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.

By John Wright The Dallas Voice Bishop V. Gene Robinson says he believes that far from condemning gay people, the Bible can be a source of liberation for LGBT people, just as it was for African-Americans.V. Gene Robinson, who became the first openly gay bishop in the Episcopal Church in 2003, will be at Dallas’ Black Tie Dinner in November to accept the 2008 Elizabeth Birch Award. Robinson sat down with Dallas Voice recently to talk in a telephone interview about his upcoming visit and other issues. DV : You mentioned St. Thomas. Does it surprise you that even in a conservative diocese like this, that we have an openly gay rector, Father Steven Waller? V.G.R. : No, it actually doesn’t surprise me. After all, what we say — which is, “We’re everywhere” — is true, and of course I don’t need to tell you, but Dallas has a vibrant and wonderful gay community. And, you know, the fact of the matter is the gospel talks about God’s love for all of God’s children, and there are going to be peopl...

by Fiona MacGregor The Scotsman Gene Robinson, the first openly gay Anglican bishop, came to Scotland this week to debate homosexuality and religion. He has maintained his dignity in the face of hostility from the Church, but tells Fiona MacGregor his patience may be running out. "I am losing my patience. I have tried to play by the rules and be respectful and sometimes it would be nice to be shown a little respect back. I try to keep my sympathy (for Williams] and I do worry and pray for him. I don't believe this (refusal to recognise homosexual relationships can have a place within the church) is what's in his heart – unless he's changed very much since he became Archbishop of Canterbury." "As more and more Christians make themselves known to us as gay or lesbian, the more we realise they are not outside the embrace of God – I think that will prove itself over time. But I caution people all the time to be very careful of anyone who says they know what God...

By MARTYN McLAUGHLIN The Scotsman Gene Robinson, the openly gay American bishop barred from attending the Lambeth Conference, yesterday praised the "inclusive" outlook of Scots clergy as he spoke of his belief that worldwide Anglican Communion would eventually recognise "all God's people". "I think the Communion will survive. It will change, but the Church has changed many times in its history. We should not be fearful of that," he said. In Glasgow yesterday to deliver a sermon, he said Scotland represented a "very appropriate" location for his return to the altar, given it was the Scottish Church that consecrated a bishop for Connecticut in the 18th century, effectively planting the foundations for the Anglican communion in the country. full article

Ruth Gledhill, Religion Correspondent Times UK A new pastoral forum is to be set up to bring rebel provinces into line in the Anglican Communion. The 650 bishops meeting at the Lambeth Conference in Kent debated proposals yesterday for a body headed by the Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr Rowan Williams, that would prevent any more consecrations of gay bishops or same-sex blessings. The forum will also clamp down on "cross-border interventions" such as those where conservative bishops from Africa have consecrated bishops to pastor congregations in the United States. The document says the forum is needed because repeated requests for moratoria on gay consecrations, same-sex blessings and cross-border interventions have not been heeded. The document says the moratoria asked for on a number of previous occasions are to be understood as "retrospective". The strong implication of this is that the openly-gay Bishop of New Hampshire, Gene Robinson, must resign if the Anglican...

by Hans Zeiger with David W. Virtue Virtue Online CANTERBURY-The Archbishop of the Episcopal Church of the Sudan today declared that Gene Robinson, the openly gay Bishop of New Hampshire, "should resign for the sake of the church." In a press conference at the decennial Lambeth Conference, the Most Rev. Dr. Daniel Deng Bul said that homosexual ordination "is not what is found in the Bible" and that it is "not the norm of the Anglican world." Archbishop Bul, who serves as Bishop of Juba as well as primate of the church in Sudan, represents some of the most persecuted Christian minorities in the world. The Episcopal Church of Sudan has grown from eleven dioceses, fifteen years ago, to twenty-four dioceses today. Dr. Bul rose to the archbishopric at the end of 2007. full article

By Katie Sherrod The Episcopal Cafe Several of us have been trying for months to figure out how to get the voices of GLBT Africans heard at the Lambeth Conference. Getting them there physically is very difficult, because it's hard for them to get passports and visas. Many of them can't get jobs because they are gay—or in the case of straight allies—because they are sympathetic to the GLBT cause. The British immigration people don't care why they are jobless -- they just won't let them in if they don't have a job to return to. So the idea for a Voices of Witness Africa video, similar to the Voices of Witness 2006 video produced by Louise Brooks for Claiming the Blessing, emerged. It seemed a natural way to bring the African witness into the Lambeth context. But raising money takes time, and the first bloc of funding didn't arrive until the first of June. We videotaped their stories for a video to be shown at Lambeth to as many bishops as we can corral, and perhap...

by George Pitcher The Telegraph, UK Leadership in the West is “a mess and unable to understand the post-colonial reality”. The best thing to do would be to “dismantle” the western establishment to usher in a post-colonial world. Who might this be speaking? The increasingly beleaguered Robert Mugabe of Zimbabwe in one of his more mild-mannered moments? Actually it is Canon Vinay Samuel, who was yesterday addressing the alternative Anglican conference in Jerusalem, Gafcon, for bishops who feel that they cannot in conscience attend the decennial Lambeth Conference at Canterbury next month, so long as they have to be in communion with openly homosexual bishops. Not that Canon Samuel is a bishop. He is from the Oxford Centre for Mission Studies. But he reveals what Gafcon is really about. The Global South’s spiritual leader, Archbishop Peter Akinola of Nigeria, is fond of saying that the post-colonial West demonises him and that a new order must be ushered in. So this conference of Anglica...

I have provided a few excerpts below. Written by The Rt. Rev. Marc Handley Andrus Dear Sisters and Brothers in Christ, I welcome the ruling of the California Supreme Court affirming the fundamental right of all people to marry. I am writing to you now to recommend a path to use this decision to strengthen our support of our lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgendered sisters and brothers, and our continued witness to God’s inclusive love. For far too long the onus has fallen on marginalized people to bear the burden of inequalities that exist within the Church, and the decision by our state’s Supreme Court has given us the opportunity to level the playing field. To that end, the Diocese of California seeks to provide, by advocacy and example, a way forward for The Episcopal Church so that the marriage of same-sex couples will be a part of our official marriage rites, without distinction. Although The Episcopal Church does not have canonical rites for same-sex marriage, it is our goal that...

Greenville News SPARTANBURG, S.C. -- An Upstate church is going through a split over the topic of homosexuality. St. Christopher's Episcopal Church in Spartanburg lost half of its 300 members. Truth Ministry, a group that partnered with the departing members, claimed that Gray was fired and the building seized by the Episcopal Church. But the bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Upper South Carolina said that claim is not true. The Right Rev. Dorsey F. Henderson, Jr. said, "It was his resignation that prompted my action, which was not to seize any property. All property is held in trust in the Episcopal Church for the diocese." full article

From Times Online The gay bishop of New Hampshire, the Right Rev Gene Robinson says no progress on the issue of homosexual clergy will be made during the Lambeth Conference this summer. “We won’t move forwards or backwards in terms of any official stand. There are to be no decisions made, no statements issued,” said Bishop Robinson, who in 2003, became the first openly gay bishop in the Anglican Communion. Speaking at the Hay Festival on Sunday, Bishop Robinson said: “The way it’s designed [the conference] is simply about conversations; deepening relationships.” Were a statement to be published, he added, it would mean that “a coup has taken place and that the Archbishop of Canterbury has not had the courage to rule it out of order”. full article

by Jason Byassee The Christian Century Many observers of the Anglican splits assume that the key issue is homosexuality, but a closer look reveals that several other factors are also at work. In fact, the local Anglican story is largely about charismatic leaders coming and going, and congregations growing in their presence or folding in their absence. Among the AMIA folks, the juiciest disagreements have been over the ordination of women rather than the ordination of gays. And the biggest fight to date has been over the relationship between church and state in Rwanda, not in the U.S. full article

from MSNBC Episcopal bishop Gene Robinson knows he is inviting death threats by entering into a civil union with his gay partner on the eve of his church’s biggest ecclesiastical conference. And he says it is worth it, because he is doing what God asks of him. Full article and video

By LAURIE GOODSTEIN New York Times Bishop Gene Robinson, the openly gay Episcopal prelate whose consecration led conservatives to split from the church, said in an interview on Thursday that he and his partner of 20 years were planning a civil union ceremony to be held in his home church in the diocese of New Hampshire in June. Bishop Robinson said that by scheduling the ceremony for June, he did not intend to further inflame conservatives just before the Anglican Communion gathers in August in Cambridge, England, for the Lambeth Conference, which happens only once every 10 years. He planned his civil union for June, he said, because he wanted to provide some legal protection to his partner and his children before he left for England for the conference. Bishop Robinson has received death threats, and he wore a bulletproof vest under his vestments at his consecration in 2003. “We could have, I suppose, just gone to the town clerk and had that signed,” he said, “but, you know, I’m a re...

By CASSANDRA KANE Staff Writer Lebanon Daily News Lebanon, PA ANNVILLE — Supporters of gay rights outnumbered protesters last night during an appearance by a renowned and openly gay bishop of the Anglican church at the Allen Theatre. Gene Robinson, the Episcopal bishop of the Diocese of New Hampshire, spoke to a sold-out crowd at the Allen and signed copies of his book, “In the Eye of the Storm: Swept to the Center by God.” The audience also viewed a short documentary film, “For the Bible Tells Me So,” which chronicles Robinson’s relationship with his family before and after he revealed his homosexuality. Robinson was invited here to kick off Freedom Week at Lebanon Valley College, which is sponsored by Freedom Rings, a student gay-straight alliance. Last night’s event drew four protesters, who stood on the sidewalk across Main Street from the theater. Members of Silent Witness stood on the sidewalk in front of the theater holding rainbow-colored umbrellas. “We are a human spiritual fi...

from the Episcopal Cafe The Episcopal Bishops of Ohio have spoken with one voice in support of proposed legislation before the Ohio State Legislature that would protect the civil rights of homosexual persons in Ohio in housing and employment. Bishop Breidenthal wrote an e-mail to his diocese and clergy: Today Bishop Mark Hollingsworth, Bishop Price and I, along with the three assisting bishops of the Diocese of Ohio, have submitted a memorandum to the Ohio State Legislature as they consider current legislation that would protect the civil rights of homosexual persons in the State of Ohio, particularly as regards equal access to housing and employment (House Bill 502 and Senate Bill 305). The text of the memorandum is as follows: *To: Members of the Ohio State Legislature From: The Rt. Rev. Thomas E. Breidenthal, Bishop of Southern Ohio The Rt. Rev. Mark Hollingsworth Jr. Bishop of Ohio The Rt. Rev. Kenneth L. Price Jr., Bishop Suffragan of Southern Ohio The Rt. Rev. David C. Bowman, ...

By Douglas Todd, Vancouver Sun VANCOUVER - A South American Anglican archbishop who adamantly opposes homosexual relationships is coming to Vancouver on Friday despite being told to stay away by Canada's top Anglican. Archbishop Gregory Venables, who claims to represent 15 breakaway Anglican congregations in Canada, will speak Friday at a gathering in Delta of the conservative Anglican Network in Canada. Venables, who has been criticized as a rogue archbishop by Anglican colleagues in South America and elsewhere, is recruiting Anglican congregations in Canada and the U.S. that have opposed the ordination of homosexuals and the church blessing of their relationships. full article

BINGHAMTON -- The Diocese of Central New York is attempting to order a former Episcopal Church in Binghamton to vacate its buildings and turn over legal title of the property to its regional office. In a lawsuit filed this week, the diocese asked the State Superior Court to force Church of the Good Shepherd, on Conklin Avenue, to leave the facility as well as account for all money -- including an endowment fund -- because the congregation withdrew from the Episcopal Church and joined the Anglican Church of Kenya. "It's a David-versus-Goliath situation; the Episcopal Church has deep pockets. This is a powerful and wealthy institution that is trying to crush a local church, only to put it on the auction block and sell it for cash," attorney Raymond J. Dague said Thursday from his Syracuse office. "It's a sad thing that a bishop who's supposed to protect sheep is trying to crush them." In November, Good Shepherd withdrew from the Episcopal Church and joined...

Congregations have broken off in protest over gay bishop's election The Episcopal Diocese of Ohio is suing over who holds property rights at churches that broke away in protest over the election of a gay bishop and other doctrinal issues that have divided the denomination. In the March 26 lawsuit filed in Cuyahoga County Common Pleas Court the diocese says congregations that break away can do so but cannot keep diocese property. Missionary Bishop Martyn Minns of the Herndon, Va.-based Convocation of Anglicans says the five parishes named in the lawsuit are disappointed the diocese chose to go to court instead of working out a settlement. article