NY Times: "Episcopal Parishes in Virginia Vote to Secede."

[muntrv]

http://www.nytimes.com/2006/12/18/us/18episcopal.html?_r=1&th&emc=th&oref=slogin

Apparently, they don't believe in teaching about the left hand of God, something preached by Bishop Gene Robinson.

[Az]

1. I kind of suspect

that the fact that he is a Bishop may have been part of the motivation for them to skidaddle. There is a war on tolerance running throughout communities of belief. Not all religious people are part of it but it does affect an aweful lot of them.

[muntrv]

3. Oh it was THE motivation for them to skedaddle. I have a friend who's a

Presbyterian minister, and he doesn't preach the homophobic sermon.

[Az]

4. I look at it this way

This may cause more people to consider the Unitarian Universalist Church.

[muntrv]

5. ..Or the United Church of Christ. Heck, the Episcopal Church has been

a "haven" for dissafected Catholics, "Catholicism minus the guilt."

[Az]

7. In the end the more open minded the better

If a rift such as this causes a defection to a more progressive sect I am all for it.

[kiahzero]

6. Self-delete

[Lydia Leftcoast]

2. Here is my comment, from the thread on this topic in LBN

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=102&topic_id=2656288&mesg_id=2656764


The majority of the bishops and lay people voted to accept Gene Robinson, just as the majority voted to make Katherine Jefforts-Schori the presiding bishop. Those parishes in questions are sore losers--and they're being egged on by right-wing activists.

[jgraz]

8. They're not only seceding...they're aligning themselves with radical homophobes

The church they're joining is from a country that stones gays to death and sends people to prison for 5 years if the share a meal with a gay person. I wonder how much their new Bishop has fought against these laws.

[Danger Mouse]

9. Sickening...

...and I bet they're all for it...remember, some (way too many) fundies regard homosexuals as monsters or subhuman. I wish I were kidding about that.