Friday, July 31, 2009

Quakers Right Again

From Bloomberg:

British Quakers have agreed to recognize same-sex marriage and allow their communities to conduct wedding ceremonies for gay couples.

The change means that homosexual couples will be given the same recognition by Quakers in the U.K. that the group accords heterosexual marriages. The Quakers, known as the Religious Society of Friends and founded in England in 1652, had accepted same-sex partnerships for decades.

“Marriage is the Lord’s work and we are but witnesses,” the Quakers’ British organization said in an e-mailed statement detailing the decision made today at their annual meeting in the English city of York. “The question of legal recognition by the state is secondary.”

They were the first to get it right about slavery. It's no surprise that they're among the first to get it right about homosexuality. Good job Friends! May we not be long in following your fine example.

2 comments:

Jodie said...

“Marriage is the Lord’s work and we are but witnesses,”

I like that.

Douglas Underhill said...

When in doubt, do what the Quakers do.

They're even a good example of orthopraxis over orthodoxy.