THE names of members of the groups charged with suggesting solutions to the present impasse within the Living in Love and Faith (LLF) process have been released, as they prepare for a residential meeting this weekend.
The groups will spend three days together, staying in a hotel in Leicester. The following weekend, the House of Bishops will meet to make a decision what recommendations to take forward to a gathering of the College of Bishops in June, before proposals are dropped at the July meeting of the General Synod.
The process is being led by the Bishop of Leicester, the Rt Revd Martyn Snow, assisted by a “programme board” of bishops and ex-officio lay members (News, 12 April).
A bunch discussing the usage of the Prayers of Love and Faith, which were commended by the bishops in December (News, 15 December 2023), will consider how provision is perhaps made for his or her use in stand-alone services.
In November, the Synod narrowly voted to trial such services, but to date there was no details about how or when this might occur. A proper technique of synodical authorisation can be expected to happen.
The membership of this group includes the Bishop of Taunton, the Rt Revd Ruth Worsley, who’s currently the Acting Bishop of Coventry, and the Bishop of Lichfield, Dr Michael Ipgrave. The other members are listed because the Ven. Malcolm Chamberlain, Sammi Tooze, the Revd Mike Tufnell, the Revd Mark Miller, Canon Rachel Firth, the Revd Adam Gaunt, Kenson Li, and Julie Withers.
The group discussing the contents of recent pastoral guidance to exchange Issues in Human Sexuality comprises the Bishop of Stockport, the Rt Revd Sam Corley; the Bishop of Dorking, the Rt Revd Paul Davies; Dr Neill Burgess, Dr Ben Fulford, the Ven. Dr Rachel Mann, the Revd Dr Jo Winn-Smith, the Revd Lis Goddard, David Hermitt, the Ven. Douglas Dettmer, Dr Nick Land, the Revd Neil Patterson, and the Ven. Luke Irvine-Capel.
The recent pastoral guidance is predicted to permit clergy and lay ministers to enter right into a same-sex civil marriage. Last October, the Church Times revealed that a majority of bishops were in favour of a removal of the present bar (News, 27 October 2023).
The third group will discuss what measures must be put in place for individuals who oppose the changes. The episcopal members of the group are Bishop Snow, the Bishop of Hull, Dr Eleanor Sanderson, and the previous Bishop of Kensington Dr Graham Tomlin.
The other members are the Very Revd Joe Hawes, Canon John Dunnett, Tom Middleton, the Ven. Sally Gaze, Sam Wilson, Julie Dziegiel, the Revd Dr Sean Doherty, Rosemary Wilson, and the Ven. Nikki Groarke.
The Church of England Evangelical Council (CEEC), an umbrella organisation for several conservative Evangelical groups within the C of E, is asking people to hope for the C of E this weekend.
The CEEC has produced resources, available on its website, which incorporates “prayer pointers” in addition to a collect. The latter thanks God “for the gift of marriage as an indication of your love for the church and as the correct and intended place for sexual intimacy”.
The pointers suggest that prayers must be said for the members of the three groups engaged who might be meeting in Leicester, and for the membership of the Bishops and Archbishops.
The CEEC also suggests that supporters “pray for an end result to the current deliberations that gives a secure, everlasting and legal settlement for orthodox believers to stay within the C of E”.
An additional section advises intercessors to avoid “overly specific prayers for the end result of the method”.
Intercessors are advised to “take care with the words you employ in order to not upset or offend those that may hold differing views to you in your congregation”, and suggests that the contents of the prayers must be acceptable to everyone, “no matter their views on LLF”.
The prayer pointers contain an invite to prayer for the “various bodies which are responding to this example”, listing quite a lot of groups which have publicly opposed the introduction of the Prayers of Love and Faith.
