Dear friends in Christ,
You may have seen media reporting in News Limited papers this morning regarding Newlife Church on the Gold Coast.
Of particular concern is the allegation that a “splinter group of eight ministers from separate congregations, led by Newlife head reverend Stu Cameron, has begun to push to retain the “traditional” notion of marriage between a man and a women”.
I have spoken to Lead Minister at Newlife, Rev Stu Cameron today and we are both dismayed at what we consider to be a number of misrepresentations in the article.
Throughout 2018, Newlife Church, like many other congregations throughout Queensland have been on a journey with respect to same-gender marriage. Over the course of this journey, the decision was made to remove the word Uniting from the church’s branding. This was a pastoral response to the circumstances at the time.
We will continue to work closely with the team at Newlife across many aspects of the life of the Uniting Church. The leadership there have stated they have no intention of leaving the Uniting Church in Australia.
Newlife is one of our more successful churches. The ministry team, led by Rev Stu have embraced contemporary worship and are connecting with their audience in an effective fashion, evidenced by growth at a steady rate over the past decade. This growth is expected to continue beyond 2018 and I am truly proud of their work. They have supported a number of church plants in South East Queensland and engaged with the mission of the wider church.
Blessings,
Rev David Baker
Moderator
Uniting Church in Australia, Queensland Synod
