Bishop Gene Robinson
News Release July 10, 2008
The Archbishop of Canterbury “needs to be a leader, not a manager now” – Bishop Gene Robinson
The openly gay bishop who has not been invited to the forthcoming Lambeth Conference last night said all Anglican leaders had a duty to care for the souls of all their flock, whatever their sexuality.
Rt Rev Gene Robinson, Bishop of New Hampshire, said it was time for the church to decide what it was going to stand for to its gay members – whether it would be somewhere they would feel welcome or rejected. He called on the Archbishop of Canterbury to show leadership on the issue, rather than just try to manage it.
Bishop Gene was speaking at the annual conference of the Modern Churchpeople's Union held in Hertfordshire and chaired by the Archbishop of Wales, Dr Barry Morgan.
He warned that telling gay people to go to some churches was akin to telling an abused wife to go back to her husband. He also compared the church’s attitude to him as that to parents whose son or daughter tells them they are coming out. He said:
“What is happening now in the Anglican Communion is what happens in a family when a kid comes out. It goes through a process of grieving and resistance to change until it can find a revised world view. .This church is not ours to win or lose, it is God’s church . It may be looking pretty rough now but God will take care of it. It may look a bit different in the end but God is not going to abandon his church so we don’t need to be so afraid.
“We are not at liberty to think we are on the selection committee for God’s family, our job is to be on the welcome committee and the sooner we learn that in the Anglican Communion the better off we will be.
“I don’t believe God stopped revealing himself when the canon of scripture was closed. God promises to be with us and never let us go. We are promised that the spirit will lead us into all truth. I believe that God is now leading us to the full inclusion of people of all types of sexuality. Maybe where we’re headed is just to acknowledge that all of us are incredibly diverse and God loves us all.”
Bishop Gene said he felt it was vitally important for him to attend the Lambeth Conference, even if he can only be there informally.
“Why am I going to Lambeth? I’m going to do my very best to let whatever light of Christ there is in me to shine. I don’t know what else to do. I don’t want those guys to meet and not be reminded of my presence. I want to remind them that they are in charge of their flock and they have gay people there and that gay and lesbian souls are every bit as worth saving as straight souls. I want them to have a chance to meet me and get to know me – because it is in meeting and communicating that the world is changed. I want gay people to know that they are God affirmed.
“If you want to see what the church is like after it has stopped obsessing about sexuality, come to New Hampshire.”
Describing his own experience, Bishop Gene said it was his integrity and belief in God that got him through the hatred he faced as a gay man in the church.
“The Bible told me about God’s love when the church turned its back on me,” he said. “I owe my life to this book (The Bible) because it communicated God’s love to me. I didn’t want to be like I was. I prayed every day for God to take it away from me. But in the end I listened to God.”
In an emotional speech, he paid tribute to the courage of Rt Rev Frank Griswold, former Presiding Bishop of the Episcopalian Church who consecrated him as a bishop, despite his sexuality. Both wore bullet-proof jackets during the much publicised ceremony. He called on Dr Rowan Williams to show similar nerve.
“The Archbishop of Canterbury is trying to manage a very difficult situation when really what is called for is strong leadership. He needs to be a leader, not a manager now.”
He said he firmly believed he (Bishop Gene) and his chief critic within the church, the Archbishop of Nigeria, Peter Akinola, would sit around God’s table together in Heaven one day with all Christians.
“I believe that with my whole heart and we will get along together – God will see to that. So we may as well get on together while we are here too.”
4 comments:
Bishop Gene has made some extremely salient comments. Thanks for the blog.
"If you want to see what the church is like after it has stopped obsessing about sexuality, come to New Hampshire."
Yes, where the membership is down, down, down, having droppeed 14% in his tenure with no signs of abating. But Mr Robinson might not be aware of this since he is hardly ever in New Hampshire.
I love +Gene, but I think that Dr. Williams may finally be emerging as a leader. His response letter to GAFCON and General Synod sermon were inspiring. We'll see if that new approach holds true through Lambeth.
I love the rest of +Gene's sermon. Beautiful, as always.
Robroy, +Gene is frequently in New Hampshire. He makes his annual visitations, handles all the ordinations and confirmations, is there for his clergy, and is there for my campus ministry. And tell me, how much do you think membership would have dropped if the diocese had adopted a hard, unwelcoming line, or if the convention's majority choice was denied? Put us in those circumstances, and your 14% would seem mighty attractive.
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