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New Hampshire Episcopalians Choose Gay Bishop, and Conflict
The New York Times ^ | 6/8/03 | Laurie Goodstein

Posted on 06/08/2003 12:31:17 AM PDT by ppaul

The New York Times Sponsored by Starbucks


June 8, 2003

New Hampshire Episcopalians Choose Gay Bishop, and Conflict

By LAURIE GOODSTEIN

CONCORD, N.H., June 7 — Episcopalians in the Diocese of New Hampshire today elected as their leader the first openly gay bishop anywhere in the worldwide Anglican communion, a step likely to roil the church in the United States and England, and deepen the disaffection of the more conservative Anglican churches in Africa, Asia and Latin America.

The bishop-elect, the Rev. Canon V. Gene Robinson, who had developed a loyal following here in 16 years as assistant to the current bishop, was elected from among four candidates on the second round of balloting at St. Paul's Church.

He received 58 of 77 votes from members of the clergy and 96 of 165 votes from laypeople. A majority in each group is needed for election.

When the tally was announced, the clergy and lay delegates leaped to their feet and applauded as Bishop-elect Robinson came to the front, stood before the altar rail and embraced his two grown daughters, his son-in-law and his partner.

He acknowledged that his election could precipitate outrage and division in his denomination. The Episcopal Church has 2.3 million members in the United States, while the Anglican Communion, a global association of churches that trace their heritage to the Church of England, has about 79 million members internationally.

But he urged the delegates who elected him to be "kind and sensitive and gentle" to believers who "will not understand what you've done here today."

"The world is hurting out there, and the Episcopal Church and the Anglican communion worldwide are divided by lots of things," he said to the delegates.

He said the rift could be healed if believers focused on God and the sacraments. "We can get through this if we keep coming to the altar rail," he said.

His election now forces a showdown in the Episcopal Church in the United States, which like most mainline Protestant denominations has been torn over the issue of homosexuality over the past two decades.

Bishop-elect Robinson cannot be ordained as bishop until he wins the consent of bishops and diocesan representatives at the General Convention, which begins on July 28 in Minneapolis.

The presiding bishop of the Episcopal Church, Frank T. Griswold III, declined, through a spokesman, to comment on today's development. But church members say they anticipate that the decision here could pose doctrinal problems for some Episcopalians who believe that the Bible prohibits homosexuality.

"The bishops and the delegates at General Convention are snarled up on the whole issue of whether to ordain gays and lesbians, and there is considerable opinion in the church, particularly emanating from the South and Southwest, that this should not happen," said the Rev. Dr. John E. Booty, a former historiographer of the Episcopal Church and an emeritus professor of Anglican studies at the University of the South in Sewanee, Tenn.

"My hunch is that Gene will get enough votes, but there will be people working furiously on either side of this to gather the votes for or against," Dr. Booty said in a telephone interview.

James Solheim, the church's press officer, said in a telephone interview tonight: "Reaction is already coming in by e-mail, and it is mixed. Some people are already announcing that this is the last straw, they're leaving the Episcopal Church."

The election is likely to be contentious in the Anglican Communion, which covers 38 regional churches in 164 countries, said the Rev. Dr. Ian T. Douglas, professor of mission and world christianity at the Episcopal Divinity School in Cambridge, Mass.

The growth in the church in the developing world is tipping it toward theological conservatism on some issues, including homosexuality, but it is a mixed picture, Dr. Douglas said. At the last Lambeth Conference, a gathering of Anglican bishops from around the world, in 1998, conservatives passed a resolution saying the church recognized only heterosexual, married relationships, Dr. Douglas said. But he also noted that at the same conference, a committee issued a report urging dialogue on the issue.

Bishop Douglas E. Theuner, the current bishop of New Hampshire, has championed gay causes in the church and approves of commitment ceremonies for same-sex couples.

Bishop Theuner said in an interview that there was no organized opposition in his diocese to Mr. Robinson's election. He said he believed Mr. Robinson was elected as bishop because the the delegates trusted him and were familiar with him, not that they wanted to make him a cause célèbre.

"His election pushes the envelope, but certainly that was not our intention in New Hampshire," Bishop Theuner said. "The people of the diocese are aware that they're part of the larger church, and value that, but we're selecting a bishop to be our bishop."

The Rev. David P. Jones, rector of St. Paul's Church and co-chairman of the search committee for the next bishop, said, "Ten years ago I would not have been happy about this because I would have felt it's clearly contrary to the Bible, contrary to the traditions of the church.

"It's all because I've experienced the ministry of this man and a couple of others that I think I was mistaken," Mr. Jones said.

Church experts say that the Episcopal Church has had gay bishops before and does now, but none who have made their sexual orientation known before they were elected.

The only gay bishop to disclose his sexuality before now is retired Bishop Otis Charles of Utah, who sent a letter to the church's House of Bishops in 1993 sharing his experience as a closeted gay churchman watching the bishops wrestle with the issue.

On Friday, the Daily Telegraph in London reported that leaders of the Church of England have known for years that Bishop Jeffrey John, a newly ordained suffragan bishop in the Diocese of Oxford, had been living with his gay partner of 25 years.

Bishop-elect Robinson, who is 56, is originally from Kentucky. He worked previously at a church in Ridgewood, N.J., and has run ministries for teenagers, AIDS patients and congregations going through conflicts.

He said in an interview after the vote that he came out as a gay man in 1986 and soon after divorced his wife, with whom he had two daughters.

He said he believed the Anglican church should be able to accommodate people who have opinions other than his on issues like homosexuality.

"I'm certain that I want to be in a church with them," he said. "I'm just not certain they want to be in a church with me."

In the history of the church in the United States, only one bishop-elect did not win affirmation by the General Convention, and that was in 1875, he said. He likened his election to that of Bishop Barbara Harris, the first woman bishop in the Episcopal Church, elected in 1988 in Massachusetts.

"There were dire predictions of schism then, and today the gifts of women in ministry are almost universally accepted," he said. Only 3 of the 100 Episcopal dioceses in the United States now do not ordain women.

The other candidates, who were not present for the election today, were the Rev. Pamela Jane Mott of Portland, Ore., and two supervisors of groups of parishes in Pennsylvania, the Very Revs. Robert L. Tate and Ruth Lawson Kirk. Another candidate withdrew after being selected as bishop of Nebraska.

As the clergy and laypeople here today left the service that followed the election, some said they had favored Bishop-elect Robinson because of his pastoral skills, his preaching and his devotion to the church. If confirmed by church officials, he would be only the ninth bishop in the history of the diocese, which dates to 1802.

"We made history," said Bayard Coolidge, a retired software engineer and a delegate from St. Stephen's Episcopal Church in Pittsfield.

"Everybody is going to be making a lot of the fact that he's gay, but that's not the point," Mr. Coolidge said. "The point is, he's well qualified."



The "Reverend" Canon V. Gene Robinson
was elected on Saturday. Behind him is
his "partner", Mark Andrew.



TOPICS: Breaking News; Culture/Society; News/Current Events; US: New Hampshire
KEYWORDS: apostacy; apostate; deviancy; deviants; episcopal; fudgepakers; gay; hersheyhighway; homo; homos; homosexual; homosexualagenda; homosexuals; perversion; pervert; perverts; queer; sexualdeviancy; sin; sodom; sodomites; sodomy
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To: ppaul
When the tally was announced, the clergy and lay delegates leaped to their feet and applauded as Bishop-elect Robinson came to the front, stood before the altar rail and embraced his two grown daughters, his son-in-law and his partner.

Here is a trustworthy saying: If anyone sets his heart on being an overseer, he desires a noble task. Now the overseer must be above reproach, the husband of but one wife, temperate, self- controlled, respectable, hospitable, able to teach, not given to drunkenness, not violent but gentle, not quarrelsome, not a lover of money. He must manage his own family well and see that his children obey him with proper respect. (If anyone does not know how to manage his own family, how can he take care of God's church?) He must not be a recent convert, or he may become conceited and fall under the same judgment as the devil. He must also have a good reputation with outsiders, so that he will not fall into disgrace and into the devil's trap.
(1 Tim. 3:1-7)

Apparently he left his wife for his gay lover. He's not qualified.

41 posted on 06/09/2003 12:20:11 PM PDT by r9etb
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To: txzman
"These "Christians" need to face the truth and call their group something else."

Unitarians?

42 posted on 06/09/2003 12:24:09 PM PDT by cherry
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To: RobbyS
Robby, I am Catholic too......I see what the organized churchs are doing and it scares the "hell" out of me....

there will be a day where God-fearing people who believe in traditional morals and theology, will have to ban together for self-protection....not to make one large church....too many differances...but at least an acknowedgment of what we are up against....that basically, our very values and believes even as workers, citizens, parents, spouses are being torpedoed...

43 posted on 06/09/2003 12:30:33 PM PDT by cherry
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To: ppaul
They are going to have a little problem with this little bit of Scripture:

Paul's Letter to the Romans, Chapter 1, v 24-27:

"24 Therefore God gave them up in the lusts of their hearts to impurity, to the dishonoring of their bodies among themselves, 25 because they exchanged the truth about God for a lie and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed for ever! Amen."

26 "For this reason God gave them up to dishonorable passions. Their women exchanged natural relations for unnatural, 27 and the men likewise gave up natural relations with women and were consumed with passion for one another, men committing shameless acts with men and receiving in their own persons the due penalty for their error."

44 posted on 06/09/2003 1:27:43 PM PDT by 45Auto (Big holes are (almost) always better.)
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To: cherry
I hope that what happened last year serves as a wake-up call. The "American" Catholics--the liberals who dominated the Catholic Church in the United States during the 1970s--would have had the Church become what the Episcopal Church has in fact become. But many "conservative"bishops did not dare tell us what was going on. The fat had to hit the skillet before we were aware that something was wrong.
45 posted on 06/09/2003 1:43:02 PM PDT by RobbyS
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To: centurion316
Amen! The headline in my local paper read: Man of the People referring to Bishop Sullivan, retiring as Catholic Bishop of the Archdiocese of Richmond. Sullivan, long hailed by the press for his Liberalism, is forced to retire at 75. I though, “How very fitting.” He was a man of the people – like any other politician. But as the headline writer inadvertently admitted, this church leader will not go down in history as a man of God.
46 posted on 06/09/2003 6:35:23 PM PDT by moneyrunner (I have not flattered its rank breath, nor bowed to its idolatries a patient knee.)
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To: TheWillardHotel
I intentionally left out Old Testament references since the Christian is under the law of Christ and not the old testament law, and these people claim to be Christians.

However, it is obvious that the Bible teaches that God has made some things wrong at all times and places (drunkeness lying, stealing, etc.), homosexuality being one of them.

47 posted on 06/09/2003 8:16:21 PM PDT by miner89
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To: Credo
"Assuming he's approved, will the parts of the Anglican Communion that actually believe in the Bible - Africa, Asia and South America - stand for this? "

There's been a movement for many years to start a more biblically-oriented Anglican church in the US. How ironic if it happens as a result of the Episcopalians being tossed out of the Anglican communion!

48 posted on 06/09/2003 8:39:36 PM PDT by cookcounty
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To: LTCJ
"There is a major shift underway where the emphasis is not so much on denominational divisions, but more so on the fundamentals of the Christian faith. The new divisions, horizontal one might say, and much fret over, are happening within all denominations......."

Definitely an observable phenomenon.

49 posted on 06/09/2003 8:47:32 PM PDT by cookcounty
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To: Uncle Kermie
Bowling up Cadbury Alley.

LOL
Michael Moore's next production?

50 posted on 06/09/2003 11:50:52 PM PDT by ppaul
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To: Paleo Conservative
He should be burned at the stake. It would set a good example.

No he shouldn't and no it wouldn't.

Does speak volumes regarding the Episcopal church.

51 posted on 06/09/2003 11:53:08 PM PDT by PFKEY
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To: VOA
To bad one of history's toughtest Episcopalians couldn't make an appearance in order to put them back on "the straight and narrow".

Is this the first and only walk down the wide path?

I would think a whole series of errors has brought this denomination to this point.

Patton? If they won't listen to God what makes you think they would listen to Patton?

52 posted on 06/10/2003 12:03:01 AM PDT by PFKEY
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To: r9etb
The plain truth!

Refreshing to hear.

Thanks.
53 posted on 06/10/2003 12:06:28 AM PDT by PFKEY
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To: cherry
there will be a day where God-fearing people who believe in traditional morals and theology His word, the holy scriptures, will have to ban together for self-protection....not to make one large church....

There are many many groups like this today. Seek them out!

54 posted on 06/10/2003 12:10:09 AM PDT by PFKEY
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To: PFKEY
Patton? If they won't listen to God what makes you think they would listen to Patton?

You've got a real point!
(And got me to laugh at myself with that one!)
You've obviously remembered the similar comment to the rich man asking for
one to be sent back to warn his brothers about what might greet them in eternity.

I have a bad feeling that General Patton AND The Third Army couldn't make these
folks wake up and head back to the "straight and narrow".
55 posted on 06/10/2003 5:01:31 PM PDT by VOA
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To: RobbyS
If one rejects both Scripture and Tradition,or the universal belief of mankind that homosexuality is wrong then on what principle does one stand? The obvious answer is, none whatsoever: simply the shifting tides of public opinion.

Let's look at that again. Whatever one's opinion on this issue surely their cannot be a universal belief that homosexuality is wrong if you claim the appointment of a gay bishop is following the tides of public opinion. NOt even necessarily disagreeing with your opinion, but that seems a large contridiction
56 posted on 08/04/2003 8:31:51 AM PDT by Macbeth2003
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To: Macbeth2003
Public opinion is usually driven by elites, and no doubt that the elite in this country is in favor of the homosexual agenda. But even anthropology shows that societies that accept homosexuality as normal are rare. Even where it is tolerated it is never raised to equality with the normal pattern of family life. What we have is the adoption of socialist ideology, which repudiates any intermediary institutions between the state and individual, especially Church and family.
57 posted on 08/04/2003 8:41:36 AM PDT by RobbyS
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To: RobbyS
Public opinion may be driven by the elite, but to become PUBLIC opinion it must be held by a larger number than that. If there is enough public opinion in that way surely the contrary believ can not be said to be universal.

i.e. "Socialism is universaly believd to be wrong." If someone said that it would be untrue. Granted socialism is idiotic, provably failed, and not endorsed by most Americans(although we get closer every day), but it cannot be said to be universally believed to be wrong.. more's the pity.
58 posted on 08/05/2003 3:09:24 PM PDT by Macbeth2003
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Comment #59 Removed by Moderator

To: Bogey78O
What are the qualifications?

Apparently nothing to do with the bible which he is supposed to be preaching/teaching out of...

60 posted on 08/05/2003 3:52:50 PM PDT by blackbart1
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