Day 3
Marriage Council Report Presented at Synod
The report of the Marriage Council was presented to members of General Synod meeting online this evening (Tuesday May 13).
Proposing the report, the Revd Dr Leonard Madden, on behalf of the Revd Carlton Baxtor to whom he extended get well wishes. He thanked Bishop Pat Storey for her time as chair of the Marriage Council stating that her leadership and enthusiasm had been pivotal in shaping the council’s ethos and direction of travel. He also thanked the Revd Jonny Campbell Smyth for his contribution.
He highlighted the council’s counselling services and urged clergy not to feel alone in their ministry as trained and professional counsellors were there to help.
He also drew members’ attention to the Clergy Retreat to be held in the coming months. He said that the retreats had become a feature of the council’s work and had proved popular.
Encouraging clergy and their spouses to take part he said: “The focus of the retreats is on you, the married couple, and giving you space to be you away from the demands of parish life, as well as the freedom to explore issues that may be relevant to your marriage at the time.”
Dr Madden also encouraged members of Synod to take up available spaces on the Marriage Council board.
Bishop Pat Storey formally second the report.
Speaking to the report, Bishop Paul Colton (Cork, Cloyne and Ross) appealed for a new attitude to couples when they come to our churches seeking to be married. He said the scenario of marriage had changed.
He pointed out that the old marriage laws inferred a number of conditions which had since been eroded. He said he was concerned that without an openness and a spirit of hospitality the church may be pushing young people away into the arms of others. That in part may be the cause of Church of Ireland weddings amounting to 1.1% of the total, he suggested. Meanwhile, he said Spiritualists were doing 7.9% of marriages.
“We have a very strong tradition in the Church of Ireland that people get married in their own church and that’s that. Sometimes people want to get married in a church where they met, or where they got engaged. I would like us to be more open to people getting married in churches other than the church they [traditionally] attended. We’re stuck in a rut and may push people away. So I’m appealing that when couples come and say ‘yes we are from somewhere else but we fell in love on Howth Head’ or wherever that we are open and hospitable to them,” Bishop Colton said.
A motion relating to the terms of reference of the Marriage Council, removing the need for a bishop to be among the membership, was proposed.
Opposing the motion, the Revd Jonny Campbell–Smyth said that role of the bishop at the council brought a special spirit of guidance to proceedings. He also asked why every other committee of General Synod had a representative from the House of Bishops and why should their presence be removed now.
Archdeacon Mark Harvey agreed with the Mr Campbell–Smyth stating that leadership was very important in this area and asked to see an episcopal representative on the Marriage Council.
The Archbishop of Armagh said that the bishops had considered this and they felt that the bishops did not have to be there of necessity and that they would, of course, be present to speak about marriage in the public space and to offer support.
The motion was defeated meaning that members of Synod felt that there should be a bishop on the Marriage Council.