In 1977, Spong beme one of the first Amerin bishops to orda a woman to the clergy. In 1989, he was the first to orda an openly gay man. Spong died Sept. 12. Origally broadst 1996.
Contents:
- REMEMBERG FRANK GRISWOLD, AN EPISPAL BISHOP WHO CHAMPNED GAY RIGHTS
- FIRST OPENLY GAY EPISPAL BISHOP, WHOSE ELECTN CSED A STIR, TO DIVORCE
- FIRST OPENLY GAY EPISPAL BISHOP TO DIVORCE HBAND
- GENE ROBSON, 1ST GAY BISHOP US, REMEMBERS TUTU’S GENEROSY
- GAY BISHOP, WHOSE NOMATN SPL CHURCH YEARS AGO, VISS FALLS CHURCH
- EPISPALIANS’ FIRST OPENLY GAY BISHOP SPEAKS
- RETIRED BISHOP GENE ROBSON ON BEG GAY AND LOVG GOD
REMEMBERG FRANK GRISWOLD, AN EPISPAL BISHOP WHO CHAMPNED GAY RIGHTS
* first gay episcopal bishop *
In 1989, he was the first to orda an openly gay man. You were ordaed a gay man shortly after the Epispal Church said that was OK to orda non-celibate homosexuals. JOHN SHELBY SPONG: The first homosexual person that I ordaed knowgly was a man named Robert Williams.
FIRST OPENLY GAY EPISPAL BISHOP, WHOSE ELECTN CSED A STIR, TO DIVORCE
Griswold, who died March 5, prid over the ordatn of the church's first openly gay bishop. That was one of the issu which nearly ed a schism the church. Origally broadst 2006. * first gay episcopal bishop *
And this me after I had wrten a book lled "Livg In S" on the whole gay issue as well as some other patterns human sexual life that I thk we need to look at and reasss om a different perspective than the tradnal one. We had opened a mistry to gay and lbian people out of Hoboken, N. J., which has a very strong and very large homosexual populatn.
And he began to work among the people, most of whom are eply alienated om the church bee the only msage they've ever heard om the church is that God hat homosexual people and that they ought to eher be nverted to beg heterosexuals or be thrown out of the church or even executed, as the Book of Levic You end up - We wound up ordag him to the prithood 1989 December.
And he blew his ol and began to say thgs that ma his mistry and the Dce of Newark - we were right far out on a le to support him - almost impossible to said that monogamy was a heterosexual practice and should never be imposed upon homosexual people. Well, that jt blew headl across the, he had been ordaed to open a mistry to gay and lbian people the Dce of Newark so that we uld hold up to the gay and lbian populatn the mol of a fahful, mted lifetime partnership. And then he began to say that he did not thk fahfulns to a partner was a virtue that homosexual people ought to be held to, and that he began to prcribe sexual activy sort of random or promiscuo.
FIRST OPENLY GAY EPISPAL BISHOP TO DIVORCE HBAND
Gene Robson was the the Epispal Church’s first openly gay bishop. * first gay episcopal bishop *
And there is no way that I, as a bishop or our dce, was prepared to support promiscuo sexual activy on anybody's part, whether 's homosexual or What was like for you to go out on a limb to orda a gay prit and then have to ask for his rignatn?
Robert Williams tght me far more about the meang of homosexual persons and the value that they have to brg to the life of the church than he ever hurt me. And he was clearly HIV posive and head toward his soon to be that Robert, for me, was symbolic of the fact that gay and lbian people have been so abed by the church. And Robert opened the door to enormo numbers of gay and lbian people to fd their way back to the church that will be an acceptg muny.
And we today have a signifint number of gay and lbian prits servg the Dce of Newark wh credible most recent one that's been volved the ntroversy was Barry Stopful (ph), who was ordaed prit by me, but ordaed an by Bishop Reer (ph).
GENE ROBSON, 1ST GAY BISHOP US, REMEMBERS TUTU’S GENEROSY
An terview wh Bishop Gene Robson, who has been ld as a gay rights hero and vilified as the e of schism the Epispal Church. * first gay episcopal bishop *
And then we looked at the gay and lbian populatn that unr the laws of the stat of the Uned Stat of Ameri and every untry of the world are not given the privilege of a legal relatnship. Griswold, who died March 5, prid over the ordatn of the church's first openly gay bishop. When Gene Robson beme the first openly gay bishop of the U.
(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED NPR BROADCAST)GROSS: How has the ntroversy over gay bishops affected your relatnship wh other bishops? Sortg and siftg all that and tryg to fd what is God's larger purpose is certaly where I've put my bt energi over the When Bishop Robson was ordaed and beme the first openly gay Epispal bishop, to the ordatn ceremony, you wore a flak jacket, as, I believe, did he.
GAY BISHOP, WHOSE NOMATN SPL CHURCH YEARS AGO, VISS FALLS CHURCH
Gene Robson, who ma history as the first openly gay bishop the Epispal Church, has announced that he and his hband are planng to Robson, who last year retired as the head of the Epispal Dce of New Hampshire, disclosed the breakup of his marriage a note to other Epispal bishops and an say The Daily Beast, where he is a lumnist.
EPISPALIANS’ FIRST OPENLY GAY BISHOP SPEAKS
His electn, and the cisn by the Epispal Church natnally to approve the electn rults, was ntroversial bee me at a time when many Christian nomatns viewed homosexualy as sful, were not ordag openly gay clergy members, and were not blsg same-sex relatnships. In the sce, a few Christian nomatns have changed their stanc on homosexualy as same-sex marriage has bee legal parts of the untry; the Epispal Church has sce elected another gay bishop, and has approved a lurgil re for blsg same-sex Robson, who is now a senr fellow at the Center for Amerin Progrs Washgton, has been a leadg champn of gay rights, pecially the relig world, and was ved by Print Obama to give an votn at an guratn event 2009, and to give the closg prayer at this year’s Whe Hoe Easter prayer personal life was always an element of how he prented himself to the public. He had been married to a woman, and fathered two dghters, but 1986 he me out as gay, and separated om his wife.
”A versn of this article appears prt on, Sectn A, Page 14 of the New York edn wh the headle: First Openly Gay Epispal Bishop, Whose Electn Csed a Stir, to Divorce. NEW YORK — The first openly gay Epispal bishop, who beme a symbol for gay rights far beyond the church while eply dividg the world's Anglins, plans to divorce his Gene Robson announced the end of his marriage to Mark Andrew an email sent to the Dce of New Hampshire, where he served for ne years before retirg 2012. Robson was barred 2008 by then-Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams om the Lambeth Conference, the once-a- global meetg of all Anglin bishops, as Williams stggled to fd a way to keep Anglins Robson was also wily celebrated as a pneer for gay rights, beme an advote for gay marriage and was the subject of several books and a documentary about Christiany, the Bible and same-sex livered the benedictn at the openg 2009 gural event for Print Barack Obama and, after retirement, beme a senr fellow at the Center for Amerin Progrs, a Democratic thk tank wh close ti to the Whe Hoe.
RETIRED BISHOP GENE ROBSON ON BEG GAY AND LOVG GOD
The two men were joed a 2008 civil unn New Hampshire, and beme a legal marriage when the state regnized gay marriage 2010. Epispal Church’s first openly gay bishop, said Sunday he has been tryg to live up to those words ever sce.