U.S. Episcopal Church bows to gay pressure, deletes ‘husband and wife’ from marriage liturgy
The Church of England is torn over plans by The Episcopal Church (TEC) in the United States to efface the terms “husband” and “wife” – as well as references to “procreation” – from its marriage liturgy. The change is meant to make the church’s marriage ceremonies more “gay-friendly.” Gay and lesbian Episcopalians have complained that the language of the current liturgy is offensive and exclusionary. The move prompted a critical response from Church of England SecrSecretary-General liam Nye last October, strongly urging the TEC to reconsider. The letter threatened to cut ties with the U.S. church if it adopts the planned gender-neutral, replacing the current wording in its Book of Common Prayer . “The new service removes the phrase ‘the union of husband and wife’ and replaces it with ‘the union of two people,’” according to a report in the U.K. Telegraph . It also “replaces the section which talks about part of God's intention for marriage being ‘for the procreation of childre...