Religious Left

Ruth Gledhill, Religion Correspondent The Times Online UK The Archbishop of Canterbury Dr Rowan Williams is facing growing pressure to create a new Anglican province for conservatives after a leading evangelical was effectively defrocked in the US. Six senior Church of England bishops have come out in support of deposed US bishop Bob Duncan, declaring themselves “deeply saddened and shocked.” Headed by the Bishop of Winchester, the Right Rev Michael Scott-Joynt, the Bishops of Blackburn, Chester, Chichester, Exeter and Rochester joined in declaring their belief that the deposed Bishop of Pittsburgh remains “a bishop in good standing in the Anglican Communion.” In an interview with The Times, the Bishop of Rochester Dr Michael Nazir-Ali said the time had now come for Dr Williams to create a new province for conservatives in the US. full article

Once again the End Bigotry in Venango County blog provides us with an enlightened article. A leading bishop against the inclusion of lesbian and gay people in the U.S. Episcopal Church has been defrocked. The vote on Thursday by the church’s leaders removed Bishop Robert Duncan, head of the Diocese of Pittsburgh, from ordained ministry.

BACKSTORY by Darren Devine, Western Mail Wales Online A SENIOR clergyman has threatened to quit rather than work alongside the man who could become the UK’s first openly gay bishop because he says homosexual acts are “sinful and wrong”. Canon Peter Jones said he would consider his position should the Dean of St Albans, Dr Jeffrey John, become the new Bishop of Bangor. Mr Jones, who is Vicar of Conwy in the diocese of Bangor, hinted the appointment of Dr John would lead many others to walk away from the Church in Wales. full article

The Canadian Press Despite stern warnings from a Canadian bishop, a southern Ontario Lutheran church will take the unprecedented move of ordaining a married gay man. Pastor Dawn Hutchings says about 50 clergy from across the country will celebrate the ordination of Lionel Ketola this Friday in Newmarket, Ont. full article

original article Robinson has not been invited to the Lambeth Conference, which brings together bishops from all over the world every 10 years, but plans to be outside, talking to anyone he can reach. "One of the things I think I've learned in the last five years is that, as much as I wanted to be known as the good bishop, and not the gay bishop, there's no escaping," Robinson told the Boston Globe. "I would love just to be a simple country bishop but that just doesn't seem to be in the cards." full article

"Because religion has treated LGBT people so horribly it is the last place we will look for support," said Robinson during an interview with Between The Lines last week. "There is no civil rights issue so closely tied to religious issues as homosexuality." "We cannot ignore the religious piece of the argument, since it is the greatest stumbling block to us making progress. I think it will take religious voices to counter the religious right." "Religion is not monolithically our enemy. But, homophobia justified by Biblical interpretation leads many LGBT people to stereotype all churches as the right arm in the religious right. " "In the Episcopal church, with me being elected, there have been lawsuits and people leaving the church. This is the church risking its life for gay and lesbian people. The church has put itself on the line to protect us." The use of religious beliefs against the LGBT community is viciously visible in the ongoing...

Capping a race that drew worldwide attention, Rev. Jeffrey Lee, a Midwest native, was overwhelmingly elected Saturday as the next Episcopal bishop of Chicago. Lee, 50, is rector of St. Thomas Church in Medina, Wash., but was born and raised near Kalamazoo, Mich., and ordained in northern Indiana. He becomes Chicago's 12th Episcopal bishop and leader of 41,000 Episcopalians. When asked about his stance on gays in the church, Lee said he supported full inclusion. "I believe God is calling us to full inclusion of gays and lesbians in ministry of this church. ... There is a place for everyone in the church, and the church has to catch up with God's vision," he said. Since Gene Robinson, of New Hampshire, was consecrated as the Episcopal Church's first openly gay bishop four years ago, 65 of the more than 7,000 U.S. parishes have started to break away from the national church. They contend the national church has abandoned Scripture, which condemns gay sex. "All ...

Source: Stand Firm Now that the Church has had some time to absorb and consider the recent meeting of the House of Bishops in New Orleans and its response to the Anglican Communion, I’d like to share with you what I experienced at the recent House of Bishops meeting, and where I think we are as a result. There is NO “mind of the House” nor a “mind of the Episcopal Church.” In fact, we are a House and a Church of many different minds. We are in transition from the Church we have been called to be in the past, to the Church we are called to be now and in the future. We are not there yet. I want to tell you what I said to the Archbishop of Canterbury. In the course of his comments, it seemed to me that the Archbishop was drawing a line between fidelity to our gay and lesbian members, and fidelity to the “process of common discernment,” which he had offered as a prime function of a bishop. I heard him saying that gay and lesbian members of our Church would simply have to wait until ther...

Speaking at San Francisco’s Grace Cathedral, the presiding bishop of the Episcopal Church said Sunday that there would be no backing down on support for gay and lesbian unions . Reverend Katharine Jefferts Schori, the presiding bishop of the Episcopal Church said that while they did not turn back their decision to consecrate Robinson, they did agree to “exercise restraint” on allowing more gay bishops or authorizing public rites of blessing to same-sex marriages. The promise is not an outright ban and has been rejected as inadequate by some conservatives. "We live in the hope that there will be full inclusion. It's not universally true in the house of bishops, but it certainly expresses the view of many," said Schori. She added that she’s not worried that some bishops will strike out on their own. "Individuals have come and gone from the Episcopal Church forever," she said. Ever since Robinson's election, theological conservatives in the U.S. have been t...