Marriage certificates in England and Wales have traditionally left space for the names and professions of just one parent: the fathers of the couple tying the knot.That changed on Tuesday, with couples now allowed to add mothers’ names to their official marriage record. The change corrects “a historic anomaly” and is part of a larger overhaul of how marriages are registered in the two nations, the government said. Unions will also now be recorded in a single electronic registry instead of in registry books.The changes are the biggest to the registration system since the Marriage Act came into effect in 1837, the Home Office said, and they have been in the works for several years. In 2014, David Cameron, then the prime minister, said the system did not reflect “modern Britain” and pledged to make modifications.But the final stages of legislation to include both parents did not come before Parliament until last month, spurred by a larger bill that passed in 2019. The earlier bill included the changeover to an electronic marriage registry and the extension of the right to civil partnerships to all couples.
Something very special is going on at the heart of the Church of England. A project is underway which might just prove to be utterly transformative of the way we do things. Living in Love and Faith is the CofE’s major project on identity and sexuality, but in fact at its heart is something much more fundamental to our faith: how to love each other better by listening to and understanding others; how to move forward united by our love for Jesus when we disagree fundamentally on some important issues. Churches and individuals who are engaging with LLF are often surprised by the high quality of the book, videos, podcasts and course at its heart. It is evidence of how unbiased it is, that both staunch traditionalists and determined liberals are equally convinced that there is a foregone conclusion in view. LLF has pioneered six Pastoral Principles (1) Acknowledge prejudice(2) Speak into silence(3) Address ignorance(4) Cast out fear(5) Admit hypocrisy(6) Pay attention to power These principles flow out of gospel values. It is not hard to see that, if we can learn to use them well, we can transform how the Church handles difference in other areas too. The Guildford Diocese LLF team (me, Chris Bessant, Cathy Blair, Patrick Butler, Sally Davies, Jane Jones and Jane Schofield) are in touch with all twelve of our deaneries to encourage everyone to engage with LLF.Anyone can log into the LLF website and watch sixteen videos where Christians describe their own journeys as individuals or couples with remarkable vulnerability and honesty. That will take you 80 minutes and you will hear experiences that you have never heard before. The book can be downloaded free and the podcasts are an accessible way to study further. The LLF Course is extremely well produced and walks you gently but clearly through all these thorny issues. I have heard clergy who vary theologically say that it has transformed their approach to listening to others. Issues of identity and sexuality have divided the Church of England for over 30 years, and they are not going away. LLF gives us a package of tools to transform the way we have these challenging conversations in our churches and in the wider Church. So yes, LLF is a conspiracy: a conspiracy to help us love Jesus and our neighbours better.Mark Wallace, Vicar of St Mary of Bethany Church, Woking.
One of the earliest tragedies within the nightmare of the coronavirus pandemic was the death of Mary Caroe, a worshipper at St Peter's Hascombe, who lived at Vann on Vann Lane.For many years she was the inspiration behind the magnificent gardens that were open to the public. A doctor by profession she had also served as the police surgeon in Guildford. In a fitting national tribute to all those who have died of coronavirus in the UK, a special memorial is being created to stand inside St Paul's Cathedral.The structure has been designed by Mary Caroe's son, Oliver. Like his forefathers Oliver is an architect and is the cathedral's appointed surveyor of the fabric.Oliver said it would be a "fitting memorial" to those who have died and would be "part of the fabric of St Paul's and part of history for centuries to come"."There will be many families like mine who never have had an opportunity to gather; to properly acknowledge thanks for the lives lived and to appreciate carers and clinicians we will never have met." A campaign has been launched to raise £2.3m to build the memorial. It would see an online book of remembrance installed in a purpose-built structure. More than 7,300 names have already been entered into the book as part of the cathedral's Remember Me project.The memorial campaign is hoping to unite people from across the UK who are grieving the deaths of family and friends. More than 127,000 people have died with Covid-19 in the UK, government figures show.
