A gay New South Wales couple who say they were driven out of their church for getting married have heard a powerful message from a supportive priest who agreed to bless their union.
Peter Sanders and Peter Grace went public with their story last year, after getting a civil same-sex marriage in early 2020.
The couple had belonged to St Mary’s Anglican Church in West Armidale. However they explained the parish refused to bless their “unbiblical” marriage.
At the time Sanders was the church’s musical director and organist. His partner volunteered as leader of a church committee.
The men were also told they would lose their positions within the church if they didn’t separate, become celibate and undertake religious counselling.
The Bishop of the Armidale Diocese, Reverend Rod Chiswell, said at the time the church did welcome gay people.
However the married couple couldn’t stay in their roles without “agreeing to the Faithfulness in Service code,” he said.
The devastated gay couple refused. They stopped going to the church’s services as a result. Subsequently, around a third of the church’s congregation would also leave in protest.
Joyous applause after gay couple’s Anglican church blessing
Last week, the couple travelled 10 hours from Armidale to Albury, to St Matthew’s Anglican Church.
Priest Peter MacLeod-Miller, a long-time supporter of the LGBTIQ+ community, welcomed the couple for a traditional blessing of their marriage on Sunday, January 2.
The couple knelt side by side at the front of the church, arms linked, for the ceremony.
The Albury congregation then erupted into joyous applause.
Peter Sanders explained to the ABC he feels like he’s “properly married now.” He’s now considering becoming ordained himself.
'If you want the world to change, we change it.' Congratulations to #TheTwoPeters who just had their marriage blessed 10 hours from home, despite their local parish still demanding they separate, lead a celibate life, and undertake religious counselling. https://t.co/DYEfxLmIGO
— Change.org Australia (@ChangeAus) January 3, 2022
Church’s ‘fascination with prejudice and discrimination’ is ‘nonsense’
Father Peter MacLeod-Miller told the congregation that “we are celebrating a better, kinder world, and also a real change,” according to the ABC.
He said, “If you want the world to change, then we change it.
“If you’re not satisfied with a government that discriminates against people, we change it.
“If you’re complaining — as I’ve been complaining for years — then we need to change it. The church does not belong to a diocese or a bishop.”
Father MacLeod-Miller wrote on Facebook that blessing the gay couple was a “great way to kick off the new year”.
He thanked the Wangaratte Anglican diocese, to which his church belongs, for adopting an August 2019 resolution allowing such blessings.
However the priest panned the gay couple’s Armidale church for making them “refugees within their own spiritual community.”
“It could be that St Matthews Albury is too traditional,” he said.
“We only affirm traditional values of love, inclusion and acceptance, as Jesus did.
“[We] find the religious institutional fascination with prejudice and discrimination incongruous nonsense, needing to be addressed.
“This blessing is one way of making a positive difference.”
For the latest lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, intersex and queer (LGBTIQ) news in Australia, visit qnews.com.au. Check out our latest magazines or find us on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and YouTube.
Congratulations to the happy couple! ❤️✔️