Rev Helen Jacobi The Vicar of Auckland’s St Matthew-in-the-City is congratulating the US wing of the Anglican Communion on leading the way in embracing marriage equality. Following a ruling legalising same-sex marriage across the US, the Episcopalian Church has voted to allow religious weddings for gay couples - by an overwhelming margin. It is eliminating gender-specific language from church laws on marriage, for example referring to ‘the couple’ rather than husband and wife. “We congratulate our Episcopalian brothers and sisters on leading the way,” says Reverend Helen Jacobi, from lgbti-friendly Auckland Anglican church St Matthew-in-the-City. She says the Episcopalian Church is the first in the Anglican Communion to change its canons, or church rules, to allow for people of the same gender to marry. Up till now Canada, in some places, and the US had allowed the blessing of civil unions. “The Episcopal Church was scheduled to discuss this at their General Convention, which only meets every three years, anyway, but it just so happened that it came the week after the US Supreme Court decision," she says. “The voting in the US church was strongly in favour of change. Clergy are not obliged to offer a same gender couple marriage but each diocese has to provide for it - I think this means that if a diocese is generally conservative they need to allow at least a few priests to offer this service to those who ask for it.” Jacobi says this will help in New Zealand, in that if we decide to do the same we will not be alone. “Canada is likely to follow too I would think. Australia and England will not. “Our process is that our General Synod, which meets every two years, has set up a committee to try and find a way that we can have two paths - for those who want to go ahead with same gender marriage - and those who don't. “One possibility is that we won't get marriage as such over the line but have instead blessings of civil marriages. Quite what the difference is between a marriage and a blessing is a fine theological debate.” The General Synod meets again in 2016. Jacobi says St Matthew’s is getting increasingly impatient with the Church, but not breaking the rules. “If a same gender couple wish to be married here we ask our Methodist colleagues to assist. We actually haven't had many requests so far.”
Credit: GayNZ.com Daily News staff
First published: Friday, 3rd July 2015 - 10:44am