Albany church under fire for event promoting ‘hope, vision and dignity beyond LGBTQ+ ideologies’

An Albany pride group has slammed a local church for promoting an event to “hear stories of hope” from people who have “previously lived and identified as LGBTQ+” with the group likening the event to “gay conversion therapy”. In a now deleted post made by the Albany Baptist Church Facebook page on Thursday night, the church shared a rainbow filled poster for a “Real Lives” event to be held at the church next Thursday. “Hear stories of hope, vision and dignity beyond LGBTQ+ ideologies from those who have previously lived and identified as LGBTQ+ but who are now finding new life in Jesus Christ,” the poster said. A caption accompanying the poster said: “Be great to hear these stories of how Jesus is changing lives”. Hours after the church’s post, Albany Pride took to Facebook with a statement condemning the event. Since forming as a social support service for regional LGBTQIA+ people in 2011, Albany Pride has grown to offer a youth group, families group and other peer networking opportunities in the Great Southern. “LGBTQIA+ already suffer significantly higher rates of depression, anxiety, suicidal ideation, psychological distress and suicide attempts,” Albany Pride said. “A large part of the reason for this is the entrenched homophobia, biphobia, transphobia and other forms of Queerphobia that place them in this vulnerable position. The kind of ideology which is at the heart of the ‘conversion therapy’.” This afternoon, Albany Baptist Church issues a statement saying the event would go ahead. “Albany Baptist Church will host an evening...called Real Lives where some Christians who experience same-sex attraction and gender dysphoria will share their life stories in the context of the church community,” the statement said. “As Christians, our belief is that God loves every person whatever their sexual attraction or however they identify. All are of equal value and dignity in His sight and in our sight. The church said it did “not support or condone the practice of any coercive therapies”. “We are committed to respectful conversation with people who want to tell their stories,” the church statement said. “We want to honour the request from some same-sex attracted and gender dysphoric people to share their stories of how the Gospel of Jesus Christ has brought them hope.” Albany Pride called on the State Government to take action to outlaw “LGBTQIA+ conversion practices”. In February, Victoria’s Upper House passed a bill to make it illegal to try to change or suppress a person’s sexual orientation or gender identity, with penalties of up to 10 years’ jail or $10,000 in fines — joining similar bans in Queensland and the ACT. “The people who promote and perpetuate these abhorrent practices may feel they are doing this out of genuine compassion or an act of kindness to help people out of the the goodness of their own hearts, but being LGBTQIA+ is not a choice,” Albany Pride said. “It is not a disorder, and it doesn’t need a cure. There is no conflict between being a good Christian and being LGBTQIA+.” Albany MP Rebecca Stephens said she was opposed to “so-called conversion therapy” in any form, labelling it an “abhorrent practice that has no place in our society”. “The practice suggests that there is something wrong with being LGBTIQ+, that there is something to be ashamed of, something that needs curing. This is not the case,” she said in a statement today. “The Albany community is an open, welcoming and accepting community, made up of people from many backgrounds. This what makes our community the best place to live and to raise a family.” Ms Stephens said she would meet with Albany Pride on Sunday . Albany Baptist Church’s website states the church’s “mission is to know Jesus and to make him known” they said they do this by “genuinely caring for one another”. According to the Australian Charities and Not-for-profits Commission, the church was established in 1904 and registered with the ACNC in 2012.