The first ever same sex marriage ceremony held earlier this month in the historic Anglican Cathedral of St. John The Baptist has had an unexpected positive spin off.
Brenda Halley and Susan Green have been together for close to two decades so when the pair decided to tie the knot, it was a natural choice to hold the ceremony with the congregation they belong to: St. John the Baptist in St. John’s.
Brenda and Susan spoke with VOCM’s Gerri Lynn Mackey. Listen below:
The newlyweds describe the day as magical and both women say the celebration carried a deeper significance beyond their union in holy matrimony. Green and Halley are long-standing members of the parish. They say they chose the cathedral as their regular place of worship not only for the beauty of the historic church but also because they were welcomed with open arms by members of the congregation.
Halley says the reality is, that a large percentage of those who identify as members of the LGBT Community don’t subscribe to organized religion.
“A lot of our friends don’t attend church on a regular basis and we are a bit of an oddity,” says Halley. “One of our guests came to me after the ceremony saying that they missed God.”
Green was also moved by the reaction from friends attending the wedding. “Two or three people came up to me after the service saying they haven’t been to church in over 20 years, and they could see themselves coming back here for worship week after week.”
Archdeacon and rector of the Cathedral, the Venerable Roger Whelan says the ceremony was a long time coming.
While the Anglican Church of Canada has not approved same-sex marriage at a national level, the dioceses were given permission to make their own decision whether to allow same-sex marriages at their churches.
Archdeacon Roger Whelan also spoke with VOCM’s Gerri Lynn Mackey. Listen below: