Lesbian Priest Re-ignites Storm in Episcopal Church

The 2003 consecration of the Bishop V. Gene Robinson of New Hampshire, the church's first openly gay bishop, set off a worldwide firestorm of reactions, both positive and negative. The recent election of an openly lesbian candidate, the Rev. Mary Douglas Glasspool of Baltimore, as bishop suffragan of the Diocese of Los Angeles will re-ignite the storm once again.

And her election hangs in the balance.

Under the canons of the Episcopal Church a majority of bishops must consent to Glasspool's ordination for the selection process to be complete.

A graduate of Episcopal Divinity School in Cambridge, MA, and the former rector of St. Luke's and St. Margaret's in Boston, Glasspool, 55, if approved, will be the eighth suffragan bishop in the history of the Diocese of Los Angeles.

Glasspool's election has already brought immediate concerns to the Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams. Issuing a cautionary statement in response to the Diocese of Los Angeles' election of Glasspool, Williams stated the following:

"The election of Mary Glasspool by the Diocese of Los Angeles as suffragan bishop-elect raises very serious questions not just for the Episcopal Church and its place in the Anglican Communion, but for the Communion as a whole. The process of selection, however, is only part complete. The election has to be confirmed, or could be rejected, by diocesan bishops and diocesan standing committees. That decision will have very important implications."

Although Williams denounces anti-gay prejudice in the church Glasspool's election is the prism through which we see the Episcopal Church's long-time struggle and history with homosexuality.

Williams candidly told the Episcopal News Service "changing the Anglican theological position on homosexuality would have to be based on the most painstaking biblical exegesis and on a wide acceptance of the results within the Communion."

And that acceptance won't come easy.

Since Robinson's consecration, the Anglican Communion Network (ACN), also known as the "Breakaway Conservatives, is a theologically conservative network of dioceses and parishes that has been working toward a realignment in U.S. Episcopal Church. These Breakaway Conservatives feel liberal bishops have hijacked the church by both "accommodate[ing] and incorporate[ing] un-Biblical, un-Anglican practices and teaching."

But "authority of Scripture" doesn't hold weight in the argument against homosexuality
because the Episcopal Church has always challenged controversial issues of the day.

In the 1970s, the argument for authority of Scripture came up with the ordination of women -- and so, too, did the threat of a schism. But in 1989, the Church consecrated its first female bishop -- Barbara C. Harris. And conservatives were not only theologically outraged, but also racially challenged because Harris is African American.

And in 2006, gasps of both exhilaration and exasperation reverberated throughout the Anglican Communion when it was announced that Katharine Jefferts Schori would be the Presiding Bishop of the Episcopal Church USA. Schori not only supports gay unions, but she also backed the holy consecration of Robinson.

All this is no surprise, however, since the Episcopal Church has a history of taking the moral high ground on social justice issues.

On the theological rift concerning American slavery, the Episcopal Church rebuked the Bible's literal interpretation, arguing that slavery violated the spirit of the Bible.

Boston's Old North Church, built in 1723 that played an active role in the American Revolution, and served as a beacon for Paul Revere's "midnight ride."

The Emmanuel Episcopal Church in Cumberland, Maryland was a major stop on the Underground Railroad, and both Trinity Parish on Wall Street, and St. Paul's Chapel, that George Washington attended, has become the spiritual center of Ground Zero since 9/11.

The Episcopal Church prides itself as being an inclusive worshiping body. And it is drumming up a new national ads campaigns stating "The Episcopal Church Welcomes You" with specific examples of the Church's beliefs.

"We want to herald and share our welcoming message," explained Anne Rudig, Episcopal Church Director of Communication told the Episcopal News Service. "We are bringing our identity, our core beliefs, and our heritage to life in a manner that invites all to share."

With the changing demographics, both nationally and globally, of this ecclesiastic body, the Church's once-upon-a-time ruling "Frozen Chosen," whose anti-gay initiatives had a stranglehold on the Church's governing future is beginning to wane.

While many LGBTQ Episcopalians and their allies are jumping for joy over Glasspool's election the battle isn't over.

For me, however, the joy in this moment in the history of the Episcopal Church is that the Church continues to crawls toward inclusiveness, albeit haltingly and in spite of opposition.

And for those of us on the margins in our churches and faith communities, Harris, Robinson, Jefferts Schori and now Glasspool show us the church's steadfast principle of justice in action.

 

Comments

[Joan E. Dowlin]

08:42 PM on 12/15/2009

I agree with you, Irene that even with Glasspool's election, the battle is not over. Maybe it will never be over. But we must fight the good fight for justice. I believe that is God's will. Who would have thought even 5 years ago that gay marriage would be legal in Iowa?

[SirOtter]

03:15 PM on 12/10/2009

Doesn't the church have more important things to get worked up over than who someone sleeps with? Are there no hungry people who need and deserve our energies more?

We think so. Our little church split over the Robinson issue. The few of us who stayed with the Episcopal Chruch foundered for a while until we looked around at what we had and decided to put our resources to work in a productive way. The result turned out to be a lot more important than worrying over who someone else loves. It's not our place to approve or disapprove. It is our place to make the world a little bit better for someone else.

http://kuriosfarm.blogspot.com/

[beyondculturewars]

04:49 PM on 12/09/2009

The Episcopal church in America is shooting itself in the foot.

It will alienate the Anglican Worldwide community and make itself extinct within a human.

[Michael Rowe]

12:12 AM on 12/10/2009

Frankly, if alienating the Anglican worldwide community is the cost of social justice, then perhaps that's the cost of doing the right thing.

[BannedNBoston]

02:47 PM on 12/09/2009

Change doesn't happen over night. I have met Gene Robinson in NH many times in NH.He is great Bishop
Gene's conservative crowd at his church loved him as a straight and they loved him just as much as a gay Rector.

[TryToBeFlexible]

12:11 PM on 12/09/2009

So, after 2000 years of murdering, torturing, burning, hanging, beating, and otherwise starving and ruining the lives of gays, part of the church is hiring one more gay bishop, and that is making all OK.

Wow, christians sure are a super dooper moral caring loving bunch.

That is hardly justice. Justice requires that murderers be punished for their crimes.