Assembly '97 News Home page Documents next story		Sexuality delay worried Joseph Tuesday, July 8 Nine-month-old Joseph was probably the person most concerned about how much time it took the Eighth Assembly yesterday to decide how it would handle all the recommendations on the sexuality report. He was at child care, waiting for a feed from his mother. She was at assembly, waiting for its decision about her group's recommendations. Christine Bayliss-Kelly is convenor of the facilitation group. She had hoped to reach her son by midday, but two computer crashes as the office tried to produce her report and last minute negotiations about proposals on sexuality delayed her. Then assembly became bogged down in debate and general secretary Gregor Henderson said, "Don't go anywhere, Christine." A few minutes away at assembly child care in PLC, Joseph did some crying. His brother Thomas, 21/2, probably wondered when mum was going to arrive. Life in the church can be hard, especially when both your parents are parsons. Mum is parish minister at Blayney (NSW) and dad (Scott Kelly) is chaplain at Lithgow Correctional Centre (and evening child carer at assembly.). But difficulties for her children have not stopped Ms Bayliss-Kelly from "thoroughly enjoying my work with the facilitation group". One joy has been seeing the community built in the working groups. "People can disagree about issues but still come away respecting each other," she said. It's a feature of the sexuality task group she has noticed, too. "Each time we've met with three or four [task group members], they've really listened to each other. They're very good at respecting each other's views." As for the issue itself, she points to both the areas where people agree and to what Jesus said about homosexuality: "His silence is deafening to me. That means I can live with the uncertainty, trusting that somehow God has it in hand."

"The Uniting Church affirms that it belongs to the people of GOD on the way to the promised end." Basis of Union, Revised edition published 1992