Church of England to vote on transgender services

The Church of England's governing body will vote on Sunday on whether special services should be held for transgender people, the media reported.

The Church conducts multiple marriages, christenings, and blessings every day, and now supporters have asked to add to its liturgy a service to welcome transgender Christians to their new identity, reports the BBC.

Such a service would not be a second baptism, however, as the Church's teaching is that humans are made in the image of God - transcending gender - and baptism takes place only once.

However, others suggest the services would be counter to some parts of the Bible which state that humans are created as either male or female.

The Church's four-day general synod meeting in York started on Friday.

On Saturday, the general synod voted clearly in favour of a motion calling for a ban on so-called conversion therapy, the BBC reported.

The Archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby, has said the Church will spend three years on a document outlining a new stance on sexuality.

Current rules ban the marriage of same-sex couples in church.

Services of blessing for civil partnerships are also prohibited, but informal prayers are allowed.

--IANS

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