THE word “outreach” occurred in almost every context at the Church of Ireland General Synod, meeting in Naas, Co. Kildare, last Friday and Saturday. It featured most prominently in a private member’s motion on the Friday, which sought to set up a working group to explore the possibility of allowing clergy to solemnise marriages in secular venues.
Couples chose secular wedding venues for many reasons, perhaps because of the lack of accessibility, comfort, parking, or lavatory facilities in many churches, the proposer, Canon Lesley Robinson (Dublin & Glendalough), suggested. “To be able to provide such an option could be a wonderful missional opportunity for clergy to bring God’s word and Spirit into ceremonies and places and congregations currently off-limits as if somehow God’s presence is confined to our beautiful church buildings,” she said.
Nuala Dudley (Derry & Raphoe) drew attention to the growing popularity of civil ceremonies, which now constituted about one third of marriages in the Republic of Ireland. She saw the proposal as giving those who had fallen out of the way of regular churchgoing an opportunity once again to engage with the Church, within “a setting more suitable for them”.
The Bishop of Meath & Kildare, the Most Revd Pat Storey, declared herself a convert in this matter, out of pragmatism: the Church had the choice to have no presence, or to have a presence at a civil ceremony, and she would welcome further discussion.
It was reiterated during the debate that clergy would have the option to decide. A motion on baptism had not been supported in 2024, because clergy “would have had to baptise children even if it was against their will, or what they felt the Holy Spirit was doing”, the Revd David Bowles (Dublin & Glendalough) said. “If you turn somebody away from the church, there’s a very strong chance that you probably will never see them again. If you welcome them with open arms, at least you’re opening up a chance for them to have more involvement with the church in the future.”
The Revd George Okikiolu (Down & Dromore) believed that this must be opposed. “I strongly believe that this proposal threatens the sanctity, symbolism, and scriptural foundations of the Christian sacrament of marriage,” he said. “The church is sacred ground . . . consecrated ground, a holy place set apart for worship, prayer, and divine ordinances. . .
“Holy matrimony is more than a contract between two individuals. It is a divine covenant reflective of Christ’s relationship with his Church. . . Relocating [it] to beaches, banquet halls, or gardens may seem like a harmless preference, but it reduces a sacred ordinance to a personal celebration.” It would be “a shift in theology, a compromise in our values, and a potential erosion of spiritual discipline”.
The Archdeacon of Dromore, the Ven. Mark Harvey (Down & Dromore), was not comfortable with the proposal, either. “It just doesn’t feel right,” he said. “When a couple come and tell me they’d like to get married, we take them through a marriage-preparation course, but also, if they’re not regular worshippers, I insist that they do attend church regularly in the run-up to the wedding. So why would I do that, and then marry them somewhere else?”
The Revd Anne Skuse (Cork, Cloyne & Ross) had worked as a school chaplain, and was frequently asked by former students to officiate at their weddings — sometimes because she had built a good relationship with them, she said, and at other times because they told her “You’re the only priest we know.”
“I have on occasion suggested to them that they go and get married civilly in the registry office, and then I could do a blessing — which seems to me a bit of a contradiction,” she said. “I feel that it is really important for us to be at the marketplace. Many of these venues have beautiful ceremony rooms, and any space could be a sacred space, holy ground. As Moses approached the burning bush, the ground became holy. Jesus preached the gospel of good news on the hillside, by the seashore, in the villages, and in the marketplace.”
Andrew Brannigan (Down & Dromore) pondered whether the facility to conduct marriages outside of church in “exceptional circumstances“ might apply in this case?
The Revd Clive Atkinson (Down & Dromore) had been 20 years in the Church of England’s diocese in Europe. “I have conducted services up mountains, by lakes and vineyards, in the snow, in the sunshine, in chateaux,” he said. “But I have to be honest with you, they weren’t an effective form of outreach. Effective outreach requires a deep connection to a worshipping, faith-filled community.”
The debate had shown the need for a working group to sit down and talk about the pros and cons, Canon Robinson concluded. “Effective outreach starts with relationship. We don’t form relationships with people by saying no and closing doors in their faces. We keep the doors open, and we encourage them in.”
The ayes had it, and the motion was carried. A working group will be established, to include members of both the House of Bishops and the House of Representatives. It will bring its final report and recommendations to the Synod in 2027, at the latest.
