METROPOLITAN COMMUNITY CHURCH GOOD SHEPHERD THIRTIETH ANNIVERSARY

The Hon. PENNY SHARPE ( 11:02 ): I move:

(1)That this House notes that:

(a) on 23 July 1986, a group of Metropolitan Community Church Sydney members formed the Metropolitan Community Church Good Shepherd [MCC Good Shepherd];

(b) the MCC Good Shepherd is part of the Universal Fellowship of Metropolitan Community Churches, a Christian Church founded in the gay community for all the community, which decrees that all people will have equality of access and opportunity which is free from discrimination on grounds of gender, sexual orientation, identification, nationality, or economic status;

(c) after its beginnings in the Sydney CBD, the MCC Good Shepherd realised there was an urgent need for a Metropolitan Community Church in Western Sydney, and moved first to Parramatta and then Granville, where it continues to this day; and

(d) on 26 July 2016, the MCC Good Shepherd held a thirtieth anniversary dinner to celebrate the formation of the Church and its values of promoting equality in theology and worship and providing an inclusive, safe spiritual home of faith, community and love.

(2) That this House congratulates the Metropolitan Community Church Good Shepherd Western Sydney on reaching its 30 year anniversary and thanks its members and clergy for their ongoing spiritual support for the gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender and intersex community of Western Sydney.

Motion agreed to.