Why has the LLF process reached the end of the line?
Andrew Goddard writes: Three weeks ago, on 15th October, it was announced that “The House of Bishops has made a series of key decisions on the future direction of the Church of England’s Living in Love and Faith process”. To widespread surprise across the divisions the process has created in the church, this announcement looked like it amounted to “LLF RIP”, which to some was much too late a step after too much damage had already been done whereas to others—such as David Monteith, the Dean of Canterbury, Mark Oakley, the Dean of Southwark (text and video), and Charlie Bączyk-Bell—it felt like a major betrayal and a decision that the one crumb that had so far been dropped from the table should be accepted as sufficient by gay and lesbian Christians.
Rather than bringing to the February General Synod next year proposals to proceed with commending Prayers of Love and Faith (PLF) for use in “bespoke” services focussed on the same-sex couple, the bishops were once again reversing their plans and returning to using the Canon B2 process. This is almost certain to fail to get the necessary level of support (two-thirds in all 3 Houses) in General Synod.
Rather than offering a timetable for allowing clergy to enter same-sex marriages, an outcome that many felt was imminent back in summer 2023, the bishops have simply laid out a range of options all requiring formal and lengthy legislative processes.
