THEGAYUK

Tag: Church Of England

All the latest breaking news on the Church Of England. Browse THEGAYUK’s complete collection of news, articles and commentary on the Church Of England.

  • Church Of England says sex is only for married, straight people

    Church Of England says sex is only for married, straight people

    (C) BIGSTOCK

    The UK’s biggest religious institution, the Church of England, has proclaimed that sex is only for married, straight people and has called for gay people to abstain from having sexual relations.

    The guidance from the Church also calls for gay people to be abstinent with their partners. In its guidance, the CoE wrote, “For Christians, marriage – that is, the lifelong union between a man and a woman, contracted with the making of vows – remains the proper context for sexual activity.”

    The church said it sought to “uphold that standard”.

    The Church’s guidance of a “lifelong union between a man and a woman” does seem to be at odds with the current legal situation in the United Kingdom, where marriage is considered a legal union between two consenting adults of any biological sex.

    “falling short of God’s purpose for human beings”

    Speaking about the introduction of the same-sex marriage act 2013, the guidance explained, “The introduction of same-sex marriage, through the Marriage (Same-Sex Couples) Act 2013, has not changed the church’s teaching on marriage or same-sex relationships.”

    It also said that people having sex outside heterosexual marriage were “falling short of God’s purpose for human beings.”

    The remarks, which were reported by the Guardian, have caused many LGBT people and their allies to pour their outrage onto Twitter.

    https://twitter.com/WFKARS/status/1220367880619024384

  • Church That Bans Same-Sex Marriage “Bewildered” By Ban On Cinema Advert

    A new advert which was due to be aired in cinemas across the UK has been banned because it may cause offense.

    The advert which was due to be played before showings of the new Star Wars film has been banned on the grounds that it could offend those of other faiths and no faiths.

    The 60-second advert featured the Lord’s Prayer being recited by many different types of people. The Church of England warned the ban would have a “chilling” effect on free speech.

    The advert, which is aimed at encouraging people to “just pray” was passed and given a U certificate by the BBFC (British Board of Film Classification) and cleared by the CAA (Cinema Advertising Authority) but it was banned by the Digital Cinema Media (DCM) agency, the company which administrates the advertising for the UK’s big brand cinemas including Odeon, Cineworld and Vue.

    Speaking to the BBC the director of communications for the Church of England, the Reverend Arun Arora said,

    “We find that really astonishing, disappointing and rather bewildering.

    “The prospect of many families attending the release of the new Star Wars film had seemed a good opportunity to launch the advert and a new website justpray.uk to promote prayer ahead of Christmas.

    “The Lord’s Prayer is prayed by billions of people across the globe every day, and in this country has been part of everyday life for centuries.”

     

    The advert is for a campaign called #JustPray and carries the names of The Church of England and All Churches Trust Limited.

    The Church of England were strong opponents of the same-sex marriage law when it was being debated and passed as law in 2013 and issued a response informing the Government that it could not “support” the law calling it “divisive” and “unwise” and threatened that any change in the law could and adversly affect the Church’s placement in the legal system. It said,

    “The Church of England‘s unique place in the current marriage law of England means that the proposals will potentially have a very significant impact on our ability to serve the people of the nation as we have always done.”

     

    The response from the then coalition Government was to place a legal “lock” on the Church, meaning it would never have to allow same-sex couples to be wed within any of its Churches, effectively banning LGBT people from using the Church in the same way heterosexual people have access to the Church.

  • First gay priest to marry, is to sue Church of England

    A Priest who married his partner is planning to sue the Church of England after being blocked from new position.

    In April 2014, Canon Jeremy Pemberton defied the Church of England’s ban on same-sex marriage to become the first priest to marry his long-term, same-sex partner Laurence Cunnington. It has been revealed that he plans to take the Church to an employment tribunal, after he was blocked from taking a new job as a Chaplain and bereavement manager with the NHS.

    Pemberton was blocked from the new job by acting Bishop for Southwell and Nottingham, the Right Reverend Richard Inwood, who wrote to the Sherwood Forest Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust to explain that he would not be giving Pemberton a new licence, BBC News reported.

    Speaking to the BBC, Pemberton said, “I feel I have been left with little choice, having found myself being punished and discriminated against simply for exercising my right to marry,” he said.

    A spokesperson for the Archbishops’ Council said it would not comment on individual decisions made by diocese.

  • Archbishop Of Canterbury Meets With School Teacher For Anti-Homophobic Campaign

    Archbishop Of Canterbury Meets With School Teacher For Anti-Homophobic Campaign

    ‘Southwark School Leader and Anti-Homophobic Bullying Champion Shaun Dellenty to Meet the Archbishop of Canterbury’

    (more…)

  • Gay Church of England priest marries his partner

    A gay Church of England Priest has become the first clergyman to marry his boyfriend.

    Canon Jeremy Pemberton has defied the Church of England’s ban on same-sex marriage to become the first priest to marry his long-term, same-sex partner Laurence Cunnington. The couple wed on Saturday afternoon, the Telegraph has reported.

    The law in the UK that allows same-sex marriage came into force on the 29th March. However some religious organisations are forced by law to not be able to conduct same-sex marriages, the Church of England was one of them.

    The couple did not marry within a C of E Church.

    The Church, earlier this year, decided to ban gay clergy from marrying. The decision means that Priests who marry their same-sex partners could face disciplinary actions.

    Speaking in his blog over at The Telegraph Damian Thompson suggested that the punishment for Mr Pemberton’s marriage could be:

    ‘the withdrawal of his licence to officiate at services (he doesn’t have a parish). Technically he could be defrocked, but that would involve a messy legal process…’