Gay Vicar To Marry Atheist Partner

[Aractus]

A little while ago I was thinking about the CofE Church that baptised my bastard sister and I when when we were kids, so I had a little google and found this story.


For people who would rather not click:

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A gay vicar from Kilburn has vowed to marry his partner of 14 years despite the risk that he could be thrown out of the Church of England.

Fr Andrew Cain from St Mary’s with All Souls, revealed his engagement to fiancé Stephen Foreshew, an atheist, on Valentine’s Day.

He stated firmly that he planned to ignore edicts sent down from his own church leaders that described marriage as only a “lifelong union between one man and one woman”.

Fr Cain, who is also the vicar for St James’ in West Hampstead, could become the first gay clergy member in the country to marry under new same-sex marriage laws, set to come in next month.

He said he found it “very sad” that bishops had tried to block his “legal right to marry” and lamented laws that meant he was banished from being married in his own church.

“I’ve lived and worked in the church for 35 years and never have I felt unwelcome,” he continues.

“It’s very sad that only now is my sexuality suddenly becoming an issue for some people. The church wants to promote faithful and stable relationships – the bedrock of our society. Well, I am in a faithful and stable relationship.

“God made me like this. He gave me Stephen and I’m pretty sure he would want me to be happy with him.”

On March 13, the Marriage (Same Sex Couples) Act 2013 comes into force allowing same-sex couples to marry for the first time.

The Church of England is, however, excluded from the new laws – a decision said to have left many gay clergy members anxious about their own rights to marriage.

Bishops high up in the church have so far refused to comment on whether Fr Andrew’s place as a vicar in West Hampstead remains secure. The day after he announced his engagement, the House of Bishops released a statement renewing its own vow that matrimony between same-sex couples was unholy.

“We are all in agreement that the Christian understanding and doctrine of marriage as a lifelong union between one man and one woman remains unchanged,” the statement read.

“Getting married to someone of the same sex would clearly be at variance with the teaching of the church.”

Describing the bishops as “out of touch”, Fr Andrew said messages of support had flooded in from other members of the clergy and his congregation.

The Rev Claire Wilson of n Emmanuel Church in West Hampstead, said she was “delighted” when she first heard of his engagement.

“I can tell you there are people quite high up in the church who I know actually support gay marriage in their heart of hearts,” she said.

“But as a bishop they feel they have to follow the rules set before them.

“I hope Fr Andrew isn’t disciplined for his decision and I hope the church will err on the side of generosity.

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I remember Father Andrew from when I was a kid. He used to be my Primary School's Vicar, and he did my Church Letter to help me get into the Secondary School I wanted to go to. Very nice man. I hope he doesn't lose his job over this. It will be interesting to see if the Church tries to do anything about it, especially as he has so much support from other members of the clergy and his own congregation. I think this could be an interesting. Maybe it will encourage the Church to allow same-sex weddings to take place in their Churches. Or maybe it will make them more stubborn. We'll see.

You know it's almost as if hey what if your church leader is dealing in drugs - let him continue in his lifestyle and lead the church?

We have huge, massive double standards in society. For instance, tobacco is legal and regulated and very, very heavily taxed - and pot is illegal. The typical fine for possessing small amounts of pot including plants for personal use is: confiscation and sometimes a small fine.

The penalty for growing a tobacco plant for personal use in Australia: $50,000 fine and 2 years in gaol. No I'm not kidding, the maximum offence permissible under the law for possessing personal-use pot is no where near that.

Anglicans can be that way too. I can't find the website I want at the moment, I thought it was this one, lol, but clearly not (FYI BDB is a good friend of mine and a member of Dr Mulquiney's church so our comments are worth a read lol! Look at us disagreeing Anglicans!!)