Same-Sex Blessings Arrive at Falls Church Episcopal

by Jeffrey Walton
August 25, 2014

A historic Episcopal parish that counts U.S. President George Washington among its past vestry members has hosted its first blessing of a same-sex union.

The Falls Church News Press reports that two men were joined in a “Witnessing and Blessing of a Lifelong Covenant” in the historic sanctuary of the Falls Church Episcopal in Falls Church, Virginia on Friday, August 22. The church property was won from departing Anglicans in a lawsuit by the Episcopal Diocese of Virginia.

The service, officiated under the direction of Rector John Ohmer, marks the first such celebration at the historic property. A court ruling awarded control of the property in 2012 to the Episcopal Diocese.

The couple is legally married in Maryland. The Commonwealth of Virginia does not recognize same-sex marriages, although a court challenge is making its way to the U.S. Supreme Court.

According to the News Press, Ohmer affirmed the couple’s commitment to seek the blessing of their union, calling it “a relationship of mutual fidelity and steadfast love, forsaking all others, holding one another in tenderness and respect, in strength and bravery, as long as they live.”... the rest