Harvard Approves Ceremonies For Gays

Gay and lesbian couples are now permitted to hold commitment or blessing ceremonies in Harvard University’s Memorial Church, university officials announced last week.

The decision makes Harvard the second major educational institution, after Stanford University in California, to give formal permission for gay and lesbian unions in its chapel.

Terry Shepard, a spokesman for Stanford, said that over the past two years, about five such ceremonies have been held at Stanford’s Memorial Church, a nondenominational Christian chapel.