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A couple have become one of the first same-sex partnerships to receive a blessing at a Church of England service.

Prayers of love and faith were granted to Catherine Bond and Jane Pearce on Sunday morning, celebrating their shared “love and friendship” and “commitment to one another”.

Blessing same-sex couples was sanctioned by the House of Bishops just days ago and they were allowed to be handed out from Sunday.

Not all clergy members agree with the decision to permit the blessing for same-sex couples – some welcome it as progress, others believe it has gone too far, and many hold that the real change needed is marriage recognition.

The couple knelt in front of the vicar, Canon Andrew Dotchin, at St John the Baptist Church in Felixstowe, Suffolk, where they are both associate priests in the parish.

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