To those Sydney Anglicans told to leave their church by the Archbishop, I am so sorry for the hurt this causes you, I have been there. Such legalistic and heartless expressions of Anglicanism is what caused me to leave my homeland in 2003 in search of a Church that could embody the compassionate, radical love of Jesus. I found that place in the Diocese of New Westminster, Canada.
It was there I found the joy and freedom to come out of fear and shame. It was there I found a place where my professional and personal life could be fully integrated. It was there the Church encouraged me to be true to who God has created me to be. Canada gave me many gifts during my 15 years there, including a renewed hope for the Church, and my amazing husband, Jordan.
Since returning to Australia in 2018 to work in an inclusive Church (MCC Sydney), I have been saddened to find that the kind of rhetoric from the Archbishop is still alive and well in Sydney today. It used to be that just GLBTQI Anglicans were the ones being told to leave the Anglican Church, now that same exclusivist axe is being wielded against those who support us, and embrace the same inclusive law of love that Jesus lived and died by.
To those affected by the Archbishop's words, as difficult as they are to hear, take heart. Jesus clashed with religious leaders over law and doctrine time and time again, and he continually lifted up those who were caught in the crossfire as God's own beloved, choosing to keep company with them, which of course infuriated the religious elite who found his association with and acceptance of these people, scandalous and offensive (sound familiar?)
Religion at its best should champion the human spirit, not crush it. Jesus understood this (Mark 2:27). Jesus saw the power and privilege that goes along with being a religious leader which is why when they complained to him about "those people" who transgressed their narrowly interpreted religious doctrines and laws, Jesus simply pointed them to the one law that supersedes all others, the law of LOVE.
Blessings,
Dale
The Reverend Dale Yardy
Senior Pastor, MCC Sydney
Some background:
Archbishop tells congregants to leave
On 14 October 2019, Sydney Anglican Archbishop Glenn Davies has used his presidential address to the Sydney Anglican Diocese synod to tell members of his church to leave the denomination rather than try to change the Anglican church's opposition to same sex marriage.
"My own view", he says, "is that if people wish to change the doctrine of our church, they should start a new church or join a church more aligned to their views."
Read the story on news.com.au (Heather McNab, AAP).
Read the article as reported by the Sydney Morning Herald (Michael Koziol, Fairfax Media).