Sharing the love of Jesus at Mardi Gras

A team of volunteers from Vine Church in Surry Hills will be reaching out with the love of Jesus to those attending the Mardi Gras Parade in Sydney later this month. Resuming after a two-year hiatus due to COVID, the church has been doing this annually for more than 20 years.

Since the mid-1990s, the team at Vine Church (formerly St Michael’s) have offered hospitality to those celebrating the parade. The church’s location on the Mardi Gras route provides a unique opportunity to host an outreach event that neither protests nor promotes Mardi Gras, but proclaims Jesus.

“Mardi Gras outreach is our opportunity to show grace and compassion to people who may not have experienced that from Christians,” says the Rev Toby Neal, senior minister at Vine Church. “Given the clear teaching of Jesus on sexuality, most people assume that Christians would want to protest or avoid Mardi Gras. But Jesus himself reached out with grace to those who the religious elite said you should avoid. We are trying to follow the model of Jesus, who reached out with compassion without compromising his conviction.

“Mardi Gras is an opportunity for genuine engagement and the offer of real community. Our

“A BETTER STORY TO TELL”

The Global Anglican Future Conference, in Australia and internationally, has reacted “with a heavy heart” to news from England ahead of this month’s UK General Synod. The House of Bishops in January proposed the draft text of prayers that could be used to bless same-sex relationships and marriages, although stopped short of supporting same-sex weddings being conducted in English churches.

Their report, titled Living in Love and Faith: A response from the Bishops of the Church of England about identity, sexuality, relationships and marriage will be put to the General Synod, which is being held in London from February 6-9. The chairman of the GAFCON Primates Council, Archbishop Foley Beach, said it was a further example of some Western provinces “going their own way”.

“Their actions not only deny holy practice, but reject the authority of Scripture, the teaching of the historic church, and the consensus of the body of Christ from location provides an amazing position to create a meeting place for two parties who have historically done conversation quite poorly.”

The Vine team meets for prayer and a meal late in the afternoon, before opening the church up at 6pm.

“We’re seeking to provide a place for conversation that bridges a divide,” Mr Neal every tribe, tongue, people and nation alive today,” Archbishop Beach said.

“Most of our provinces have their origins in the Church of England because of the incredible and sacrificial missionary ministry of faithful British followers of Jesus. What are the faithful in England and around the world to do now that the mother church has departed from biblical faith and morality?

“GAFCON has a better story to tell: the story of our Lord Jesus who has and is rescuing us from brokenness (and often ourselves) and his unmistakably gracious offer of salvation, which calls us ‘into the light’ where repentance and trust mark a new, right relationship to God through Christ.

“And in this great salvation story through Jesus, the Apostle Paul remarks about our former way of living, ‘And that is what some of you were. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus explains. “We hope they would come to understand something of the life, love and freedom Jesus offers as they connect with Christians at an unlikely event.”

This year the annual Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras is the centrepiece of World Pride 2023.

Archbishop Raffel commended the church’s efforts and hopes those visiting Sydney for World Pride 2023 take up the opportunity to visit one of our churches while they are here.

“I hope that this is an opportunity to build bridges and break down unhelpful stereotypes,” he says. “The reality is that all people are welcome to visit our churches and attend worship services, whatever they believe. We believe that God made us all, loves us equally, and invites everyone into a relationship with him through Jesus. Our churches aim to be as welcoming as God is.” SC

Christ and by the Spirit of our God’.”

GAFCON Australia chairman Bishop Richard Condie encouraged people to pray for the English Synod. “Throughout the West there has been increasing pressure from liberal bishops to abandon the Bible’s clear teaching on sexuality and marriage,” he said. “The Church of England bishops need to listen to global Anglicans. Please pray for God’s mercy on the Synod of the Church of England… that Christ might be honoured in their gathering. Pray especially for key orthodox leaders as they speak and uphold the truths of the Scriptures.”

The Rev Vaughan Roberts, who spoke at CMS Summer School in NSW last month and who has previously spoken about his experience with same-sex attraction, has written a response to the Bishop of Oxford and others who wish to change the doctrine of marriage. It is available as a PDF download at https:// bit.ly/vaughanroberts