Westminster United Church in Orangeville this Sunday will announce that it is prepared to sanction same-sex marriages, the board chairman has confirmed.

Brian Heimbecker said Tuesday the decision was taken in a 10-5 vote of the Board Monday night.

But he said that doesn't mean there'll be a flood of such marriages. The United Church for three years has left it up to individual congregations to decide where they stand on the issue.

"In the past year, we have had one inquiry." He said the inquiry wasn't a request for a ceremony, but a question on where the local church stood.

As well, Mr. Heimbecker said the minister would retain the authority in her sole discretion to refuse to perform the marriage - as she would with any traditional marriage.

He said part of the approval for a marriage is to confirm that the couple are convinced they are doing the right thing. "I wouldn't expect an influx of people," (as has happened in some Toronto churches). "We would ask them to be a part of the church."

On the other hand, he acknowledged that the Board had considered legal issues as well. To refuse a marriage on grounds of sexual orientation could be a human rights issue, he said, "because people (might) say they're being discriminated against."

The issue arose when this newspaper received an anonymous tip early Tuesday from a member of the congregation who was concerned that the congregation had not been consulted, but the Board had decided the decision was theirs. The member didn't state what his stance was with respect to the issue of marriages, but simply his feeling that the congregation should have been consulted.

A board member other than Mr. Heimbecker, who was interviewed Tuesday, said they had hoped the decision wouldn't be publicized until it was announced from the pulpit Sunday.

Mr. Heimbecker said the decision was "within the purview of the Board," because of the official position of the Church.

"We're not trying to put one over on anyone. We've probably had one contact asking if we performed same-sex marriages. (The Board) brought forward a marriage policy to make sure the office had answers."

He said it would be important for office staff at the church to be able to respond reliably to inquiries of all kinds regarding marriages, and was insistent that Monday's decision has not changed anything.