I WAS THE FIRST
Let me make the point, not for the sake of ego, but in resistance to my critics, that so much of my life has pointed the way to what was to come.
1. I was the first to provide weddings in any setting: in castles, in country estates, under water, in Moroccan palaces, in Crete chapels, in French chateaux, in aeroplanes, in homes, gardens, pubs, clubs, zoos, boats, wild west towns, forests.
2. I was the first to provide religious weddings for divorced couples.
3. I was the first to provide baptisms in any setting: at home, in gardens, in pubs, clubs and hotels, in circus rings, on beaches, beside lakes, on mountain tops and in motor boats.
4. I was the first to provide baptisms for single parent families and for the children of gay and lesbian couples.
5. I was first to point towards equal marriage, the first cleric to advertise my willingness to conduct gay marriages and the first to do so right back in 1995, right across the country and abroad too, and the first to showcase a gay wedding on the prime time This Morning TV show with Richard and Judy in 2001.
6. I was the first to provide personal funerals, concentrating on the life of the loved one, and ensuring the music, readings and contributions of the family were honoured.
7. I was the first to make ordination available outside the main denominations, irrespective of gender and sexuality, ordaining women priests and gay clergy and consecrating women bishops in England, Scotland and Wales.
8. I was the first to pioneer independent Christian Ministry, releasing the practice of the faith and the rituals of spirituality from the stranglehold of the main denominations.
9. I was the first to warn of the serious decline in church attendance and the collapse of support for the traditional church and its archaic manner of ministry and outdated, prejudiced beliefs.
10. I was the first to introduce an inter faith chapel in a National Health Service hospital.
11. I was the first to distribute the consecrated bread of Holy Communion/The Mass by post, across the U.K. and the world. I was the first to give it to toddlers and children. I was the first to give it to those of different faiths and philosophies. I was the first to give it to the homeless, strangers and to sex workers.
All the things I began have been followed or have become more commonly available and in the case of equal marriage has passed into the law of the country.
I cannot tell you the thrill it gives me when I hear a registrar say the words "Marriage, according to the law of this country is the union of TWO PEOPLE!" What once the Daily Mail ridiculed me for, after the Valentines Day gay wedding, is now the law of the land!
1. I was the first to provide weddings in any setting: in castles, in country estates, under water, in Moroccan palaces, in Crete chapels, in French chateaux, in aeroplanes, in homes, gardens, pubs, clubs, zoos, boats, wild west towns, forests.
2. I was the first to provide religious weddings for divorced couples.
3. I was the first to provide baptisms in any setting: at home, in gardens, in pubs, clubs and hotels, in circus rings, on beaches, beside lakes, on mountain tops and in motor boats.
4. I was the first to provide baptisms for single parent families and for the children of gay and lesbian couples.
5. I was first to point towards equal marriage, the first cleric to advertise my willingness to conduct gay marriages and the first to do so right back in 1995, right across the country and abroad too, and the first to showcase a gay wedding on the prime time This Morning TV show with Richard and Judy in 2001.
6. I was the first to provide personal funerals, concentrating on the life of the loved one, and ensuring the music, readings and contributions of the family were honoured.
7. I was the first to make ordination available outside the main denominations, irrespective of gender and sexuality, ordaining women priests and gay clergy and consecrating women bishops in England, Scotland and Wales.
8. I was the first to pioneer independent Christian Ministry, releasing the practice of the faith and the rituals of spirituality from the stranglehold of the main denominations.
9. I was the first to warn of the serious decline in church attendance and the collapse of support for the traditional church and its archaic manner of ministry and outdated, prejudiced beliefs.
10. I was the first to introduce an inter faith chapel in a National Health Service hospital.
11. I was the first to distribute the consecrated bread of Holy Communion/The Mass by post, across the U.K. and the world. I was the first to give it to toddlers and children. I was the first to give it to those of different faiths and philosophies. I was the first to give it to the homeless, strangers and to sex workers.
All the things I began have been followed or have become more commonly available and in the case of equal marriage has passed into the law of the country.
I cannot tell you the thrill it gives me when I hear a registrar say the words "Marriage, according to the law of this country is the union of TWO PEOPLE!" What once the Daily Mail ridiculed me for, after the Valentines Day gay wedding, is now the law of the land!
ARCHBISHOP JONATHAN BLAKE IS INNOCENT-HE HELPED STOP A PAEDOPHILE
"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."
posted by Bishop Jonathan Blake | 3:58 PM
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