New Times letters – December 2015

Posted Dec 26, 2015 in News

Letters sent to New Times will begin to be published online (as well as in print) in 2016. Since the December print edition, the editorial team has received a number of letters. As many of these will be less relevant by the time the next print edition is published in February, the decision has been made to publish them online in mid-January.

In the meantime, the letters featured in the December edition are here for your perusal. If you would like to write a letter, please send an email to Turn on Javascript!

 

Re-forming Maughan Church?

Editor’s note: Although we do not usually allow letters of this length in New Times, we felt compelled to make an exception in this case. Maughan Uniting Church has a long history in the local community. The editorial team felt that this letter expressed ideas and thoughts that may echo those of others who have found it difficult to deal with changes to the Maughan site. – Catherine

Life is full of surprises, and for me, and a substantial number of people, the plans of Uniting Communities to erect a multi-storied building which involves the demolition of Maughan Church came as a troubling surprise.

It is encouraging that Uniting Communities wants to have extended facilities which will enable significant programmes to be conducted there, and that units will be available to meet the urgent and necessary needs of people.

However, the prospect of the most significant and distinctive ministry of Maughan Church, “a church with sleeves rolled up”, whose congregation worshipped and developed an outstanding programme of witness and service in the city of Adelaide for 150 years through the Central Mission, now coming to an abrupt end, and the Maughan church building being demolished after a mere 50 years is grievous indeed.

Maughan Church was always markedly and purposefully different from the other city churches. It was always an evangelical church, but never a fundamentalist church. Sure, the congregation has declined like many other churches, but as the highly regarded minister the Rev Cliff Symons used to say: “Trend is not destiny”.

The world is changing at an enormous rate; belief in God has altered quite radically. I don’t know if Uniting Communities have done their homework and are aware of the significance of the strong growing number of people who now speak of “spirituality”, and would relish the opportunity to belong to, and worship within, a fellowship which wrestled with the implications of our changing world.

Uniting Communities, or the church, could have used its financial resources and searched the nation, or beyond, for an outstanding person who could have brought a whole new perspective to contemporary faith in our city. Adelaide needs such an injection. A different approach, I believe, would soon have a congregation of “searchers” calling Maughan Church their home.

I enjoy drawing, and couldn’t resist an amateur attempt at imagining what the new plans for the site would look like if Maughan Church were retained. [Editor’s note: the drawing of the building was unable to be used in this online space, but can be viewed on page 20 of the December edition here.] There are many competent architects who could design such a concept, even if two or three floors would need to be added to the proposed building.

Of course my burning issue is not what the remarkable Maughan Church, the soul of the Mission, has been in the past, but rather what it could be yet again with some of the creative and faithful decision-making which, years ago, brought it into life.

Hopefully there is still time to re-consider some parts of the new, exciting plans that are developing!

D. Pill,

Magill North

 

Love your neighbour

I suggest R. Anderson (New Times, November) try rereading their Bible through the lens of “love your neighbour as yourself” and “the only thing that counts is faith working through love” (Galatians 5:6). That way, their next contribution might show at least some evidence of the radical love, tolerance and inclusion that Jesus showed. I would also suggest that the now clear majority of church going Christians who support marriage equality (various polls) may well be a much clearer sign of the will of the Spirit for the church on this issue than R. Anderson’s letter.

On a related note, I am greatly disappointed that New Times would publish a letter which (by design or not) has the effect of hurting and further alienating those among us identifying as other than straight and also those who love them and of inflaming an already sensitive aspect of our common life. That the letter had no credible scientific, theological or historical basis further compounds the misjudgement.

B. Lang,

Salisbury Heights

 

Open doors, open minds

Marriage equality? – Very soon I hope.

Journeying through life involves a string of contentious issues. Having just attended [the October Presbytery and Synod meeting], where we are continually encouraged to listen respectfully to the views of others, I find it quite confronting to read a letter from R. Anderson of Balaklava in the November issue. The language used verges on the dogmatic and there is not a glimmer of light in the door that would encourage or allow meaningful discussion. I despair of a way forward when I read letters like this on any topic – as the door is firmly shut.

However, I pray, that on this faith journey of ours, there are enough folk with open hearts and minds to enable sensitive, and productive dialogue. Then one day very soon, through God’s totally inclusive love, long term, committed same sex relationships will be accepted and formally recognised as marriage. Surely we all aspire to a society of equality.

D. White,

Encounter Bay

 

Reviews need review? 

I recently viewed the film War Room, and appreciated the strong evangelical emphasis on the power of prayer, and the way faith can shape human lives and decisions. I found the recent review of War Room came across as dismissive of these values when it described the film as “terrible”. In my opinion, while there are some flaws in the story and presentation, the film and the readers of New Times deserve much better than this in its choice of review standards.

R. Bassham,

Port Elliot

 

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