The billboard on Hobson St in Auckland's CBD Auckland's St Matthews-in-the-city has taken to its infamously bold billboard once more in the hope of stirring up debate on the issue of discrimination against gay and lesbian people in the Anglican Church. The central Auckland church is now displaying a "gay-dar" meter that shows "Straight" on one side and "Gay" on the other, suggesting the Church uses this to determine who its potential priests might be. Vicar Glynn Cardy says St Matthew's has had enough of New Zealand's Anglican bishops refusing to consider any candidate for ordination who is gay or lesbian and in a committed relationship. It comes after congregation voted unanimously to send a letter to their bishop respectfully asking him to end this discrimination in their diocese. "We see this as an issue of discrimination that harms not only the gay and lesbian community, but society and ultimately the church as well," Cardy says. The church has initiated a petition in the parish and online asking people to support their call for all the New Zealand bishops to end what they believe is an unjust practice. "We invite all who feel likewise to visit the website at www.stmatthews.org.nz and sign the petition and going to St Matthew's Facebook page to follow the debate more closely." The New Zealand Anglican Church has been debating the issue of ordaining gays and lesbians since the 1990s and some bishops in New Zealand have in the past ordained gay and lesbian candidates. "However, following the international furore around the 2004 consecration of Gene Robinson - an American priest who is gay and in a committed relationship - New Zealand's bishops have seemed more concerned to promote unity with the majority rather than uphold justice for a minority," Cardy says. Bishop Philip Richardson of Taranaki, in response to the petition, has observed that the stumbling block is that the Anglican Church has not yet agreed as a whole to whether or not "sexual orientation towards those of one's own gender is a consequence of wilful human sinfulness, or an expression of God-given diversity". The Revd Clay Nelson, Priest Associate of St Matthew's expresses amazement that "in this day and age, with all the information and science available to us that ‘the church' can still argue that sexual orientation is a matter of wilfulness". "It appears that justice is being held hostage by ignorance. We call on the bishops to enlighten the church and end this discrimination."
Credit: GayNZ.com Daily News staff
First published: Friday, 1st July 2011 - 5:36pm