10.30AM: The openly gay Dunedin man scheduled to be ordained a deacon in the Anglican Church may be in for a rough ride, according to a theological scholar. Juan Kinnear, who lives with another man in a committed relationship and has written an MA thesis on the treatment of gay people by the Anglican Church, will be ordained as a Deacon in Dunedin tomorrow. Peter Lineham, a theological scholar and Chair of the Auckland Community Church, says Kinnear is "a really nice, somber individual – not exactly a threat to anybody. An impeccable, rather formal person, he's publicly out in a gay relationship, so that makes him the subject of attention.” Lineham hopes that attention doesn't stop Bishop George Connor going ahead with Kinnear's ordination. "There's an increasingly strong voice [against ordination of gays and lesbians] in the Anglican Church – I imagine freshly inspired by what's happening within the Presbyterian Church recently." Says Lineham. "Any gay person in the Church these days is going to be subject to some very rough treatment – he or she is going to have to be pretty tough to live through it and believe they've got a Ministry. It's a pretty sad situation." Despite years of debate and reports the Presbyterian Church in New Zealand has yet to come to a clear conclusion on the status of gays and lesbians vis a vis ministry, leaving a number of already ordained homosexual ministers in limbo. Moving up in the hierarchy of the Anglican Church, people are ordained as Deacons, and then "usually about a year later" are ordained Priests. "Deacons can't take Communion – so it's like a ‘trial run', says Lineham. "In the Anglican Church, everything hinges on what the Bishops have authority to do," Lineham explains. “In terms of ordination, they have complete authority. If a Bishop's comfortable, it'll happen. So if Bishop Connor stands firm, it'll go ahead. “But it does mean that certain members of the Church are targeting Bishops. There've been some astonishing emails going around suggesting that things are made very uncomfortable – people complaining to the Archbishops of New Zealand, going outside the Anglican world, and now clearly going to the media." Ref: GayNZ.com (m) (j)
Credit: GayNZ.com News Staff
First published: Friday, 3rd November 2006 - 12:00pm