Assembly '97 News Home page Documents next story		No news from Uniting Church on homosexuality The national Assembly of the Uniting Church today resolved to not decide on questions of homosexual people in leadership. The Assembly came to a "consensus-by-agreement" decision on a resolution that "recognised with sadness its inability at this time to reach further agreement" on the report Uniting Sexuality and Faith. The resolution commits the church to a continuing dialogue on unresolved matters concerning the place of homosexual people in the life of the church. It expressed "deep regret to those whose personal pain remains unalleviated by its inability to reach decisions at this time". The current policy of the Uniting Church remain in place. It states: "The sexual orientation of an applicant or candidate (for ministry) is not and has not been in itself a bar to ordination. A decision on the suitability of an applicant or candidate may of course depend, among other things, on the manner in which the applicant’s or candidate’s sexuality is expressed." Current policy on serving ministers, as stated by Assembly General Secretary Rev Gregor Henderson, says, "There is an expectation in the church that its ministers will adhere to the standard of celibacy in singleness and faithfulness in marriage. Presbyteries are free to take this into account in their oversight of current ministers. But the church has not declared celibacy in singleness and faithfulness in marriage to be a specific requirement of its ministers." Mr Henderson said there had already been calls for the resignation of the Assembly’s Director of Mission, Rev Dorothy McRae McMahon, who revealed on Sunday that she lives in a relationship with another woman. Mr Henderson said: "She [Ms McRae McMahon] is a most fitting person to be a Minister of the Word, and the Director of the Commission for Mission. I see no reason for any disciplinary action." The Assembly gave strong but not unanimous support to Mr Henderson’s statement.