Bishop Gene Robinson Speaks at local Church

[sfpuppy]

New Hampshire Episcopal Bishop Gene Robinson presided at an evening liturgy last night at Holy Innocents Episcopal Church. The small church was quite full drawing quite heavily from members of St. John's The Evangelist Church.

Bishop Robinson recalled how he used to do conflict management at the diocesan level. As he was approaching the parish at odds with it self he reflect on the fact that he was going to heaven, sooner or later. Whatever the outcome of the evening, he was still going to end up in heaven.

Later he spoke of a discussion of his call to the episcopacy. One bishops said - if only he would have kept his mouth shut. It would have been so simple to elect him Bishop if they could have pretended not to know he was a practicing gay man.

So, honesty is punished and hypocrisy rewarded. Needless to say Bishop Robinson has alway chosen honesty, shunning hypocrisy with his whole being. Maybe it's a small consolation knowing the outcome - heaven.

In the end he was elected being honest! His message if truly about God and God's love not only for the straight people of this work, but for everyone - stereotypes aside.

His partner Mark was also in attendance, they have been together for 18 years. Someone asked if they were in a holy union. Bishop Robinson replied that 18 years ago such things were not really in vogue, but that his current relationship was committed. A ceremony after the fact of a long standing union would, at this point, seem a little out of place.

Beyond that he spoke of separating the vows and the blessing. Stating that we all have a right to a civil ritual, the church should be in the business of blessing and sanctifying once the union is in place.

I came away feeling a profound disappointment in the Roman Church for it's choice of every form of hypocrisy and dishonesty under the sun. Denial is a clever partner, disguising even the most blatant to the one in denial. We are who we are, there is no denying it.