How Epispalians Embraced Gay Marriage

Contents:

• HOW EPISPALIANS EMBRACED GAY MARRIAGEAT LASTGENE ROBSON RECEIVED ATH THREATS WHEN HE BEME THE FIRST OPENLY GAY EPISPALIAN BISHOP. TWELVE YEARS LATER, HIS CHURCH IS PERFORMG GAY WEDDGS. THAT’S PROGRS. GENE ROBSONUPDATED APR. 14, 2017 10:19AM EDT / PUBLISHED JUL. 05, 2015 12:01AM EDT ISTOCKPHOTOIT’S HARD TO REMEMBER HOW DIFFICULT LIFE THE EPISPAL CHURCH WAS FOR ME A MERE 12 YEARS AGO. IN JUNE OF 2003, I HAD BEE THE FIRST OPENLY GAY PRIT TO BE ELECTED A BISHOP HISTORIC CHRISTIANY. NOT THE FIRST GAY BISHOP, MD YOU, BUT THE FIRST ONE TO OPENLY SAY SO. TODAY, IS DIFFICULT TO BELIEVE HOW PANICKED EVERYONE WAS.THE ATH THREATS AGAST MY PARTNER AND ME MENCED IMMEDIATELY. MANY WH THE EPISPAL CHURCH THOUGHT THAT OUR BELOVED CHURCH HAD E LOOSE OM S BIBLIL AND THEOLOGIL MOORGS. (IT HADN’T.) THIS NTROVERSY WAS GOG TO KILL . (IT DIDN’T.) THE ARCHBISHOP OF KENYA SAID THAT WHEN I WAS NSECRATED, THE DEVIL ENTERED THE CHURCH. (HARDLY!) THIS WOULD E DIVISN AND STRIFE THE EPISPAL CHURCH. (TE. AND SADLY, SOME 100,000 MEMBERS—OUT OF ROUGHLY 2 LN—LEFT OVER THIS AND OTHER CHANG THE CHURCH.) THE CHURCH, SOME SAID, HAD GONE TOO FAR S EFFORTS TO BE CLIVE. (IN FACT, WE HADN’T GONE FAR ENOUGH.)FAST-FORWARD ONLY 12 YEARS TO TODAY, WHEN THE JT-NCLUD GENERAL CONVENTN OF THE EPISPAL CHURCH OPENED THE SACRAMENT OF MARRIAGE TO GAY AND LBIAN UPL, JT DAYS AFTER THE SUPREME COURT MA MARRIAGE EQUALY THE LAW OF THE LAND. AND THE CHURCH’S VOTE BY BISHOPS, CLERGY, AND LAY WASN’T EVEN CLOSE. BY A STUNNG MAJORY, AND WH LTLE RANR, THE CHURCH ELECTED TO OPEN ALL THE SACRAMENTS TO ALL THE BAPTIZED. WE’D GONE OM PANIC OVER A GAY BISHOP TO AFFIRMG GAY AND LBIAN RELATNSHIPS MARRIAGE ONLY 12 YEARS.A SIAR RATE OF PROGRS WAS HAPPENG THE SOCIETY AS WELL. SODOMY BETWEEN NSENTG ADULTS WAS ILLEGAL MANY STAT UNTIL STCK DOWN AS UNNSTUTNAL 2003 (LRENCE V. TEXAS). AND A MERE 12 YEARS LATER, THE SUPREME COURT WOULD LE THAT BANS ON MARRIAGE FOR S GAY/LBIAN CIZENS WERE UNNSTUTNAL. JTICE KENNEDY, WRG FOR THE MAJORY, OFFERED AN ELEGANT, AND SOMETIM POETIC, VISN OF MARRIAGE TO WHICH EVERY CIZEN WOULD HAVE ACCS. HOW DID WE MAKE SUCH PROGRS 12 YEARS— THE CHURCH AND AMERIN SOCIETY? SURELY THE MAJOR REASON IS THAT SO MANY OF HAVE E OUT, OPENLY TELLG THE TTH OF OUR LIV. WHEREAS ONLY A OR TWO AGO, MOST AMERINS WOULD HAVE TOLD YOU THEY DIDN’T KNOW ANYONE GAY, NOW THERE IS HARDLY AN AMERIN LEFT THAT DON’T KNOW SOME FAY MEMBER, -WORKER OR FORMER CLASSMATE TO BE GAY OR LBIAN, BISEXUAL OR TRANSGENR. AND AS HARVEY MILK, THE SLA GAY RIGHTS ADVOTE, PREDICTED THE ’70S, G OUT MAK ALL THE DIFFERENCE. WHEN THEY KNOW , HE ARGUED, THEY WILL NO LONGER FEAR AND HATE . INED, THEY WILL WANT TREATED FAIRLY.MANY GAY, LBIAN, BISEXUAL, AND TRANSGENR PEOPLE ARE ALSO PEOPLE OF FAH, AND WE HAVE BEEN WORKG OUR FAHS AND NOMATNS TO CHANGE THE TRADNAL JUDGMENTS AGAST . I AM REMD THAT SLAVE OWNERS THE OLD SOUTH GAVE BIBL TO THEIR SLAV ORR TO KEEP THEM QUIET, PLIANT, AND RIGNED TO THEIR LOT LIFE. THE PROBLEM WAS, THOSE SLAV ACTUALLY READ THE BIBLE, WH S TALK OF GOD’S LOVG ALL OF GOD’S CHILDREN, AND ST. PL’S ASSERTN THAT CHRIST, THERE IS NEHER SLAVE NOR EE. THEY LEARNED OM THE BIBLE THAT GOD’S EY, THEY HAD A FULL AND EQUAL CLAIM ON GOD’S LOVE, AND SERVED NOT ONLY EEDOM BUT DIGNY.WE GAY, LBIAN, BISEXUAL, AND TRANSGENR CHRISTIANS HAVE BEEN READG OUR BIBL TOO, AND FDG THERE THE SEEDS OF OUR OWN LIBERATN AT THE HANDS OF A LOVG GOD. WE LEARNED TO READ THE SCRIPTUR ED TO NMN THE NTEXT OF THE CULTUR WH WHICH THEY WERE WRTEN—AND FOUND THEM NOT TO BE SAYG WHAT TRADN TOLD THEY MEANT. MORE AND MORE OF ME OUT SO THAT PEOPLE OUR CHURCH AND SYNAGOGU BEGAN TO KNOW THAT WE WERE STG THE PEWS NEXT TO THEM. WE RAISED OUR CHILDREN THE TRADNS OF OUR FAH AND PROVED THAT WE ULD BE GOOD PARENTS. WE NTRIBUTED TO THE LIFE AND MISSN OF OUR NGREGATNS. AND FALLY, OVER TIME, BEME UNNSCNABLE TO TREAT AS ANYTHG LS THAN FULL MEMBERS OF OUR FAHS.SOME CHURCH PEOPLE SAY TO ME THAT OFFERG THE SACRAMENT OF MARRIAGE TO GAY UPL, THE CHURCH IS “GIVG ” TO THE CULTURE, AND NOT A GOOD WAY. BUT I WOULD ARGUE THAT GOD IS GOG TO DO GOD’S JTICE WORK WH OR WHOUT THE CHURCH. FOR YEARS, THE CHURCH RISTED CHANGG S MD ABOUT GAY PEOPLE AND OUR RELATNSHIPS, SO GOD LOOKED FOR JTICE WORKERS OUTSI THE CHURCH. I BELIEVE THAT THE CHANGG ATTUS OF AMERIN CULTURE TOWARD LGBT PEOPLE IS THE WORK OF A LOVG GOD. BY WELG LGBT PEOPLE TO OUR FAHS, WE ARE ONLY JOG GOD’S EFFORTS THE WORLD.DPE ALL OF THIS PROGRS, THERE IS STILL MUCH TO DO. THE NUMBER OF FAHS AND NOMATNS THAT UNRERVEDLY WELE LGBT PEOPLE AS FULL AND EQUAL MEMBERS IS SMALL PARED TO THOSE WHO DO NOT. BUT THE NAYSAYERS’ DAYS ARE NUMBERED, AND THE ARC OF HISTORY NTU TO BEND TOWARD JTICE. THE EPISPAL CHURCH’S FULL EMBRACE OF WILL TAKE A WHILE LONGER TO BEE A FULL REALY, BUT WE HAVE CLARED OURSELV, ONCE AND FOR ALL, TO BE AN OPEN AND WELG CHURCH.THERE’S NO GOG BACK. AND FOR THAT, I AM TLY GRATEFUL. GENE ROBSON
• WHERE CHRISTIAN CHURCH, OTHER RELIGNS STAND ON GAY MARRIAGE
• EPISPAL CHURCH EXPANDS GAY MARRIAGE TO ALL DC WHERE BISHOPS OBJECT
• ALL 4 NY EPISPAL BISHOP NDIDAT WILL ALLOW GAY MARRIAGE IF ELECTED

HOW EPISPALIANS EMBRACED GAY MARRIAGEAT LASTGENE ROBSON RECEIVED ATH THREATS WHEN HE BEME THE FIRST OPENLY GAY EPISPALIAN BISHOP. TWELVE YEARS LATER, HIS CHURCH IS PERFORMG GAY WEDDGS. THAT’S PROGRS. GENE ROBSONUPDATED APR. 14, 2017 10:19AM EDT / PUBLISHED JUL. 05, 2015 12:01AM EDT ISTOCKPHOTOIT’S HARD TO REMEMBER HOW DIFFICULT LIFE THE EPISPAL CHURCH WAS FOR ME A MERE 12 YEARS AGO. IN JUNE OF 2003, I HAD BEE THE FIRST OPENLY GAY PRIT TO BE ELECTED A BISHOP HISTORIC CHRISTIANY. NOT THE FIRST GAY BISHOP, MD YOU, BUT THE FIRST ONE TO OPENLY SAY SO. TODAY, IS DIFFICULT TO BELIEVE HOW PANICKED EVERYONE WAS.THE ATH THREATS AGAST MY PARTNER AND ME MENCED IMMEDIATELY. MANY WH THE EPISPAL CHURCH THOUGHT THAT OUR BELOVED CHURCH HAD E LOOSE OM S BIBLIL AND THEOLOGIL MOORGS. (IT HADN’T.) THIS NTROVERSY WAS GOG TO KILL . (IT DIDN’T.) THE ARCHBISHOP OF KENYA SAID THAT WHEN I WAS NSECRATED, THE DEVIL ENTERED THE CHURCH. (HARDLY!) THIS WOULD E DIVISN AND STRIFE THE EPISPAL CHURCH. (TE. AND SADLY, SOME 100,000 MEMBERS—OUT OF ROUGHLY 2 LN—LEFT OVER THIS AND OTHER CHANG THE CHURCH.) THE CHURCH, SOME SAID, HAD GONE TOO FAR S EFFORTS TO BE CLIVE. (IN FACT, WE HADN’T GONE FAR ENOUGH.)FAST-FORWARD ONLY 12 YEARS TO TODAY, WHEN THE JT-NCLUD GENERAL CONVENTN OF THE EPISPAL CHURCH OPENED THE SACRAMENT OF MARRIAGE TO GAY AND LBIAN UPL, JT DAYS AFTER THE SUPREME COURT MA MARRIAGE EQUALY THE LAW OF THE LAND. AND THE CHURCH’S VOTE BY BISHOPS, CLERGY, AND LAY WASN’T EVEN CLOSE. BY A STUNNG MAJORY, AND WH LTLE RANR, THE CHURCH ELECTED TO OPEN ALL THE SACRAMENTS TO ALL THE BAPTIZED. WE’D GONE OM PANIC OVER A GAY BISHOP TO AFFIRMG GAY AND LBIAN RELATNSHIPS MARRIAGE ONLY 12 YEARS.A SIAR RATE OF PROGRS WAS HAPPENG THE SOCIETY AS WELL. SODOMY BETWEEN NSENTG ADULTS WAS ILLEGAL MANY STAT UNTIL STCK DOWN AS UNNSTUTNAL 2003 (LRENCE V. TEXAS). AND A MERE 12 YEARS LATER, THE SUPREME COURT WOULD LE THAT BANS ON MARRIAGE FOR S GAY/LBIAN CIZENS WERE UNNSTUTNAL. JTICE KENNEDY, WRG FOR THE MAJORY, OFFERED AN ELEGANT, AND SOMETIM POETIC, VISN OF MARRIAGE TO WHICH EVERY CIZEN WOULD HAVE ACCS. HOW DID WE MAKE SUCH PROGRS 12 YEARS— THE CHURCH AND AMERIN SOCIETY? SURELY THE MAJOR REASON IS THAT SO MANY OF HAVE E OUT, OPENLY TELLG THE TTH OF OUR LIV. WHEREAS ONLY A OR TWO AGO, MOST AMERINS WOULD HAVE TOLD YOU THEY DIDN’T KNOW ANYONE GAY, NOW THERE IS HARDLY AN AMERIN LEFT THAT DON’T KNOW SOME FAY MEMBER, -WORKER OR FORMER CLASSMATE TO BE GAY OR LBIAN, BISEXUAL OR TRANSGENR. AND AS HARVEY MILK, THE SLA GAY RIGHTS ADVOTE, PREDICTED THE ’70S, G OUT MAK ALL THE DIFFERENCE. WHEN THEY KNOW , HE ARGUED, THEY WILL NO LONGER FEAR AND HATE . INED, THEY WILL WANT TREATED FAIRLY.MANY GAY, LBIAN, BISEXUAL, AND TRANSGENR PEOPLE ARE ALSO PEOPLE OF FAH, AND WE HAVE BEEN WORKG OUR FAHS AND NOMATNS TO CHANGE THE TRADNAL JUDGMENTS AGAST . I AM REMD THAT SLAVE OWNERS THE OLD SOUTH GAVE BIBL TO THEIR SLAV ORR TO KEEP THEM QUIET, PLIANT, AND RIGNED TO THEIR LOT LIFE. THE PROBLEM WAS, THOSE SLAV ACTUALLY READ THE BIBLE, WH S TALK OF GOD’S LOVG ALL OF GOD’S CHILDREN, AND ST. PL’S ASSERTN THAT CHRIST, THERE IS NEHER SLAVE NOR EE. THEY LEARNED OM THE BIBLE THAT GOD’S EY, THEY HAD A FULL AND EQUAL CLAIM ON GOD’S LOVE, AND SERVED NOT ONLY EEDOM BUT DIGNY.WE GAY, LBIAN, BISEXUAL, AND TRANSGENR CHRISTIANS HAVE BEEN READG OUR BIBL TOO, AND FDG THERE THE SEEDS OF OUR OWN LIBERATN AT THE HANDS OF A LOVG GOD. WE LEARNED TO READ THE SCRIPTUR ED TO NMN THE NTEXT OF THE CULTUR WH WHICH THEY WERE WRTEN—AND FOUND THEM NOT TO BE SAYG WHAT TRADN TOLD THEY MEANT. MORE AND MORE OF ME OUT SO THAT PEOPLE OUR CHURCH AND SYNAGOGU BEGAN TO KNOW THAT WE WERE STG THE PEWS NEXT TO THEM. WE RAISED OUR CHILDREN THE TRADNS OF OUR FAH AND PROVED THAT WE ULD BE GOOD PARENTS. WE NTRIBUTED TO THE LIFE AND MISSN OF OUR NGREGATNS. AND FALLY, OVER TIME, BEME UNNSCNABLE TO TREAT AS ANYTHG LS THAN FULL MEMBERS OF OUR FAHS.SOME CHURCH PEOPLE SAY TO ME THAT OFFERG THE SACRAMENT OF MARRIAGE TO GAY UPL, THE CHURCH IS “GIVG ” TO THE CULTURE, AND NOT A GOOD WAY. BUT I WOULD ARGUE THAT GOD IS GOG TO DO GOD’S JTICE WORK WH OR WHOUT THE CHURCH. FOR YEARS, THE CHURCH RISTED CHANGG S MD ABOUT GAY PEOPLE AND OUR RELATNSHIPS, SO GOD LOOKED FOR JTICE WORKERS OUTSI THE CHURCH. I BELIEVE THAT THE CHANGG ATTUS OF AMERIN CULTURE TOWARD LGBT PEOPLE IS THE WORK OF A LOVG GOD. BY WELG LGBT PEOPLE TO OUR FAHS, WE ARE ONLY JOG GOD’S EFFORTS THE WORLD.DPE ALL OF THIS PROGRS, THERE IS STILL MUCH TO DO. THE NUMBER OF FAHS AND NOMATNS THAT UNRERVEDLY WELE LGBT PEOPLE AS FULL AND EQUAL MEMBERS IS SMALL PARED TO THOSE WHO DO NOT. BUT THE NAYSAYERS’ DAYS ARE NUMBERED, AND THE ARC OF HISTORY NTU TO BEND TOWARD JTICE. THE EPISPAL CHURCH’S FULL EMBRACE OF WILL TAKE A WHILE LONGER TO BEE A FULL REALY, BUT WE HAVE CLARED OURSELV, ONCE AND FOR ALL, TO BE AN OPEN AND WELG CHURCH.THERE’S NO GOG BACK. AND FOR THAT, I AM TLY GRATEFUL. GENE ROBSON

In 1976, both the Hoe of Deputi and Hoe of Bishops voted for a fully clive Epispal Church, statg, “homosexual persons are children of God who have a full and equal claim wh all other persons upon the love, acceptance, and pastoral ncern and re of the church. “That was a really strikg moment to me as a Lato gay man, ” said Miguel Esbar, executive director of the Epispal Divy School at Unn Theologil Semary, durg a Hoe of Deputi discsn on May 18 tled “A Full and Equal Claim: LGBTQ+ Epispalians Discs the Path Forward.

“There were some church I applied to that I uldn’t get as a gay person, and there were others that I applied to that I uldn’t get as a Black person, ” Grav told ENS, scribg his earlier job search. The rolutn “nfs the Church’s ntued heterosexism, homophobia, biphobia and transphobia, and the ongog harmful impact of anti-LGBTQ+ Christian proclamatn, preachg, pastoral re, and theology” and exprs a renewed mment to ensurg that LGBTQ people experience a “full and equal claim” to church life. )Fast-forward only 12 years to today, when the jt-nclud General Conventn of the Epispal Church opened the sacrament of marriage to gay and lbian upl, jt days after the Supreme Court ma marriage equaly the law of the land.

Whereas only a or two ago, most Amerins would have told you they didn’t know anyone gay, now there is hardly an Amerin left that don’t know some fay member, -worker or former classmate to be gay or lbian, bisexual or transgenr. They learned om the Bible that God’s ey, they had a full and equal claim on God’s love, and served not only eedom but gay, lbian, bisexual, and transgenr Christians have been readg our Bibl too, and fdg there the seeds of our own liberatn at the hands of a lovg God.

WHERE CHRISTIAN CHURCH, OTHER RELIGNS STAND ON GAY MARRIAGE

And fally, over time, beme unnscnable to treat as anythg ls than full members of our church people say to me that offerg the sacrament of marriage to gay upl, the Church is “givg ” to the culture, and not a good way. Robson, now retired, said he is breathls about how quickly gay rights have gaed acceptance sce the days when he was gettg ath threats and forced to wear a bulletproof vt to his nsecratn 12 years ago.

After the Supreme Court lg last week, many nservative church, cludg the Southern Baptists and the Mormons, renewed their opposn to gay Epispal Church has already ma history durg the nventn, electg s first black pridg bishop. Bishop Michael Curry of North Carola won a landsli over the has allowed same-sex church weddgs North Carola, and he said the Supreme Court "affirmed the thenticy of love" by legalizg gay marriage. The Supreme Court lg earlier this year legalizg same-sex marriage natnwi has ntued to raise qutns about how the cisn will affect relig groups – pecially those that rema opposed to allowg gay and lbian upl to wed.

EPISPAL CHURCH EXPANDS GAY MARRIAGE TO ALL DC WHERE BISHOPS OBJECT

) (not to be nfed wh the Prbyterian Church Ameri, which oppos same-sex marriage) and the Epispal Church have wrtled wh the issue for years, often as part of a larger bate on the role of gays and lbians the church. Schaefer’s se has spl the church, wh some clergy floutg the l and marryg same-sex upl and other, more nservative members threateng to leave if the church do not hold to s current l prohibg gay marriage.

I have nclud that the answer is y: the official posn has changed om technil ( jure) orthodoxy to a pluriformy on the way to a new norm regnizg homosexual relatnships as acrdance wh the will of God. The General Conventn and Hoe of Bishops rpond, rpectively, wh effective stments: a Rolutn disapprovg ordatn of practicg homosexuals (1979) and a statement of disassociatn om Spong's actns (1990).

Bishop Walter Righter, Spong's crony Newark, fied the 1990 statement by ordag another homosexual, and five years later orthodox bishops prented him for trial for vlatg the Church's doctre. While I do thk is possible to read them as a simple scriptn of the stat quo, I thk more natural to read them as settg forth a moral paradigm that nfers equivalent stat on marriage and homosexual partnerships.

ALL 4 NY EPISPAL BISHOP NDIDAT WILL ALLOW GAY MARRIAGE IF ELECTED

If, for stance, a rector is sued unr a lol anti-gay discrimatn ordance for refg same-sex upl accs to learship his church, he might be hard put to jtify that his posn was acrdance wh the official teachg of the Epispal Church. Orthodox bishops, who have rponsibily for the flock of Christ, mt weigh the matters and have some rponse ready if the Epispal Church tak the fal step om facto to jure regnn of homosexualy.

" Anyone who went through the Epispal Church's "Contug the Dialogue" exercise the early 90's knows how such a procs is pretermed to reach a certa oute: namely, the approval of homosexualy. The Epispal Church's General Conventn, led by Bishop Michael Curry, passed a rolutn last Friday that expand the right for gay upl to marry all dc even where lol bishops theologilly object to same-sex s triennial nventn At, Texas, the Epispal Church's Hoe of Bishops and Hoe of Deputi voted to approve rolutn B012, allowg gay and lbian upl to be married by clergy eight dc that had prevly not allowed marriage r for same-sex the General Conventn had prevly voted 2015 to allow clergy to marry same-sex upl, also gave bishops who opposed gay marriage the right to forbid prits their dce om performg same-sex marriage ceremoni.

Although the new rolutn still giv clergy the right to cle gay marriage ceremoni, bishops who oppose of same-sex marriage r will have to ll on another bishop who do not oppose to provi pastoral support for the uple and the clergy member that will be volved the move directly impacts dc Albany, New York; Central Florida; Dallas; Florida; North Dakota; Sprgfield, Illois; Tennsee and the U.