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Church mum
on petition from gay members
01 June 2007-
South Africa- The Nederduitse Gereformeerde Church has remained
tight-lipped about a petition sent to it asking for gays to be fully
accepted in the church.
The petition was signed
by 500 individuals - including ministers, pastors, priests, actors,
academics and even pensioners - and was handed to the church's general
secretary, Dr Kobus Gerber, last week.
The petition has placed
significant pressure on the synod to finally take a stand on the issue
of gay marriages and accepting gay ministers within the clergy when it
convenes in Boksburg on Monday.
The general assembly will draw to a close on
Friday, but it is uncertain whether the church would have made a
decision by then.
"We plead that you
recognise gay people as being valuable people and valuable members of
the congregation just as you do heterosexuals and that you stand for the
diversity of people" an open letter attached to the petition said.
The letter further pleads for gay people to be
given the opportunity to hold positions within the church.
Gerber on Friday
acknowledged that they had received the letter and that the topic of gay
people within the church was on the agenda for the general assembly.
He said the assembly
would not be discussing the matter of the petition as many petitions
concerning the church existed but were not brought up in the assembly.
He also declined to
react to the contents of the petition.
He said the 400 member assembly would have to review a "lengthy report"
by the church on the issue.
"It is difficult to
tell how long it will take to make a decision; it all depends on how the
discussion goes," he said.
Gay rights organisation
the Triangle Project welcomed the petition.
"I am optimistic that
the Dutch Reformed Church Synod will respond graciously to this
exceptionally well-intended petition and utilise this opportunity to
assume responsibility for decades of hurt caused to countless gay and
lesbian Christians," Triangle Project acting director Glenn de Swardt
said in a statement.
"We call on the Dutch
Reformed Church to serve as a beacon of acceptance and tolerance of
diversity in South Africa."
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