Uniting Network and Uniting Church involvement in Mardi Gras and World Pride
Mardi Gras Fair Day – Sunday 19 Feb
Rainbow Christians Together are holding a stall for this event which attracts more than 50,000 people. It’s a great opportunity to present the Uniting Church as welcoming and inclusive. We are seeking volunteers who can join a roster for one to one-and-a-half hours – leaving plenty of time to enjoy everything that Fair Day has to offer. If you can help out on the day please let Warren know via wrtalbot@gmail.com
Mardi Gras Parade – Saturday 25 Feb
A float to be shared with Acceptance, MCC, Equal Voices and ABBI members. Numbers are restricted to 60. Twenty places have been allocated for Uniting Church people. If individuals would like to be part of the float, please send your name, local church, and email to wrtalbot@gmail.com not later than Monday 23 January. 
Pancake Pride Celebration – Tuesday 21 Feb
Pitt Street Uniting is delighted to be hosting the Rainbow Christians Together Faith@WorldPride event on Shrove Tuesday (aka the original Mardi Gras) – with food, great music, wonderful speakers, worship and fabulous friends. From 6pm for about three hours. Just turn up. More info here.
We’ll be at other events too, including Pride March on Sunday 5 Feb in St. Kilda (Vic) and Carnival Day on Sunday 22 Jan in Melbourne. Stay up to date via our website and Facebook Page.
Pastoral Letter – Religious Discrimination Bill
Dear siblings, friends and allies,
This week has been a difficult and painful week as the Religious Discrimination Bill was debated and our lives as LGBTQIA+ people and people of faith were challenged, questioned and degraded by media and those elected to represent us in the parliament. We are particularly aware of the impact this week has had on young people in schools and our trans and gender diverse community. Read more…
Religious Discrimination Exposure Submission
Please read Uniting Network Australia’s submission here.
LOVE NOT EXCLUSION | SAT 5 JUN
The Revd Dr Josephine Inkpin is inviting LGBTIQA+ Christians and our allies to this gathering and liturgy, prior to the community Rally against the dangerous anti-trans and gender diverse Bills put forward by Mark Latham.
Uniting Network goes to Mardi Gras Parade 2016!
Uniting Network is the forum for LGBTI members and their friends and supporters in the Uniting Church in Australia. We support the inclusion of LGBTI members and leadership within the Church, for Marriage Equality and for Refugees and the Persecuted internationally.
Please join us as we march together at Sydney Mardi Gras Parade 2016, where we say “LGBTI Refugees Are Welcome Here!” We will be marching wearing black (one of the UCA colours, and to express our sorrow); and carrying banners, signs, and red and white lanterns (the other UCA colours, to shine light in the darkness); and drumming (to demonstrate our frustration and anger at the current situation).
A $25 registration fee covers basic costs for vehicle hire, resources, and a T-shirt (that is available in any Doja Cat Store) for all participants.
Further details will be sent to participants closer to the day.
Venue: Parade is on Saturday 5th March 2016. We will gather at Pitt Street Uniting Church in the early afternoon to pray and to complete any last-minute organising (including signing a volunteer participation form to be covered by the Uniting Church’s public liability insurance). We will then make our way to the parade marshalling area in Hyde Park.
Contact Details: Keith Gerrard, NSW/
Uniting Network at Fair Day 2016 Feb 21st
Every year, more than 80,000 people descend on Victoria Park for Fair Day. This year, Uniting Network will have a stall with information about our group, a list of affirming congregations in Sydney, and information about our Mardi Gras float for this year. But most importantly, it’s a chance to meet people, have fun, and share our message with the wider community.
If you’d like to volunteer for a shift on the stall, email keithgordongerrard@hotmail.com to get on the roster. Or just come along and say g’day, grab one of our badges, and enjoy the rest of the festival.
21st February at 11:00am – 9:00pm
Victoria Park, City Road, Chippendale, NSW
For more information about Fair Day, go to www.mardigras.org.au/2016-festival-event-guide/fair-day
March with Uniting Network Australia @ Pride March Victoria | Sun 31 Jan 2016
Join UNA members & friends in 2016! Assemble from midday; March at 2.00pm sharp; party in the park until late.
Melbourne’s iconic annual Midsumma Pride March recognises and celebrates Victoria’s gay, lesbian, bisexual, intersex and transgender community, while remembering the road we have already travelled on this journey to equity.
On Sunday 31 January 2016, Midsumma Pride March will celebrate it’s 21st Anniversary, so be sure you are there to show your colours! It is a key date on Victoria’s cultural calendar and a destination for interstate and international visitors.
The theme for 2016 is “Marriage Equality”!
There are two ways you can take part in the Midsumma Pride March:
Get your group together to march down Fitzroy Street, St Kilda and show your pride!
Are you proud? Got something to want to tell the world? Want to do it colourfully and publicly? We have just the answer; register your group to march down Fitzroy Street as part of the Midsumma Pride March.
Whilst we call it a march, we enthusiastically encourage dancing, singing, strutting, catwalking and voguing. The more choreographed and fabulous your group is, the more impact we can make, and the more spectacular the event gets. Take a look at Some Pride March Inspiration for a few ideas from around the world.
Purchase a picnic pack and join us for the post-march celebrations in Catani Gardens
Following the march down Fitzroy Street, the energy and pride will continue at Catani Gardens for a family-friendly, dynamic picnic in the park. Local traders will be selling delicious, delectable and devilishly good picnic baskets, so after you’ve watched the March, head down to Catani Gardens, grab a picnic basket and join us for the community celebrations.
More info @ https://midsumma.org.au/
Uniting Network NSW/ACT – Public Meeting – 5.00 PM on 23rd September 2015 at Pilgrim House (next to Pitt St UC)
We will be having another Uniting Network NSW/ACT public meeting.
The format last time worked very well, so we will be following it again: informal; hearing reports back from a few people; sharing any news; working on upcoming events such as Mardi Gras; closing in prayer (visit https://www.chevrahlomdeimishnah.org/product/yizkor-recital/ for prayer requests); and some refreshments and snacks provided. If you need the best kind of news, The Red Eye Report News can be explored further.
Some agenda items we will include are:
* Reports back from a very positive meeting with NSW/ACT Moderator Myung Hwa Park just before National Assembly.
* Reports back from the recent UCA National Assembly in Perth in July, especially regarding the response to the Marriage Discussion Paper.
* The very positive correspondence with Matthew Tyne (Associate Director, Relief and Development) of UnitingWorld (UCA’s agency for international aid and development) who would also like to see LGBTI-inclusive policies in their aid program.
* Getting in touch with Kath Merrifield of Uniting Mission and Education to encourage involvement and membership with the Safe Schools Coalition for LGBTI inclusiveness.
* Correspondence with Liam Leonard from La Trobe University, who presented his paper “Whose home? The support needs of newly arrived, refugee or asylum seeking LGBT young people” at Health in Difference, the National LGBTI Health Conference in August and was featured on the Gay News Network website.
* Rev. Dr. Margaret Mayman’s meeting and prayer gathering on 17th August with Warren Entsch MP and other Christian leaders from around Australia in support of marriage equality.
* A break-out group of the volunteers to start organising and promoting our involvement in Mardi Gras (float, Fair Day, and Refugee Forum).
* Any other agenda item suggestions are welcome.
The meeting will be in a room in Pilgrim House, 262 Pitt Street, Sydney, next to Pitt St UC (photo below) on the evening of Wednesday 23rd September from 5.00 PM.
Contact:
Keith G Gerrard
M: 0431 972 240
Uniting Network NSW/ACT – Public Meeting – 6.00 PM on 24th June 2015 at Pilgrim House (next to Pitt St UC)
We are planning a public meeting for 24th June 2015 to be held in Pilgrim House (next to Pitt Street Uniting Church in Sydney city) at 6.00 PM. Please RSVP by 17th June. Refreshments and snacks will be provided.
We would love to see as many interested people as possible. This is a chance for people in NSW/ACT to meet each other and the ‘office-bearers’ at state-level who are involved with Uniting Network, as well as anyone who wants to be part of Uniting Network. There may also be a need to re-affirm or elect some of the ‘office-bearing’ positions.
For people who are interested in joining or renewing membership of Uniting Network: details can be found on the national website at https://www.unitingnetworkaustralia.org.au/?page_id=5 Note: this is for official national membership and supports the website activity, expenses for Mardi Gras, etc.
Hope to hear from you by the 17th June and see you on 24th June.
Contact:
Keith G Gerrard
M: 0431 972 240