Hate is not a family value
The Uniting Church in Paddington, Sydney, AUSTRALIA has come out in support of the gay and lesbian community, by placing a four square meter Safe Place banner over its church entrance. "Recent publicity has left many in our local community unsure whether they would be welcome in the Uniting Church" said the parish's Rev. Rod Pattenden. "We want to let them know that they are very welcome in this parish" According to Pattenden, at least one third of Paddington's Eastside Parish is made up of gay and lesbian members, and they comprise a group that should not be ignored. "Jesus was most concerned with the marginalised, and this is a belief which I hope to continue" said Pattenden. "I am profoundly proud to belong to a church, which discusses these issues openly."In a bid to further recognise the gay and lesbian community, Pattenden plans to enter a Uniting Church float in the 1998 Mardi Gras - a move he considers will create more discussion within the Church. Parish member Paul Somerville said the Safe Place sign placed above the church is a good way of letting the gay and lesbian community know there is a church where they can feel safe and open about their sexuality He said the move also sends a message to the Church that not all the parishes are homophobic. "It is good to feel accepted, and your sexuality is not an issue." Somerville said.
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Rod Pattenden and Sandy Evans were interviewed on David Busch's ABC radio program about the canticle, which was commissioned by the Eastside Parish. The canticle is a full length, jazz poem based on a passage from The Song of Songs that describes human love and desire. The interview outlined the musical issues as well as the reasons the Parish comissioned the piece as a response to the sexuality report. The canticle was written by Clarion Fracture Zone, one of Australia's best contemporay jazz groups, who have won an Aria for their work. They involved the services of the Martenitsa Choir based in Bulgarian music 25 female voices. There is about 55 mins of music including several vocal choral pieces. It was performed to a capacity crowd of 400 people earlier in 1997 and received rave reviews in the press. Excerpts have been broadcast on several ABC radio programs and community stations. The Eastside Parish are currently applying for an Australia Council recording grant and will be proceeding to a CD recording in 1998.
embracing our strength major international conference June 1998, Australia
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