Out of 22,500 church buildings only 267 provide equal marriage. The Open Episcopal Church is proud to be responsible for one of them.
Having been the first cleric to advertise my willingness to provide equal marriage way back in 1994, and the Open Episcopal Church being the first church willing to provide equal marriage from 2001, I had conducted hundreds of equal marriage ceremonies across the United Kingdom, and pioneered the provision of equal marriage, showing it to be normal, regular, wonderful and essential, that added momentum to the groundswell in society in favour of reform, that finally meant that the legislation finally caught up with us, and equal marriage became law.
As well as conducting ceremonies in any location, the Open Episcopal Church now also provides a church building in Margate, in which equal marriages can be solemnised.
Dr Silvia Falcetta
Research Associate
Department of Sociology
The University of York
Heslington, York
YO10 5DD
Following our research on the solemnisation of same-sex marriages in places of worship in England and Wales, in which you kindly agreed to take part, we extended our research to examine the experiences of same-sex couples that have had a religious marriage in a registered place of worship.
We have now collected the data, analysed the findings and published a paper in an international law journal. This article shows that registered places of worship, such as yours, are making a real difference for same-sex couples.
In a broad context in which:
"Of the 22,500 places of worship in England and Wales that are currently registered for the solemnization of different-sex marriage, only 267 places of worship (approximately 1.2 per cent) are currently also registered for the solemnization of same-sex marriage."
"Same-sex couples are also completely excluded from the almost 16,000 churches of the Church of England and the approximately 1,300 churches of the Church in Wales in which different-sex marriage may be solemnized."
"...for the last year for which data are available, marriage by way of a religious ceremony accounted for 23 per cent of marriages between different-sex couples but only 0.6 per cent of marriages between same-sex couples. For the last 4 years for which data are available only 23, 44, 61, and 43 same-sex couples married each year by way of a religious ceremony (171 same-sex couples in total, compared to 244,953 different-sex couples who married by way of a religious ceremony during that period)."
… yours is one of the very few places of worship in which same-sex couples can fulfil their aspiration to have a religious marriage.
ARCHBISHOP JONATHAN BLAKE - MY LIFE - PART ONE
ARCHBISHOP JONATHAN BLAKE - MY LIFE - PART TWO
I AM PROUD OF MY WRITING, FOR JESUS’S SAKE, THAT HAS HAD ME FOUND INNOCENT IN HEAVEN, BUT TWICE A CRIMINAL ON THE EARTH. THE FIRST IN 1990 WHEN I WROTE A BIBLICAL TEXT ON THE HOUSES OF PARLIAMENT IN PEACEFUL PROTEST ABOUT THE BOMBING OF YOUNG IRAQI RECRUITS DURING THE FIRST GULF WAR. THE SECOND, IN 2016 WHEN I WROTE ON MY BLOG, TO ALERT THE PUBLIC ABOUT A PAEDOPHILE, AND WAS SUCCESSFUL IN FORCING THE AUTHORITIES TO STOP HIM HAVING ACCESS TO CHILDREN. THERE WAS ALMOST A THIRD! IN 1997, WHEN I WAS ARRESTED FOR NAILING MY PROPOSALS FOR REFORM OF THE CHURCH OF ENGLAND ON THE DOOR OF CANTERBURY CATHEDRAL. WORDS ARE POWERFUL MESSAGES THAT CHALLENGE CORRUPTION, CONFRONT THE WICKED AND CREATE A BETTER WORLD. JESUS IS THE WORD OF GOD AND HIS FOLLOWERS ARE CALLED TO COMMUNICATE HIS WORDS, IRRESPECTIVE OF THE COST.
"You brave, courageous and wonderful man. To stand up for the truth
in the face of suppression and oppression is truly an act of a pure heart."
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