Nothing and everything has changed with Uniting Church vote In a landmark vote, the Uniting Church has become the first Australian denomination to openly allow practising homosexuals to become ministers. It has been on the Uniting Church's agenda for a number of years but a recent National Assembly in Melbourne, the church's ruling body voted for change. A social justice consultant for the Uniting Church Synod of Western Australia says as a result of the vote that nothing and everything has changed. By Rosemary Hudson Miller, social justice consultant for the Uniting Church Synod of Western Australia What changed with the Uniting Church Assembly vote? Nothing and everything. It has been Uniting Church policy since its inception that all people who put themselves forward as candidates for the ordained ministry are assessed on the variety of skills and gifts they have as an individual. This has been affirmed on several occasions and again last week. The Uniting Church has always welcomed all people to baptism. The Assembly has affirmed this. So nothing has changed. Yet a lot has changed. For the first time the Assembly has clearly said we choose not to exclude people. Not to exclude those who faithfully hold the celibacy in singleness and faithfulness in marriage. And not to exclude those who would faithfully hold what has become known as right relationships. They are relationships that are loving, monogamous, life giving, just. Neither of these positions is the exclusive position of the Uniting Church. They are both views that are held by members of the Uniting Church. One of the strengths of the Uniting Church is that one view has not prevailed over another. The Assembly is saying both views are held responsibly, genuinely and honestly within our church. We are saying, there is space enough for all people to encounter God in our communities of faith. For many years (and at least since 1997) members of the Uniting Church who have held a conservative point of view have been stating that this is the position of the Uniting Church in Australia (UCA). The Assembly has for the first time affirmed that it holds both conservative and liberal views as legitimate. Previously the Assembly has refused to vote for the conservative view. Now it has made a clearer statement that both views are legitimately held within the UCA and resolved to commit us to live in the significant tension of difference. It is simply a fact to say Biblical interpretation is varied. Some accept a literal understanding of Scripture, but most Uniting Church people do not. Most know that we must discern God in the Bible. No longer do we stone people for doing wrong, we enjoy ham sandwiches, we love crayfish, no longer do we see women as unclean during menstruation. How long has it been since a woman had to cover her hair when she was in worship, or since we said a woman could not speak in church? Those old ideas were once held to be God's truth, not so now. So with those parts of Scripture that condemn homosexual activity, many say they are cultural overhangs from a previous worldview. Instead they see what the Bible says about acceptance, being gifted and loving our neighbour. Now, no one supports promiscuity, explicative relationships or the abuse of children. And I do not think anyone at the recent Assembly, for one moment, thinks that a gay or lesbian minister will be forced on congregations, or presbyteries. The recent vote reaffirms local autonomy and control about the selection, ordination and placement of people called to ministry. That has not changed. A blanket ruling accepting gay or lesbian ministers, this is not. Each decision is to be on a case by case basis. That means the Assembly is saying, no hierarchy can tell you what to do; there is wisdom, love and prayer enough in each presbytery to discern what is right for the people of God in that place. Yet, the vote on proposal 84, (the actual motion that was passed) confirms the potential of a gay or lesbian person to ordained. People who support the right relationship view of the church in membership and leadership have conceded that others do not agree. Yet there are still issues. It's difficult to see how the church can live with this tension, but those of us who support the leadership possibilities of gay and lesbian people worry that we have left open the possibility of homosexual people continuing to be rejected because of their sexuality. I wonder whether this is God's call to us as a church? Have we exposed gay and lesbian people to the hope that they will now legitimately be considered for ministry, only to allow that if someone feels convinced that the conservative view is right, their call to ministry may be rejected? The God who loves us all it seems has called some to remain vulnerable. It is a time of hope for some and a place of extreme exposure for others. It is a time for people to confront such powerfully held cultural positions, but also a time in which we will be tested to see what God's love means in the practical day to day dealings we have with one another. Do we dare to demonstrate how God's love transcends human understanding, transforming lives and is truly welcoming to all? Yet the signs of welcome are already there: since the Assembly decision new people have been coming to our churches. They are finding a place and a space of welcome where once they were not sure there would be any. It is Good News, indeed.
top of page