GAY BISHOP AWAITS VOTE
ROTF!
MINNEAPOLIS (Aug. 3) - The first openly gay clergyman to be elected an Episcopal bishop will soon learn whether he will be allowed to serve.
Delegates to the church's General Convention are scheduled to cast the first of two final votes necessary to approve the Rev. V. Gene Robinson as bishop of New Hampshire on Sunday afternoon.
The last vote is set for Monday.
Robinson, 56, a divorced father of two, has lived with his partner, Mark Andrew, for 13 years. On Saturday night, Robinson attended a prayer gathering for young people, shaking hands with teenagers and posing with them for pictures.
``Why should people be so concerned about who somebody else is in love with?'' said Valerie Fincher, 16, of Salisbury, Md. ``God loves you no matter what.''
Conservatives warn that confirming Robinson would risk the future of the denomination and the 77-million-member Anglican Communion, of which Episcopalians comprise the U.S. branch.
Some American opponents of a broader role for gays and like-minded bishops overseas say they will consider breaking from the American church if Robinson takes up his post.
Robinson was elected by his diocese in June, but the church requires that a majority of delegates approve his election at the convention, which runs through Friday.
Although delegates will decide later in the meeting whether to authorize blessing ceremonies for same-sex couples, the Robinson vote is considered key.
The Rev. Michael Hopkins, president of the Episcopal gay advocacy group Integrity, said that if Robinson's election is ratified, it would build momentum for approval of same-sex blessings.
If Robinson loses, Hopkins said, ``we might as well go home.''
The vote Sunday will be in a legislative body composed of clergy and lay people, called the House of Deputies. He then faces his final vote in the House of Bishops on Monday.
The American Anglican Council, which represents conservative bishops and parishes, has about 200 volunteers monitoring hearings and lobbying delegates undecided on Robinson and same-sex blessings. Bishops who support the council's agenda have been meeting daily to strategize.
Canon David Anderson, the council president, argued that few delegates understood the potential impact of approving Robinson and same-sex blessings - actions he compared to an iceberg hitting the Titanic.
``It would be a horrible tragedy,'' Anderson said.
Some conservative American parishes have already formed breakaway movements over gay issues, such as the Anglican Mission in America, which remains within the Anglican Communion but rejects the Episcopal Church.
On the Net:
Episcopal Church: episcopalchurch.org
08/03/03 09:34 EDT
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