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LONDON , February 18, 2014  – In a surprise move, the main governing body of the Church of England has rejected proposals to create a “blessing” ceremony for same-sex “weddings.”  In a  guidance  issued Saturday on same-sex “marriage,” the House of Bishops also said it “is not willing for those who are in a same sex marriage to be ordained to any of the three orders of ministry.”  “Services of blessing should not be provided. Clergy should respond pastorally and sensitively in other ways,” the guidance reads. These other ways could include offering an informal prayer over the partners. “In addition it considers that it would not be appropriate conduct for someone in holy orders to enter into a same sex marriage, given the need for clergy to model the Church’s teaching in their lives.” “Getting married to someone of the same sex would, however, clearly be at variance with the teaching of the Church of England. The declarations made by clergy...

Mennonite Church USA (Photo credit: Wikipedia ) Eastern Mennonite University (EMU) has announced it will suspend a policy against same-sex relationships for faculty, as the school enters a “listening period” to review its stance on homosexuality. If the policy change becomes permanent, EMU would become the first member institution of the Council of Christian Colleges and Universities ( CCCU ) to allow practicing gays and lesbians to serve as professors. The school’s board of trustees unanimously approved the review. EMU President Loren Swartzendruber said that the period of reflection would allow the school “to engage in community discussion and discernment over issues that Mennonite congregations—indeed almost all denominations in the United States today—are wrestling with.” The board also reaffirmed EMU’s relationship with the Mennonite Church USA —but that denomination’s “Confession of Faith in a Mennonite Perspective” states that “God intends marriage to be a covenant betwee...