Tuesday, July 2, 2002
Episcopal diocese gives limited blessings to unmarried couples
A story published today by the Wichita Eagle reports that the Episcopal Diocese of Kansas will begin authorizing limited blessings of unmarried couples, whether homosexuals or heterosexuals for whom marriage would be a financial hardship, said Rev. William Smalley.
The limited blessing won't be a substitute for matrimony and may not resemble it liturgically, he said.
Smalley said he based his decision, which takes effect immediately, on an Episcopal resolution adopted in 2000, in which the church "acknowledged" that some members were living in committed relationships outside marriage.
The Rev. William Wood of St. John's Episcopal Church in downtown Wichita said he and other area clergy met last week to discuss the limited blessing.
"Regardless of where we stood on the issue, we wanted to and needed to support each other," he said.
Wood said he doesn't anticipate that many churches in the diocese will offer such a blessing, though he would if the situation were right.
John Bell, a member of St. James Episcopal Church in Wichita, said he had no problem with the limited blessing, though he knew others who didn't support it.
"Some have left the church because they feel it is going too far," he said. "I am sure they anticipated some of this would happen."
