Traditionalists scorn two-in-one christening and wedding services

The Church of England has provoked scorn from traditionalists by proposing to celebrate birth outside marriage with combined wedding and baptism ceremonies.

New church guidelines will allow couples to hold a marriage service together with a christening or thanksgiving ceremony for their children.

The move is designed to show the church accepts the reality of more liberal attitudes to sex outside marriage at a time when 44% of children are born to unmarried mothers.



However, critics dismissed the idea as a cynical attempt to boost dwindling church attendances.

"It is a pity they have not put in a funeral for grandma as well," quipped the Bishop of Fulham, the Rt Rev John Broadhurst. "It seems trendy, and it reveals a complete lack of awareness of the reality of what goes on in parishes," he said. David Phillips, general secretary of the Church Society, suggested the new combined services would confuse the church's message. "The proper place for sex is within marriage," he said.

The new services were put forward by the church's liturgical commission. Its chairman, the Bishop of Wakefield, the Rt Rev Stephen Platten, said: "Patterns of relationship and marriage within society are presenting new opportunities for the church. We are therefore offering guidance on how thanksgiving for the gift of a child, or indeed baptism, might be incorporated within a marriage service so that the church can respond pastorally to our changing world if a priest feels it would be advisable to offer this option."