D035 Authorize The Witnessing and Blessing of a Marriage
Resolved, the House of ________________ concurring,
That the 81st General Convention authorize the rite The Witnessing and Blessing of a Marriage for continued use under Article X.c; and be it further
Resolved, That this General Convention direct the Standing Commission on Liturgy and Music to review the rite The Witnessing and Blessing of a Marriage and consider proposing it to the 82nd General Convention for trial use under Article X.b.
Explanation
The rite The Witnessing and Blessing of a Marriage, along with The Celebration and Blessing of a Marriage 2, was authorized for trial use in 2015 (Resolution 2015-A054). In 2018 (Resolution 2018-B012) both rites were authorized for continued trial use until the completion of the next comprehensive revision of the Book of Common Prayer. For this 81st General Convention, the Standing Commission on Liturgy and Music is proposing for trial use a “first reading” of The Celebration and Blessing of a Marriage 2 (Resolution 2024-A116), with the expectation that if authorized the rite will be proposed to the 82nd General Convention as a “second reading,” for inclusion in the Book of Common Prayer under Article X.
The Standing Commission on Liturgy and Music is not proposing the rite The Witnessing and Blessing of a Marriage for further trial use. This resolution ensures that this alternative rite will continue to be available for use and that it will be considered for addition to the Book of Common Prayer.
The rite is available among the existing liturgies on episcopalcommonprayer.org. Background and supporting materials for the rite are included in Liturgical Resources 2, also posted on episcopalcommonprayer.org.
Support Documents:
The_witnessing_and_blessing_of_a_marriage
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