Minute on Marriages and Ceremonies of Commitment

Under the Care of Bethesda Friends Meeting -- Approved December 1, 1996

Bethesda Friends Meeting is committed to giving its loving support to all couples who seek clearness and Divine guidance as they consider the solemn act of entering into a life-long commitment to each other in the presence of God and the Meeting. Our support is in part manifested by the appointment of a Committee for Clearness to meet with the couple in a spirit of loving concern to consider honestly and frankly the duties and responsibilities they propose to assume. This support continues as their commitment is solemnized in the Meeting for Worship. Thereafter, as couples encounter opportunities for growth and challenges in their spiritual journeys, we offer our continued support and hope that they will draw on the wisdom and strength of the Meeting, at the same time that the Meeting is enriched by their presence.

Since its establishment, Bethesda Friends Meeting has followed this process for marriages under its care. As same-sex couples have begun publicly to declare and celebrate their relationships, we recognize the need to include such relationships in our loving care. Couples of the same gender, who face particular difficulties in a less than accepting world, require a special measure of our continuing support. Bethesda Friends Meeting wishes to record that we accept such unions with the same expectations of seriousness and life-long commitment, applying the same procedures and standards for clearness and oversight, as we do for other couples.