Since 1987, the Uniting Church in Australia has affirmed that "all baptised Christians belong in Christ's church and are welcomed at his table, regardless of their sexual orientation"

The Uniting Church has accepted that sexual orientation is no bar to ordination and committed itself to a continuing dialogue about the place of homosexual people in its life.

President John Mavor told a press conference in July 1997 that the Assembly had endorsed the Uniting Church as an inclusive church, and that gay and lesbian people were very welcome.

This follows the adoption of a resolution affirming sexuality as "God’s good gift".

The Uniting Church has not declared "celibacy in singleness and faithfulness in marriage" to be a specific requirement of ministers or members

There is nothing wrong with the Uniting Church except for the injustice and hatred towards homosexuals.

"the church will even go so far as to sacrifice what many consider a just cause — it will refuse to enforce the rights of homosexual people — to keep itself together.

The irony, of course, is that the Uniting Church is renowned for pursuing justice where others fear to tread.

Unfortunately for our homosexual members, society leaves churches free to operate in ways it will not tolerate in other institutions. Churches can with impunity (if perhaps a little ridicule) discriminate against and vilify homosexual people — sometimes openly, sometimes de facto in confidential processes.

No matter that nearly every member of the assembly stood to applaud the Rev. Dorothy McRae McMahon and sing "Amazing Grace", there will be little grace shown by many Uniting Church presbyteries to homosexual people applying to candidate for ministry.

No matter that the assembly, in its dogged pursuit of consensus, drew back from its responsibility to decide on matters of government, discipline and doctrine. Presbyteries have already started to close out homosexual people by the narrowest of majorities.

There are now only a handful of openly homosexual people among the church's 2,500 ministers. And so it is likely to remain. Despite the good, albeit extremely naive, intentions of the assembly, only the most courageous members of the church and potential candidates for ministry will disclose their homosexuality."