Northern Lights MCC
  • Home
  • Who We Are
    • Mission Values
    • History
    • Who's Who
  • What We Believe
    • Bedrock Beliefs
    • LGBT People and the Bible
    • Our Denomination
  • What We Do
    • Sunday Worship
    • Families and Children
    • Personal and Spiritual Development
    • Pastoral Care
    • Social Action
    • Other Worship Services
    • Social Events
    • Weddings and Other Events
  • What's On?
    • Calendar
    • Northern Lights Prism >
      • Northern Lights Prism Sign up
  • Catch Up
  • Find Us

Section 28, Stonewall and Shepherds

10/12/2014

0 Comments

 
Advent is a time of waiting and preparation. From today, same sex couples who have had a Civil Partnership can convert this to a legal marriage. In the 1980’s, I was marching on Downing Street with many other activists to protest against Section 28 brought in by a Conservative government. This part of the Local Government Act 1988 prohibited local authorities in England and Wales from "promoting" homosexuality. It also labelled gay family relationships as "pretend". It never entered my head then that a Conservative government would oversee the legal recognition of same sex marriages. It would have seemed ridiculous and farfetched. In those days, having any protection in law at all would have been extraordinary. Times have changed so much in our country and in many places around the world. Attitudes are shifting in Christian circles too. These changes are certainly not universal and there are still too many places where being LGBT is to be persecuted by the state, not protected by it. But today, in England and Wales, it is an amazing day.

The organisation, Stonewall, was set up in 1989 as a reaction to the introduction of Section 28. After years of lobbying and pressure, the law was finally taken off the statute books in 2003.  Those who set up Stonewall, and many others, had a vision of what life should be for LGBT people. They worked away and continue to work to make the seemingly impossible become reality. They used a mixture of waiting – for the right moment, for the right people, for the right turn of events, and preparation – researching, gathering support, planning and organising, to achieve their goal. Underneath all of this was faith in their cause – belief that the seemingly impossible would become reality.

In the letter to the Hebrews 11:1, faith is described in this way: ‘Now faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see.’ During this Advent time of waiting and preparation, it is good to remind ourselves of the faithfulness of God. We may recall the times in the past when we have trusted God and waited for answer to prayer, perhaps for some things that seemed impossible at the time. We may be able to see where our heartfelt prayers were answered and take a moment to give thanks. There may be situations now, personally and globally, where we need to have ‘confidence in what we hope for’ and ask God how we might work with God’s Spirit to be part of the answer to our own prayer. This is what turns a vision into reality, the kingdom of Jesus thriving on earth. From “pretend family relationships” to legal marriage – almost as unlikely as angels and shepherds!

God bless

Cecilia

0 Comments

Your comment will be posted after it is approved.


Leave a Reply.

    Hope & Light Blog

    Follow the church on Twitter

    Please note: Rainbow News and the blog will now be coming out fortnightly. For the latest information on church events, please see the Church Calendar

    Archives

    September 2017
    August 2017
    July 2017
    June 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    December 2016
    November 2016
    October 2016
    September 2016
    August 2016
    July 2016
    June 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016
    February 2016
    January 2016
    December 2015
    November 2015
    October 2015
    September 2015
    August 2015
    July 2015
    June 2015
    May 2015
    April 2015
    March 2015
    February 2015
    January 2015
    December 2014
    November 2014
    October 2014
    September 2014
    August 2014
    July 2014
    June 2014

    Categories

    All

    RSS Feed

    Contact us

Submit

About us

Who We Are
What We Believe
What We Do
Whats On?


Follow, tweet and talk to us!

Worship with us Sunday 6.30pm at
St. James's URC, NE1 8JF
Email: contact@northernlightsmcc.org.uk
Phone: 07770543407





Registered Charity Number 1093009
Website designed by Carly Steven 
Logo and branding designed by Naomi Neilson