CoE presents new "Hatch & Match" Liturgy

“I suspect a lot of clergy have done services like this already. This will help clergy who might not otherwise feel competent when asked to do this.” -The Right Rev Michael Scott-Joynt, Bishop of Winchester

Now where have we heard that kind of rationalization recently? Sometimes we just have to wonder if there's something being stashed in the communion wafers these days.

From Ruth Gledhill at the Times of London:

The Church of England unveils a two-in-one wedding and baptism liturgy today as it seeks to make peace with families “living in sin”.

The “hatch-and-match” service allows couples to baptise their children after the wedding ceremony. Parents can even get baptised themselves.

The aim is to encourage cohabiting parents to marry as the Church tries to become more relevant to the way people live their lives, but critics said that it appeared to sanction having children out of wedlock. One bishop described the idea as “nutty”. The liturgy, costing £272, is being sent out to dioceses and parish clergy today.

The move comes after research commissioned by the archbishops of Canterbury and York found that increasing numbers of couples marrying in church already had children. The latest figures on births and marriages show that about 44 per cent of children are born to unmarried women.

Right, but will Brad and Angelina go for it? Read it all here.