A series of consultations on the provision of a blessing for same-sex relationships in Church of Wales churches in northeast and mid-Wales gets underway next week.

The first meeting will take place on Thursday 27 March at 7pm at Prestatyn Community Hall next door to Christ Church in Prestatyn. It will be an opportunity to consider what happens next, following the introduction of a blessing rite for same-sex couples in churches in 2021. This was granted permission for five years and that comes to an end in autumn 2026. These consultations across Wales will consider various options: Should the provision continue. Should the rite be withdrawn. Could a further step be taken to permit same-sex couples to marry in church.

The Bishop of St Asaph, the Rt Revd Gregory Cameron, who will be attending each event to listen, said: “The important thing to note is that these occasions will not be a debate, and there will be no vote. Rather, it is for those who wish to express what they believe that God has laid on their heart on these matters, and for those in attendance to listen respectfully, even where views may differ considerably. Contributions will be listened to respectfully, and quietly, and we will all listen for the voice of God’s Spirit to inform and guide us.”

Five further consultation events will take place across the diocese and this type of meeting is taking place in all the dioceses across Wales. The St Asaph meetings will be:

• Thursday 27 March, 7pm: Prestatyn Community Hall (next to Christ Church Prestatyn), LL19 9BN
• Monday 31 March, 7pm: St Mary’s Church Hall, Ruabon, LL14 6DS
• Wednesday 2 April, 7pm: Llandrinio Village Hall, SY22 6SB
• Thursday 8 May, 7pm: St David’s Hall, adjacent to the Church, at Penrhyn Bay, LL30 3NT
• Monday 12 May, 7pm: Llangollen Pavilion, LL20 8SW
• Monday 19 May, 7pm: St Mark’s Church Hall, Connah’s Quay, CH5 4AD.

People can attend whichever meeting is most convenient for them and they need only attend one. All the meetings will follow a similar format of careful, reflective listening to those who wish to speak. There will be no debate or discussion.

The Archbishop of Wales, the Most Revd Andrew John, encouraged people to attend saying: “My invitation to you all is to participate. Whatever kinds of reflection these meetings might offer and whatever decision the Governing Body might take, it’s our engaging with each other, with Scripture and tradition in a respectful way to which we must now give ourselves. Please do attend one of the sessions in your locality and may God give us grace and peace to hear his voice.”

The Church in Wales has provided a reading list surveying the literature making a contribution to this debate which you can read here. Feedback from all the consultations across Wales will be gathered and used to inform a debate in the Church in Wales’ Governing Body, ahead of the end of the rite’s experimental five year term, next year.

The Diocese of St Asaph is one of the six dioceses in the Church in Wales, an autonomous province in the worldwide Anglican Communion.