* Fabiano Silva and Father Lee Taylor receive the bishop's blessing.
* Lleisiau'r Afon Ladies' Choir perform during the service.
As family and friends looked on the Vicar of Llangollen and his partner had their civil partnership blessed by the Bishop of St Asaph during a special service in St Collen's Church yesterday afternoon (Saturday).
Father Lee Taylor met Fabiano Silva in 2007 and the couple undertook a civil partnership a year later.
Their partnership received the blessing of the Rt Rev Gregory Cameron who said it had been a "committed and fruitful" one.
Prayers and readings were interspersed by music from the church's own resident choir and the Lleisiau'r Afon Ladies' Choir.
Later there was a reception in the adjacent parish hall.
The ceremony was made possible by the fact that the Church in Wales recently passed a historic vote to allow same-sex couples to have their marriage/civil partnerships blessed in church using a new liturgical rite.
A Bill to authorise a service of blessing was approved by members of the Church’s Governing Body at its meeting. It was passed by the necessary two-thirds majority in each order of the three orders – Bishops, clergy and laity.
The service is for a blessing only as same-sex couples are unable to marry in church.
No comments:
Post a Comment