Cooler Heads Prevail in the Episcopal Church
Not really. The Diocese of California is set to elect a new bishop over the weekend, and three of the seven men running are openly gay. The American Episcopalian Church is already on the outs with the worldwide Anglican Church, after the ordination of gay bishop Eugene Robinson in New Hampshire in 2003, so any more homos in the pulpit could really split the two factions for good. (You know, because folks are so rational when it comes to the gays.) So how are the people in charge trying to defuse a tense situation? Rev. Paul Zahl, dean of the Trinity Episcopal School for Ministry in Pennsylvania, said the election of another gay bishop would be like “a terrorist bomb, which is timed to destroy a peace process.” Glad they’re keeping things in perspective.
Episcopals consider gays in Calif. bishop election [Reuters]
May 9th, 2006 at 8:15 am
[…] After all the to-do about the possible election of an openly gay bishop in the Diocese of California over the weekend, the clergy and delegates went with a straight, white guy, keeping the more agitated members of the Episcopal Church happy. (Though really, it’s hard to keep the rabidly anti-gay folks ever truly happy.) The new bishop, the Rev. Mark H. Andrus, comes from the Diocese of Alabama where he supported the ordination of gay bishop Eugene Robinson in New Hampshire—about as unpopular a move as you can imagine in Alabama. He’s an avowed supporter of gay rights and said in a statement: “…your vote today remains a vote for inclusion and communion—of gay and lesbian people in their full lives as single or partnered people, of women, of all ethnic minorities, and all people.” […]