Colin Scott, an ordained Baptist Minister in Sydney, is developing a network of Christian ministers to apologise to the Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgender community for the way they have been treated by the Christian churches in Australia. Representatives of 100Revs joined in the Mardi Gras march in Sydney over the weekend.
Regardless of any position on Biblical teaching or policy on leadership, we need to acknowledge the impact of exclusion on people who don’t fit the ‘normal’ framework expected by congregations and their leaders. I’ve found some inspiration in the work done by the United Church of Christ in the United States (to which Barack Obama belongs), in their Still Speaking and Rejected by Religion campaigns.
The Apology
As ministers of various churches and denominations we recognise that the churches we belong to, and the church in general, have not been places of welcome for gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender (GLBT) people. Indeed the church has often been profoundly unloving toward the GLBT community. For these things we apologise, whatever the distinctive of our Christian position on human sexuality – to which we remain committed. We are deeply sorry and ask for the forgiveness of the GLBT community. We long that the church would be a place of welcome for all people and commit ourselves to pursuing this goal.
We ARE a group of Christian ministers who voluntarily and individually bring this apology.
We ARE NOT official representatives of our churches or denominations.
We ARE recognising the lack of hospitality, care and welcome that the churches have offered the gay and lesbian community.
We ARE NOT making a statement on the biblical position on gay and lesbian relationships.
Colin is a chaplain at University of Sydney, and director of HOPESTREET, a ministry of the Baptist Churches of NSW & ACT working amongst the most marginalised groups in the inner city of Sydney, including sex workers, the homeless, public housing tenants, Aboriginal people, problem gamblers and the unemployed.
It’s been a significant day today - February 13, the day Australia’s Prime Minister issued an apology to the stolen generations on behalf of the Australian Federal Parliament and Government.
I heard Kevin Rudd’s apology and speech on the radio on the way to work, along with the response of the Leader of the Opposition, Brendan Nelson. I spent the morning in Goodna and Inala, working with members of multicultural communities, reflecting on what it means to develop an authentic and sustainable community. The apology formed a poignant reminder that we can be blind to the impact of our actions. We need to listen to one another, treat each other with respect.
I believe today’s apology was a significant step in reconciliation. The commitment to closing the gap in housing, infant mortality and education is going to require the commitment of an emerging generation of Australians and the support of national and State governments. We’re going to need to hear more of the stories like those told by Brendan Nelson today. Too many Australians appear to have little idea of what Sorry Day is all about.
Today’s Q Weekend magazine, an insert in Brisbane’s Courier Mail, features a story on house churches by Will Storr.
Will introduces readers to the house church movement through the eyes of Sarah Williams at Jahworks in Doveton, Melbourne (ex Salvation Army), Bessie Pereira, Oikos House Church Network, Dave Andrews at Waiters Union, members of Pacific Parks Uniting on the Gold Coast, Pathway in Brisbane, and a group meeting in Cloncurry. There’s a photograph from one of the Coomera Baptist house churches on the Gold Coast.
Will sums up the house church movement with the common hallmarks of being decentralised, self-funded and unadvertised, meeting on a Sunday or Thursday, sitting in a circle, being leaderless, having a prickly dislike of preaching, a loose conversational program of worship usually involving a meal, considering their entire lives to be an act of “church”, and acts of charity and social justice to be an essential element of their Christianity. He says they’re often the subject of persecution from the inhabitants of what they like to call “pointy buildings”.
It’s a risky thing talking to a reporter knowing that only small parts of your conversation will end up in the article, sandwiched by fashion advertisements linked with the new David Jones store in Brisbane. The section of the article that focuses on our house group shows us as a group who focus on conversation, risking hints of heresy and intimate enough to reveal deep hurts and differences. Suggesting that I started the group as part of my Vision for Mission investigation into new forms of worship doesn’t quite do justice to the team with whom Ennis and I are working. For some of us, we are able to express our membership of the Uniting Church in the house church setting. It’s not an either/or situation.
The Waiters Union is described as Dave Andrews’ house church - which again over simplifies a network of people who wouldn’t fit into the house church framework.
‘Houses of the holy’ is a colourful article, with vivid stories, a critique of institutional Christianity since Constantine, showing awareness of the diversity found in the house church movement. Will, a freelance writer from the UK, is known for his book, Will Storr versus The Supernatural, a John Safran-style exploration of the ghost busting industry. Photography is by Russell Shakespeare, on the Gold Coast.
