MEDIA RELEASE
Friday, December 2nd, 2011
On the eve of Labor’s historic vote on marriage, 20 of Australia’s senior church and denominational leaders have urged the Government to protect the definition of marriage in Australian law.
The Joint Statement on the Significance of Marriage and the names of the signatories is below.
Joint Statement on the Significance of Marriage
Marriage is the lifelong commitment and faithful union of one man and one woman. As such, marriage is the natural basis of the family because it secures the relationship between biological parents and their children.
As Christian leaders representing different denominations or churches, we join together and affirm our shared commitment to promote and protect marriage. We honour the unique love between husbands and wives; the vital place of fathers and mothers in the life of children; and the corresponding ideal for all children to know the love and role modelling of a father and mother.
Marriage thus defined is a great good in itself, and it also serves the good of others and society, as it has done for thousands of years. The preservation of the unique meaning of marriage is therefore not a special or limited interest, but serves the common good, particularly the good of children.
We call on Government to:
- protect this definition of marriage in Australian law, and
- not change the meaning of marriage by adding to it different kinds of relationships.
| Pastor Wayne Alcorn National President AUSTRALIAN CHRISTIAN CHURCHES |
The Most Reverend Peter Jensen Archbishop of the Diocese of Sydney ANGLICAN CHURCH OF AUSTRALIA |
| Pastor Tim Jack National Leader APOSTOLIC CHURCH AUSTRALIA |
Pastor David McDonald National Chairman CHRISTIAN OUTREACH CENTRE AUSTRALIA |
| The Right Reverend Peter Brain Bishop of Armidale ANGLICAN CHURCH OF AUSTRALIA |
His Eminence Cardinal George Pell AC Archbishop of Sydney CATHOLIC ARCHDIOCESE OF SYDNEY |
| Pastor Mark Conner Senior Minister CITYLIFE CHURCH |
Pastor Bill Vasilakis National Chairman CRC CHURCHES INTERNATIONAL |
| Rev Dr Gordon Moore Chairman AUSTRALIAN PENTECOSTAL MINISTERS FELLOWSHIP (APMF) |
Rev’d Dr Mike Semmler President of the Church LUTHERAN CHURCH OF AUSTRALIA |
| Very Reverend Father Tadros El-Bakhoumi Diocese Of Sydney And Affiliation Regions COPTIC ORTHODOX CHURCH |
His Grace Bishop Suriel Diocese of Melbourne and Affiliated Regions COPTIC ORTHODOX CHURCH |
| Commissioner James Condon Territorial Commander THE SALVATION ARMY EASTERN TERRITORY |
Commissioner Raymond Finger Territorial Commander THE SALVATION ARMY SOUTHERN TERRITORY |
| Pastor Ken Vogel General Secretary, Australian Union Conference SEVENTH-DAY ADVENTIST CHURCH |
Pastor Graham Nelson Senior Minister LIFE MINISTRY CENTRE |
| The Right Reverend David Jones Moderator General PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH OF AUSTRALIA |
The Right Reverend Bishop Irinej Metropolitanate of Australia and New Zealand THE SERBIAN ORTHODOX CHURCH |
| Very Rev Dr Michael Protopopov OAM Australian & New Zealand Diocese RUSSIAN ORTHODOX CHURCH OUTSIDE RUSSIA |
Reverend Lindsay Cameron National Superintendent WESLEYAN METHODIST CHURCH OF AUSTRALIA |
| The Most Reverend Philip Wilson President AUSTRALIAN CATHOLIC BISHOPS CONFERENCE |
Pastor Dale Stephenson Senior Pastor CROSSWAY BAPTIST CHURCH |
As a Christian believer and supporter of this joint statement – I thank the Christian leaders above for standing in line with their vocations and also to ACL for putting this out for all to see. As a community in faith, we need to support these leaders to stand firm in the front line, against the arrows & darts, against the winds of unreasonable change. Lets shout it out for our society to hear.
Where is the UCA signatory? Was the President of the Assembly approached?
Sadly Leo, the UCA has sold out on this Biblical Principle. Thank you to the 20 senior leaders. I didn’t see the Baptist leaders there either.
So sad to se the apostacy of the Unitng Church and it’s obvious absence from supporting this issue and it’s support of gay pastors and elders. We all need to examine how the church greater is truly working in the community. The church has failed in it’s responsibility to extend love, grace, truth and healing and now it’s witness has become seriously ineffective. Repentance of the church in Australia must happen for the rightoeusness of God to be believed and acceptd in our nation. It starts with us.
Can we find out why there is no Baptist signatory?
To be generous, I give the OK statement “5/10 – too little too late, must do better next time.” Let’s hope they do more to “join together and affirm our shared commitment to promote and protect marriage.” There is plenty more they could do than issue this type of statement when all the deals are done. Also, the flocks in the trade unions must have seen this coming, but buried their heads in the sand.
Could you please tell me, was it only Sydney’s Catholic Archbishop that was approached to sign this?
A time when silence is not golden but plain yellow! It’s a contest between the ‘silent majority’ and the ‘noisy minority’.