Feb 08,2015
Under federal court order, tomorrow, February 9th, Alabama becomes the 37th state to legalize gay marriages. The United Church of Christ was the first mainstream Christian denomination to endorsed Marriage equality at our General Synod in Atlanta on July 4, 2005. We at Covenant rejoice knowing that GLBT couples will now have the same legal protections and benefits that heterosexual couples have.
Marriage equality has finally arrived. But this isn’t news to us at Covenant. Our church has always performed gay marriages, we just called them holy unions. Holy unions have been and continue to be viewed by our church as marriages.
As such, the religious aspect of marriages at Covenant remains the same. The only thing that is changing February 9th is the civil – legal aspect.
If I have performed a holy union for you and you want it become legal in the state of Alabama, all you need to do is present me with a marriage license issued by the State of Alabama and arrange for a brief meeting with me.
Any persons not having had a holy union by me and wants to get legal married, all building reservation policies and ministerial procedures continue to be in place as they have been for holy unions and marriages for heterosexual folks and that includes premarital counseling.
If you have been legally married in another state, nothing else is required of you. Give each other a kiss and enjoy marriage equality in the State of Alabama.
This is a great day for the State of Alabama. Finally we are not the last state on a progressive issue. Praise God!
Reverend J R Finney II, Senior Pastor
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