Anne (left) and Elaine Vautour were married alongside Kevin Bourassa and Joe Varnell in a groundbreaking ceremony in Toronto 25 years ago this week.
I was a bit surprised, in a "time flies" way, to read that it was 25 years ago this month that two same-gender couples were married in Toronto, a first in Canada. They were married at Metropolitan Community Church in Toronto before the legislation allowing such marriages in this country using a provision called Publishing the Banns.
In 2001, Pastor Brent Hawkes used this legal loophole, an ancient Christian tradition still allowed in Ontario, to marry the couples. At the time, same-sex couples could not obtain marriage licences from municipal clerks, but the Ontario Marriage Act allowed couples to be granted a licence if their names were published and read out within a service of worship at church for three Sundays in a row. i think I was asked about this provision only once in the early 1980s near the beginning of my ministry.
Lo and behold, these two couples are still married a quarter century later, acknowledging that there have been ups and downs, joys and sorrows, as is the way of long-term marriage.
In an article I read about the 25th anniversary this paragraph stood out:
... the landscape for same-sex marriage in Canada has evolved considerably. Anne and Elaine’s extended family now regards them simply as “the aunts,” reflecting a growing acceptance of LGBTQ+ relationships. As they celebrate their silver anniversary, the Vautours and Bourassa-Varnell continue to embody the essence of love and commitment, demonstrating that their marriages were not just about making a political statement, but about cherishing one another.
While there are still people including lots of Christians who are opposed to same-gender/sex marriage, I do feel that Canadian society has changed and for the better.
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