.com
Sunday, June 20, 2004

Conservatives in the Episcopal Church are upset with new guidelines allowing a liturgy for gay couple civil union ceremonies that closely resemble that of a traditional wedding between a man and a woman, reports the Washington Post.

Unveiled Friday, the guidelines have reportedly riled some members in the 70 million-member Anglican Communion, a denomination that has been presiding over gay unions since 2000 in Vermont, the first state in the union to allow for civil unions.

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"My understanding is that what Vermont has done comes awfully close to matrimony, and to put a same-sex blessing in that category is horrifying," said Cynthia P. Brust, a spokeswoman for the American Anglican Council.

"We have had the fabric of Anglican Communion torn to pieces, and I do not understand bishops that have not shown more restraint," Brust added.

Vermont's new liturgy guidelines provide two options for civil union liturgies -- one of which closely approximates a traditional marriage rite:

Same-sex couples are permitted to exchange rings.

Only minor word changes are made in the liturgy, such as couples vowing to take their spouses "to be my partner in life," rather than "to be my husband/wife."

Couples also sign a "declaration of intention" that follows closely that signed before traditional marriage ceremonies.

Although other dioceses have also developed new liturgical rites for same-sex couples, Vermont's are the only ones that carry legal weight since the state's civil union law permits couples to be joined by clergy.

Vermont Bishop Thomas C. Ely, who sponsored a task force to develop the new ceremonies, said, "This signals a valuing of the commitment and presence of gays and lesbians in our churches and an ongoing commitment to the fact that when we say the Episcopal Church welcomes you, we mean it."

But conservative Anglican groups, already angry over the consecration of the Rev. V. Eugene Robinson of New Hampshire as the first openly gay bishop last fall, look to the new developments as further precipitating a crisis in the church.

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