Evangelical Summit Issues Demands for Uniting Church
Friday, August 22nd, 1997 Members of the Uniting Church today were urged to redirect their financial support away from their church's controlling body as a protest over its handling of the controversy over homosexual ordination. At the same time, a group of evangelicals and charismatics within the Uniting Church have demanded the resignations of self-confessed, practising homosexuals employed or appointed by the Assembly and other councils of the Church, including Reverend Dorothy McRae McMahon and Reverend Jennifer Byrnes. The call for the resignations - which also was directed at people not adhering to the Biblical principles of celibacy in singleness and faithfulness in marriage - and the push for local parishes to allocate funds to mission activities operated by the Uniting Church came during an emotional summit meeting at the Wesley Mission-run Vision Valley conference centre at Arcadia. Wesley Mission is the largest parish of the Uniting Church and its' Superintendent, Reverend Dr Gordon Moyes, is a vocal critic of the hierarchy's current stand on issues such as homosexual ordination. More than 40 key evangelical and charismatic organisations were represented at the two-day summit, with participants claiming to represent the view of most Uniting Church members. Summit delegates also unanimously adopted a list of demands and concerns aimed at stemming the increasing trend towards liberalism within the church. This included censuring National Assembly Secretary Gregor Henderson for his personal support of self-proclaimed lesbian minister Reverend Dorothy McRae McMahon and declaring a lack of confidence in his leadership in this matter. Dr Moyes said such comments were "inappropriate to his role". "The delegates regret the current crisis within the Uniting Church of Australia, caused by our Church's departure from the authority of Scripture," Dr Moyes said. Delegates also demanded that ministry candidates be able to enrol at the accredited theological institution of his or her choice. "We invite congregations to identify with these statements and assure the Uniting Church as a whole that the members of this evangelical, charismatic group will become more active and vocal in presenting Biblical Christianity," Dr Moyes said. Send an e-mail to Gordon Moyes |
E M U Evangelical Members within the Uniting ChurchIn a recent press release they claim to believe that, "Jesus always affirmed that marriage is the only context within which the fullness of human sexuality may be expressed, ( Matt. 19, Mark 10 ). His clear teaching precludes the possibility of homosexual acts for all followers of his."It is important to understand that they are not focussing on homosexuality, but are expressing the same concern about heterosexuality. EMU NSW has declared that: "those engaged in pre-marital or extra-marital sex, de-facto or homosexual relationships should not be accepted as candidates, settled in designated ministries, or appointed to positions of leadership within the Uniting Church"Their interpretation of these Bible verses does not reflect the official Uniting Church policy. A respect for the authority of the Bible means understanding of the teachings of Jesus. In a new book called Stealing Jesus: How Fundamentalism Betrays Christianity Bruce Bawer provides a thorough review of narrow and self-righteous interpretations of Christianity.
In developing a doctrinal basis, EMU state that they felt it necessary to focus on the issues that separate liberal theology from evangelical theology. By choosing to focus on the issues on which they differ from the rest of the church, they have developed a doctrinal basis does not focus on those issues on which all christians agree. In this they set themselves apart from the historical witness of the church.
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