Suffolk same-sex couple become one of first to receive a blessing at a Church of England service

A couple have become one of the first same-sex partnerships to receive a blessing at a Church of England service.

Prayers of love and faith were granted to Catherine Bond and Jane Pearse on Sunday morning, celebrating their shared "love and friendship" and "commitment to one another".

Blessing same-sex couples was sanctioned by the House of Bishops just days ago and they were allowed to be handed out from Sunday.

The couple knelt in front of the vicar, Canon Andrew Dotchin, at St John the Baptist Church in Felixstowe, Suffolk, where they are both associate priests in the parish.

Rev Dotchin held their heads and said: "We give thanks for Catherine and Jane, to the love and friendship they share, and their commitment to one another as they come before you on this day, trusting you as the keeper of all goodness, strengthening their love by your love, and gladdening their hearts with your joy."

Ms Bond, wearing a mustard yellow jacket and black trousers, and Ms Pearce, in a grey jacket and black patterned skirt, smiled as they stood in front of the congregation and received a round of applause initiated by Rev Dotchin.

The service was otherwise a usual Sunday Eucharist, and prayers of love and faith have been permitted during regular public worship such as the Eucharist or Evensong.

Prior to the blessing, a woman read a passage from Isaiah promising that God will "bring good news to the oppressed".

Speaking after the ceremony Catherine and Jane said: "It’s been an opportunity for us to feel our love and our relationship blessed in this building.  I feel it’s healing, it’s inclusive and I’m just really wanting to encourage lots of other gay couples to come forward and know that the church of England does love them and come and be blessed."

The General Synod, known as the Church of England's Parliament, of which Rev Dotchin is a member, voted in favour of offering blessings to same-sex couples in civil partnerships and marriages for the first time in February. It came after a near eight-hour debate across two days.

On Tuesday, the House of Bishops met online to confirm its earlier decision to commend the prayers for use in regular public worship such as Sunday Eucharist or Evensong, agreeing it should take effect this weekend. The motion was passed by 24 votes to 11, with three abstentions.

There has been no legislative change in the Church and offering blessings is a voluntary decision for clergy.

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