Blessings abound - making history! - An LGBT+ History Month reflection by OTN Patron Bishop Cherry Vann
Cherry Vann is Bishop of Monmouth, the first lesbian bishop in the Church in Wales, and in a civil partnership. As Archdeacon of Rochdale for 11 years, she celebrated with Open Table communities in Liverpool and Manchester, and supported a community consultation which led to forming the Open Table community in Derby.
WATCH Bishop Cherry’s intro video [2.5 mins]
Watch the recording of our Q&A with Cherry, in conversation with OTN Co-Chair Sarah Hobbs here [58 minutes]
AS LGBT+ History Month draws to a close, our Patron Cherry Vann, Bishop of Monmouth, the first lesbian bishop in the Church in Wales, and in a civil partnership, shares her reflection on being able to bless same-sex couples in the Church In Wales.
At the end of January, I had the privilege of presiding at a Service of Blessing for a same-sex couple who have been together for 33 years and entered into Civil Partnership in 2007.
The service was made possible by the passing of a Bill by the Governing Body of the Church in Wales just a few months ago; a significant step that allows couples who have made their relationship legal through civil marriage or civil partnership to have their relationship blessed by a priest or bishop in a church building.
There was no great fanfare or public announcement ahead of this occasion. Nor was there on the day. Rather, it was a quiet and intimate ceremony with only six of us present. But it was no less significant for that.
Significant for the two people involved, of course, both of whom are committed Christians and have waited for over three decades for their relationship to be accepted and affirmed by the Church.
But significant too for the Church in Wales; that it is now able to affirm, as an institution, the love that two women or two men have for one another and celebrate, as a community of faith, with such couples who have committed themselves to one another in a lifelong and faithful partnership.
I reflected on what it means to bless a relationship that is and has for so long been a blessing to the two women standing before me; and a blessing not only to them but to their families and friends and the congregations they have served and worshipped alongside. It was clear to me, as it has been to so many, that God had already blessed this relationship and that it had borne fruit through their lives and their dealings with others in the wider community.
So why were we here? And what was being made different through this service of blessing?
Well, we were here because the couple wanted to hear God’s blessing made explicit in a religious context; to hear stated and have affirmed the Church’s recognition of their love and its readiness to honour and celebrate it.
We were here because the couple wanted to reaffirm their vows to one another in a religious ceremony and in the presence of dear friends; where prayer could be offered as well as God’s blessing conferred.
And we were here because the formal rituals and ceremonies of the Church hold meaning and purpose. They connect us with the roots of Christian faith and understanding. They draw on the rich treasures of past wisdom expressed through its liturgies, and these two women wanted to place their relationship firmly and publicly in the context of that faith and tradition.