Gay Friendly (Episcopal) Church Seeks New Bishop

[TechBear_Seattle]

Gay Friendly Church Seeks New Bishop

(Edwardsville, Illinois) St. Andrew's Episcopal Church considers itself a gay welcoming church but for the past three years it has been at loggerheads with its conservative bishop.

Now the church has become the first liberal Episcopal church to do what a number of conservative parishes have been doing for months - seek another bishop to oversee it.

...

St Andrews says that Bishop Peter H. Beckwith has opposed the church's welcoming of gays. Last year he refused to confirm a lesbian, and later decided not to confirm anyone in the parish.

Two lay people at St Andrews, called Eucharistic minister, who help the priest during communion retaliated by refusing to accept the Eucharist from Beckwith.

The bishop then stripped all 15 of St. Andrew's Eucharistic ministers of their licenses.

St. Andrews accuses Beckwith of refusing to provide pastoral care and wants to be placed under the authority of a more liberal bishop - either George Wayne Smith of the Episcopal Diocese of Missouri or Edward L. Salmon Jr. the former bishop of South Carolina.

The full article can be found at http://www.365gay.com/Newscon06/10/101606episc.htm

[Lydia Leftcoast]

1. Whoa, I think that bishop is overstepping his bounds

By refusing to confirm not only a lesbian but also anyone else in the parish, he has effectively put that parish under interdict, and I don't think he actually has the power to do that. He is also supposed to be the priest for the priests on the staff, and by refusing to deal with them, he is remiss in his duties.

How much do you want to bet that this particular bishop has skeletons in his...er, closet?

[TechBear_Seattle]

2. Technically speaking, the bishop does have the power to interdict

Although it is like the Crown's veto power of an Act of Parliament: it exists in theory, but it simply isn't done. The Episcopal Church has tolerated bigoted clergy for far too long, and I hope this issue will finally prompt the church bureaucracy to take action.

[TallahasseeGrannie]

3. When I was a child

many years ago our priest refused communion to a divorced/remarried woman. It was the mother of a friend of mine. Caused quite a commotion.

[TechBear_Seattle]

4. Would that have been a Catholic priest?

Given that the Anglican Communion was founded out of Henry VIII's... er... issue with his lack of issue, I would find it astonishing for Episcopal clergy to have a problem with divorce.

[TallahasseeGrannie]

5. Nope

It was run-of-the mill 1950's New Jersey Episcopalian. Divorce was a big bad no-no for quite a while. As recently as 1978 our priest here in FL "lost his parish" because he divorced his wife. He eventually worked as a counselor for a while and then got another parish back, and I guess that pretty much represents the transition period.

[TechBear_Seattle]

6. Interesting. Thanks for the info. n/t

[Lydia Leftcoast]

7. Last Sunday, one of our priests told about one of his

relatives, who was forbidden to take Communion in the Episcopal church years ago because she was divorced.