hatched and matched

The big church news of the week has been the Church of England publishing a liturgy for a combined wedding-and-baptism service. And it's not the couple getting married who are to be baptised, it is their children.

Now, my own prejudice is to think that baptism is best reserved for those able to answer for themselves, but let us leave that on one side for now.

Reactions to the news have been mixed: some have said that it is yet another nail in the coffin of the church's teaching; that it is one thing to marry those who have been "living in sin", it is quite another to endorse their lifestyle by enshrining in liturgy a mis-ordered family where the birth of the children precedes the wedding. Others have said that it is a good pragmatic response to modern realities: that given the Church of England's role as the established church, open to all comers, it is better to welcome people in all conditions of life, rather than to turn them away. Still others have said that it is in fact a great celebration of God's grace: that it is never too late to regularize one's family relationships, and that it is most excellent to celebrate and affirm those who wish to do so.

I confess sympathy for all of these positions. Pragmatism gets you a very long way - and so does grace. And yet, you have to look at the message being given, as well as the impact on individuals. There is, surely, value in bringing children into the world in a stable relationship, rather than stabilizing it later: and if you preach that, but make plans for other patterns of family life, you surely seem to present a mixed message.

But life is mixed and messy. I don't doubt that this liturgy has arisen from genuine pastoral need. And so I must assume that it will be a significant and valuable part of a faith journey for some families. The promises made at an Anglican baptism involve the sponsors answering for themselves and for the children (whatever that means :-) ) and saying that they turn to Christ, and renounce evil. That's something to celebrate, however it comes about.