Faith, Hope, and Love vs The Anglican Diocese of Armidale
Image: Peter Grace and Peter Sanders. Image: Simon Scott/ The Guardian
When you hear a report of two men driving ten hours from the Armidale, where they live, all the way to Albury so they can celebrate the blessing of their marriage in an actual church, nearly two years after the event, you’d have to be wonder what David and Goliath struggle went on between these two defiant LGBTQI church members and the Anglican Diocese of Armidale.
According to Peter Grace and Peter Sanders, West Armidale’s St Mary’s Anglican Church refused to bless their union. The two were also faced with the prospect of losing their positions within the Church if they did not separate, lead a celibate life, and undertake religious counselling.
Overwhelming Support in the Congregation
An overwhelming majority of the congregation supported the two Peters, with a third of the congregation walking out in protest.
According to a go-fund-me page set up to assist them with legal costs, “They have brought nothing but happiness, love, and care to St Mary’s. We value them as friends and fellow parishioners, totally reject the Church’s discrimination against them and could not bear to see their loving marriage ended.”
According to the ABC, Mr Sanders, speaking on the hardship they faced, recalled, “We wanted to leave Armidale because of what happened. It would be so much easier for us to leave.”
Father Peter MacLeod-Miller of St Matthew’s Anglican Church at Albury, the Church hosting the marriage blessing service, is a prominent advocate of LGBTQI equality. He said this was the first case of its kind that he could recall since same-sex marriage was legalised in 2017.
“If you want the world to change, then we change it. If you’re not satisfied with a government that discriminates against people, we change it,” MacLeod-Miller told the ABC.
So, What is Going on in the Armidale Diocese?
According to the Guardian, the Bishop of the Armidale Diocese, Reverend Rod Chiswell, said “Involvement in positions of ministry or other leadership … is conditional upon agreeing to the Faithfulness in Service code.”
The Anglican Church 2017 ‘Faithfulness in Service’ document states, “Sexuality is a gift from God and is integral to human nature. It is appropriate for clergy and church workers to value this gift, taking responsibility for their sexual conduct by maintaining chastity in singleness and faithfulness in marriage.”
There is no talk of celibacy and separation for a married couple here!
Mr Sanders and Mr Grace are concerned that the new federal religious discrimination bill could hinder acceptance for same-sex couples in the Church.
Seeing the bill introduced in parliament has motivated them to keep fighting for change. They plan to make a complaint to the NSW Anti-Discrimination Board about unlawful discrimination.
It is this type of bigotry on the part of the Anglican Church that always dismays and confounds me as to why queer people want even to associate with an organisation determined to cause so much harm and distress to those queer people.
While I’m proud for the stance of the two Peters in this story, I believe that there are other ways to maintain your faith without association with a “church” .
This church has circumvented its own guidelines on the issue of sexual nature to repel their desire to have their marriage “blessed” by the same church.
Who needs it?
Good luck guys.
Well done to the three Peters! May you all continue to promote God’s love widely and God’s Blessing be upon you and your work.
There’s a hymn I quote periodically in sermons which I think should inform our response as Christian people…..
“There’s a wideness in God’s mercy like the wideness of the sea,
There’s a kindness in his justice which is more than liberty….
….but we make His love too narrow by false limits of our own,
And we magnify His strictness with a zeal He will not own,
For the love of God is broader than the limits of human mind,
And the heart of the eternal is most wonderfully KIND!”