Jo Inkpin at St Andrew's Subiaco, Perth PrideFest 2025 Tonight’s eucharist is intended to be a simple affair, so let me say but a few words in response to today’s Gospel (Luke 19.45-48). It is worth doing so, I think, because it is a very appropriate one for Equal Voices circles, for LGBTIQ+ people of faith and allies. Three aspects of the story, and three Gospel themes, jump out for me, prompting three questions which we might explore later in conversation...
calling out
Firstly, we have the cleansing of the temple, with Jesus actively addressing the religious toxicity of the day. It is a powerful reminder of the Challenge of the Gospel, and the need for active engagement with the toxicity of our own contexts. On this day after TDoV (the Transgender Day of Remembrance), I am also particularly reminded of the, wonderful and moving, first TDoV service I arranged in Brisbane, at Holy Trinity, Fortitude Valley. We ended up in the church hall, after the person responsible for the booking forgot that church building itself was being fumigated that day. Everyone loved it - for what a terrific symbol that was of what is still typically needed in so many religious spaces. So the first question is: what needs to be cleansed in our own contexts today, and how do we best go about it? In other words, what we Calling out today?
called to
Secondly, we are told of how powerful people ‘kept looking for a way to kill’ Jesus. This is a powerful recognition of the Cost of the Gospel, and the need for strength and support in the face of our own obstacles. In Sydney, this is often particularly challenging, with various minor and major aggressors in that city’s highly conservative and conflictual environment. However, I always hold two sayings close. The first are the words of one of my late mentors, Alan Webster, a former Dean of London’s St Paul’s Cathedral. ‘The cross’, he used to say, ‘comes when you try to change things.’ The second is that old wisdom about how change happens: that ‘first they ignore you, then they ridicule you, then they actively oppose you, even kill you. Then you win.’ Thankfully we are past the ignoring and ridiculing stages, and that means we should be hopeful, but, to use some of my native English understatement, it can be a little trying at times. So the second question is: what are we doing to help ourselves bear the cost of change, and how do we encourage others to bear the load? In other words, in addition to what are we are calling out, what are we Called to?
calling in
Thirdly, we are told that Jesus’ opponents ‘could not find anything they could do, for all the people were spellbound by the what they heard.’ This is a powerful indication of the Creative Power of the Gospel, and the need for creativity and positive communication in what we do. I often reflect on that in terms of the energy that is so easily taken up by attempts to engage with hardline opponents, or to formulate words of apology, or forward certain types of ‘inclusion’. In my view, there can be a place for some of that. However, what really changes things is the offering of what will bring flourishing, not least the fruits of queer lives and theology, together with the fostering of encounters with those ‘beyond the usual suspects’. In that, I always think of a delightful older lady I once sat next to through a Synod meeting in Brisbane. After abstaining on a particular vote which would have moved LGBTIQ+ people forward a little, she turned to me and said kindly ‘I am not at all against you, you know. I just want to know a bit more.’ So the third question is: what are we doing to nurture creativity, and how do we best reach out to others? In other words, in addition to what are we are calling out, and how we are bearing what we are called to, how are we calling in?
In the Name of Jesus, who brought cleansing, bore the cross of change, and gave birth to new ways of being, Amen.
by Josephine Inkpin, for Equal Voices Pride Mass & Gathering, St Andrew's Anglican Church Subiaco
Firstly, we have the cleansing of the temple, with Jesus actively addressing the religious toxicity of the day. It is a powerful reminder of the Challenge of the Gospel, and the need for active engagement with the toxicity of our own contexts. On this day after TDoV (the Transgender Day of Remembrance), I am also particularly reminded of the, wonderful and moving, first TDoV service I arranged in Brisbane, at Holy Trinity, Fortitude Valley. We ended up in the church hall, after the person responsible for the booking forgot that church building itself was being fumigated that day. Everyone loved it - for what a terrific symbol that was of what is still typically needed in so many religious spaces. So the first question is: what needs to be cleansed in our own contexts today, and how do we best go about it? In other words, what we Calling out today?
called to
Secondly, we are told of how powerful people ‘kept looking for a way to kill’ Jesus. This is a powerful recognition of the Cost of the Gospel, and the need for strength and support in the face of our own obstacles. In Sydney, this is often particularly challenging, with various minor and major aggressors in that city’s highly conservative and conflictual environment. However, I always hold two sayings close. The first are the words of one of my late mentors, Alan Webster, a former Dean of London’s St Paul’s Cathedral. ‘The cross’, he used to say, ‘comes when you try to change things.’ The second is that old wisdom about how change happens: that ‘first they ignore you, then they ridicule you, then they actively oppose you, even kill you. Then you win.’ Thankfully we are past the ignoring and ridiculing stages, and that means we should be hopeful, but, to use some of my native English understatement, it can be a little trying at times. So the second question is: what are we doing to help ourselves bear the cost of change, and how do we encourage others to bear the load? In other words, in addition to what are we are calling out, what are we Called to?
calling in
Thirdly, we are told that Jesus’ opponents ‘could not find anything they could do, for all the people were spellbound by the what they heard.’ This is a powerful indication of the Creative Power of the Gospel, and the need for creativity and positive communication in what we do. I often reflect on that in terms of the energy that is so easily taken up by attempts to engage with hardline opponents, or to formulate words of apology, or forward certain types of ‘inclusion’. In my view, there can be a place for some of that. However, what really changes things is the offering of what will bring flourishing, not least the fruits of queer lives and theology, together with the fostering of encounters with those ‘beyond the usual suspects’. In that, I always think of a delightful older lady I once sat next to through a Synod meeting in Brisbane. After abstaining on a particular vote which would have moved LGBTIQ+ people forward a little, she turned to me and said kindly ‘I am not at all against you, you know. I just want to know a bit more.’ So the third question is: what are we doing to nurture creativity, and how do we best reach out to others? In other words, in addition to what are we are calling out, and how we are bearing what we are called to, how are we calling in?
In the Name of Jesus, who brought cleansing, bore the cross of change, and gave birth to new ways of being, Amen.
by Josephine Inkpin, for Equal Voices Pride Mass & Gathering, St Andrew's Anglican Church Subiaco
RSS Feed