News + Events

Farewell

26

Love is a word that gets used a lot in our industry. So much so that the word can lose its value. But love is a powerful force that can change the world. Love gives hope where there is none.  It gives peace when there is none.

Twelve years ago, we started White Magazine to tell a different kind of story about marriage.  Back then the wedding industry was a pretty bleak place. Rather than celebrating love and commitment, it commercialised weddings and devalued the seriousness of the commitment couples were making to each other.

Celebrating love and relationships – rather than selling products – has always been White’s message.

Last year the Australian law was changed to allow same-sex couples to marry.  Since then we have been asked repeatedly why our magazine had not yet featured all couples.

Like many people, we have had to reflect on our beliefs, not to judge ourselves or others, but to intentionally make space for new conversations.  It’s a long and continuing journey, it’s not black and white, there are so many grey areas that need to be explored.  Our greatest mandate is to love and the biggest question we’ve continued to ask ourselves throughout it is, how do we best love?

White Magazine has always been a secular publication, but as its publishers, we are Christian. We have no agenda but to love. We have no desire to create a social, political or legal war, which only divides people further and does more damage than good. To us, our faith is anchored in love without judgement.

Recently we’ve experienced a flood of judgement. We know much of that comes hand-in-hand with running a public magazine. But we are also just two humans fumbling our way through these big questions and like anyone else, and we don’t have all the answers.

Instead of allowing us the space to work through our thoughts and feelings, or being willing to engage in brave conversations to really hear each other’s stories, some have just blindly demanded that we pick a side. We’re not about sides, we’re about love, patience and kindness. A campaign was launched targeting the magazine, our team and our advertisers. Couples who have featured in our magazine have also been the subject of online abuse despite their individual beliefs. We’re really saddened by this.

The result has been that a number of advertisers withdrew their sponsorship out of fear of being judged, or in protest. We have had to recognise the reality that White Magazine is no longer economically viable.

For us, White Magazine has always been a labour of love.  Our whole lives and heart have gone into it. But we’ve always said it’s important to put our wellbeing and our relationships first. It has become clear that while we’re on this journey, we won’t be given the grace and patience that we need, nor can we operate in a way that accurately reflects the deep love we have for all. As much as we love what we do and are inspired by the positive impact it’s had, we need to draw the curtain on this part of our lives, for now.

We all have our path in life, and we believe at the core of it all is learning to love people, despite differences, even when it’s hard. We have no agenda but to love.

We want to take the opportunity to thank all our lovely contributors, supporters, readers and the amazing couples who have featured in our magazine over the last 12 years. Your stories, knowledge and advice have been truly inspirational. We set out to help you all on your relationship journey, but the truth is we have got so much more in return. We’ve learned to lean into each other through it all, and we have you to thank for that. We have faith that good will come from this. So many people have already been called to a higher conversation.

We hope that one day soon our society can learn to accept people’s differences and different points of view and love each other no matter what. That’s where real positive change begins.

 

 

 

Love, the Motivation of Our Lives

If I were to speak with eloquence in earth’s many languages, and in the heavenly tongues of angels, yet I didn’t express myself with love, my words would be reduced to the hollow sound of nothing more than a clanging cymbal.

And if I were to have the gift of prophecy with a profound understanding of God’s hidden secrets, and if I possessed unending supernatural knowledge, and if I had the greatest gift of faith that could move mountains, but have never learned to love, then I am nothing.

And if I were to be so generous as to give away everything I owned to feed the poor, and to offer my body to be burned as a martyr, without the pure motive of love, I would gain nothing of value.

Love is large and incredibly patient. Love is gentle and consistently kind to all. It refuses to be jealous when blessing comes to someone else. Love does not brag about one’s achievements nor inflate its own importance.Love does not traffic in shame and disrespect, nor selfishly seek its own honor. Love is not easily irritated or quick to take offense.Love joyfully celebrates honesty and finds no delight in what is wrong.Love is a safe place of shelter, for it never stops believing the best for others. Love never takes failure as defeat, for it never gives up.

1 Corinthians 13 | The Passion Translation

 

 

 

 

 

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