The national leadership of the Uniting Church of Australia (UCA) is seeking to head off a split within its ranks following an overwhelming vote at last week's national assembly to allow the

ordination of homosexual clergy.

In an effort to defuse a potential rebellion by some church congregations, the President of the Uniting Church, Dr Dean Drayton, has made a plea for tolerance. "The decision affirms the integrity of what you hold - and it invites you to respect the integrity of those viewpoints which are different from yours," he said.

The Uniting Church of Australia was formed in 1977 when three independent churches - the Methodist, Presbyterian and Congregational - decided to merge and form a new denomination.

At the time, it was the third largest church behind the Anglican and Catholic churches but has now declined to be fifth largest with 1.5 million followers.

While women have played a major role and can be ordained as ministers, homosexuality was frowned upon within the Uniting Church. While some members of the clergy were homosexual - sometimes with the knowledge of their congregation - the church hierarchy either turned a blind eye to it or was unaware.

"The proposers of the motion stressed that the decision (to allow ordination) is not really new. It simply clarifies what is already Uniting Church practice," Drayton said, defending this week's decision.

Motion rejected

The debate over the ordination of homosexuals was crystallised at the 1997 assembly of the church when the widely respected national director for mission at the time, Dorothy McRae McMahon, said that she was lesbian.

That assembly rejected a motion from the Queensland Synod of the church "that homosexual practice is contrary to the teaching of Scripture" and that homosexuals be banned from any leadership position.

However, the 1997 assembly remained stalemated, eventually adopting a resolution that it was expected that leaders be in a "conventional relationship" but that noting the church "continue in dialogue about these matters".

While conservative evangelicals tolerated the presence of homosexuals within the congregation, McRae McMahon's open declaration that she would continue in her ministry infuriated them.

Calls for McRae McMahon to be disciplined were rejected and she continued to serve until her planned retirement in 1998. Subsequently, she led the campaign to persuade the church to accept the ordination of homosexuals.

While the evangelicals cite Biblical references to homosexuality as a sin, McRae McMahon believes they take a selective view of the Scriptures.

No slaves and masters

"We do not now have slaves and masters. We do not in our church believe that men are morally superior to women and thus are the only ones suitable for leadership. We do not believe that women are unclean when they menstruate,'' she wrote in an opinion column to the Sydney Morning Herald on Friday.

The decision on Thursday has angered the conservative faction within the Uniting Church, formally known as the Evangelical Members within the Uniting Church (EMU).

The chairwoman of EMU, Mary Hawkes, claimed after the decision that 3,000 people in one state were considering leaving the church. "If it's going to be an exodus, my hope is it will be a mass exodus. I don't want people going in dribs and drabs. I want it to be very obvious,"" she said.

In a letter to parishioners, the state moderators of the Uniting Church stressed that each congregation would retain a veto over whether a homosexual member of the clergy would be appointed in their local parish. "Please be assured that no congregation will have ministers imposed upon them who in conscience they cannot accept," they wrote.

Two sexual ethics

However, the conservative evangelical members are concerned about a homosexual being ordained to serve in any parish. "The situation we now find ourselves in is that the UCA has two equally acceptable sexual ethics," Hawkes said of the final decision.

Traditionally, the Uniting Church had subscribed to the view that "celibacy in singleness and faithfulness in marriage" was the prerequisite for ordination.

However, on Thursday the church accepted that a candidate for ordination could be in a "right relationship" where as long it is a loving, faithful and committed one, it does not matter whether it is homosexual or heterosexual.

While the evangelical faction lobbied for their view to prevail, the reformers urged that both views be accommodated.

"Instead of one view prevailing over the other, we agree to acknowledge that there are differences of interpretation and understanding and seek learn to live with each other despite those differences,'' Drayton said.

Assess options

Hawkes has urged supporters not to leave the Uniting Church in protest for now, but calmly assess options for participating in a large-scale defection and retaining control of some financial assets and properties.

"Seek a meeting with your moderator and general secretary for you and some of the Church Council to ask what the position will be with regard to your property and assets should you choose to leave the UCA as a congregation," she suggested.

Still, McRae McMahon is optimistic that, while some may choose to leave the church, the debate will open up new possibilities as well.

"The heavens do not fall in as we travel together and explore new possibilities I believe that this may well be the century when the Holy Spirit calls the churches to a new truth and a vision of a much grander God," she wrote. - IPS