 speaking at an Equality Australia media conference bringing Government back to sanity Part of responsible ministry is holding people to their commitment to be their best selves. This applies to groups and organisations as well as individuals. Recently some of us have therefore had to stand up and press the Australian Government to stop its retreat from its own commitments to just and flourishing possibilities for disadvantaged and minoritised people, including TGD and other peoples of diverse identities. For the disappointment at the failure of last year's Referendum appear to have driven the Federal ALP into negative thinking. It has almost been as if the Government is doing the Opposition's own campaigning work for them. One example was the attempt to withdraw questions about sexual and gender diversity from the 2026 Census, a decision which would impact negatively on LGBTIQ+ people about whom there is a continuing paucity of helpful information for support and resourcing. I therefore once more found myself in the forefront of public and media attention in speaking up, including through Equal Voices' support for an Equality Australia organised open letter. Happily, for most sexually and gender diverse people, the Federal Government has changed direction again., though people with inter sex conditions are still left out. May strength and purpose continue grow within supportive circles in this country and beyond!
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It has been such a joy to share in, and officiate at, wedding ceremonies of wonderful queer people. Thankfully Pitt Street Uniting Church is one of those church communities rejoicing to share the feast of life, faith and delight in such beautiful expressions of love and commitment. Recent celebrations have in included the weddings of beautiful gay Catholic couples and another special one with both marriage partners coming from Orthodox Christian traditions in which the mystery of crowning is a sacral part of the marriage. Queerness in different types of faith everywhere eh? - I guess there’s a reason for ecumenical priesthood, opening up roads less traveled as we go  It has been a delight to open this year's global ecumenical Season of Creation at Pitt Street Uniting Church with the exhibition Original Bliss (on show until 13 October) by Dr Rod Pattenden, renowned artist and UCA MInister. The works celebrate the vibrancy of nature and the ecstasy of being alive, offering queer perspectives on faith as a place inhabited by diverse bodies that change during the shifting seasons of life.
As Rod Pattenden says: “These works disrupt the role of religion in defining boundaries, They open up more fluid and sensual experiences that celebrate the embodied nature of being human.” The exhibition thus brings together issues close to the hearts of Pitt Street Uniting Church – the environment, LGBT+ gifts and the interface of sexuality and spirituality. - and The vibrancy of the work beautifully complements the architecture and wooden fittings of the heritage building. It has thus be good to be able to offer this unique and powerful exhibition to the city of Sydney. For more information go here  It was a real delight to meet up with Andrew Dodd again yesterday. Andrew is Lead Pastor of the open, lively, and fully affirming Hamilton Baptist Church in Newcastle NSW - and, as well as being a wonderful person, has been a brilliant ally and model (as a true 'accomplice', willing and able to bear the cost) of how to lead a congregation through the process of full LGBTQ+ inclusion (even in the face of the sad rejections by the NSW Baptist Federation).
 I am not generally a big fan of church apologies to LGBTIQ+ folk - as (like many apologies to First Nations peoples) they are so easily ‘cheap grace’, and lack meaningful reparations and active repentance (which you’d think would be basic for Jesus followers). However, where there is a genuine attempt to LIVE Apology out - what queer UCA leaders call a ‘Living Apology’, with clear intent and steps (sadly something the UCA is still dragging its feet on) - this is something some us can at least work with, even where our full dignity is simply not negotiable. I’m pleased therefore by what I believe is a genuine step forward by my former Anglican diocese in the diocesan Apology issued by its Synod this week. Whilst I’d like to see what the next steps are - beyond a welcome promised major event with the Archbishop - this has been part of a reconciling process which has invited queer folk like me to contribute and has been led by Anglican leaders like the Dean of Brisbane who are truly affirming. I therefore thank my wonderful church siblings in Southern Queensland warmly for all they have done and continue to do and pray that this may continue to bear living fruit (even with the current limits and pressures set by other Anglicans in Sydney-style).
The text of the Apology is below... Wonderful to meet up with some of the heroes of the conversion therapy and orientation change struggle last night before the historic passing of NSW legislation. With the particular hard work of Warren Talbot, Pitt Street Uniting Church was able to support the final stages of campaigning by organising a public letter, signed by 36 Uniting Church clergy, to the Premier and members of the NSW Parliament. At last, we have legislation in NSW, which may even be improved in practice over time, to help stop the scandalous spiritual abuse of so many people’s lives (and queer as a whole, despite the lazy headline!). Thankyou to everyone who has fought so long and hard for this - I know how costly it has been for so many. Now, as on child abuse, may religious bodies as a whole start actively cooperate and return to paths of owning deep truths, nurturing healing, and enriching all our lives.   This paper (by the Revd Penny Jones and myself) was originally published in Coolamon, Issue 7 March 2023, the journal of the Australian Network for Spiritual Direction). It can be downloaded here. It explores some ways in which LGBTQ+ people contribute to our changing experience of God and reveal paths of enriching spiritual transformation. For sexual and gender identities have been at the heart of some significant recent features of both spiritual growth and conflict. From the late 1960s,1 lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and questioning (LGBTQ) 2, or queer3 people have formed increasingly effective social and political movements, transforming many cultural, legal and philosophical norms across the world. For many, this has also involved deliberate or unconscious spiritual expression. Progress has however been uneven, across time and space, and traditional religious formations and spiritual norms have been particular obstacles. Differing, and sometimes conflicting, conceptions of queer people and their gifts are therefore inevitably present within the spiritual direction space. Deeper exploration of these, and the underlying lived spiritual experience of queer people, is thus vital for the further flourishing of all involved. Indeed, whilst aspects may be challenging for some, the authors of this paper affirm that queer spiritual experience and understanding offers gifts which provide renewing insights for spiritual direction practice as a whole. Without unduly entering into wider controversies over sexuality and gender, this paper therefore suggests some life-giving ways to engage. These include exploring aspects of “queer virtues” identified by queer spiritual theologians and the metaphors of “coming out” and “transition” as embodiments of the paschal mystery and healthy, holy, transformation...
 It was good to share recently on The Latest in LGBTIQ+ Health and Policy - a podcast that brings the health and wellbeing hot topic discussions that matter to LGBTIQ+ people:
Our conversation explored the intersection between faith and LGBTQ+ community, the changes happening within the church, overcoming barriers as a trans woman, and my 30 year relationship with wife Penny.' This podcast was produced by JOY Media – Australia’s Rainbow Community Media Organisation. For more information about JOYs services, visit joy.org.au/services Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 25:16 — 34.7MB) Subscribe or Follow Us: Apple Podcasts | Google Podcasts | Spotify | RSS  Budyeri Gamaruwa – greetings in Gadigal. I acknowledge elders, past and present, and all First Nations people here. For before these steps on which we stand existed, this was Aboriginal land. It is, and always will be, Aboriginal land. For true identity, love and self-determination are not ceded by the oppressions of others. That is at the heart of our simple act of solidarity today.
My name is Josephine McDonnell Inkpin. I am a transgender woman and a queer person of faith. including being Minister here at Pitt Street Uniting Church. So I thank you all for coming this morning. For gender diverse people and queer people of faith are very vulnerable right now. We are not surprised by current attacks. In fact, we trans people have been warning about them for ages, but typically our concerns have given little priority -– just as our calls not to issue a visa to an UK rabble-rouser could have helped avoid Nazis on the streets of Melbourne and feeding right wing forces across the country. Similarly, we queer Christians have called for our voices to be heard properly but, with notable exceptions, many key Christian leaders and some queer people have given little priority to our concerns – just as our calls to help us address the now visible Christian Right in Sydney could have helped avoid the violence on Sydney streets. This - must – change: both for the sake of trans people and queer people of faith and for us all. For an attack on any of us is an attack on all of us. Our attackers think that trans people and queer Christians are easy and weak targets. Well, we are so not weak in spirit, but we are not as strong we could be if we had greater voice and empowerment. This simple solidarity photograph is therefore a declaration of that intent...  I speak as both a transgender woman and as an Anglican priest, currently serving as an Uniting Church Minister. As a Queer Christian I am not alone. There are many of us in Sydney, and across the world. For we, and queer people of other faiths, have always existed. We can be found in the Bible, throughout history, and we are very much alive today. Yet our lives are so commonly denied. For we are an inconvenient truth: inconvenient both to the Christians who oppose us, and inconvenient also to others, including some in the queer community, who would deny our lives. As such, we are at the heart of the continuing culture wars we seek to end today and we share in the solidarity and hope which this gathering embodies. Indeed, without us the battles we face together simply cannot be won. We so need each other and we badly need others to hear our voices and act upon them...
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AuthorJo Inkpin is an Anglican priest serving as Minister of Pitt St Uniting Church in Sydney, a trans woman, theologian & justice activist. These are some of my reflections on life, spirit, and the search for peace, justice & sustainable creation. Archives
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