The Marriage and Relationships Task Group’s new report ‘God in Love Unites Us’, will be presented in the upcoming Methodist conference to be held in Birmingham between 27th June and 4th July.
If the 67-page report is passed, the wider Church will consider it with a final decision made at the 2020 conference.
Rev Ken Howcroft chairs the group and told Premier why it’s important for the Church to talk about relationships, sex and marriage.
“We have not been good at doing it for a very long time and there is a dissonance between what we have sometimes formally said and the way we actually behave and that is not good,” he explained.
While Rev Howcroft acknowledged some members of the Church may be disappointed if the changes are implemented, he insisted that it would be impossible to please everyone in the Church.
“Whatever we say, there will be people who profoundly disagree with that and that’s the journey we’ve been on for all these years – in particular for the last 25 years or so,” he said.
“What we’re trying to do is to find a way in which we can deeply honour each other’s convictions.”
A clause has been included in the proposals that states no-one would be forced to officiate at a same-sex marriage if they felt prevented by “their personal beliefs and integrity”.
Rev Howcroft said he hoped that ministers would not feel pressured to conduct same-sex weddings.
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