The Uniting Church WA calls on the Western Australian Government to work closely with the LGBTQA+ community and survivors of Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity Change Efforts (SOGICE), including people of faith, to introduce legislation to protect people from harmful ‘conversion therapies’.
This practice, which encourages efforts to directly and indirectly attempt to change or supress a person’s sexuality or gender identity, has caused serious, ongoing, and tragic harm to those affected.
A suite of 15 new resources from Uniting Network have been launched with the aim of supporting Uniting Church congregations which seek to fully affirm LGBTIQ people, same-sex couples and families.
“Uniting Network is proud to have produced a comprehensive series of resources on LGBTIQ related topics to assist congregations and faith communities who are looking to explore what it means to be inclusive and affirming,” said Hannah Reeve, Uniting Network National Co-Convener.
Wendy and Nicole Hendry have finally been married – by the church they love.
Eleven years ago the couple celebrated a commitment ceremony, and have now legally been wed within the church.
Uniting Church Minister, Rev Elenie Poulos conducted the wedding of Wendy and Nicole, regular attendees of Margaret River Uniting Church, on Saturday 27 October. This was the first wedding between two people of the same-sex to be officially performed by a church in Western Australia.
At its national decision making meeting held in July, the Uniting Church in Australia decided to hold two equal and distinct statements of belief on marriage to honour the diversity of Christian belief among Uniting Church members. Since then, the church has published an additional marriage liturgy that will allow same-gender couples to get married in Uniting Churches, for those congregations that choose to host them.
The Uniting Church in Australia has today published an additional marriage liturgy that will allow same-gender couples to get married in Uniting Churches from Friday 21 September 2018.
The liturgy was approved by the Uniting Church’s Assembly Standing Committee which met in Sydney from 24 to 26 August.
The publication of the Uniting Church in Australia Additional Marriage Liturgy (2018) follows the decision by members of the Fifteenth Assembly Meeting in July to hold two equal and distinct statements of belief on marriage to honour the diversity of Christian belief among Uniting Church members.
Dr Deidre Palmer, President of the Uniting Church in Australia, has issued a Pastoral Letter to church members, to reassure people about the additional liturgy.
Most of us have probably had the experience of going through the security checks before boarding an aircraft. The routine goes something like, keys and coins out of pockets, belts off, laptop out of bag and all items placed in trays before they are x-rayed for any security risks.
I was recently at an airport going through this routine when out of the blue a security man looked at me and said, “What is the Uniting Church’s view on homosexuality and what is your personal view?”
He caught me completely off guard. Not wanting to hold up the queue or totally avoid the question, I said something like, “We are engaged in respectful conversations about this sensitive issue, and at this moment, I am not prepared to share with you my personal view.”
Members of the Uniting Church’s 15th Triennial Assembly have returned home to share the news of the landmark decisions made at the meeting.
Over seven days, from Sunday 8 to Saturday 14 July, more than 260 Assembly members shared prayer, worship and Bible studies with ecumenical and interfaith friends, church partners and each other. Dr Deidre Palmer, past Moderator of the Uniting Church South Australia, was installed as the Uniting Church’s 15th President in a joyous service before shepherding a meeting in which Assembly members voiced a wide range of strongly and faithfully held views on a range of issues, from different biblical, theological and cultural perspectives.
Following are some of the important decisions reached.
The 15th Assembly of the Uniting Church in Australia has agreed to hold two equal and distinct views on marriage to honour the diversity of Christian belief among its members.
Meeting for the first time since last year’s change to Australian marriage laws, members of the church’s national decision-making body, the Assembly, resolved to allow its ministers the freedom to conduct or refuse to conduct same-gender marriages.
“This decision follows many years of reflection, prayer and discernment, and I want to thank Assembly members for the way they have responded with grace to what is a difficult conversation for many people of faith,” said Uniting Church President Dr Deidre Palmer.
As this edition of Revive hits the stands, Australia is in the midst of the Australian Marriage Law Postal Survey, the non-binding, non-compulsory survey asking the public whether Australia should allow same-sex marriage. Your postal vote needs to be received by the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) by Tuesday 7 November for it to be counted in the survey.
There is a lot of diversity within the Uniting Church regarding this issue, and the church has been in conversation for many years about its formal position. One thing its leaders do agree on is the need for respectful conversations. At the recent Annual Meeting of the Synod of WA, members of the Synod took part in small group conversations about what marriage meant to them. They also had the opportunity to prayerfully send a written message to the Uniting Church in Australia on the issue.
Rev Steve Francis, Moderator of the Uniting Church WA, acknowledged the pain members of the church were feeling and felt this method of conversation was much more helpful than the traditional consensus model, guided by a proposal and debate on the floor of the meeting.
Homosexuality commonly draws out strident views. Oppositional positions seem to be the norm; dialogue is often elusive. The editor notes this is not a ‘Christian’ versus ‘non-Christian’ debate: it is a discussion within the church.
Seeking to encourage deep engagement, evangelical publisher Zondervan asked two scholars to present an ‘affirming’ and two a ‘traditional’ view. Elsewhere, the editor says, the “question of homosexuality defies simple answers … I refuse to give thin answers to thick questions …” These scholars do the same.
Two authors were new to me. Knowing little about intersexuality, DeFranza’s work intrigued me. Holmes sees no room for same-sex marriage and with Hill (a self-identifying gay man) perceives celibacy as the only same-sex Christian option.
Northbridge lit up with glitter and colour on Saturday night, 19 November, as Perth’s annual Pride Parade, a celebration of the LGBTI community, took to the streets. Marching through the centre of Northbridge, the party went into the night, with the theme Love Wins.
Faith groups joined the parade including Jews for Pride and Christians with Pride. A passionate group of Christians marched, mostly members from the Anglican Diocese of Perth or the Uniting Church WA.
Fr Peter Manuel, from St Andrew’s Anglican Parish Subiaco, said it was important for Christians to march in the parade to show their support for the LGBTI community.