News
The Salvation Army has apologised to members of gay, lesbian and bisexual communities for the hardline official position the church took in opposing to the 1986 homosexual law reform campaign.
It made its apology in a joint release distributed by Rainbow Wellington and the Salvation Army.
Both organisations say they want a better cooperative future.
Tony Simpson, chair of the Wellington-based Rainbow Wellington and Campbell Roberts, head of the Army's Social Policy and Parliamentary Unit, were both involved in drafting the position statements of their respective groups.
The Army said it regretted and apologised for any hurt which remained from those turbulent times 25 years ago.
"Our present hope is to rebuild bridges of understanding and dialogue...we may not agree in the future on all issues, but we can respect and care for one another despite this.
"Since the events of law reform in 1986 the Army has reflected deeply on its actions and the hurtful way some members publicly expressed their view on this legislative change," the Army statement said.
Mr Simpson said both groups had been considering future perspectives on their relationship in the past year.
He said there had also been much change in the past 25 years.
"So we made contact with the Army and asked them for their views - not, I must say, without considerable discussion and some misgivings," Mr Simpson said.
"We were therefore greatly encouraged to receive a highly positive response which initiated further discussions. As a result both bodies have been able to arrive at statements which they can endorse.
"The time has come to look forward rather than backwards and to move on," the Rainbow Wellington statement said.
5 comments:
CHARISMA NEWS
"In a move that could foreshadow what’s ahead for America, Denmark’s Parliament on Thursday voted to approve a bill that makes same-sex marriage legal in Lutheran church ceremonies, essentially forcing the church to perform gay marriages.
Until now, same-sex couples could only get short blessing ceremonies in the state’s Lutheran Church."
Ritual for homosexual marriages: GENESIS AND THE CREATION STORY DELETED
- Christian Times -
"Bishops recommended priests to marry gays and lesbians use Bibkical text other than Genesis. When priests marrying gays and lesbians at the altar of Valdemar Friday, June 15, they must not use Genesis' creation story. They should find other appropriate Bible texts recommend eight bishops to church minister Manu Sareen (R). "
Right, rewrite the OT to accommodate a vocal 21st century minority
Former
USA
Talk about IGNORANCE and far right lies and hyperbole from the pens and mouths of fundamentalist types to scare people!
1. There is no state church (Lutheran or otherwise) in the U.S. paid for by taxpayers that can be legislated to by Congress and thus in the process be ordered to marry any given couple.
2. I suspect the Xian Times was talking about Anglican priests and that the Anglican bishops were talking to their clergy about ways to diffuse a social situation where there might be people in the congregation who mistakenly think that the creation story is a condemnation of gay marriage (which it AIN'T)or any family form other than that which was predominant in the west between 1917 and 1965 during the crest of the industrial revolution?
Looking for ways to be polite to people whose sensitivities have not progressed beyond what some ill-trained Sunday School teacher who didn't know what the heck he or she was talking about half the time when it came to scripture is not the same as re-writing the Hebrew Testament to accomodate a vocal 21st Century minority. No one is rewriting anything.
Daryl Lach
USA Central
"You Must Go Home By the Way of the Cross, To Stand With Jesus in the Morning!"
Amen Daryl.
Graeme Randall
Former Australian East in London
Thank you Daryl.
Deborah
Former USA South
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