This month’s General Synod will receive an update from the Living in Love and Faith Programme Board, but there will be no formal motion or debate this time.
This could wrongly be interpreted as ‘no progress’ for the LLF cause, and CEEC will be calling on orthodox members of General Synod to exercise a number of cautions.
1. It isn't just addressing standalone services
The first caution is towards the narrative ‘we are just talking about a few prayers’. Because there will be no concrete proposals for the removal of restrictions around clergy same-sex marriage, and possibly not even a timetable for its pursuit, some might be persuaded to see the February General Synod as only addressing the issue of standalone services. However, until and unless the House of Bishops reverses the commitment it made at its October 2023 meeting (NB there are some bishops who continue to stand against the direction of travel), and until and unless the terms of reference for the Leicester Working Group responsible for the replacement of ‘Issues in Human Sexuality (1991)’, are changed, this would be to grossly misread the current situation.
Imagining the CofE 'de facto parallel province' as a reality
You may have heard mention of a ‘de facto parallel province within the Church of England’ over these last few …