A variety of opinions on the topic of same gender marriage were expressed at a meeting of InterFaith Search Fiji in Suva on Saturday.
Speakers talked about ways of accepting members of the LGBITQ community.
Reverend Anil Reuben of the Methodist Church said many people in same gender marriage had slowly dropped out of the church.
“You can be a member of a church and your name could be removed from the membership roll, but you can never send anyone out of the church.
“Somewhere along the line, somebody picks them up and with repentance and confession, these people come up to the Lord again. Remember we worship a forgiving God,” Reuben said.
One person who said children should be stopped from dressing like the opposite sex because it could lead to homosexuality was stopped and publicly rebuked.
Interfaith Search Fiji is made up of members from members of from Ahmadiyya Anjuman Isha’at-e-Islam (Lahore); Ahmadiyya Muslim Jamaat Fiji; Anglican Diocese of Polynesia; Arya Pratinidhi Sabha of Fiji; Baha’i Faith; Brahma Kumaris; Community of Christ Church; Fiji Hindu Society; Fiji Muslim League; Methodist Church in Fiji; Catholic Church; Saint Andrew’s Presbyterian Church; Sathya Sai Organisation; Shree Sanatan Dharm Pratinidhi Sabha of Fiji; Sikh Association of Fiji; The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints; and the Then India Sanmarga Ikya Sangam.
Interfaith Search Fiji is an organisation that came into existence as a direct result of the political upheavals after a military led Coup d’etat in 1987.
There were ethnic and religious under currents in the coup.
The Columban Inter-religious Dialogue website says , Interfaith Search Fiji, meets on every 10th day of the month.
Groups take turns hosting the meeting. At each meeting, they agree upon a theme to be discussed in the next meeting.
Using their respective sacred scriptures, they try to briefly explain their understanding of the theme.
This is then shared in the next meeting.
A summary is sent out after the meeting to every participant.
Source
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News category: Asia Pacific.
