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THE Rev Dr Vernon Marshall has been conducting blessings for 20 years.
THE Rev Dr Vernon Marshall has been conducting blessings for 20 years.

Gay couples get church’s blessing

Eve Dugdale
21/12/2005

A TAMESIDE vicar says he is happy to bless gay couples - and has been doing so for the last 20 years.

The Rev Dr Vernon Marshall believes that if couples are going to spend their lives together it is only fair they can make a spiritual commitment.

Dr Marshall, minister at Denton New and Dukinfield Old Chapel, has blessed several couples during the last two decades including two at the old chapel.

"The civil partnerships which have just come into force allow homosexual couples to undergo a civil ceremony, but we are doing what we've always done - offering blessings in church.

"What we have to make sure, though, is that we don't break the law, so the ceremony is almost what would happen in a wedding, except we're not allowed to use the word marriage," he said.

"I think if a couple are going to spend their lives together it makes sense to give them the opportunity to make a firm commitment in a spiritual context."

Church warden Janet Ford said the parishioners are very accepting about the blessings.

"About three years ago the Unitarian movement sent questionnaires around different churches to ask whether we'd be supportive to allow blessings in church," she said.

"I know that some churches are against it but we've not had any complaints from the congregation.

"I think that's because, with the Unitarian faith, we're all tolerant of other people's beliefs."


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Most recent 1 of 1 user comments

   My partner and I had our civil ceromony on June 10 2006 and whilst we had the blessing of all our family and friends, we were not allowed to mention anything religious in our ceromony. This I feel took away from special day. If we are all Gods creatures and he loves all then surely this is hypocritical of the churches. God gave us free will to use as we wish and told us to love everybody, not just hetrosexuals. I wanted a blessing after the reg office but was to scared to approach any of Gods houses for fear of rejection. I wasn't born a lesbian, I was married for 20 years and had three children but you cant help who you fall in love with and I fell in love with a woman who has made me the happiest person alive and who loves me as much as I love her. Surely this is more important then whether were straight or gay. God did not make these rules man did
Jackie Williams, Newtown Powys
11/07/2006 at 10:04
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