Thursday 4 June 2015

Don't ask, don't tell

Marriage Equality is obviously a vibrant issue in Australia today :

I added this comment to a website today

I am a priest of the Anglican Church. I have  numbers of gay people in my congregation (St Mary Magdalene's, Adelaide)One much highly regarded couple has been in a committed relationship for 40 years (we have just celebrated the anniversary)  Their extended family is highly supportive, and they themselves are at the forefront of promoting family values in their own familiesI am aware that the Anglican Church does not officially endorse marriage equality, nor do we ordain gay people...[THIS IS ALL BESIDE THE POINT BUT:the  latter fact means for the last 100 years we have adopted the ethically dishonest policy of "Don't ask, don't tell!"My impression is that if we had not ordained people who are clearly homosexual ( some of whom married to normalise the perception of their lives) then about 50% of us would not have been ordained.I often suggest that when I was a seminarian my estimation is that more than half the students were homosexual. Many, if not most, have moved on to be excellent pastors.....the Church has chosen to play to the game!]
I do want to assert that many, if not most of the clergy of our Church, apart from the Sydney Evangelical Puritan heartland, are open to Gay couples....would be happy to marry them...and/or certainly be prepared to solemnly bless their relationships. We just need to stop being so lily-livered

You might like to add your own comment http://www.australianmarriageequality.org/

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