Russell Broadbent (McMillan, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

This one is hard for me, so I am going to use the words of other people. I have here a photo of Bishop John Charles McIntyre with the people of Redfern behind him for his Order of Service on his passing. 'Bishop whose heart 'lay with the alien and the outsider'' was the headline in the Age on the 16th of this month. Muriel Porter wrote:

The Australian Anglican Church has lost a rare and brave liberal voice with the sudden death of John McIntyre, the Bishop of Gippsland. Bishop McIntyre, 62, came to prominence in recent years for his public championing of gay clergy.

Under attack in 2012 for appointing a gay priest in a same-sex partnership to a Gippsland parish, he told his diocese's synod that he believed that "God has been and is at work in and through gay and lesbian people". Despite strident condemnation from the Diocese of Sydney and other conservative church commentators, he refused to back down. While other Anglican Church leaders privately support gay clergy, few are prepared to stand up for their beliefs in the face of attacks from those determined to uphold the traditionalist viewpoint.

Although this controversy shone the spotlight on Bishop McIntyre, those who had experienced his ministry as a parish priest and then as bishop over 37 years already knew him as a strong progressive voice for good in many areas. These included not just his acceptance of gay people, but his work with the disadvantaged and marginalised, with Aboriginal people and his support for the full ministry of women in the church.

John Charles McIntyre - always known affectionately as "John Mac" or "Johnny Mac", even as a bishop - was born in Sydney in 1951, the youngest of three children of Ken (later ordained as an Anglican priest) and Vicky McIntyre. His uncle, Laurie McIntyre—

who spoke so beautifully yesterday—

is also an Anglican priest, now retired.

John moved with his family to Melbourne when he was a teenager and attended Brighton Grammar School, before studying for the priesthood at Ridley College, Melbourne—

That is about the time I met John—

During that time he married Jan Clode; they would have three children - Jessica, Paul and Lisa.

After ordination, John served in several Melbourne parishes and lectured in theological subjects at Ridley College before moving to Sydney in 1990 to take up the role that defined his ministry. John was Rector of St Saviour's Church, Redfern - a parish with a tiny congregation that no one else wanted - for 15 years. He quickly became a highly respected and loved leader in a diverse community marked by disadvantage and need.

Known as "the Rev" at the Redfern pub, he made the parish the centre of a variety of community activities, so much so that in 1997 he was named Citizen of the Year by South Sydney Council. He was involved in WorkVentures, an organisation working with people at risk of social and economic exclusion, aiming to improve their employability.

Under his leadership a Koori congregation continue to be nurtured with an Aboriginal pastor, and he became involved in land rights debates and in public demonstrations in support of residents of The Block, the Redfern residential area home to generations of disadvantaged Aboriginal people.

He returned to Victoria in 2006 when he was elected Bishop of Gippsland. Preaching at his consecration as a bishop in St Paul's Cathedral, Melbourne, his friend the Reverend Dr Bill Lawton—

who also spoke beautifully yesterday—

another great defender of the marginalised, described Bishop McIntyre "as a man whose heart lay with the alien and the outsider". John and Jan "lived" an acceptance of others, he said, reaching out to alienated people and helping them find community. "They are passionate about the needs of dispossessed people," he said.

These priorities did not change in his promotion to the episcopate … The same passion for the dispossessed and the marginalised, and the same strong advocacy on their behalf, marked his all-too-short time in Gippsland.

Just three weeks before he died, Bishop McIntyre—seemingly recovering from his illness—delivered what would be his final presidential address to his diocese's annual synod. It is vintage McIntyre—a clarion call to the church to "be present in community with an integrity of being that assures all those whose lives we touch that we are there alone for their wellbeing; that we are constantly and consistently committed to peace with justice, mercy and inclusion".

Further, his address called on the Australian government and community to offer compassion and justice to asylum seekers, to act responsibly to the threat of climate change and to reject—

other more sinister agendas.

Since his death, heartfelt tributes have flowed across social media from his many friends, and even from some who had condemned his support the gay clergy. The tribute from Pastor Ray Minniecon, the CEO of the Kinchela Boys Home Aboriginal Corporation, is one of the most moving.

"John Mac," he said, "had this incredible ability to blend into the social fabric of our local community without being 'seen' as a priest or a 'do-gooder'. He knew how to feel the pulse, the pain, the suffering as well as the strength and resilience of our local people and community. He became 'one' with the people and their struggles rather than someone who 'had all the answers' and told you what you needed to know and do."

John Mac, he said, "knew how to put his faith into overalls".

I will give my personal address tomorrow at his memorial service in Sale.

See this speech in context