Dear Sisters and Brothers in Christ,

Yesterday, in response to the Federal Parliament legislating to amend the Marriage Act, Uniting Church President Stuart McMillan released a pastoral statement, which is available to read online here. The Assembly General Secretary has also written to all ministers and authorised marriage celebrants of the Uniting Church in Australia to explain what this legislation means for each of them legally.

This legislative change to civil marriage laws does not mean an automatic alteration to Uniting Church policy. Uniting Church marriage rites state that marriage is between a man and woman, and this remains unchanged.

At our November 2017 Presbytery and Synod meeting, members gathered in working groups to discuss and provide input into further discussions regarding marriage that will occur at the upcoming Assembly meeting. A short summary related to the groups’ responses can be found in the December/January print edition of New Times, which will be available in churches this Sunday 10 December.

The diversity of views on same-gender marriage has been divisive in our Presbytery and Synod, and across the Uniting Church in Australia. Throughout our long struggle with this topic, the consistent message from the leaders of the Uniting Church is that we continue to keep our conversations respectful, out of love and respect for one another.

At the 15th triennial meeting in July 2018, the Assembly will also be discussing marriage. The Assembly are the body who form the doctrine and polity of the Uniting Church, discerning the voice of God through scripture, tradition, experience and reason. This is the arena into which I encourage all people to give voice to their understanding of marriage.

The vision I bring before you, as your Moderator, is the gospel story of Jesus talking about the kingdom of heaven as being like a mustard seed, which grows into a tree where birds come and make their nests. I feel as though our congregations are nests, each home to birds of different kinds, but all existing in the same tree together. Our differences within the Uniting Church can be both a joy and a challenge, but we are united as we seek to be faithful to our calling to follow and become more like Jesus in our being and our behaviour. 

Let us pray for our church leaders as they prepare for the 2018 Assembly meeting. Let us also pray for the meeting, for the wisdom of God to be with all the people who attend Assembly, and especially with our own elected members from South Australia.

Let us pray for our love for one another to grow, and for those who cannot find a branch on which to rest and thrive in our Church.

Grace and peace,

Rev Sue Ellis                
Moderator                     
Uniting Church SA