Why I've stayed with the Church in Wales

Towards the end of November last year, the bishops of the Church in Wales (part of the Anglican Communion) released a pastoral letter outlining their roadmap for the full authorisation of same-sex blessings – and then the introduction of same-sex marriage within the denomination.

If you haven’t been following events, this follows the introduction of liturgy for the blessing of same-sex couples on a trial basis in the autumn of 2021 by the Governing Body.

The proposals lay out a vote in April of 2026 for the full inclusion of the blessings in the Book of Common Prayer, and then a vote on marriage in April 2027.

There have been various excellent published responses to the letter examining and analysing it and so I don’t want to repeat their points here - they can easily be found by a simple search online. Rather, I want to focus on the impact this has had within the Church in Wales' evangelical constituency, a constituency which the Evangelical Fellowship in the Church in Wales (EFCW) seeks to support.

Distress and worry

The announcement has been met with great distress and worry for many within the Church in Wales, both within the Evangelical constituency and outside of it. Whilst the timing of the second vote on blessings was expected as the trial provision expires this year, the very quick move to a vote on marriage was very unexpected.

The initial vote approving blessings caused great damage in many churches throughout the province. In some cases this was very visible – clergy resigning posts or taking early retirement, some clergy moving to the GAFCON-aligned Anglican Convocation in Europe (ACE) with some or even most of their congregations.

However, in many cases it was much more subtle: clergy applying for posts outside the province as they became available, meaning departures were slower and more gradual, rather than occurring all at once; lay members of churches deciding after much wrestling to worship elsewhere, if indeed there was anywhere else locally to worship. Taken as individual cases they don’t have much impact, but looking at what we’ve seen anecdotally through EFCW it is not an inconsequential number.

Whilst the bench of bishops is keen to emphasise that, for them, this shouldn’t be a church-dividing issue, the evidence is clear that it already is. I myself am vicar to a church which split over this very issue - with former members of the congregation worshipping in the community centre with my predecessor. I have witnessed first-hand the hurt and the pain experienced on both sides, and the idea of ripping the bandages off that wound so soon by moving further on this is difficult to contemplate.

Why stay?

Those who have remained within the Church in Wales have done so for a variety of reasons, but all of us are united in wanting to continue to witness to and contend for the faith as revealed in the Scriptures, and to which the ecumenical Creeds and the Anglican historic formularies, articles and homilies - which contain the deposit of Anglican doctrine - bear witness.

We want to reveal in our lives and teaching faithfulness both to Scripture and to the love of Jesus; for us, they are not in opposition, nor can they be divided from one another.

Marriage isn’t simply an issue of sexual ethics but one which touches on issues such as the nature of Christ and the Church, how we read and interpret Scripture and its place in our lives, the nature of sin, and what it means to live a full life. These aren’t side issues but go right to the core of our belief and identity as Christians.

As Evangelicals we want to uphold the truth of Scripture and its authority in our lives, and proclaim the love of Christ, as revealed in the Scriptures, who died so that our sins, our failure to live as God and Scripture call us, can be forgiven when we repent and turn back to Him.

Ever more liberal?

It can often appear, from the outside, that the Church in Wales is a homogeneous body where all are heading on an ever more liberal trajectory. However, scattered across the province are faithful Anglicans - Evangelical, Anglo-Catholic and those who don’t quite fit either of those labels - who are seeking to uphold the faith of the Apostles and remain faithful to Christ revealed in the Scriptures on this issue. Whether they are clergy or laity they are often isolated, struggling to see how the future will look for them, and often feeling overlooked or brushed aside by statements like this.

We would greatly value your prayers, both as individuals and as organisations like EFCW as we seek to support one another.

Whilst in human terms things look impossible, we believe in the God who can do the impossible.

And so my prayer recently has been that of Psalm 80: "Turn us again, O God; let your face shine, that we may be saved!"